This posts examines the match statistics of the abilities that are currently available in Splinterlands. Based on match statistics we have collected over time, we can calculate the win rate of each ability in different leagues. In the this post, we will look which abilities that come out with the best and worst win rates overall.

A good overview of all the available abilities can be found at splintercards.

You can also find which cards that have the abilities there, and if you want to buy them immediately you can do the same at peakmonsters, where you can filter cards by ability:

Considerations in the value of an ability

What makes an ability good? Obviously there are a huge numbers of factors to include when we consider this question. Some of the most important ones (author's opinion) are summarized here:

• The effect of the ability itself
• The synergy of the ability with the stats of the card that has it
• The synergy of the ability with other abilities on the card
• The synergy of the ability with the other cards in the team
• The interaction of the ability and the ruleset
• The ability's efficiency versus your (expected) opponent's team.
• How much are the stats of the card penalized from having an ability

There are probably other factors to consider, but this is a baseline that one should really consider during team selection. However, since we only have 2 min 30 sec to choose, we have to rely pretty much on our gut feeling.

Gut feeling comes from experience, which really is a substitute for data. So, to complement your gut feeling, this post will provide some of that data.

Stats versus abilities

An interesting element in Splinterlands is that there is a stat cost for each ability. This is pretty clear if you compare a few cards at the same mana. Take for example these four common 3 mana Chaos Legion cards:

Cruel Sethropod has no abilities at any level, and therefore gets the best stats of the four. Hill Giant starts out just slightly weaker than Cruel Sethropod (if we assume for simplicity that armor and health are of equal value), but at max level he loses out by a good margin in terms of stats. However, he did gain Stun at level 6. By this simple comparison, we can calculate the cost of stun as 3 stats (he has one more speed and 2 more health, but 6 less armor, and we value speed the same as armor and health).

Similarly, Venari Scout has paid 3 stats for the Opportunity ability at level 1, and two stats for Dodge at level 10 (it gains dodge at level 6). Crypt Beetle pays 4 stats for Shield at level 1, and the ability cost estimate is the same when evaluated at level 10.

Interestingly, Hill Giant is also penalized for his ability potential also at lower levels than where he gains the ability.

A detailed examination of the ability stat-cost is beyond the scope of this post, but we might do that in a follow-up post if there is interest for it. Also, it is likely that attack, ranged, magic, speed, armor and health are valued differently, which affects these estimates. Nevertheless, there is a cost for each ability, and depending on the ability, it might or might not be worth its cost.

Win rates of the abilities

Win rates of the abilities vary across the leagues. This is because the higher leagues allow higher level cards, and more synergies and combinations become possbile the higher up the ladder you go. Therefore, we present the results for Bronze, Silver and Gold separately.

In the following table, we mark any entry above 0.55 (55%) with a 🔥 so that you can easily find the most valuable abilities. Any win rate at or below 0.47 (47%) is considered bad, and we mark it with ❌

Ability	Bronze win rate	Silver win rate	Gold win rate
Affliction	0.50	0.53	0.50
Amplify	0.51	0.53	0.51
Backfire	0.50	0.52	0.48
Blast	0.48	0.53	0.55🔥
Blind	0.48	0.50	0.51
Bloodlust	0.48	0.54	0.46❌
Camouflage	0.52	0.52	0.52
Cleanse	0.50	0.53	0.50
Close Range	0.52	0.57🔥	0.53
Cripple	0.50	0.51	0.50
Deathblow	0.45❌	0.49	0.42❌
Demoralize	0.51	0.53	0.51
Dispel	0.52	0.55🔥	0.50
Divine Shield	0.59🔥	0.58🔥	0.54
Dodge	0.50	0.52	0.52
Double Strike	0.51	0.54	0.51
Enrage	0.52	0.53	0.50
Flying	0.51	0.54	0.53
Forcefield	0.54	0.57🔥	0.51
Giant Killer	0.50	0.55🔥	0.46❌
Halving	0.66🔥	0.55🔥	0.50
Headwinds	0.51	0.55🔥	0.52
Heal	0.51	0.52	0.52
Immunity	0.57🔥	0.60🔥	0.52
Inspire	0.49	0.53	0.54
Knock Out	0.49	0.51	0.44❌
Last Stand	0.65🔥	0.60🔥	0.52
Life Leech	0.51	0.52	0.50
Magic Reflect	0.52	0.54	0.51
None	0.50	0.52	0.50
Opportunity	0.49	0.52	0.51
Oppress	0.47❌	0.56🔥	0.50
Phase	0.52	0.56🔥	0.53
Piercing	0.52	0.53	0.49
Poison	0.49	0.52	0.51
Protect	0.51	0.54	0.56🔥
Reach	0.45❌	0.49	0.49
Recharge	0.50	0.56🔥	0.49
Redemption	0.51	0.51	0.48
Repair	0.50	0.49	0.49
Resurrect	0.59🔥	0.59🔥	0.52
Retaliate	0.50	0.52	0.51
Return Fire	0.50	0.51	0.48
Rust	0.49	0.52	0.51
Scattershot	0.48	0.50	0.48
Scavenger	0.51	0.52	0.52
Shatter	0.50	0.52	0.50
Shield	0.48	0.51	0.49
Silence	0.51	0.54	0.52
Slow	0.51	0.53	0.51
Snare	0.47❌	0.49	0.47❌
Sneak	0.50	0.52	0.51
Snipe	0.49	0.49	0.50
Strengthen	0.52	0.52	0.53
Stun	0.50	0.52	0.51
Swiftness	0.52	0.54	0.54
Tank Heal	0.51	0.54	0.51
Taunt	0.51	0.53	0.49
Thorns	0.50	0.52	0.50
Trample	0.50	0.53	0.50
Triage	0.52	0.54	0.53
True Strike	0.50	0.52	0.49
Void	0.52	0.54	0.51
Void Armor	0.49	0.53	0.47❌
Weaken	0.50	0.50	0.54

So from all that data, there are some general conclusions to draw:

• 🔥 Divine Shield, Halving, Immunity, Last Stand, Phase, Resurrect, and Swiftness are very good abilities where you get good value for your mana at all levels of play.
• ❌ Deathblow, Bloodlust (only really applies to Grum, brawls aren't included), and Snare are abilities to avoid. (Knock Out, Reach and Void Armor could be included in this list - Sorry Grum!)
• Some abilities are very situational and meta-dependent. Oppress and Giant Killer exemplify this the best, where they are really good and really bad in different leagues.

Silver league generally has higher win-rates for any ability than the other leagues. Perhaps this is because silver league is populated both by players with decent strategies, and players with the base deck and a few rentals for power, as well as bots. In such a situation, the good strategies, which often include good use of synergistic abilities, might give very good results. However, this is just the author's guess.

*After reading this section, @Mildan provided a better alternative as to why the silver abilities generally have positive winrates. Many of the cards unlock new abilities as they are leveled up, and because of that, there is a correlation between leveled cards and having more abilitites. Leveled are of course better than non-leveled, and can therefore explain the increased stats. We have not made any attempt to correct for card level in this analysis. In gold, the competition is fiercer, and leveled cards alone are not enough to secure high win rates. Therefore, it is likely that the gold results above are more indicative of the inherent value of each ability than the silver stats. Thanks again to @Mildan for this insight.

Concluding remarks

In this post, we have reported the effectiveness of each ability in Bronze, Silver and Gold league. These are the overall results, and were not nuanced based on summoner synergy, ruleset or mana levels. However, it should still be useful as a general guideline when creating a team for your match, as well as for deck building.

Let us know if this guide has helped you, and if you have any other comments or suggestions please let us know

Please also check out our other content:

Beginner Guides
Beginners guide - Choosing the best Chaos summoner for your match
Beginners guide - Kelya Frendul
Beginners guide - Obsidian
Beginners guide - Thaddius Brood
Beginners guide - Tarsa
Beginners guide - General Sloan

Summoner and Card statistics
Chaos Legion COMMON card statistics
Chaos Legion RARE card statistics
Chaos Legion EPIC card statistics
Chaos Airdrops 2-6 Match Statitics
Best Legendary Cards of Chaos Legion - Week 1 statistics
Chaos summoners - Week 1 statistics

Rule set strategies
We are also creating guides for specific rules. You can find them here:
Strategycorner with Mammuter #5: How to WIN in Reverse Speed
Strategycorner with Mammuter #4: How to WIN in Melee Mayhem
Strategycorner with Mammuter #3: Noxious Fumes

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Join Splinterlands

Another way to support us is through card delegations or donations. If you want to do that, we are @kalkulus and @mammuter.

Best of luck in Splinterlands!
Kalkulus