Alright, alright, settle down, you magnificent degenerates. Let's see where the real intellectual flexing happens, where knowing the ins and outs of a single, infuriating ruleset can turn a guaranteed loss into a tactical beating. And trust me, when you pull off what I did in this particular "What Doesn't Kill You" nightmare, you’ll be walking around with a swagger usually reserved for Bitcoin whales.
This isn't some basic "stack big dudes and pray" strategy. This is a philosophy for the "What Doesn't Kill You" ruleset, a deep dive into exploiting the chaos when every damn monster on the field turns into a super-saiyan once it gets a papercut. I'm gonna show you how I navigated a battle that swung harder than a drunk frat boy on a tire swing, and why my ludicrous, seemingly disjointed lineup actually ripped my opponent’s identical brain-child to shreds.
Get ready to weaponize pain, you maniacs.
THE "WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, MAKES ME RICHER" LINEUP
Ruleset: What Doesn't Kill You (All units have Enrage +50% melee power and speed if not at full health) Mana Cap: 25
Summoner: TARSA (4 Mana)
- Perceived Value/Role: Gives +1 Melee Attack and +1 Health to all friendly monsters.
- Initial thought: Standard melee buff, nothing crazy. But in Enrage, that extra health is a buffer, and that melee buff is pure rocket fuel.
Tank: DRYBONE MEGALODON (8 Mana)
- Abilities: Flank, Retaliate, Thorns.
- Perceived Value/Role: Big boy, absorbs hits. Flank is key to let the rats do their thing from behind. Retaliate and Thorns are passive damage, especially against Enraged melee attackers.
- My brain: "Okay, this thing will take some punishment, and those abilities mean even if it's just sitting there, it's hurting the opponent. Flank for the rats must work."
Support 1: EXPLODING RATS (4 Mana)
- Abilities: Blast, Redemption, True Strike.
- Perceived Value/Role: High speed, Blast damage. Redemption is often just icing, right? True Strike is nice against pesky Dodge monsters.
- My brain: "These little psychos are gonna get fast when Enraged, and Blast is always good. Redemption is a bonus if they somehow die early." (Oh, you sweet summer child, you had no idea).
Support 2: CONTINUUM SEER (4 Mana)
- Abilities: Backfire, Phase.
- Perceived Value/Role: Speed and those juicy defensive abilities. Primarily there to avoid being hit.
- My brain: "A speedy dodger. Good to keep things chaotic. Maybe they'll piss off an opportunist."
Filler 1: ORELLA ABADON (2 Mana)
- Abilities: Sneak, Bloodlust.
- Perceived Value/Role: Sneak damage, and Bloodlust if she pops off. Cheap.
- My brain: "Another cheap, fast melee. Hitting the backline might trigger something good for me. Bloodlust is just gravy, right?"
Filler 2: KOBOLD MINER (2 Mana)
- Abilities: Sneak.
- Perceived Value/Role: More cheap, fast sneak damage.
- My brain: "Another cheap backline hitter. This just feels like pure Enrage fodder for chaos."
Last Spot (Utility): SCAVO CHEMIST (2 Mana)
- Abilities: Cleanse, Slow, Headwinds (no attack).
- Perceived Value/Role: Support, crowd control.
- My brain: "No attack? But Cleanse is good for poison, and Slow/Headwinds could be game-changers against speedy-mirror matches. Plus, he's just, there to fill a spot."
You can find the replay CLICK HERE
The Beautiful Disaster: Why THIS Unholy Alliance Wins
Look, most players see "What Doesn't Kill You" and think, "Okay, more melee and speed when wounded. Stack 'em high, hit 'em hard." And yeah, that's half the picture. But the real genius, the absolute aha! moment, comes from realizing two things:
- Controlled Enrage Triggering: It's not about avoiding wounds, it's about managing them. Tarsa's +1 health isn't just about survivability, it’s about providing that tiny buffer to ensure a monster can take a minor hit, Enrage, and then go absolutely ballistic without instantly croaking. My opponent had the same fast, Enraged idea. What they didn't have was the delicate dance of surviving the initial onslaught. My Drybone Megalodon with Thorns and Retaliate, buffed by Tarsa, was a brick wall that secretly shredded his front line while taking hits.
- The Redemption Bomb: This, my friends, is where the whole thing went from "I might win" to "HOLY FREAKING SHIT, I'M A GENIUS!" My opponent used Exploding Rats too. And guess what? Their strategically placed Scattershot did exactly what they hoped it shredded my backline, killing my own Exploding Rats. But those little bastards have Redemption! In a game where everyone else's monsters were getting Enraged, that Redemption blast hitting all his wounded (and thus Enraged) monsters, dealing 1 damage to each, was a chain reaction of pure, unadulterated pain. It was like setting off a daisy chain of tiny, nuclear explosions on his side of the field. Every enemy monster that was Enraged and feeling good suddenly took another ding, amplifying the chaos, and often, pushing them into kill range for my other Enraged monsters. It was beautiful. It was awful. It was mine.
The battle was a blur, I swear. One minute, I thought my brilliant Flank idea for the Rats was garbage because his Scattershot took them out early. The next, his entire speedy, Enraged assault was melting from the inside out because their deaths triggered Redemption, wounding his already Enraged monsters, which then died even faster to my other Enraged units. It was a glorious mess, a feedback loop of destruction. The Kobold Miner and Orella Abadon, though seemingly insignificant, were cheap speed, absorbing some hits and contributing to the overall melee storm of enraged units. And Scavo Chemist? His Slow and Headwinds were surprisingly effective at keeping my Enraged monsters from getting completely one-shot before they could truly ramp up.
This isn't about stats, it’s about synergy. It’s about not just optimizing mana, but optimizing resources on the battlefield. health, speed, and even death itself. What doesn't kill your monsters, creates a chain reaction that absolutely annihilates your opponent.
Don't believe me for a second? See the glory (and the chaos) unfold for yourself. You can find the replay CLICK HERE
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