Thanks for checking out my #Splinterlands Battle of the Day #BOTD for your reading and watching enjoyment. All hail the #ageofthebattlemage!
BATTLE LINK -- January 21, 2025 -- Day 21 of 365 vs.
Tuesday flew by and I didn't have a chance to play either of my two tournaments or Modern ranked play... lame! Instead, today's BOTD comes from Wild Champion League against one of the top leaderboard accounts, 
The 25-mana battle had three rulesets: Shades of Gray, Blood and Sunder, and Weak Magic. Only two elements were available for selection: Fire and Water. Of course, in the neutrals-only battle, the only difference the elements make is picking a summoner.
Ironically, Kesryn chose Lux Vega as their summoner, so their entire lineup, including the summoner, was neutral. On the other hand, XBot chose to play Risqruel Drath for me, using two extra mana on the summoner compared to Kesryn. I found it quite puzzling that Drath was selected despite only two range monsters in my lineup, but I guess the flying ability to evade 25% of melee and range attacks was good enough.
Even more puzzling was the placement of the taunt tactic on my Elanor Bravefoot. With my opponent showing Venka and Elanor tucked into the middle of my lineup, there was potential for disastrous trample damage to my own Venka. If the plan was to place the taunt on Elanor then she should have been placed in the 6th position to avoid any potential Venka trample attacks on my backline monsters.
I would have placed the taunt tactic on my opponent's Venka if it was up to me. Venka is clearly the most powerful threat in my opponent's lineup, so that is where I would have wanted my Venka to attack first. I don't see the redemption trigger being that big a liability to make me want to choose one of my monsters for the taunt. Luckily, their Venka missed its trample attack on my Venka due to flying (or the 1-speed differential), so no harm was done by placing the taunt in the middle of my backline.
Today's featured card is the common Rebellion reward card, Ujurak Elder. This 3-mana neutral wasn't in there for its attacking prowess that's for sure. However, at max Level 10, it provides some very important support abilities, specifically swiftness. The Supply Runner on my side of the battlefield offset the +1 speed from their Lux Vega, but it was the swiftness from Ujurak Elder that gave my team the speed advantage.
Elder's divine protection ability also played a key role in the battle, absorbing one of Venka's powerful trample attacks. Of course, the strengthen ability also helps by giving a boost to my whole team. Compared to Lux Vega, Elder provides 2/3rd of the buffs for less than 2/3rd of the mana cost!
I also underestimated how powerful the flying ability would be in this battle, as Kesryn missed a few melee attacks due to the increased evasion. With a speed advantage, my monsters connected on all their attacks and chewed through my opponent's lineup. Venka was able to two-shot their Grim Smith and was never under much threat after that Round 1 trample attack.
Although I didn't play this game myself, there is still plenty to learn from the replay. When I beat a top player with new cards, I take notice. Considering all the amazing neutral cards in the history of the game, Ujurak Elder caught my eye and made the crucial speed difference in this Shades of Gray battle. Speed is the name of the game in tight mirror matches!
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Proud member of my original guild,
now YGG 420 Fam and on Hive as 
Templates were used, AI was not!
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