After debuting for the first time 27 weeks ago and after learning last week that sometimes only odd-cost Monsters are allowed to take part in the fun and games on the battlefield, the Battle Mage Secrets Weekly Challenge is back but this time it is a bit more forgiving but still as discriminatory as usual and this time the slowest Monsters on the battlefield start first and have the lowest chance to miss (for anything but Magic or including Magic if the target has Phase (Magic attacks can miss this Monster (using the same hit/miss calculation as for Melee and Ranged attacks) while the fastest are last with the highest chance to miss. Yeah, I know you've already read the title but even if you haven't, you have positively figured out that the Challenge this week is to display a battle involving the Reverse Speed ruleset.
Let us see what this ruleset does before we get into the nitty-gritty of the line-up and the battle itself.
The Reverse Speed ruleset is pretty straight-forward - Monsters with the lowest Speed attack first and have the highest chance of evading attacks. Well that's definitely as easily understandable as a Ruleset can get.
Now that we've got a good idea of what the Reverse Speed ruleset practically does, let's see how it can be effectively utilized.
I have divided the picture above in two parts:
- The first two rows are some of the Monsters I use most often in the Reverse Speed ruleset. Of course some of them are more appropriate than others depending on the circumstances i.e. what the other Rulesets in addition to Reverse Speed are. It is also worth noting that while the 1-Speed Monsters with Bloodlust such as Grum, Usut and Sea Wreck and the 2-Speed Jared Scar start out strong, as they take down opponents, their turns will get later and later during the round with the Speed increase, however, I do feel most of the time the battle does not take that long for it to matter.
- On the 3rd row I've listed the Summoners I use most often when Reverse Speed is present. Yet again there are usually two more Rulesets as well as Element limitations so you will rarely be able to choose from all of these at the same time. Generally I have found that Earth are the most powerful Element in Reverse Speed, and Water is generally not that great.
Now that we have a decent understanding of the featured Ruleset and its potential advantages and disadvantages, let us have a look at the battle I have chosen to showcase.
<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>BATTLE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>
- The line-up of the Battle and the Ruleset:
The rulesets for this battle are Tis but Scratches (all Monsters have the Cripple (each time an enemy is hit by a Monster with Cripple it loses one max health) ability) and Reverse Speed. The mana budget is 41 which is a bit above average but I will still have to plan carefully my line-up. The available Elements are Life and Dragon. I have decided to go with the Life Element.
I've decided to start with one of the last Reward cards before the shift to Soulbound cards - Jared Scar. He is a Monster I love playing whenever I get the chance cause when he works, he just obliterates the enemy team. He has 2 Speed which is great for the Reverse Speed ruleset and even though his signature ability is Bloodlust (every time this Monster defeats an opponent, it gets +1 to all stats), so his Speed will gradually increase with the kills he gets, he also has True Strike (this Monster's attacks cannot miss) so that definitely compensates. Last but not least he also has Piercing (if Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health).
Following immediately after Jared Scar is the Spirit Hoarder. I've got it in this spot because I don't want it to get buffed by any upon death abilities (wink, wink) since I'm saving those for the Monsters to follow. It has the Triage (heals the friendly back-line Monster that has taken the most damage) ability right from the start, which allows it to heal the back-line of its team. It also has the Dispel ability which allows it to dispel any buffs on the enemy targets hit by its attacks. Lastly it also has Blind (all enemy Melee & Ranged attacks have an increased chance of missing their target).
The 3rd spot goes to the Pelacor Arbalest. It is neither slow nor fast so it should basically perform the same way in both Reverse Speed and normal speed scenarios. It has Double Strike (monster attacks twice each round) and Flying (has an increased chance of evading Melee or Ranged attacks from Monsters who do not have the Flying ability). It is one of the Ranged Attackers I use most often when playing with the Life Element.
In the 4th spot I have Iziar. She has definitely been one of the my favorite Soulbound Legendaries, and even though Martyr (when this Monster dies, adjacent Monsters get +1 to all stats) does not really pair that well with Reverse Speed, I think having a beefy Taunt (all enemy Monsters target this Monster (if they are able to) Monster such as her in this battle will allow me to let Jared Scar do his thing. Iziar also has Void (reduced damage from Magic attacks) which is great for Magic attack mitigation.
Last is another member of the Chaos Legion Ranged squad I use very often - Prismologist. She is a very cool Ranged Attacker, and a very good fit for Reverse Speed with her 2 Speed. I very often place her in the last spot to protect from powerful Sneak Monsters with her Forcefield (this Monster takes only 1 damage from attacks with power 5+). She also has Blast (does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster) and Silence (reduces the Magic Attack of all enemy Monsters) which are both very powerful abilities.
It is time for a quick round by round analysis:
- The Summoner I am going with for the battle is Grandmaster Rather. He is my usual go-to Summoner when playing Life in Diamond/Champion unless I am absolutely positive that General Sloan is a better pick for the particular situation. He is generally a great fit for Reverse Speed as he does not boost the Speed of the Monsters and also provides nice defensive bonuses in the form of +1 Armor and Void Armor. My enemy has chosen to go with Quix and they have also chosen the Life Element. I rarely play Quix when one of the Rulesets is Reverse Speed since if usual debuff for the enemy of -1 Speed acts as an actual buff in this niche situation.
- After 1 round I have not lost any Monsters yet while the enemy lost their tank and then it got resurrected by Adelaide Brightwing, who at level 4, has Swiftness (all friendly Monsters have increased Speed), so that's another unfortunate pick for the enemy in this situation.
- Round 3 - I've basically stomped the enemy team and my squad are now busy finishing off the remains.
- Round 4 - All that's left is for my Spirit Hoarder to land the killing blow on the enemy War Pegasus.
Well this was definitely a fast but fun battle, and an entertaining way to showcase the Reverse Speed ruleset. See you next week with another exciting post related to the brand new Battle Mage Secrets Weekly Challenge!
Over and Out,
