A New Addition to My Bella Ratajowlski Lineup

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

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I'm liking Bella Ratajowlski as my backup archon because the Ulund Bloodline have good units that can be used in a lot of situations. The Shield is also really good just like what happened in this battle. I was looking for a good unit to add and since I am renting Dragon archon for this season, adding Chuma Marandu is a good addition. It's a Dragon element and Bella Ratajowlski can use him because he is an Ulund Bloodline. He also fits my Life Element lineup due to the Sneak ability.

When I run Life Element, sometimes I lack strong units. Chuma Marandu solves that problem because he can go straight to the enemy’s last position with his own 5 damage. With Bella Ratajowlski calling him using Bloodline Dominion, it feels like I am adding extra power without changing my main strategy. It makes my lineup more scary and durable at the same time.

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^{Image from Splinterlands}

Stats

Chuma Marandu is clearly a damage dealer. With 5 melee attack, 4 armor and 9 health, he is not weak at all. He can survive some hits especially with the blessing of Shield from Bella Ratajowlski. While tanking some damage from the back, he can still do heavy damage to the backline because of Sneak. His other abilities leans towards more against melee monsters which is good as it gives him a focus instead of just random abilities. Chuma Marandu works very well in Sneak teams and Sneak-focused lineups. Despite being a dagon element, Bella Ratajowlski can still call him in battle for Life Element since he is an Ulund. With Chuma Marandu in my team, my Sneak Life lineup was just boosted by a huge amount.

^Abilities

^{Image from Splinterlands}

Sneak is the core of this unit. My Life Sneak lineup sometimes lack big damage, so having 5 melee attack going directly to the last enemy is very strong. It helps remove strong units hiding at the back creating a problem for the enemy. This ability is very good with buffs like Inspire or Bloodlust since it doesn't hit the tanks. It makes the backline fall very fast.

^{Image from Splinterlands}

Demoralize reduces the melee damage of all enemy monsters. This makes Chuma Marandu feel like an anti-melee monster. Not only he deals high melee damage, he also weakens the opponent’s melee attackers. This is very strong in modifiers where melee monsters are common most likely to be used. This is not needed for Chuma Marandu but a good addition for specific modifiers.

^{Image from Splinterlands}

Retaliate gives a chance to strike back when hit by melee. Since Chuma Marandu has 5 melee damage, the counter attack also deals 5 melee damage. If enemy melee hits him and Retaliate activates, that enemy might instantly regret it with a 5 damage back. One good thing about this ability is that this also activates other on-hit effects like if this unit has Blast in Explosive Weaponry modifier. It may not be every hit that this works but when it does, it is very worth it and satisfying.

^{Image from Splinterlands}

Expose is very useful against specific defensive abilities. It helps deal with Taunt monsters that has Shield, Void or those with Forcefield as an example. Removing or countering those defensive effects means Chuma Marandu can keep dealing full damage. This ability is strong in battles where many tanks rely on protection skills, especially against mirror matches. It makes sure his heavy attack is not wasted.

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^{https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_be7edfb8dfdd35afba0c5dff45612e95 | Edited in Canva Pro.}

Battle

Adding Chuma Marandu in the back was a smart idea. I discovered that most Sneak units have melee attacks. There are some exemptions but in general, melee units rule this ability. This makes Shield a huge addition to make your back line more protected. Being an Ulund, he can have the Shield from Bella Ratajowlski and also have Sneak to complement the strategy I use for Life Element. With Chuma Marandu with Shield, it reduces the damage from Buttercup Mauler which could've been problematic if the game goes long. Chuma Marandu also fixes the low Sneak damage my Life Element lineup has. Instead of multiple 2 attack Sneak units, a one 4 melee Sneak unit with Shield is insane addition for my backup team.

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Chuma Marandu is a strong melee damage dealer with great backline damage. Sneak allows him to remove key enemy monsters. Demoralize and Retaliate give him extra value in melee battles. Expose helps against defensive tanks when they try to protect themselves with Shield or Forcefield. He fits perfectly with Bella Ratajowlski and Ulund Bloodline strategy, I really like that he has decent health and is also an Ulund so I can have a Shield monster at the back while still having the strong Sneak monster that I need.

• Animated Banners and Dividers are edited in Canva Pro.
• Other sources that I do not own are cited under their respective photos.
• Some of the fonts used are from instafonts.io

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