There's a new Grund in town.
I've recently started to play more with Grund because paired with Immortalis, Grund isn't such a defensive liability. Grund hits hard and has a decent starting health but that's just not enough for a tank most of the time.
I made a recent post where I talked about how excited I was for Coastal Sentry to come out.
@jingo-submo/what-am-i-excited-to-try-with-the-new-soulbound-rewards-cards
When the new season started I waited to open my daily rewards chests and the first new card I opened was Coastal Sentry, so my first battle of the new season included this new blue Grund.
Take a look at the starting frame and think about who might win.
Here's a link to the battle
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_58fe4bb215dc322cab8c13e63bedf90c&ref=jingo-submo
Here's the ruleset
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Possibilus the Wise
Possibilus gives my melee attackers reach and trample. Possibilus also gives +2 health to all my monsters.
Tank: Frozen Soldier
At level 1 Frozen Soldier is not great against magic attacks, but with the shield ability Frozen Soldier is quite strong against everything else.
1st position: Coastal Sentry
At level 1 Coastal sentry comes with double strike, 3 melee and 3 speed just like Grund. The starting health is only 6 but the difference is accounted for by 1 armor and the 2 health from Possibilus.
With Possibilus I'm able to place Coastal Sentry behind my tank for a little protection because there's no void, shild or dodge ability for protection which means that Coastal Sentry is generally not an ideal tank for the same reasons that Grund isn't. It's a defensive liability.
One of the big questions that I had regarding the combination of double strike and trample was if Coastal Sentry would swing twice on the second monster it attacks. The answer is no. If Coastal Sentry finishes a monster with it's second attack, it will trample through for 1 additional attack on the next monster in line.
If a double striker finishes a monster with it's first attack then the second attack already goes to the next monster in line. So if Coastal Sentry finishes a monster with the first attack there will already be a second attack but the trample ability will still kick in and give Coastal Sentry a third attack.
Here's another battle with an example of 1 attack to the first monster and 2 attacks to the second monster
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_666902e01450062020f241dfeae37f22&ref=jingo-submo
It all adds up to a lot of damage.
2nd position: Creeping Ooze
Creeping Ooze slows down all of my opponent's monsters.
3rd position: Chicken
Furious Chicken soaks up an attack and costs 0 mana.
4th position: Hardy Stonefish
Hardy Stonefish is here as a rear tank to soak up a couple of rear attacks in case my opponent has some sneak attacks.
Did we win?
Yes. Possibilus tends to have some pretty lopsided games. Many end up being complete blowouts on one side or the other. The same is still true with Coastal Sentry and I was fortunate to blow out my opponent here.
Do I like Coastal Sentry?
Yes! I already liked Grund and this effectively makes Grund available in the water splinter where there are more advantageous pairings available.
What will I try differently next time?
I'm not sure that Frozen Soldier was the best option for me here. I could have used Serpent of Eld in the tank position and left Hardy Stonefish off the back line.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game.