Beware the monster lurking at the bottom of the ocean.
That’s the message the Deeplurker sends its opponents on the battlefield. Armed with the ability to Poison and Demoralize its opponents, the Deeplurker is also an opportunistic monster that’s always ready to seize easy prey that crosses its path.
But before we get into the battles, let's get to know the Deeplurker.
The Deeplurker
The Deeplurker is a common card from the Water Splinter that has been recently introduced as part of the Chaos Legion edition of cards.
Maxed at level 10, it packs a powerful punch with 5 melee attack, 4 speed, and 7 life points. It also brings a deadly combination of abilities with Opportunity at level 1, Poison at level 6, and Demoralize at level 10.
Like most opportunity cards, the Deeplurker has the ability to attack from any position and target the monster with the lowest health. This makes it a good addition during the Fog of War ruleset where Opportunity (and possibly Scattershot) is the only ability that allows you to attack the back row.
It’s also a useful ability during Melee Mayhem, Up Close & Personal, and Super Sneak rulesets where melee monsters have an advantage in battle. This is especially true if you’re playing in Diamond Leagues or above where the Deeplurker unlocks its Demoralize ability.
However, what makes the Deeplurker especially dangerous is that it has the Poison ability at level 6 and has high attack damage even at level 1.
This means that the Deeplurker can be pretty deadly, especially in lower leagues. After all, it’s not every day you encounter a 4-attack damage monster at level 5 for the Silver League, or a 5-attack monster with Poison at level 8 for the Gold league.
Thus, if your monster is hit by the Deeplurker, there’s a chance that it will not survive for long, if at all. Odds are, if a monster is not eliminated from its high damage, the Poison might get the job done on the next round. And since there has yet to be a cleanse ability for the back row, poisoned monsters will not survive for long.
Here are the monster's stats per level.
So, given all these abilities, how do you go about using the Deeplurker in battle? Here are 3 strategies with accompanying battles to show the best way to get the Deeplurker working to your advantage.
Strategy #1: The Deeplurker as Finisher
Let’s start with the basics, using the Deeplurker in the role of finisher to eliminate all low-health monsters with his Opportunity ability. However, instead of just adding the Deeplurker to your team, why not add it to a team where all attacks are focused on one target.
The Deeplurker in a Water Splinter vs. Death Death Splinter battle.For this battle, the limit is 46 mana, with only the Water and Death Splinters active, and the Target Practice and Lost Magic rulesets apply.
Leaning into the Target Practice ruleset, I decided to build a Water Splinter team with Kelya Fredul and a set of ranged monsters, while the opponent went the other direction and built an anti-snipe team with Zintar Mortalis and a mostly melee set of Death Splinter monsters.
The idea was to focus all attacks on snipe, with the Deeplurker adding to the attack of my snipe monsters or finishing off the low-health ones. Of course, it was just my luck that the opponent went the opposite direction and built a team with just one ranged monster I can snipe at.
Nonetheless, my strategy worked. For the most part, my ranged monsters and the Deeplurker attacked the same target creating a concentrated attack on one monster.
The only exception was during Rounds 2 and 3 when the Deeplurker’s Opportunity forced him to go after the Corrupted Pegasus in second position, while the rest of my monsters targeted the Lord of Darkness in the first position.
In the end, my team’s attacks were more effective and efficient with all monsters attacking every round and making every hit count.
Here is a link to the battle.
Strategy #2: The Double Opportunity Attack
When it comes to Splinterlands battles, the Double-Tap strategy is an often-used one, especially with Sneak and Snipe monsters. However, this isn’t always the case with Opportunity monsters, especially in the Water Splinter. At least, not until the release of Chaos Legion.
The Deeplurker and Battering Ram in a Double Opportunity AttackFor this battle, the limit is 34 mana, all Splinters except Fire are active, and the Fog of War and Up Close & Personal rulesets apply. Good conditions to use the Deeplurker since the Opportunity ability has an advantage during both Fog of War and Up Close & Personal rulesets.
In building my team, I paired the Deeplurker with the Battering Ram as my main attackers. I chose this attack combination because the Battering Ram with his Shatter ability can help rid the opponent of his armor. I also used Kelya Fredul as summoner for the additional armor.
How did the battle go?
With both teams using The Kraken as a tank and absorbing all the attacks from opponent monsters, it was a race to see who can eliminate the Kraken first. In this case, the opponent’s heavy hitters prevailed.
However, at the same time, my Deeplurker succeeded in applying poison to the other team’s main tank, allowing my low-attack Battering Ram to eliminate the opponent’s tank right after I lost mine.
At this point, Kelya Fredul’s +1 armor proved useful in shielding my team from the opponent’s attacks. This allowed my low-health monsters (a Creeping Ooze and a level 1 Horny Toad) to absorb and survive multiple melee attacks from the Feasting Seaweed and Wave Runner, while my Opportunity attackers finished off the opponent’s monsters one at a time.
Here is the battle in action.
Strategy #3: The Deeplurker in a Sneak Attack
Want to know a secret?
It’s not really a secret... but, under the Super Sneak ruleset, all melee attackers in the back row, including monsters with the reach and opportunity abilities, will sneak and attack the opponent in the last position.
This means monsters like the Serpentine Spy, Screeching Vulture, and Deeplurker will prioritize their newly acquired Sneak ability over their Opportunity ability.
Depending on your team, this could be good or bad. Bad if you didn’t want your Opportunity monster to sneak in the first place. Good, if you meant for it to.
The Deeplurker as a Sneak Attacker For this battle, the mana limit is 34, only the Water and Dragon splinters active, and with the Super Sneak and Lost Legendaries rulesets.
With the Super Sneak ruleset, I built a lineup that was made to maximize a sneak attack. Thus, I chose Kelya Fredul as summoner and the Diemonshark as tank. I then added monsters like the Demented Shark, Coral Wraith, Angelic Mandarin,and Merdaali Guardian.
Together, these monsters have a combination of Inspire, Thorns, Rust, Triage, and Repair abilities—all of which will make sure my sneak attackers are effective, efficient, and will last long in battle.
How did it go?
As expected, the Deeplurker attacked the monster in last position instead of the low-health ones. This is exactly what I wanted. Thus, with the help of the Angelic Mandarin, which kept it alive round after round, my team was able to eliminate the opponent’s team in 3 rounds, losing only the Demented Shark in the process.
Here is the battle in action.
Deadlier than most?
With its high melee attack, poison and demoralize abilities, and better than average health (at least compared to most opportunity monsters), the Deeplurker appears to combine the attack power of the Serpentine Spy with the health of the Dragon Jumper, albeit with a slightly slower speed.
This powerful combination of basic stats and abilities has helped the Deeplurker make a huge difference in the battles above.
As seen in the battles above, the Deeplurker seems to be most useful in conditions where melee monsters have the advantage and when it makes sense to attack the backline. This includes rulesets like Melee Mayhem, Super Sneak, Up Close & Personal, and Fog of War, among others.
The Deeplurker also seems to work the best with Kelya Fredul whose summoner buffs benefit melee attack monsters the most.
However, it is important to note that the Deeplurker still has some vulnerabilities.
Like all Opportunity monsters, it can be neutralized by a monster with the Taunt ability. In the second battle, for example, the Deeplurker on both teams had to work to eliminate The Kraken before it could attack the back row.
Final Musings
Whether it is paired with another opportunity monster or used to finish off low-health monsters, when used correctly, the Deeplurker is almost unstoppable in battle. At least when the conditions are favorable.
As one of the new additions from the Chaos Legion, it is therefore one monster you might want to get your hands on to keep your Water deck competitive in the age of Chaos.
Otherwise, you’ll always be wondering what’s lurking at the bottom of the ocean.
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Notes and Disclaimer:
The cover art was created using images from Splinterlands and Canva Pro. And this post was written to participate in Splinterlands's Share Your Battle Weekly Challenge.