Splinterlands is a complex game and it allows for various different cards and strategies. Each fight is different as there are various different rulesets applied and this can give specific cards an advantage depending on how you use them. In this post, I talk about a great battle where I won because I used Sand Worm.
Featured cards
Zyriel is a light/death monster that costs 7 mana. It starts with weapons training and life leech. It learns divine shield at level 2 and rust at level 3. This is one of the rare duo element cards, and it is one of the promo cards up for sale a long time ago. I bought myself a level 1 version of this for my own use.
Rule Set, Battle, and Plan
The ruleset this time is Tis but Scratches, Taking Sides, and Briar Patch. This means that no neutral monsters can be used, and all monsters gain the cripple and thorns ability. There is also 44 mana available, and I can choose any splinter except for earth.
| Splinter | Mana Cost | Position | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thaddius Brood | 4 | Summoner | -1 Magic and Health |
| Harklaw | 8 | 1st | Shield, Immunity, and Demoralize |
| Riftwing | 4 | 2nd | Flying, Scavenger, and Backfire |
| Zyriel | 7 | 3rd | Weapons Training and Life Leech |
| Ahna-Chei Botanist | 2 | 4th | Blind and Return Fire |
| Ravenhood Warden | 4 | 5th | Inspire and Protect |
| Raa | 12 | 6th | Flying and Double Strike |
| Total Mana: | 41 |
I use Thaddius Brood as my summoner for the -1 magic and health. Harklaw is my tank with shield, immunity, and demoralize. Since it has immunity, it is also immune to cripple. Riftwing is my backup tan with flying, backfire, and scavenger. I have Zyriel in the 3rd spot for weapons training. Then I have another non attacking monster with blind and return fire. I have Ravenhood Warden to help my monsters survive with protect and inspire. My last monster is Raa as a damage dealer with flying and double strike.
Round 1
At first glance, I think that this match is to my advantage. The magic monsters are rebuffed by my summoner, and I have the damage advantage due to weapons training from Zyriel. I don't think the taunt monster is too big of an issue.
Round 4
I lost my tank, but my opponent is down to just magic monsters left. At this point, I don't think there is any chance that I lose this match. I could still miss attacks, but with all the attackers that I have left, killing off a few monsters wouldn't be an issue.
I ended up winning this match the next round.
Conclusion
The battle this time played out exactly how I thought it would. Harklaw was a great tank because it was immune to the cripple, and this let my backline focus their damage on my opponent's monster. It's too bad that Ravenhood died so early from the opportunity monster, but it did do its job. Zyriel was a beast this fight and the weapons training helped quite a bit. If my Zyriel was pushed up to the front, the life leech would have made it a decent backline tank as well.
You can see my entire match here.
What did you think of my match? Was there anything you would have done differently? I think it is quite interesting to see how different players use the same card.