Catotune's Top Battles Rundown: Gold league, Modern format - Aug 30, 2023

In this series, I analyze the top battles of the day to reveal which summoners and monsters are most successful for a given league and format. What better way to improve our Splinterlands skills than to study what the best players are doing?

For those of us who buy, rent, or rent out cards, I'm also hoping that this series can inform us of which cards to acquire for maximum effectivenes.

Stay tuned for a new report to be published daily, each covering the top battles for a different league and format!

For simplicity I threw out matches ending in draws and surrender - all data is compiled from wins and losses. Here are the results from 105 of the top Gold league (modern format) battles from Wednesday, August 30, 2023:

Monsters with highest win rate

1. Merdhampir - Water splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [4/4]
   

   
   
   Merdhampir is a Common monster card from the Reward edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, finding itself on the victorious team for all 4 games in which Merdhampir appeared.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, watch Hive account@zdemo12's battle, where they beat their opponent with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Reward edition Merdhampir card is $0.01 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Disintegrator - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Disintegrator is a Common monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, finding itself on the victorious team for all 3 games in which Disintegrator appeared.
   • You could take a moment to watch Hive account@ts-warrior's battle history to learn how they accomplished a win using this card ^[1].
   • When used in combination with the Are You Not Entertained? ruleset, Disintegrator won twice.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Disintegrator card is $0.06 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Goblin Dartling - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Goblin Dartling is a Common monster card from the Dice edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful during the top Gold league (modern) battles today, finding itself on the winning team for all 3 games in which Goblin Dartling appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, take a moment to view Hive account@zawarrior's previous battle, where they defeated their opponent with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Dice edition Goblin Dartling card is $0.10 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Most winning monsters with at least 10 battles

(Excluding any monsters already featured in the "highest win rate" section above)

1. Halfling Alchemist - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 81.82% [9/11]
   

   
   
   Halfling Alchemist is an Epic monster card from the Promo edition.
   The card at level 4 achieved the most success in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, finding itself on the winning team for 5 games.
   • You may find it educational to study Hive account@hellslash's battle history, where they beat their opponent 5 times with Halfling Alchemist ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}.
   • When used in combination with the Silenced Summoners ruleset, Halfling Alchemist won 3 times.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Halfling Alchemist card is $20.99 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Vruz - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 73.33% [11/15]
   

   
   
   Vruz is a Common monster card from the Promo edition.
   In today's top Gold league (modern) battles, the card at level 8 achieved the most success, being a member of the victorious team for 9 games.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, observe Hive account@hellslash's battles, where they beat their opponent 4 times using Vruz ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}.
   • When paired with the Close Range ruleset, Vruz won twice.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Vruz card is $0.36 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Fungus Fiend - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 71.43% [10/14]
   

   
   
   Fungus Fiend is a Legendary monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 1 achieved the most success in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, being a member of the victorious team for 5 games.
   • Fungus Fiend did best when positioned as the team's tank (first spot), where it saw 5 wins.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, take a moment to view Hive account@queenstarr's battle history, where they won 2 games using this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Close Range ruleset, Fungus Fiend saw 4 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Fungus Fiend card is $1.81 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Summoners with highest win rate

1. Scarred Llama Mage - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Scarred Llama Mage is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 3 was most successful in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, winning all 3 games in which Scarred Llama Mage appeared.
   • You could take a look at Hive account@queenstarr's battle history to learn how they defeated their opponents 2 times using this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Close Range ruleset, Scarred Llama Mage earned 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Scarred Llama Mage card is $117.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Wizard of Eastwood - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Wizard of Eastwood is a Rare summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 6 was most successful in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, winning all 2 games in which Wizard of Eastwood appeared.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, observe Hive account@queenstarr's battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Wizard of Eastwood card is $0.71 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Helios Matriarch - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [1/1]
   

   
   
   
   Note that while this card has a 100% win rate, it is based on only 1 match.

   Helios Matriarch is a Rare summoner card from the Soulbound Rewards edition.
   The card at level 6 was used in one match by Hive account@mr-satan, which it won.
   
   

Most winning summoners with at least 10 battles

(Excluding any summoners already featured in the "highest win rate" section above)

1. Byzantine Kitty - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 73.33% [22/30]
   

   
   
   Byzantine Kitty is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   In today's top Gold league (modern) battles, the card at level 3 achieved the most success, winning 21 games.
   • You may want to study Hive account@hellslash's previous battles to see how they pulled off 7 wins with Byzantine Kitty ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]}.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Byzantine Kitty card is $210.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Yodin Zaku - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 63.64% [14/22]
   

   
   
   Yodin Zaku is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   In today's top Gold league (modern) battles, the card at level 3 achieved the most success, winning 12 games.
   • You may want to watch Hive account@queenstarr's battles to see how they pulled off 3 wins using Yodin Zaku ^{[1, 2, 3]}.
   • When used in combination with the Aim True ruleset, Yodin Zaku earned 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Yodin Zaku card is $149.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Quix the Devious - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 40.00% [10/25]
   

   
   
   Quix the Devious is a Legendary summoner card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 3 achieved the most success in today's top Gold league (modern) battles, winning 9 games.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, see Hive account@nyz3's battle history, where they defeated their opponent 2 times with Quix the Devious ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Close Range ruleset, Quix the Devious saw 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Quix the Devious card is $8.42 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Splinters with highest win rate

1. Dragon
   Win rate: 57.75% [41/71]
   

   
   
   Dragon splinter had the most success against Dragon, beating its identical element 24 times in today's top Gold league (modern) battles.

   • This splinter performed well with the Explosive Weaponry ruleset, where Dragon emerged victorious 5 times.

   • Dragon splinter held its own in high mana cap battles (greater than 56 mana), defeating the enemy in 10 of those matches.
     
     

2. Fire
   Win rate: 57.14% [16/28]
   

   
   
   Fire splinter had the most success against Fire, beating its identical element 4 times in today's top Gold league (modern) battles.
   • This splinter performed well with the Aim True ruleset, where Fire prevailed 2 times.
     
     

3. Earth
   Win rate: 51.28% [20/39]
   

   
   
   Earth splinter had the most success against Earth, beating its own element 6 times in today's top Gold league (modern) battles.

   • This splinter was effective with the Close Range ruleset, where Earth prevailed 3 times.

   • Earth splinter held its own in low mana cap battles (16 mana or lower), defeating the enemy in 6 of those matchups.
     
     

Final thoughts

Please feel free to leave me feedback in the comments. If you are new to Splinterlands, then please consider using my referral link to get started! It is a ton of fun to play, and you can earn SPS and win NFT cards every day!

If you want to know where to buy or rent any of the cards listed in this report, I personally like Monster Market (not a referral link), a 3rd party marketplace that has a great user interface and pays you DEC back on purchases.

- Catotune