No Flying Allowed

1 day ago

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Night Reaper is a monster that is meant to become strong later in the battle rather than early. With high mana cost but good magic damage, Night Reaper is not something you want taking hits right away and die early. On the long run, this monster fits best in teams that can survive the early rounds and slowly reduce the opponent’s lineup. Night Reaper is a monster that can really be problematic to your opponents if it gets on the later stage of the game. What makes Night Reaper effective for me is how its abilities support this late-game role. Flying and Deflect help it avoid damage and be punished by certain abilities, allowing it to stay alive longer than expected. Wingbreak helps eliminate Flying monsters that are usually hard to hit making the game easier for you and Last Stand allows your Night Reaper to be the boss raid the enemy doesn't wish to fight.

^{Image from Splinterlands.}

Night Reaper is a late-game damage monster that focuses on magic damage and survivability through abilities. With 4 magic damage and a good amount of speed, it can kill monsters quickly once it starts attacking. This monster is not a tank or support despite the high health. It is a finisher that rewards you if you can keep it alive last. Flying and Deflect helps it avoid damage. Wingbreak adds extra damage against Flying monsters which can catch some opponents off guard. When Night Reaper becomes the last monster alive, Last Stand turns it into a serious threat that can easily clean up the remaining opponent monsters with its enhanced stats.

Flying is a very useful ability on Night Reaper especially in Earthquake modifier battles. This monster will not take Earthquake damage due to Flying ability giving it a big advantage in those matches. Flying also increases evasion against non-Flying melee and ranged monsters. This means some attacks will miss buying more turns. Even a single miss can change how the battle plays out.

Wingbreak allows Night Reaper to deal extra damage to Flying monsters. This ability changes targetting prioritizing those Flying monsters which may bypass tanks. This makes it a good counter against teams that rely on Flying to dodge attacks. Since Flying is common in many modifiers this ability often has value. Wingbreak also helps Night Reaper secure kills faster against those targets. It adds a bit of surprise damage that opponents may not expect.

Deflect protects Night Reaper from indirect damage like Blast and Magic Reflect. This is very important since you want it to live for a long time. Without Deflect, it could incur damage which would lessen your increased stats when Last Stand kicked in. This ability helps Night Reaper stay alive while the opponent’s team dies. Deflect isn't useful most of the time in my experience but when it did, it can win you games like those against Nidhoggr teams.

Last Stand increases Night Reaper’s stats by 50% when it is the last monster alive. This includes damage, speed, armor and health. Because Night Reaper is often placed at the last position there is a good chance this ability activates. Once active, it becomes much harder to kill and much easier to secure kills. Last Stand is the reason Night Reaper is so dangerous if not taken cared off immediately.

Battle Sample

^{https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_3eff8bcbef0717bb97ad1becf4c9bd72?ref=konaqua122 | Edited in Canva Pro.}

This battle is very interesting to say the least. Both players are used strong monsters and archon making this a battle of synergy. While my opponent had a huge advantage in tanks with Ulundin Overseer and Dar 'Gottem' Gearnut, I had a huge advantage in terms of damage. He placed his Blast on the back line units while I placed mine towards the middle where it's a bit safer. Night Reaper and its Wingbreak really did a good job when it killed Kazira Vaelstrik which had their Blast and Deathblow. The attack on this unit also affected the nearby unit with my own Blast putting it to red health. Despite them having better tanks, my units have better synergy with damage and when their back line monsters got eliminated, Deathblow finished them off.

Night Reaper is a late-game magic damage beast that excels when battles drag on. Normally, you get closer to losing the more monsters die from your team but with Night Reaper, it's the opposite. With Last Stand, the less monsters you have, the more chance you win with Last Stand.
Last Stand ability is scary but also is its other abilities. Its Flying ability makes it immune to Earthquake and harder to hit from melee and ranged attacks while Deflect negates indirect damage like Blast or Magic Reflect. Wingbreak adds extra damage against Flying monsters while prioritizing them giving it an edge against winged opponents. Night Reaper can be a tank when there's no choice but its real threat only shows when there's no one in the board but the Night Reaper.