Up to Eleven

To be honest, I had to Google the idiom as I'd never encountered it before Splinterlands. In a nutshell, it comes from music slang, meaning to the maximum extent or beyond all limits. That's precisely what this battle felt like. With the Up to Eleven modification and Melee Mayhem in play, the mana cap of 99 made it truly limitless, allowing me to select the best of the best. Let's dive in without much ado!

There may be superior options in uncapped battles, but when it comes to Melee Mayhem, Possibilus the Wise stands out. His Reach buff may seem useless, but Trample and two extra HP prove invaluable, especially when granted to monsters that attack twice.

Even though the Water Splinter offers an array of lethal melee monsters, I opted for three neutrals. Chain Golem is my favorite tank, capable of resisting both physical and magic attacks. Anticipating a magic striker in my opponent's deck, the golem was there to endure it.

Admittedly, I may have misplaced my second and third monsters; they should have been in reverse order. Nonetheless, Arkemis the Bear provides two extra armor points and halves the enemy monster’s attack upon hitting it. Both abilities are highly beneficial in a battle like this.

Up to Eleven deals extra damage to all counterattacks, making Sea Wrack with its Return Fire and Magic Reflect an exceptionally lethal monster. Thanks to Bloodlust, Sea Wrack even buffs itself when eliminating an enemy.

If there's a monster tailored for Melee Mayhem, it's undoubtedly Coastal Sentry. I've witnessed battles where buffed with Trample, it wiped out almost an entire army in a single round.

I've noted that magic strikers can easily crack melee tanks. I considered Phantom of the Abyss and Runemancer Kye, opting for the latter due to its Life Leech. Phantom might perform marginally better, but it didn't matter.

I also anticipated a sneaky monster in my opponent's deck. Cornealus was there as a trap to eliminate it, as this creature can heal faster than most sneaky monsters can handle. Additionally, with amplified thorns, it would cause three damage per round. However, as it turned out, it was not necessary.

The Battle

Fortunately, my opponent didn't fully capitalize on the ruleset; they primarily focused on the Melee Mayhem aspect. Consequently, their setup wasn't as optimized as mine. Diemonshark proved to be a poor tank for that level, a fact that soon became apparent. The four main strikers (Artemis the Bear, Coastal Sentry, Drybone Raider, and Kulu Mastermind) were reasonably chosen but somewhat misplaced. The last one should have been in a tanking or second position to hold my armies back with its Shield. Drybone Raider, on the other hand, should have been in the rear to maximize its two times two strikes. Disintegrator was not a wise choice, being a rather poor monster for an unlimited battle. True, it demoralizes enemies, but it comes with very low stats.

The first two rounds might seem like a tie at first glance. However, if you count the HP in the screenshot, it's evident who's in the lead. No wonder I emerged victorious with my last two monsters remaining unharmed. The two weaker monsters my opponent drafted and the misplaced Kulu Mastermind cost them the match.

See the full battle here!