Hello, Splinterlands Friends!
We're back and ready to take on another weekly challenge to test our battling skills. This is actually my second post; unfortunately, my first submission was late and didn't qualify. But that's okay! This week, we have another opportunity to showcase one of my fights.
Another week brings another Splinterlands challenge, and this time the chosen Battle Rule is Reverse Speed. This rule gives an attack advantage to cards with lower speed points, allowing them to strike before those with higher speed. The main issue with this ruleset, and why it's not my favorite, is that it typically results in matches featuring Immortalis, as it's generally the best summoner for this rule. This often leads to monotonous gameplay due to frequent mirror matches. However, I chose this battle for a specific reason: I didn't pick Immortalis! I'll explain more in the battle summary, so without further ado, here's today's battle featuring the Reverse Speed Battle Ruleset:
First, the Rules of the Encounter:
Corrosive Fog:
All units take 1 corrosive damage each round, which means all units lose 1 armor permanently each round.
Born Again:
All monsters have the rebirth ability, resurrecting at least once.
This is how the fight looks at first glance:
It's Dragon vs. Earth. Let's take a quick look at the lineups:
My Lineup:
 | Sthispa: Dragon summoner. All friendly monsters receive the Phase Ability at the start of the battle. This was a key choice in my lineup, not for the Phase Ability, but because it allowed me to include a dragon unit. Instead of going with the obvious choice, Immortalis, I opted for a surprising and strategic pick with Sthispa. |
|---|---|
 | Mycelic Infantry: A go-to tank in this matchup with 5 damage, 1 speed, and shield for 8 mana. Both my opponent and I used the same tank. |
 | Oshuur Constantia: One of the best support cards in the game, providing heal and resurrect. A very slow unit with only 2 speed, and the reflection shield counters blast from the enemy Goblin Tower. |
 | Queen Mycelia: A top support unit with protect, rust, triage, and amplify for just 4 mana. It's a no-brainer in slow matchups with just 1 speed. |
 | Goblin Psychic: A reliable tank healer with 1 speed and silence, making it very strong in slow rulesets. |
 | Goblin Tower: The go-to damage dealer in slow rulesets, hitting for 5 ranged damage and blast for 3. Both my opponent and I chose this guy. |
 | Djinn Biljka: A small damage unit for the backline. It's not exceptional due to the enemy's likely use of void and silence, but for only 3 mana, it provides the Weaken ability, lowering enemy HP by 1. |
Enemy Lineup:
As you can see, the enemy chose a classic lineup for a slow ruleset matchup. The idea is that Mycelic Infantry will be too strong to kill with its 1 speed, void armor, and shield. However, the absence of Queen Mycelia was a critical oversight. The rust and protect combo is crucial in these matchups. While corrosive fog removes 1 armor each turn, making armor less effective, the extra healing and resurrect from Oshuur Constantia, combined with the additional armor from Queen Mycelia, proved decisive, the match was defined on turn 3 anyways.
Battle Highlights:
Turn 2: The Decisive Turn
After the first turn, the battle looks challenging as my tank has lower HP. However, with no resurrects expended yet, my Goblin Tower is about to take out their Magi of Chaos. Both tanks and several units die and resurrect, but the extra resurrect from Oshuur Constantia allows me to keep my tank alive until turn 3.
Turn 3: The End
By turn 3, the battle is effectively over. My tank is still standing, while the enemy's second unit is about to fall. My team starts delivering significant damage to the backline, securing the victory.
Conclusion:
This battle highlights the importance of strategic unit selection and understanding the ruleset. My decision to forego Immortalis in favor of Sthispa allowed me to surprise my opponent and leverage the strengths of my lineup. The inclusion of Oshuur Constantia and Queen Mycelia provided crucial support, turning the tide in my favor. By making calculated choices and surprising my opponent, I was able to secure a satisfying victory.
I hope you enjoyed this exciting battle and appreciate the depth and strategy of Splinterlands. If you want to check out the entire fight, here's the link.