Here's the ruleset for this week's battle
In the going the distance ruleset, you can only use monsters with ranged attacks. I think the most effective summoners to use for this ruleset are those that deal directly with ranged attacks be, that General Sloan to buff ranged attacks. Contessa L'Ament or Quix to debuff or Ilthain to send them back.
For the earthquake ruleset it's very helpful to have flying monsters to spare them 2 damage each turn. I'm a huge fan of Brighton Bloom in the earthquake ruleset when there's a smaller mana cap, but dragons generally have more flying options. I also have taken a liking to strategically using the martyr ability to buff the flying monsters I want to keep around.
For the noxious fumes ruleset immunity is the best ability to have, but cleanse is also great. Recently I've also taken to using the martyr ability in this ruleset. My favorite monster to use in noxious fumes is Forgotten One, but that's not an option with going the distance.
My opponent and I are going to be fighting to survive the ruleset as much as each other. Some potential things that I might see on the other side of the battlefield are Quix the Devious and monsters with the martyr ability. Gargoya Devil is a great options for the combined eartquake and going the distance rulesets, but won't last all that long with noxious fumes.
Here's the starting frame
Think about how this might play out before clicking the link
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_a29527e16024aef2a54458233d0f6140&ref=jingo-submo
My opponent did go with Quix and a martyr. Wave Brood was also a good idea for the huge life total that might survive a couple rounds of earthquake and noxious fumes damage. Thier overall lineup is solid and would have been much stronger still if it were maxed out for silver. At level 4 their Angelic Mandarin would pick up the triage ability and probably get in one good heal for the Wave Brood.
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Quix the Devious
Quix debuffs my opponent's ranged attacks and gives me access to dragons which give me a few extra flying options for the earthquake ruleset. Quix is also one of not too many summoners I own that are at least maxed out for silver. I've been leaning hard on Quix now that I'm playing in gold league.
Tank: Firecaller
This is here in the tank position to soak up a couple of hits before dying to the ruleset and then buff my best monster with the martyr ability.
1st position: Tinderlock
Tinderlock doesn't come with flying or immunity, but it is one of the larger ranged attackers around. The last stand ability comes up big and works beautifully when I can anticipate all of my other monsters going down to earthquake and poison damage.
2nd position: Venari Marksrat
Having 2 martyrs available in the fire splinter make it even better for the noxious fumes ruleset. Marksrat is here to buff Tinderlock. I chose Firecaller in front and Marksrat in the back because I expected Firecaller to withstand more of an attack. I was really happy with my placement.
Did we win?
Yes. The last stand on Tinderlock combined with 2 martyrs made for a formidable monster.
What will I try differently next time?
Nothing. I was really happy with the way this worked out. I do think that my opponent's lineup has a lot of potential with a level 4 Mandarin. It's not the next card that I'll level up, but it's not very far down my list. First I need my third copy of Possibilus, then I would like to level up several monsters from the water splinter.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game. I hope the updated format that I'm using is helpful. Feel free to share any specific feedback in the comments.