Watching great players

If you want to make the most out of your Splinterlands collection, you have to play it yourself and win! That's what's going to make the most bang for your buck. But if you want to win, you have to study the game, otherwise you'll do nothing but waste your time, all while not earning as much as you could.

That's what we're doing in Bronze TOP BATTLES Studies: we analyze three battles from the highest MMR players, learn their strategies and try improving upon them. That's how we're going to become great players that make more money. We begin after our giveaways!

Djinn Oshannus delegation

The most upvoted comment by value in this post wins a regular foil Djinn Oshannus for the rest of the season! This is only valid until my next post is up, so participate as soon as possible.

Random common card giveaway

Additionally, a random comment is awarded a common card, which is sent to your account before my next post is created. This is only valid until my next post is up, so participate as soon as possible.

Winners from my last post

• delegation: @pix21
• common: @litrydow

Thank you for participating and I hope you join again!

@clarisse28 vs @artgin (link)

It's the very last day of the season, so we get to watch battles as players try to reel in the last few MMR points they can get. This is one of the 3000+ MMR battles, where the tiniest mistake makes too much difference.

Both players here made a crucial mistake while selecting their teams. @artgin chose Cerberus, but that's too fragile in a high mana battle. Cerberus never made it to Round 2, so its Heal ability was completely wasted. Meanwhile, @clarisse28 had their Goblin Fireballer positioned in front of the tanky Fire Demon, causing it to die too quickly, wasting potential damage.

We can also point at @clarisse28's Tusk the Wide as an unoptimized choice. He has a lot of health for his mana, but his speed is too low and Void goes to waste in a match where the Water splinter is disabled.

Serpent of the Flame, an agile beast capable of dodging a lot of attacks, would have been the perfect choice in Tusk the Wide's place. That's the case specially against a fellow Yodin Zaku summoner. Not being hit means no additional damage is caused to adjacent monsters, negating most of what composes Yodin's advantages.

But I have to say, merely swapping Goblin Firewaller and Fire Demon would have been enough for @clarisse28 to win instead.

@artgin vs @usujind (link)

Analyzing this battle is tough because @artgin's team seems good, but it looks weird somehow. It's just not good enough. The first monster causing this impression is Xenith Archer, because it's not a card that causes strategic impact. It's kind of just a back-to-basics card. Better options always await.

There's also this weird Creeping Ooze right in the middle of the team. You know, the one that served as a target for Serpentine Spy, ending up causing unwanted damage to both Xenith Archer and Goblin Dartling way earlier than expected.

I could start by saying that Creeping Ooze would have been much better positioned as a backliner, protecting from both potential Sneak Attacks and Opportunity splash damage. But I'll end up telling you that it's just not what works well with Prince Rennyn.

When you're using Rennyn, you want to go fast! A monster like Brownie fits in so much better. Just look at Earth Elemental: a 2 speed monster becomes 1 speed thanks to the opponent's Creeping Ooze. But if you're using Cookie, it stays at 2 speed while other monsters maintain the same speed difference. Focusing on buffs that have good synergy with your summoner is really important!

Going back to Xenith Archer, there's a very important upgrade to that monster placement. A staple in the current meta. Swamp thing! There's never a time where Xenith Archer isn't replaceable for something much better. Serpentine Soldier would have died in Round 1.

Sadly, this team would still lose after all these optimizations. In the end, aiming at the opponent's frontline tank isn't a reliable strategy in a match where Magic is unlikely to be used. You're probably going to get stopped in your tracks by any monster with the Shield Ability.

When you pick Rennyn in a physical battle, use distractions such as Epona, Queen Mycelia, Halfling Alchemist or Swamp Thing. Attack with strong snipe monsters like Hunter Jarx and Child of the Forest.

@lovethjabe vs @artgin (link)

I love how @lovethjabe uses Kelya Frendul in a 3000+ MMR and wins by simply sticking to their summoner's basics: stall and connect your attacks.

Using a bunch of 0 and 1 mana monsters, they creatively hide Sabre Shark and Uraeus from everything! Sneak attacks, snipe arrows, opportunity strikes and magic attacks all have trouble finding @lovethjabes' key threats.

Slowly, but surely, @artgin's Djinn Oshannu falls to his knees, overwhelmed by the constant pursuit of the enemy sneak attackers. We can't even owe it to luck, because Uraeus and Sabre Shark did miss a total of three attacks! They'd still win even if they missed yet another two attempts.

Image sources: https://splinterlands.com/ and https://ecency.com/post/@nane-qts/free-splinterlands-graphic-resources-20