Armored Up Modifier gives +2 armor to all units at the start of the battle. This sounds simple but it changes a lot of things in how damage works. Melee and range units must break armor first before touching health which can slow the game down. In this battle, I realized that just stacking high melee attack is not always the best answer in Armored Up Modifier but it can work when done smartly.

Modifiers

Armored Up - All Units have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor stat.

• Void Armor makes magic attacks hit armor first before damaging health. In Armored Up Modifier, this ability becomes very strong because every unit already has extra armor. This means even magic damage, which usually bypass armor, must now chew through it first. Units with Void Armor can survive much longer especially against magic heavy lineups.

5 Combos You Can Do with Armored Up Modifier

Modifier	Name	Description
	Void Armor	Magic attacks hit this Unit's armor before its Health
		- Void Armor makes magic attacks hit armor first before damaging health. In Armored Up Modifier, this ability becomes very strong because every unit already has extra armor. This means even magic damage, which usually bypass armor, must now chew through it first. Units with Void Armor can survive much longer especially against magic heavy lineups.
	Protect	All friendly Units gain +2 Armor
		- Protect gives +2 armor to all friendly units which stacks with the +2 armor from Armored Up Modifier. Protect can also stack with another Protect which makes armor even higher. In this Modifier, stacking armor creates very tanky units that are hard to kill especially if your enemies focused on melee and range attacks. If the enemy does not have magic damage or way to counter this stacking protect can be a viable strategy.
	Repair	Restores some armor to the friendly Unit whose armor has taken the most damage
		- Repair restores armor every round which is very valuable in Armored Up Modifier. Since everyone starts with more armor, restoring it again and again makes fights longer. Units with Repair can keep frontline units alive while the enemy keeps wasting damage on armor. On some occasions, you can even put an enemy with high melee or range attack in a soft lock with just a unit with Repair.
	Armored Strike	Any unit with this ability gains an ADDITIONAL Melee attack using its Armor stat
		- Armored Strike deals damage based on current armor which makes it a strong combo in Armored Up Modifier. Since units start with more armor, the damage from Armored Strike ability can be very high early in the battle. The attack is treated as melee so it can only be used in front position. If protected well, this ability can hit very hard before their armor gets reduced. For a stronger combo, you can use Armored Strike ability with a Reach ability as well.
	Rust	Reduces the Armor of all enemy Units
		- Rust reduces all enemy armor by 2 which directly counters Armored Up Modifier. If the enemy also uses Protect then Rust becomes even more important. Removing armor quickly allows melee and range units to finally deal real damage to their health. Similar to the fact that you can stack Protect and armor, you can also stack Rust ability.

Battle Breakdown

Early Game:
This battle was a little unexpectedly tricky. Among all modifiers, Armored Up is the least one that I thought I'd have a problem conceptualizing a lineup. Since everyone has armor, it's actually really bad to just spam my boosted melee units. Even if they have 6 or 7 melee attack and the enemy has 2 armor, they still won't get damaged and only the 2 armor will be removed. I can only give Piercing and True Strike to 2 units so having all of my units melee in this modifier doesn't make too sense for me. Both me and my enemy drafted a half-half melee-magic lineup. I selected some mele to make use of the Inspire, True Strike and Piercing from Captain Frankie but it's mostly magic damage to bypass the armor from Armored Up modifier.

Mid Game:
It was surprising to see how well this lineup worked. Even if I don't maximize the Inspire, the two units with the True Strike, Olivia of the Brook and Saltwraight Bulkhead did a really good job. The magic damage, although smaller, did a well job hitting directly the enemy's health. It is unfortunate though that I don't have the proper lineup to fully use in Armored Up modifier since one with Void Armor will be really good.

Late Game:
With my Saltwraith Bulkhead and Olivia of the Brook still alive, my chances of winning is high. The high melee damage with Piercing really does a lot despite being reduced by the armor from both the Armored Up modifier and their archon, Incessant Sage. I still have higher damage overall so the win, in my opinion, was inevitable.

Full Battle can be found here: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_b20c1680245fc0db0e01ed11f9cfcd4d?ref=ashenova

Closing Thoughts

Armored Up Modifier may look simple, and you are correct, but it creates very complex battles for my lineup because armor becomes the main wall to break. In this match, I balanced melee and magic damage instead of just spamming one type of attack. Units like Olivia of the Brook and Saltwraith Bulkhead did great work with True Strike and Piercing while magic units slowly chipped health. Even with extra armor from Armored Up Modifier and their archon, Incessant Sage, I maintained higher overall damage and secured the win. Armored Up Modifier teaches that mixing damage types and managing armor properly can be the key to victory even if it's not the ideal way.

Posted Using INLEO