Summoner Focus

In this week's Social Media Challenge, I want to highlight one of the Summoners from the Life Splinter: ILTHAIN! This Summoner frequently appears in battles featuring the Going The Distance ruleset, where only Monsters with the Ranged attack are permitted on the battlefield!

The Going The Distance ruleset is a relatively recent addition, introduced sometime last year. It certainly amplified the effectiveness of the ILTHAIN Summoner from the Chaos Legion Edition. Unfortunately, I don't have this Summoner in my collection, so I can only admire those who can deploy him during the Going The Distance ruleset!

Ability Focus

+1 Speed - Each Monster in the lineup receives a Speed buff of +1

Return Fire - When hit with a Ranged attack,
Monsters with Return Fire will return reduced damage back to their attacker

The Battle

While fulfilling my responsibilities in the Splinterlands scholarship account I have with Balthazar, bltzr-wizard-729, I was able engage in a battle against Summoner ILTHAIN especially in the Going The Distance ruleset. To get right into the action, the battle link can be found here. Otherwise, do read on as I go into more detail regarding the lineup and fight.

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Let's start by examining the rules that govern this battle. It's a fairly simple match with just two rulesets in play. Firstly, we have the Going The Distance ruleset, which permits only units with Ranged attacks. Secondly, there's the Reverse Speed ruleset, which essentially flips the order of Speed, making the Monster with the lowest Speed attack first and have the greatest chance of dodging attacks. This matchup imposes a mana cap of 43 and restricts the use of only the Fire and Life Splinters.

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Summoner, General Sloan

Given the restriction to only the Fire and Life Splinters, I chose the Life Splinter due to its stronger synergy with the Going The Distance ruleset, which permits only units with Ranged attacks on the battlefield. However, since I lack the ability to deploy ILTHAIN, I had to settle for General Sloan in this instance. The Summoner provides a +1 Range buff, offering potentially valuable tactical advantages in this battle 😄

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First Position, Drybone Raider

The Drybone Raider holds a special place as one of my favored Soulbound Reward cards, and I was fortunate to acquire a Gold Foil version in one of my End Of Season Reward Chests! This versatile Monster can execute both Melee and Ranged attacks, making it eligible for battles governed by the Going The Distance ruleset. Placing it in the first position restricts the use of its Range attack, yet I can still leverage its Melee capabilities, especially enhanced by the Double Strike ability 💪

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Second Position, Gargoya Devil

The Gargoya Devil was positioned in the second slot due to its Close Range ability, enabling it to utilize its Ranged attack effectively even from the first position when required. Additionally, this Monster possesses the Flying ability, further enhancing its evasion rate by 25%. With a mana cost of 7, the Gargoya Devil boasts impressive stats: a 4 Range attack, 3 Speed, 2 Armor, and 5 Health, making it a well-rounded unit in the lineup! 😝

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Third Position, Xenith Archer

Moving on to the third position, we introduce the Xenith Archer, representing the Neutral Splinter. This Monster serves as an invaluable utility unit, as it can be chosen irrespective of Splinter restrictions, costing the team setup only 2 mana. I must say, for its cost of 2 mana, this unit offers commendable stats: a 2 Range attack, 4 Speed, and 5 Health! 😜

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Fourth Position, Prismologist
Fifth Position, Pelacor Arbalest

Following that, we have the primary attackers in the lineup: the Prismologist and the Pelcaor Arbalest! These two Monsters wield immense destructive power in their attacks. The Prismologist boasts the Blast ability, dealing additional damage to adjacent units of the target, while the Pelacor Arbalest possesses the Double Strike ability, enabling it to inflict 6 Range damages in a single round! 🤝

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Last Position, Venari Crystalsmith

In this battle, the Venari Crystalsmith emerges as the standout performer, playing a pivotal role in shaping the outcome with its invaluable support ability. The Venari Crystalsmith employs its Tank Heal ability to prolong the lifespan of my tank, the Drybone Raider, a critical element in this encounter, as I'll elaborate on in the following section when we dive deeper into the battle analaysis! 😊

The Analysis

Upon encountering the Going The Distance ruleset specified for this battle, I swiftly examined my opponent's previous battle history prior to our matchup. It immediately became apparent that I was in for a tough challenge upon discovering that my opponent had utilized the ILTHAIN Summoner in one of their last five battles 😖

Facing a team led by the ILTHAIN always signifies trouble, particularly in the Going The Distance ruleset, where the Summoner bestows the entire lineup with the Return Fire ability. With this ability in play, attackers effectively sustain damage with every Ranged attack dealt, turning each turn into a potential suicide mission! 😩

_{My core attackers, Prismologist and Pelacor Arbalest, essentially brought about their own demise through their destructive power.}

Emerging victorious against an ILTHAIN appears insurmountable, especially within the confines of the Going The Distance ruleset. However, hope was not lost, as another ruleset governing this battle intervened to my advantage! The Reverse Speed ruleset, which effectively reverses all Speed-related mechanics, came to my aid. With ILTHAIN'S +1 Speed buff for the lineup, it inadvertently inflicted more harm upon the opponent's team than providing a beneficial boost!

_{I was able to take down the opponent's Drybone Raider before it even has a turn in the battle}

On the other hand, my Drybone Raider managed to evade the adverse effects of the Return Fire bestowed by ILTHAIN by solely employing Melee attacks from its placement in the first position. Right from the outset of the battle, I recognized that this would be my sole saving grace upon realizing that the opponent would undoubtedly deploy the Summoner ILTHAIN for this encounter!

Recognizing that the Drybone Raider is my sole hope for a slim chance of victory in this battle, the support of Venari Crystalsmith's Tank Heal to sustain the tanker's lifespan became increasingly crucial!

What do you guys think about this? Was luck on my side? Do share your comments below 😎

If you made it this far, I sincerely appreciate your time and value your encouragement. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions so that we can discuss about other strategies. Thinking about giving Splinterlands a try but haven't signed up yet? Feel free to use my referral link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=ak08, and be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions!

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Are you interested in reading some of my future writings? Don't forget to follow me! In the meantime, here are some of my most recent blogs if you'd like to view them:

CLOSE RANGE CONQUEST: UNLEASHING THE EVER-HUNGRY SKULL!	A DEEP DIVE INTO BATTLE STRATEGIES WITH DUMACKE ORC!
LUCKY VICTORIES: OVERCOMING THE ODDS AGAINST A FORMIDABLE BYZANTINE KITTY!	TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE EQUALIZING FACTOR! (Latest Blog)

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All banners, dividers card and battle images used in this article are open source and obtained from the Splinterlands team or made by flauwy. Do check out his link for other amazing designs!