(C) I do not claim ownership of the picture and ownership is given to the original publisher.
Hey everyone! Hyde here again with another article regarding improving one's gameplay. Previously, I posted an article regarding Champion league lineups that you guys can use AND NOW this article is meant to help you guys out on things that you can think about before you start submitting those teams instead of just spamming mylor in every game.
Now a little info. about me...
I am hyde-20. I started playing the game August last year and throughout my Splinterlands journey, I've managed to place in the Top 10 of Bronze, Top 2 of Silver, Top 3 of Gold, Top 25 of Diamond, and this season, managed to reach Top 2 of Champion league 3 days before the season ends (But I usually drop down to just Top 25-50 since I can't play during the last days due to being a renter only).
Let's begin.
A. What is the ruleset/s and mana cap?
(C) Image from Splinterlands Wiki
As simple as it sounds, always consider the ruleset/s and mana cap of the match that you are having. Strategies must adapt as the conditions of the match change. You can't just spam non-flying units on an Earthquake ruleset or else you'll be risking 2 damage per turn. You can't also just place utility units like Truthspeaker on Back to Basics ruleset because of the fact that it'll simply be an ability-less meatshield. A lot of lineups are boosted with the right rulesets just like Llama Kron in bronze/silver league being uncounterable by Mustang+Healers combo anymore. As such, your strategy should adapt with the conditions of the match. As seen in this photo, I used a sustain+ Llama Gelatin Cube lineup in a poison ruleset. I wouldn't lost to Genta24's Yodin lineup if not for the poison. Ruleset/s and mana cap matters!!
Match Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_9553c422f7194b699ece2ee7d8fd8d73&ref=hyde-20
B. What Lineups Can You Make?
By the time you checked the ruleset/s and mana cap, you begin to think what lineups can you use? Consider a No Magic Ruleset and only Fire and Water are often in 99 mana. What lineups can you use there? Do you have a Yodin lineup that you can field? Do you have a Lir lineup in order to counter ranged units? It is very important to keep track of the owned/rented cards in your collection because it is very important to know what you have in order to determine your strategy as you are done checking the conditions of the match. What lineups do I have that would increase my chances of winning in this ruleset? Always ask yourself that. It is very simple but it allows us to proceed with the next tips. The ruleset in the image below is a Poison and No Magic ruleset. By checking the ruleset/s and mana cap, I looked into my collection and determined that I could use a Byz Life Magic Sustain Lineup that can heal and ignore the poison while being able to duke out large amounts of magic damage. Winning me the match.
Match Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_65aacfbf63faf24f2084494bd970563f&ref=hyde-20
C. What lineups does your opponent use?
As you are done thinking about your lineup, you begin thinking what can my opponents use? This is where the recent matches feature of matchmaking become handy. Check your opponent's recent matches. The names of our enemies are hidden but it can give us important information regarding our climbs especially when climbing in the leaderboards like I do. There is a big edge in using the recent matches feature to determine if you are fighting against a casual grinder just spamming one splinter for focus chests vs fighting against a potential leaderboard climber using multiple splinters and different lineups in their matches. This crucial piece of information would allow us to potentially setup counters like the one I used in the image below. In Tameshon's recent matches, I noticed that he is spamming dragon splinters (Maybe for his daily focus), this allowed to determine that he can possibly use either Quix or Byz for this match which makes it safe for me to go with a Full Valnamor Magic lineup without fear of encountering potential counters like Owster or Mimosa.
Match Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_ba50fa231c4129ec0d4be8d340ae5a90&ref=hyde-20
D. What Are The “Meta” Lineups Applicable To The Ruleset/s And Mana cap?
This is a tiny bit "advanced" but as you move forward with the game, you would notice that there actually Meta lineups available which have a higher rate of winning compared to other lineups. What are these? Some you would notice are the Yodin Aggressive Speed Spam lineups in silver-champ, the Kraken Sustain lineup, and the Mimosa Debuff Party lineup in silver-champ as well.There are a lot of meta lineups out there. Knowing about them will boost your winrate GREATLY. A good source material for learning what the meta lineups are is checking the Top Battles feature in the Main Page of the Splinterlands Website. Check what the leaderboard players like me use and you'll see that there are lineups that are often fielded. Like the image below, it is a 14 Mana No Armor and Earthquake ruleset with only Death and Earthquake ruleset. I know that Llama Hydra in 14 mana in Champ rocks, however it is still at risk of being countered BUT fortunately, due to the rulesets, the Hydra is safe from counters because Brighton Bloom can't be used and it is a No Armor ruleset so Hydra can just chomp its way without fear of counters like armor and healers due to the rulesets. Digital-Wisdom thought of it the same too, however he lost because I am also considering that he will go Llama Hydra so I placed a Fiend in front to counter him if ever he goes Llama Hydra as well, which he did (A hydra without fiend loses to a hydra with fiend ALWAYS). Considering the fact that your enemies can use meta lineups as well will be a big boost which we're talking about in the next tip.
Match Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_2a9c515312ec886bf9a45d60a9430f34&ref=hyde-20
E. How will you counter if the enemy uses a meta lineup as well?
Keep in mind that you are not the only one who can use meta lineups. When you are climbing for leaderboards, you must expect to know that other competitive players are also aware of them so it is not enough that you can just use meta lineups, but you MUST also know how to counter Meta Lineups as well. It takes some time to get into the level of predicting if your opponent is gonna be using a Meta Lineup as well, but once you learned it, it will help you win even against the Top 10 of any league. The match in the image below is against the Top 1 of Champion league last season: Vettev. In a 12 mana enraged ruleset with only Life, Water, Death, and Dragon available, the possible meta lineups available are: Life/Water sneak spam and Selenia Ranged. Considering that there is an enraged ruleset, I figured that the probabilities of Vettev using a sneak spam is higher in order to make the most out of the enrage. This leaves us with the question: What will he use? A Water or Life sneak spam? Water means Kelya and the +1 speed would mean that he can reach higher speeds with enraged. That is why I went with Lorna Sacred Unicorn instead with a ton of meatshields in the back to potentially slow down sneak spam units. Vettev wasn't able to clear my backline fast enough because in 12 mana, the most sneaks you can use are 3 (full life sneak) but he went with Water so it's only 2. Using Kelya also means that he is very vulnerable to my Sacred Unicorn with Pierce so my Sacred Unicorn just poked each armor out of his "tanks" that I turned into Unicorn food. That is often how I think. What are the meta lineups that I can use and what are the meta lineups that my opponents can use as well? How do I counter it?
Match Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_c3e591c29b6c6624da2c0f15f295c046&ref=hyde-20
In summary, always remember to Check the Conditions (Ruleset/s and Mana Cap) of the Match. Keep in mind the lineups that you got in your deck and the lineups that your opponents can use. What are the Meta Lineups that can best win you the game and how do you counter those Meta lineups if your opponent can use the same as well? Keeping those tips in mind would allow you to field in better teams with the knowledge that you are using the ruleset/s and mana cap to your advantage while being one or two moves ahead of your enemy when it comes to the lineup used.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and good luck with those battles!!