These Bloodsuckers Will Take You Down and Out!

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(Edited)

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When I was thinking about the title, I wonder what does it mean by they'll be taking you out. Would they take you out for dinner? Or knock ya out then have you for dinner? Guess we'll never know!

This post is my submission to Splinterlands' Weekly Battle Challenge: Soul Strangler. You haven't made your post yet? You better be quick! Submissions are only accepted until 12 PM CDT. Read about the challenge here!


Soul Strangler's Lore

Before the chaos gate opened, the towered city of Darkholde was peaceful and quiet. Situated in the cold, Blackworth mountain range, it was presided over by a long-standing noble family and governed by Baron Kutziq Neculai. If the citizens knew the truth about their governor, then maybe they wouldn’t have been so loyal, but the Baron’s tastes were sated with great restraint and he truly did care for them, taking only what he must and never more than he had to. For Kutziq was a vampire, a race as ancient as the stones they’d used to build the city. A man who loved his people in many ways, including their unique flavour.

The soul strangler is a creature of nobility, of good stock and incredible wealth. They live in lavish opulence, wearing the finest attire and moving in the most sophisticated of circles, often engaging with the high born from other cities and enjoying intimate gatherings that last for days.

However, when this vampire chooses to hunt, they take on whole new guise, almost shifting their form to become more accomplished for the chase. Pointed ears extend refining their hearing and their eyes change colour affording the ability to see in the dark – their preferred time to hunt. Long fangs grow from their mouth and vicious talons sprout from their fingers. But what you can’t see in either form is the power they hold within their mind, an ability to attack at a spiritual level when they eventually find their adversary, squeezing the very life from them; a ranged attack that if not avoided, will have devastating consequences.


The Soul Strangler looks very handy for low mana battles. It has 2 ranged attack, 2 speed and 2 health. The only thing to worry about this card is that it has a low HP and it could easily be taken down by monsters with the Opportunity ability.

A 1 BCX Soul Strangler costs around 200 DEC in the Splinterlands marketplace.


Death vs Death? Let's see how lucky can we get. Here is the replay link for the whole match.

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Ruleset

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Mana Cap: 58
Target Practice: All Ranged and Magic attack monsters have the Snipe ability
Heavy Hitters: All monsters have the Knock Out ability
Splinters Available: All except for Water and Earth Splinters

With a large mana cap, the first thing you'd think is to use a Yodin Zaku. But I was running a Death Focus and decided that I could perhaps try out a ranged team. I imagined it could send me laughing with another L or surprise me with a W.

Team Composition

PositionCardMana CostStatsAbilities
1st Cursed Windeku 6 Level 3
3 Melee Attack
3 Speed
10 Health
Thorns
2nd Sand Worm 9 Level 2
5 Melee Attack
2 Speed
5 Health
Sneak
3rd Grim Reaper 6 Level 1
3 Ranged Attack
2 Speed
3 Health
Affliction
4th Soul Strangler 3 Level 2
2 Ranged Attack
3 Speed
2 Health
N/A
5th Dhampir Stalker 7 Level 2
3 Ranged Attack
3 Speed
5 Health
True Strike
6th Gargoya Devil 7 Level 2
1 Melee Attack
2 Speed
1 Health
Flying
Close Range

At the very least, I wanted to optimize the output of my overall ranged damage. This is why I made a silly decision to pick 4 of them without thinking that I could get sniped first! The Sand Worm could have been anything but I wanted the damages to be flying all over. Downright degen plays, don't you think?

Enemy Team Composition

PositionCardMana CostStatsAbilities
1st Cursed Windeku 6 Level 1
2 Melee Attack
3 Speed
9 Health
Thorns
2nd Bone Golem 7 Level 1
3 Melee Attack
1 Speed
2 Armor
6 Health
Void
3rd Mantoid 6 Level 1
2 Ranged Attack
2 Speed
5 Health
Snipe
4th Disintegrator 7 Level 1
2 Melee Attack
1 Speed
2 Armor
5 Health
Demoralize
5th Supply Runner 6 Level 1
2 Ranged Attack
3 Speed
4 Health
N/A
6th Dhampir Stalker 7 Level 1
3 Ranged Attack
2 Speed
5 Health
True Strike

I have no proper words to describe what was happening here. Maybe they were in a rush or maybe this was a strategy I did not know of! This match went as quickly as it started. Too long could have been agonizing.


Match Breakdown

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Round 1:

What is happening?! I asked while the round was progressing. There was just too much going on! Soul Strangler and Gargoya Devil took down the Mantoid; The Dhampir Stalker singlehandedly sent the Supply Runner to rest and the Sand Worm wasn't even too sneaky with taking the enemy Stalker down. Kudos to them, he took down my Grim Reaper before dying. Guess they weren't going out without dragging someone else along!

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Round 2:
Their Cursed Windeku can't do anything but accept its fate. The Soul Strangler sends it back to where it belongs. The Bone Golem was able to survive the onslaught of my team while the Disintegrator is left vulnerable without its shields.

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Round 3: Victory!
The Gargoya Devil finishes the Bone Golem off; the Strangler and the Stalker tag teams to send the Disintegrator to the grave!


Final Notes:

The Soul Strangler, when played right can help you secure your victory. I would consider picking it up for Equalizer and Target Practice but I would avoid it in scenarios when I think the enemy would be using a card with the Opportunity ability.

It's not necessarily my favorite card to pull when Death is an option but thanks to this challenge, I will try to see more scenarios where it could shine.


How are you going to use Soul Strangler? Let me know! And hey, thanks for hanging out 'ere. I'll see you next week!


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YGG Splinterlands' goal is to empower players to be successful in the ecosystem. If you are a player who has invested in their decks and looking for a guild or, a guild that's looking to get into the YGGSPL Alliance, hop on to our Discord server!

Arc (arcgspy)

Arc likes to play games on and off the blockchain when she's not lurking around Hive/Wax.
She currently plays Valorant, 7 Days to Die, Rising Star and Splinterlands among other games.
Do come over her Twitch stream to chill or participate in occasional giveaways!

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Thanks for sharing great content!

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Nice writeup. The Soul Strangler is a really cost effective glass cannon. He's amazing in low mana battles if the opponent has no snipe/sneak/opportunity units.

!PIZZA

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