Welcome Splinterfam, to my second weekly submission for the #Splinterlands #CommunityChallenge. This week, the theme is #ComboChronicles -- our favorite card combos or team synergies in action! I've already posted one strategy piece featuring Razi Clanktrap & Dar Gottem Gearnut. Now I've got another shining example of a new favorite Modern combo in action, straight from the highly competitive Modern Ranked Champion League.
Speed Is King
If you've played at all in Modern over the past few months, I'm sure you are quite familiar with the water lineups leveraging the speedy Commander Slade as the tank. Slade further benefits from the phase ward on Jicarilla or Rune Arcanist in the second spot to give Slade the ability to dodge magic attacks, too. With a few more speed pumps and blind from Cryptic, Slade becomes close to unhittable and can take out an opposing lineup single handedly just from its backfire damage!
Today's feature combo of Redwyrm Dragon and Zarin the Scorch does something similar by creating a nearly unhittable speedy flying dragon unit with phase in the tank spot. Unfortunately, Redwyrm Dragon doesn't have the benefit of backfire, so it won't be dealing any damage for all those misses it forces from the opponent. But Redwyrm does have immunity, so there is no need to place a cleansing unit in the backline to keep it safe from poison or other debilitations.
The combo also has the benefit of being off the radar a bit -- for now, anyway. People have to come prepared for Slade if water is an option, but when water is off the table, there is less pressure to take out a speedy tank. In many battles, Redwyrm Dragon sticks around long enough to stun the opponent's units into submission while the backline cleans up the battlefield.
Speaking of the backline, Zarin gets camouflage at Level 3, so it has the benefit of protection against those pesky sniping Kelan Gaines in many opposing dragon lineups. Oftentimes, this allows Zarin to survive well into the late game, dealing potent magic blast damage while hiding behind the elusive Redwyrm. There are so many more synergies with Zarin, like its cleanse rearguard to eliminate Zyrx's incendiary, but that is for a different article. Back to the battle at hand...
Time To Battle
That's right, today's featured battle for the Community Challenge is against none other than our fearless 
But the +2 speed from Nidhoggr meant the squishy gnome team never got a chance to get off the ground. Once all the boosts and nerfs were applied, Redwyrm had a speed of 8 with phase, flying, and blind from the Botanist. Not only does Zarin give the all-important phase so Redwyrm can evade magic attacks, but it also has slow tacked on as a support ability.
Mantaroth might have shield, but it didn't help much against the magic attack from Redwyrm and Zarin. Additionally, Redwyrm kept it stunned for most of the battle. The promo neutral tank only got in one true strike attack before it was completely neutralized. Zarin's magic blast and execute add-on meant more damage than the diminutive gnomes could handle. There's an attack in Round 2 when Zarin wipes out three units in one attack cycle.
With protection from the mostly unhittable Redwyrm in front and camouflage for snipe and opportunity attacks, Zarin's 1-2 punch of blast and execute ravages opposing battlefields. The only main counter to worry about is Tofu, since the snare ability it gives to units means they're all guaranteed to hit the flying dragon. It's really the only time that the flying ability works against the Redwyrm.
The combo of Redwyrm + Zarin, especially paired with the +2 speed buff from Nidhoggr, makes a tag team that most opponents will struggle to keep up with. No Slade, no problem. Redwyrm + Zarin makes for a nearly untouchable lineup as well. Sorry Clayboyn, consider yourself warned. Until next time...
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