Venari Knifer
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Venari Knifer is mainly interesting for its native ability, Thorns. However, because I personally tend to run Earth Melee lineups with Mylor Crowling, its Thorns ability often becomes redundant.
That being said, Venari Knifer is still a solid card to put in the backline to counter potential sneak attacks, especially at Level 6 when Backfire is added to its Thorns.
Scarred Llama Mage
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With the new Rewards System freshly implemented, the rental market quickly went crazy and, I was certainly part of it. I managed to secure a Scarred Llama for a daily cost of 20 DEC or so, which I guess wasn't too bad.
Having now a few of the Untamed Legendary Summoners in my deck undoubtedly helps expand my options, even though I am at a stage where I am still figuring out how to best put their powerful abilities into work.
The Setup
Rulesets: Fog Of War + Melee Mayhem
Mana Cap: 21
League: Gold III
Available Splinters: Life, Earth, Dragon
In this Fog Of War / Melee Mayhem setup, I realized that without Sneak, there was little chance of successfully countering a "Llama + Flesh Golem" Last Stand Combo.
This was one of the first times I've actually relied on this combo. If you can't beat them, join them. I suppose. ;)
Each Card, its Role
Failed Summoner
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I needed a cheap tank to eventually contain the first attacks. The Failed Summoner's Magic Reflect ability could also come in handy if weak Magic monsters were found hidden in the opposition's lineup.
Furious Chicken
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In the Fog Of War ruleset, we always have to keep in mind that Opportunity attacks are allowed. The Chicken was there to suck up the attack if necessary.
Venari Knifer
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Then, in Melee Mayhem, there is a good chance that Melee monsters will attack from the backline. If this was the case, they would sooner or later hurt themselves against the Venari's Thorns.
Flesh Golem
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In the following setup, the Flesh Golem was allowed to attack from the last position while not being threatened by Sneak attacks. It was there to patiently get to the front and got its stats buffed up by Last Stand.
The opposition
My opponent went with a fairly well-thought lineup.
Chain Golem was in the front to reduce the Melee attacks with its Shield, the Furious Chicken and the Creeping Ooze were in the middle acting as baits, while the Halfling Alchemist was charged to cut in half my monsters' attacks.
To complete the lineup, Lensmaster and Air Elemental were there to inflict maximum damage in a cost-effective manner in terms of Mana spent. The two combined were hitting for 5 each turn for a cost of 6 Mana only.
The whole team could consequently hit for a total of 12 every round. In comparison, mine was only hitting for 4.
The Battle
On Mobile:
https://m.splinterlands.io/#/battle/game/process/sl_5154169dddf1012a3897cd4318be86f3
On Desktop:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_5154169dddf1012a3897cd4318be86f3&ref=tt88
To begin with, the Failed Summoner and my Chicken didn't last long. They barely resisted enough to allow Venari Knifer and Flesh Golem to get partially rid of the Chain Golem's armor.
Things got better when Venari Knifer eliminated both the Furious Chicken and the Creeping Ooze, which were both leveled up with 1 Melee attack each. They both got in trouble by running into the Venari's Thorns.
Still, when Flesh Golem reached the frontline, the Chain Golem still had its HP full and, the main damage dealer when still hidden in the back. So, this was time to activate the cheat code!
Cheat Code Activated!
The Last Stand combined with the Heal of Flesh Golem turned it into a wall hard to get through. The increased Speed allowed it to dodge a few attacks, while the Heal restored 6 HP after each turn.
To win the match, my opponent's monsters had to lend all their attacks for two and a half turns consecutively (less than 10% likely). It didn't happen that way, and I ended up winning thanks to this unfair, but satisfying combo when we are the ones making use of it!
I hope you've enjoyed this battle.
See you all in the next challenge!
Thomas
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