I’ll be sharing a series of quick-and-easy deck blueprints for the complete Splinterlands beginner. This will cover a starter deck for each Splinter using only the free starter set of cards. I’ll try to add a few suggestions for low cap mana and high cap mana battles too. Some of those alternatives might be cards you need to buy, no need to do so but they might spice up your game life a bit.
Last one out in the Splinterlands Starter Deck Series is the Dragon Splinter.
This post is a bit different than the others in my Starter Deck Series, just as the Dragon splinter is a bit different. This post will not be as much of a clear cut blueprint as the other parts of the series but will contain advice, suggestions, and issues to be aware of.
The Summoner and the Strategy
This one was easy. The only free starter set Dragon summoner in Drake of Arnak. He provides a +1 Armor bonus to all friendly monsters.
As a Dragon Summoner he’s a bit more expensive to use at his cost of 4 mana. But in return you’ll get much more freedom in choosing your cards.
When choosing a Dragon splinter summoner, you’ll be prompted to select an additional Splinter to fight alongside. This means that you’ll have access to all cards in your additionally chosen Splinter as well as Neutral and Dragon cards. But first…
The Issues
Okay, so here’s the thing. Building a good Dragon deck from using the free starter set is in basically all cases not a good idea. Sorry to burst any Dragon fans bubbles.
The issue is that the main benefit of Dragon summoners is that you’ll get access to Dragon monster cards. And the free starter set doesn’t include any Dragon monster cards for you to get access to.
Playing a Dragon summoner allows you access to one chosen splinter, Neutral cards and Dragon cards. As you do not start with any Dragon cards, this benefit doesn’t apply.
The other benefit would be to use a Dragon summoner with some specific great boost. The Drake of Arnak gives a +1 Armor boost, which is quite good. But he costs 4 Mana.
If you want the +1 Armor boost, you could pick Tyrus Paladium for 3 Mana. And the Life splinter has many cards that works well with added armor, so you can definitely build a great winning Life deck without wasting the one additional mana on a Dragon summoner.
I do not want to come off like I’m bashing on the Drake or the Dragon splinter. The Dragon splinter is unique and fun, but it requires some investing to be worth playing. This criticism is only within the context of using only the free starter cards. Having access to other cards opens up a new world of opportunities for the Dragon splinter.
The Deck
Now, let’s move on to the possibilities. Let’s say that you had to play the Dragon splinter for a Daily Quest using only the free starter set. How to make it work with only the free starter set of cards?
The slightly undramatic answer is to modify one of your already winning decks a bit. Instead of choosing the standard summoner for your deck, choose the Drake of Arnak. You could try the Dragon splinter out in higher mana cap battles where the 1 Mana extra for the Drake is of little importance.
If you’re already familiar with the armor heavy Life splinter, go with the deck suggested in my Life Splinter Starter Deck, but choose the Drake of Arnak instead.
Armoring up a good Earth deck with the Drake of Arnak, such as Earth Splinter Starter Deck is a good idea. Earth monsters usually are sturdy and even more so with the added armor.
Even trying out the Drake instead of Alric in the Water Splinter Starter Deck can work well, especially combined with the Venari Wavesmith for a total of +3 armor on all friendly monsters, even those little squishy pixies. You’ll lack the extra magical damage punch, but Magic is very strong on its own, so not the worst idea.
Dragon Recommendations
Building a good Dragon deck usually is done by choosing one or two really great Dragon monsters to complement your monsters from another splinter. Which is why it’s a good idea to invest in some situationally strong Dragon monsters.
Naga Brute
The Naga Brute is a quite situational card, but it’s great to have access to. He’s slow and does no damage, but his high health combined with the Void Armor makes him a great tank against magical opponents. The fact that he does no damage can come in quite handy in rulesets that disallows Melee monsters!
Glodidax Soldier
The Gloridax Soldier is a decent cheap tank useful in certain situations. With its Flying and Shield abilities combined with his low mana cost, he’s a great tank in lower mana cap battles, especially Earthquake ruleset!
Dragon Spirit
The Dragon Spirit is a mana cheap flying no attack tank. The spirit is very quick and has Flying so it’s going to be dodging a lot of attacks. It also has high health. Combined with its cheap mana cost, this makes the Dragon Spirit a great tank for decks where you’ll want to focus your mana on adding powerful attackers in the back, such as casters, or monsters with sneak and snipe.
Robo-Dragon Knight
The Robo-Dragon Knight is one of my favorite cards in the Dragon splinter. As all Dragons, highly situational. It’s a very mana expensive card, but it’s so powerful. A lot of health and a lot of armor. He also has Void and Divine Shield making his absorb quite a lot of damage. The Robo-Dragon Knight is a great choice in really high mana cap battles.
By investing in a few of these Dragon cards you’ll get access to some really great situational cards that can truly turn the tide of a battle.
If you haven’t signed up for Splinterlands yet, I’d suggest you join in using my link: Splinterlands
I’ll see you in the Arena!
Disclaimer
This is not financial advice. Do your own research. You are responsible for your own personal decisions and your own personal economy.
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