Weekly Battle Challenge: Chaos Knight - Raining fire on Fire

Battle Link/ Video: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_8d53100dc5121768648ba7b1186db162&ref=holdeck

The Chaos Knight is not a card I would typically use so I had preconceptions about it prior to this challenge. However, having rented out a higher level Chaos Knight the card is well rounded and does have its place as perhaps a secondary tank- would this level 1 do it justiice?

Ruleset

The ruleset for this battle was Trample and a mana count of 26.

The line ups

Strategy & Selections

My plan with the Life deck was to focus on high ranged damage and the use of Halfling Alchemist to break their damage down from the front. Combining Halfling Alchemist with Chaos Knight was an interesting idea to me as the armour and health on the card is not great but in this ranged focus build, I needed to ensure I had as much time as possible which I felt the Chaos Knight was capable of. The Arbalest is great with its double strike ability and makes it a good pairing with the Chaos Knight, whilst the Shieldbearer is the distraction tank needed to ease the pressure on the rest of the team. When playing life I would usually use Shieldbearer to take the brunt of the focused damage. Normally this buys me a round before the sneak breaks through. The Chaos Knight is able to reduce melee damage, which is great but is often not enough. So with this team and their Furious chicken mascot tagging along, they were ready to do battle.

Analysis of opponent's Strategy

My opponent went with a strong focus on sneak damage. Living Lava would reduce the attack of the Chaos Knight and act as a good tank but in this instance the purpose of the Chaos Knight card was to be a secondary tank. The main damage against the Living Lava would come from range. They lined up more or less how I expected and the opportunity attack was planned for. I was pretty pleased to see their line up.

Round up

By the end of the first round the Living Lava had reduced melee damage and was teetering on 3 health. My Shieldbearer had taken minimal damage and was still standing. So far, a good round.

By the start of the 3rd round, Living Lava was finished and Radiated Scorcher was down and Chaos Knight was still going strong but without their armour. My Shieldbearer fell as the battle went into the 4th round. The Pelacor Arbalest was now in the rear most position with their two sneak monsters standing strong.

In the 4th round, I needed to hit my shots. The Pelacor hit the first two shots and the Chaos Knight made their final attack before falling, leaving the Tenyii Striker alone, facing the Chaos Knight, Chicken and Alchemist. Once the Alchemist had hit the shot, it was a done deal. The Chaos Knight was effectively reducing all incoming damage to zero.

What I would do differently?
I think I would consider rearranging the order of the Arbalest and the alchemist, to ensure the Arbalest survived a little longer, having said that, the Alchemist turned this battle on its head, so perhaps I would not change.

Overall, the Chaos Knight was an excellent secondary tank, reducing damage to 0 when needed and as a damage dealer, holding off the opponent whilst chaos ensued and hell let loose behind them.

If you haven't already, join Splinterlands for free and be a part of the Chaos: https://splinterlands.com?ref=holdeck