Welcome guys to the Water Splinter beginner guide - PART II.
Same as in the first part of the Water Splinter Guide, we will go through some interesting cards that could help you to climb out of the Bronze league into the Silver League and beyond.
In the first part of this guide, we have covered magic and anti-magic strategy. This time I will cover Dragons and how to play them with Water Splinter. Once again I will try to focus more on cheaper cards, as it is expensive for new players to buy all those meta and legendary cards.
Prices have skyrocketed lately and it is getting increasingly hard for new players to get into the game. Luckily, a new expansion, Chaos Legion is coming soon and things will change. It is the perfect time to get into the #splinterlands and start collecting all those beautiful #nft cards. After all, this is the best #play2earn TCG you could play.
So let's get started!
For now, water is planned as a Magic Splinter and that idea is backed by some amazing magic cards like Lobstradamus, Mischievous Mermaid, Phantom of the Abyss, Ice Pixie, Medusa, and so on. There are other strategies as well but you don't see them in the Bronze league that often. Those strategies are Ranged Water and Melee Water.
Ranged Water
Or how I call it, having fun on the budget.
I am having a blast with these cards, it is really really fun. With the Ranged Water strategy, we mostly focus on archers to do the damage. Compared to the Magic strategy, we have a big problem because of ranged monsters cant attack from the first position. It means that we can't just flood the board with ranged monsters, we need to have a proper tank that will keep our ranged monsters safe in the backline.
Strategy with ranged
We want to attack the first target OR we want to have a Snipe team. We don't want to spread our attack across the whole enemy team(unless we play with the Explosion ruleset). This way we focus all our damage on one target and we drop enemy monsters one by one. Most efficient way, if you ask me. It is also a good strategy to add a magic attacker in case the opponent has some kind of ranged defense.
These are the cards that I like to use in my ranged teams:
Selenia Sky - I don't play this cards often as it is expansive to rent. Recently I managed to find one relatively cheap so I gave it a shot. And? I absolutely love it. When using Water Splinter summoners you are restricted to play magic or countering enemy magic most of the time. Dragon summoners can add another dimension to the Water Splinter. Selenia is a legendary summoner which means that she can summon top-level Bronze monsters on level one. Plus one for all ranged monsters is great as water splinter already has some pretty good ranged monsters.
Axemaster - Absolute beast when played with Selenia Sky. When buffed it has three ranged damage and Double Strike ability. This means that he will do six damage in one turn. He may break armor/shield and kills a monster. Axemaster is even better on higher levels when he gets Close Range ability. Then you can use him on the second or third spot as off-tank.
Azmare Harpoonist - I often use Harpoonist because of his high attack. Three damage unbuffed is amazing for a level one card. I am not a fan of the Snare ability, but sometimes it can come in handy. On higher levels, he gets Knock Out ability which means he is good in combination with monsters with Stun ability (Frost Giant).
Pirate Archer - An interesting card mainly because of the Blast ability. When buffed it deals two damage to the target and one damage to the monster next to it. I often use Pirate Archern in low mana matches. I often put him in a place where I do expect Snipe or Sneak attack to protect better cards.
Giant Squid - Two damage on level one is not bad. If you add a shield to that you get a decent card for the last spot in your team. That one armor will protect Giant Squid from those Sneak attacks. If you have money and mana Poseidon is a way better option for the last spot in your team.
Two Gun Pete - When it came out I didn't saw any use of this card. When played with Selenia Sky you suddenly get one mana monster with two attacks which is a pretty good filler if you ask me. He is very cheap to rent so you could maybe try to use him in some low mana games where every piece of damage matters.
Poseidon - Very expansive but worth the money (though you can rent him for 10-ish DEC per day). Amazing for the last spot in your team because of high health and Shield ability. When buffed Poseidon deals five ranged damage, and that can one-shot a lot of cards. On level two he will get an even blast and then he really shines and dominates.
Fire Spitter - Amazing card which gets you three damage unbuffed with four speed. Sometimes it really feels a bit overpowered. With Fire Spitter and Axemaster, you will most of the time do nine damage even before your opponent has the opportunity to attack. Try him out!
Lightning Dragon - A really fast monster with six base speed and three damage. I appreciate the speed but for the Bronze league, it feels a bit like overkill. Most of the time four speed is more than enough to go first and to do some damage before your opponent. The only exception is when playing against Fire Splinter with Pyre summoner. Nevertheless, a great card that I will include sometimes in my teams - probably with higher mana caps. Still, I prefer Axemaster, at least for the Bronze league.
There are many and many tanks in Water Team. I will talk only about few cheaper ones and some that I think are too good to be left out.
Sea Monster - I love this card and I am really sad that it will not be part of the "Normal" mode when Chaos Legion comes out. High health, high attack, and Heal ability are amazing. Speed is not that great unless played in the Reverse Speed ruleset. The downside is high mana cost so you can play Sea Monster with your amazing ranged backline only in higher mana rulesets.
Spineback Turtle - Great cheap tank with enough health and some armor to soak all those attacks. On a higher level, Turtle will get more armor and a bit more health. On level four it gets Thorns ability which is amazing against melee opponents. In short, a great tank that costs only four mana.
Kelp Initiate - I often use him as an off-tank, on the second spot, most of the time in combination with Spineback Turtle. That way I am extra safe that my opponent will have a hard time going through my first lines and that my ranged monsters are safe in the backline. Sometimes I even use him as the main tank - in really small mana rulesets.
Frost Giant - An iconic tank from Water Splinter. I know that Frost Giant is expansive but he is really good so I can't go around him. A lot of health combined with the **Shield **ability is amazing. He is very durable especially if you combine him with Crustacean King.
Gloridax Soldier - After all, it is a Dragon-Water combo so I will include a cheap Dragon option. Gloridax Soldier is a decent tank with Shield and Flying abilities. He would be better with a higher health pool because this way he is vulnerable to magic attacks.
Crustacean King - Amazing support card that will heal your tank. Armor is great as it will defend your Crustacean King from Opportunity attacks. If played in the Bronze league and with Selenia Sky you should level it up to level three. That way Crustacean King will have one ranged attack unbuffed which is an additional plus on Heal ability.
Furious Chicken - I will just say the same thing I said in the previous guide. Chicken is really useful to serve as a tank that will soak attack on your first line, a body that will soak Sneak or Opportunity attacks. A lot of times you can lose a game because of one attack. It is a good practice to include Furious Chicken in your empty spot.
Creeping Ooze - Same as in the first part of this guide. Speed can often make a difference between victory and defeat. That is why I use Creeping Ooze whenever I can. If you are attacking first, there is a big chance that you will knock out some enemy monsters from the game even before they have a chance to attack. Slow ability is great, but sometimes I use this card as one of my tanks that will soak that few first attacks from the opponent. When you add few tanks (Albatross, Chicken, Ooze) in the first places of your team it takes few attacks until the enemy reaches your more important monsters.
Naga Windmaster - An interesting ranged monster with Headwinds ability. I try to experiment and use this card when I think my opponent will play Yodin. That way I will suppress his archers. Naga Windmaster benefits from Selenia Sky so he has two ranged damage which is not bad. I still test this so take it with a gram of salt.
Melee Water
Same as the ranged Water strategy, melee water is a way to surprise your opponent with another way to play Water Splinter. When playing melee strategy we focus on Daria Dragonscale summoner to buff our melee monsters and increase the damage that way. Water Splinter does have some really good melee cards though you don't see them that often in the game. Most of the people who plan to play melee go for Fire Splinter because of starter summoner Malric Inferno.
Strategy with melee
Melee strategy with Dragons and Water is simple. We want to use as many melee monsters as we can with Reach, Sneak, and Opportunity abilities. That way we will increase our melee damage as much as we can. Good thing is that there are some cheaper melee cards in the Water Splinter. With this strategy, we can't focus only on the first target. We will spread our damage a little bit in some cases. Sometimes we need to make some sacrifices 😓
These are the cards that I like to use in my melee teams:
Daria Dragonscale - This summoner will enable our melee strategy. This amazing epic summoner enables us to summon level two common monsters while summoner is only level one. It does not seem like a big deal but sometimes that one level can be the difference between victory and defeat. The only downside that I see with Daria Dragonscale is increased mana cost compared to Malric Inferno. But we must realize that for that 1 mana we can tap into Dragon monsters and that can be huge.
Wave Runner - This card is going under the radar for quite some time but I am starting to be a big fan of this card. It is very cheap (0.58 USD at the moment of writing) and on level one, it has two attacks and three speed. On level three Wave Runner has five health which is decent for off-tank in Bronze. Reach ability is what makes this card viable.
Feasting Seaweed - I mentioned this card in the previous Water guide but I must cover it again. Great card for the Bronze. One speed looks like a downside but it kinda works well. Due to low speed, Feasting Seaweed will attack last and it will attack the monster with the lowest health. That gives her more chances to knock out that monster.
Manticore - I would prefer Manticore over Wave Runner in the second position only due to the bigger health pool. You lose one attack but well, in the second position we want something tankier. Flying ability is also helping Manticore to dodge some of the attacks.
Sabre Shark - Our first Sneak attacker that works amazingly with Sand Worm. We use Sabre Shark to kill armor/shield if there are any. After that, due to his lower speed, Sand Worm goes for the kill. This strategy often works like a charm. Try it out sometimes!
Dragon Jumper - An iconic monster from the Dragon Splinter. Dragon Jumper is expensive but he is worth it. When buffed, four attacks with Opportunity ability will rip through the enemy backline. The downside is that there are not that many opportunities to play him in the Bronze due to lower mana games. Overall, an absolute beast.
Gloridax Guardian - Great card for that sweet second spot. When buffed, he will do some serious damage to the first target due to Reach ability. He is great for an off-tank due to decent health and some armor that can soak one attack.
Sand Worm - Awesome budget reward card that we all use in those high mana games. In combination with Sabre Shark, his Sneak ability will enable him to clean up the enemy backline with that scary five attacks. A must-have for every deck.
I will not go through all tanks in Dragon/Water splinter as there are many. I will focus on the few that I still didn't cover earlier in this guide or Magic and Anti-Magic guide.
The Kraken - I didn't cover this iconic tank in the last Water Guide due to high market prices. A lot of people have a problem going around him in Bronze and Silver leagues because there is just not enough of the damage. When paired with Crustacean King he is a real nightmare. The amazing thing is his Taunt ability that will protect your backline from Sneak, Opportunity, and Snipe attacks.
Demented Shark - When I don't expect a lot of pressure on the first position I like to play Demented Shark for additional buff from his Inspire ability. He can take some hits due to his armor and decent health. With more levels, he will get more attack, health, and Thorns ability.
Torhilo the Frozen - Great tank when you expect some magic damage from your opponent due to his Void Shield ability or in Reverse Speed ruleset. Decent health, armor, and damage are appealing.
These are cards from Dragon and Water Splinter that look good to me. I was looking more on the cheaper side as Splinterlands are getting expensive so we all are trying to battle on the budget.
Summary
I really enjoy playing Water splinter even though it is not one of the most powerful splinters, at least not in Untamed and Dice editions. If you mix Water splinter with Dragons you can get some really unique and surprising combinations that could catch your opponents off guard. The most important thing is to remind yourself that every card in Splinterlands is useful in some way. It is on us to find the best combinations. I hope that you will try melee and ranged strategies and that you will have a lot of fun, just like me.
Other related posts
Ultimate Splinterlands Water Beginner Guide
Thank you for reading and your support. If you like this content please leave me a comment. I am planning to cover other splinters to so it is good to know if this content is of use to you.
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