As you can see above, in this battle, my opponent and I both fielded teams featuring a max-level Archon of the same element. However, the specific cards we selected for our teams differed slightly; for instance, I utilized the Common Master card "Blue Wyrm Travest," whereas my opponent opted for the Legendary "Mystic Scaleweaver"—a card possessing the Common ability known as "SLOW." Furthermore, before diving into the battle itself, let me briefly explain the specific rulesets in play, as they play a particularly significant role in this match. There are a total of two rulesets governing this battle: the first is "Equalizer," which levels the playing field by setting the Health of every card on both teams equal to that of the card with the highest base Health in the entire match. The second ruleset is "No Pain, No Gain," which grants the "Painforge" ability to every card on both teams. This ability provides a +1 Power boost to any card that is struck by Poison, Burning, or even an attack from its own ally. It is crucial to carefully understand the mechanics of this ability; at first glance, it might appear to be a detrimental effect, but consider this: if one of your cards is afflicted by Poison or Burning, or is inadvertently struck by an attack from one of your own teammates, that specific card will actually receive a +1 increase to its Power. Now, take a moment to examine the cards comprising our respective teams.
Well, I’m not sure about my opponent’s team, but I’ve placed the Shock Trooper at the very end of my lineup. He possesses the "Electrified" ability—and pay close attention to this—which deals 1 damage to all allied cards at the start of every round, beginning from the second round onwards. Now, read the conditions for the "Painforge" ruleset in this battle and tell me: will this "hack" work? Haha! I positioned the Shock Trooper here with this specific objective in mind: since he has the Electrified ability and the Painforge ruleset is in effect, will the damage dealt to my allied cards by the Electrified effect trigger the Painforge power? Well, if that turns out to be the case, it would prove to be an incredible hack for this particular ruleset—one that would allow me to harness its power at will and turn it to my own advantage!
Well, my strategy worked beautifully; starting from the second round, every card in my team grew stronger with each subsequent round, gaining +1 Power. Furthermore, since this was Magic Power, the impact of these attacks was applied directly to the enemy's Health. Typically, the Painforge ruleset offers an advantage only when your team is under the influence of an enemy's Poison or Burning effects; in such cases, it mostly benefits only a few specific cards. So, in a way, you could say that this ruleset serves to protect your cards against potential Poison attacks within the enemy's strategy. However, if you can manage to inflict similar types of damage upon your own team—even if only slightly—you can extend the benefit of gaining +1 Power from Painforge to your entire team, just as I did in this battle.
Before the battle concluded, let me mention that the maximum attack power of my cards had increased to more than double their initial attack power. Eventually I won this battle—and by a wide margin, too. In doing so, I discovered a unique and distinct synergy involving Painforge and self-inflicted damage—one that can unlock the absolute maximum potential benefits of Painforge for your cards. Next time, I will test this duo with a team built around the Fire element as well. Because I have a ranged attack card that possesses a Burning ability. I will check whether Pineforge's power is triggered by the burn effect of the Burning ability, and I will undoubtedly share the results of that test with you as well.
Splinterlands isn't an easy place, but that's what makes it even more fun. A perfect strategy takes into account many factors, including stats, abilities, rulesets, mana caps, and more. That's why it's even more important to consider all these factors when developing a strategy. Add good cards to your deck, but also work on improving your strategies, and strive to win as many battles as possible!🔥
If you also want to enjoy this amazing game and you have not yet signed up, I invite you to Splinterlands, and I will also try my best to guide you in this game. 😎
Note:
English is not my first language. So sometimes I use 'Google Translate'. Please don't think that anything I have written in this blog has been copied from somewhere or is AI-generated.Paragraph Dividers and all the photos are from #Splinterlands.All the other content images and words are mine unless otherwise stated.
Have a Happy and Blessed day!
