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This post was made as entry for Splinterlands Community Engagement Challenge
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Some units in Splinterlands make you stop and stare for a moment and Calamity is exactly one of those. For a 4 mana card, it’s crazy how much power and potential this unit have. It’s not just the numbers that make it shine, it’s how all of its abilities work together. I was searching for materials for this challenge when I caught a glimpse of this one and taken a back when I start theory crafting how powerful it can become.
What makes Calamity even more fun is how predictable it can be. Every match plays out differently depending on how long it lives or which Archon you link it with but one thing is constant, one thing is always the same. If your enemies weren't able to take him down early, you win the game. Calamity is a win condition by itself. With Calamity on the board, it's not a question of how you will win but when.
Unfortunately, Calamity is still unavailable for now but is set to launch on October 21, 2025.
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Lore:
Whispers rise. Whispers of Riftwatchers turning on allies. Allies turning on each other. Elves, dwarves, gnomes, ulund, orcs, killing their own. One swears they walked in on themselves. Says they saw their own face grinning above a dying friend.
Years ago, an axolotl egg found its way into the brood of Sheng Xiao. When it hatched, the lung dragon took it in, nurtured it, protected it, taught it to harness magic. She named it Calamity.
Other part of the lore can be found in this link…
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Why is it good?
| Mana: 4 | Rarity: Legendary |
| Damage: 3 magic | Armor: 0 |
| Speed: 4 | Health: 10 |
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Shapeshift:
This means using any Conclave Arcana Archons with Bloodline Dominion ability can use this unit. This is an awesome ability for Calamity as you can mix and match him with a lot of Archons on top of him being allowed to be paired with strong dragon Archons like Nidhoggr.
Electrified:
Small setback as it deals 1 damage to all your team. But at the same time, at max level, this would help this unit use that last ability that he has giving this unit a massive boost. I will explain more later on how you can take advantage of this more than what you can imagine.
Life Leech:
Magic damage and Life Leech are good combo because Life Leech needs to affect enemy health to gain health. Magic damage bypass armor and directly attacks health.
Expose:
Removes defensive abilities such as Shield, Void, Forcefield, etc. which is good to keep Life Leech getting max value. This is a good ability to avoid being countered. This ability also complements really good with Last Stand.
Last Stand:
This ability gives +50% of all stats when this is the last unit alive. That means increase in damage and health as well. Complements with Expose because if Last Stand kicks in, this unit will grow to 5 damage and if enemy has Forcefield, that would change this units damage to 1 but not if Expose removes Forcefield first.
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Best Archons to Synergize Calamity
Like I mentioned before, since Calamity have Shapeshift, any Archon with Bloodline Dominion can use this unit and have its related abilities as well.
This unit can give Calamity both Shield and Deflect abilities.
You usually put Calamity at last position to ensure she is the last unit to survive so you can use its Last Stand ability. The problem is if the enemies have Sneak, this unit not only could not consistently gain health through Life Leech as it is being damaged but it might also die. Most of the units with Sneak abilities have melee damage which Shield could help you with. Deflect removes the chances an enemy have Magic Reflect to reflect this unit's damage back to it. Both of these abilities reduces or negates the damage Calamity may get as it slowly tries to be the carry that it is.
This archon gives Calamity both Close Range and Painforge abilities.
While Close Range does not give him any advantage, Painforge gives Calamity insane scaling potential. On using units that have Reckless or units that damage Calamity can increase its damage which Calamity can recover by its Life Leech. Then when time kicks in, Last Stand increases everything by 50% more, which is insane especially if your Calamity have like 10+ damage at that point.
You can also build a team around Gnomes and since Calamity have Electrified, this can help increase their own damage from Painforge. That means a complementing advantage not only for Calamity but for his entire team as well.
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Best Rule Sets for Calamity
All units have Thorns (returns 2 damage to attacker when hit by a melee attack) Briar Patch gives units Thorns ability. This is a bad rule set for melee units. This discourages use of Sneaks where a lot of melee units have which becomes favorable for Calamity as you can safely place it as the last unit for the Last Stand. |
Units lose the Sneak and Snipe abilities. This rule set removes any potential Sneak, Snipe or Opportunity strategies. This assures that the last position will be safe. That also means that the Last Stand activation condition, which needs this unit to be the last unit alive, can safely be fulfilled. This can also be a good one for Life Leech as it delays the enemy reaching Calamity which means Calamity can stack health longer through the help of Life Leech before Last Stand kicks in. |
Only Units & Summoners that cost 4 Mana or less may be used in battles. Calamity only has 4 mana despite its insane stats and lineup of abilities. I honestly think that if you have this unit at max level and you have Little League, this is a sure win. There are only very selected few units that I consider strong if you limit the options to units with 4 mana and below and majority of these strong units aren't or don't have carry potential. Calamity is an exception. With Calamity's lineup of abilities and high health, he can definitely carry the game solo and, actually, he might prefer that with his Last Stand ability. |
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Summary
Calamity gets better the longer the match drags on. The more rounds it survives, the stronger it becomes thanks to Life Leech and Last Stand stacking up like madness. Throw in Expose to strip enemy defenses and counters and it easily turns into a late-game monster that feels so unfair you start questioning yourself why the devs even made this card. Its low mana cost only adds to how efficient it is, making it a true sleeper powerhouse in the near future.
If you can get your hands on this card, there is no reason not to use it. Pairing it with units that like self-damage or can sustain through it makes a huge difference. Once those pieces click together, Calamity can become a more reliable carry. It’s really the kind of unit you don't want to be an enemy of.
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Disclaimer
Other photos and images that I used in this post can be found in these websites below:
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About the Author
Hey! I’m Mavis the Muggle, your friendly Splinterlands addict with a slight obsession for all things Harry Potter. 🧙
When I’m not immersed in gaming or wizardry, I’m busy learning new things. Recently, I’ve been having putting a lot of effort and having a blast creating content on Hive so relax!
You can support me by upvoting this post, reblogging, leaving a comment below or by using my Splinterlands referral link.
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