I want to talk to you akk about the cards I have started playing with... Dragons. This challenge gives us the freedom to choose any card from the Dragons splinter. I decided on the Djinn Chwala. Further down I will explain why.
If you are new here, #splinterlands is the amazing #NFT trading card game with #play2earn model. That means you can have a lot of fun AND you can earn money (DEC - Dark Energy Crystals) at the same time.
About Djinn Chwala
Djinn Chwala is an epic Dragon Splinter card that belongs to the Rewards set. With her Thorns ability and big health and armor, she is perfect for the First spot in your team. On higher levels, she will even get Enrage which will further boost her attack.
Lore
Dawn of the Djinn 4 of 4 - Only a short time after the Djinn were released, most of them were already seeing their elemental captivity as a blessing rather than a curse. They had far greater power than before, now that they were working with the force of the Planet at their backs. Pursuit of power was at the core of Belludae beliefs, so most of them would make small sacrifices for greater power. The Djinn have not all found one another, and it will be difficult for them to do so since many of them reside in different elements. This is why several of the Djinn have submitted themselves as cards in the Moxian games, so they can connect with their lost brethren. Gradually they will come together to Praetoria as part of the last lines of defense, channeling the power of the Planet into an impenetrable wall to hold back the Chaos Legion.
The Battle
I will not write about what happened in the battle as it is tedious to write something you can watch in under a minute. I will focus more on strategy and why I chose this setup for the battle. I hope that this will help new players with the thinking process when assembling a team.
My Strategy
As only Fire and Dragon splinters were allowed I planned on protecting my monsters with +1 armor from Drake of Arnak. I also picked Djinn Chwala with Thorns ability to deal additional damage to all those melee attackers that I expected.
Did it work?
Since I won the game it worked but I had a little bit of luck with the positioning of my Pyromancer. Usually, I would put him into the second position due to his big health. This time I put in the fourth position so my enemy's attacks were spread around.
Would I change anything now?
I think that this is the first time I would not change anything in my team. Everything worked really well so there is no need for changes. Of course, I would like I could use some better cards but hey, a win is a win 😀
Cards that I used and why?
As you already know, all cards have some positive and negative sides. In the end, it all falls to how you use them and in what combination. Always remember, every card has its role, no matter how small.
Drake of Arnak - Since only Fire and Dragon splinter were available I expected a lot of melee damage as this is where Fire splinter shines. I decided to take +1 armor buff for my monsters to give them that extra level of protection.
This should give me an advantage but my opponent decided on the exact strategy. If my opponent went for Malric or Pyre I assume that my advantage would be even greater.
Djinn Chwala - Amazing card from the new rewards set. Djinn Chwala is a great tank and if you didn't pick one up maybe now is the perfect time for this. I chose this card because of her amazing stats and Thorns ability.
Thorns - When hit with a Melee attack, does (2 melee) damage back to the attacker.
Thorns ability is just overpowered in melee matches and high health and armor guarantee that Djinn Chwala will survive for a long time. This card was the core of my team. I could only wish for a monster with Tank Heal ability.
Kobold Miner - I often use Kobold miner as a filler and additional body that needs to be killed. He was especially valuable with +1 armor buff from summoner as he tanked a few hits instead of more valuable monsters like Pyromancer.
Sneak - Targets the last Monster on the enemy Team instead of the first Monster.
Sneak ability is great on him though not very useful in this game as the last monster in the opponent's team had high health and armor.
Serpentine Spy - One of my favorite cards in the Fire splinter. Speed is amazing and the attack is decent enough to one-shot a lot of monsters in the Bronze league. This card is even better in the Silver league on level 5.
Opportunity - Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy monster with the lowest health.
Opportunity ability is the reason why this card is so amazing. Serpentine Spy will always target monsters with the lowest health. Sometimes it can hit Chicken, but due to the high rental price, you don't see Furious chicken that often in the Bronze league. That is why I think that Serpentine Spy is even more valuable now.
Pyromancer - Amazing card with good stats. I took this card in case my opponent plays Drake of Arnak. And I was right, and a little bit lucky. I like this card way more than Fire Elemental because of its higher health which means it won't die that easily.
Blast - Does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster. Additional damage is equivalent to main damage/2 rounded up.
I often play this monster in the second position due to its high health but this time I decided to play him a bit further back which paid off. Enemy sniper attacked Pyromancer and that way attack was split between 3 targets. The positioning of Pyromancer won me a game.
Spark Pixies - This is an interesting monster that relies on dodging enemy attacks. It is often risky to play Spark Pixies as one hit means that this monster is dead.
Flying - Has an increased chance (25%) of evading Melee or Ranged attacks from Monsters who do not have the Flying ability.
I chose this card because of its good speed and attacks. The downside is low health but since I played Drake of Arnok, that +1 armor guarantees at least 2 attacks from Spark Pixies. It turned out that this was a good plan.
Cards that would be good with this setup
There are some cards that are coming to my mind that could be used with this setup. Those cards are mostly from the Dragon splinter and those are expensive cards. Instead of Spark Pixies, I could play Manticore or Fire Spiter. Another interesting option could be Black Dragon instead of Pyromancer. But as I said, those are all expensive cards so I went with cheap options that I already own.
Summary
It is always interesting to play with Dragons as they give whole another dimension to certain splinter, in this case, Fire. My fire monsters were buffed with +1 armor that won me a game, in combination with good positioning. Only downside of dragons is high price, but I hope that this will be changed with Chaos Legion expansion.
P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope that you are enjoying my content. If you liked it feel free to leave a comment or thumbs up.
Have fun and see you on the battlefield!