Splinterlands Share Your Battle Weekly Challenge - Xenith Archer

almost 2 years ago

INTRODUCTION
Hi, it's me again for another Splinterlands SHARE YOUR BATTLE Weekly Challenge. I've been busy with playing Splinterlands last season and managed to finished in the Diamond League. The rewards are not that bad and I hope to continue the momentum of playing this season.

THE CARD

Xenith Archer is a rare neutral monster card and is part of a Chaos Legion Edition. It has a mana cost of two (2) and has a range attack of one (1). Its maxed-out level of eight (8) increases its speed to four (4) and its health to five (5). It has no special abilities. For this post, I have used a Level 1 card.

Pros and Cons

The main advantage of Xenith Archer is its mana cost --- just two (2). It is best to use in low mana battles. It is a great filler for teams when you need to maximize your mana costing. Aside from Creeping Ooze and Furious Chicken, this one is my favorite to use. And its being a neutral unit makes it so versatile to add to any other splinter. This card is also useful in LITTLE LEAGUE ruleset.

Because it does not have any special ability, even if you're using a leveled-up card, it is not something that you will use for advanced leagues (unless it's a low mana battle, or again, the LITTLE LEAGUE ruleset). But in higher leagues where many battles have generous mana limits, this card will be rarely used, unless again, it will be a filler, or a sacrificial pawn for monsters with SNEAK or OPPORTUNITY abilities.

The Match

General Strategy

Looking at my opponent's previous lineups, it is very evident that his/her/their focus is using the Water splinter. Even with the summoner and the tank monster, Kelya Frendul and Sea Monster, respectively. Assuming that same pattern will be used again, I can gamble the Shieldbearer + Repair + Tank Heal combo lineup for my team. Based on past teams, my opponent did not use much of magic-attack monsters so I guess Shieldbearer will be able to contain the damage it will receive at each round.

The main hurdle really is how to get rid of Sea Monster especially with its Heal ability. I need to make sure I have sufficient attack damage from my monsters to take it out, probably in the first two to three rounds. For this, I will rely for my back monsters to do the rest of the job.

REVERSE SPEED and EVEN STEVENS were the rulesets for this battle. In terms of Reverse Speed, I won't worry too much for my lineup because the combo I mentioned above will stay the same. For EVEN STEVENS, it only changed some of my back monsters to accommodate them based on the numbers, and in this case, Xenith Archer.

The Lineup

Summoner - Tyrus Paladium

Slot 1 - Shieldbearer
Slot 2 - Armorsmith
Slot 3 - Venari Crystalsmith
Slot 4 - Silvershield Archers
Slot 5 - Xenith Archer
Slot 6 - Pelacor Arbalest

Explanation of the lineup

The mana limit for this battle is 28 and as much as possible, I would want to use all the available mana and at the same time fill all the six positions for my team.

For my Summoner, I chose Tyrus Paladium. Actually my Focus for today is Life so it's good to stick with it. With Tyrus, that extra armor will go a long way, especially that my other monsters won't have that huge health stats. With me anticipating my enemy not using a magic-intensive lineup, the additional shield can make my monsters last for at least an extra round.

I mentioned above about the Shieldbearer + Repair + Tank Heal combo, so here is my Shieldbearer. Its Taunt ability can be an advantage if used at the right time with the right enemy lineup.

As I am redirecting my opponent's attack to Shieldbearer, I put in my Armorsmith into the 2nd position so it can repair Shieldbearer's armor. My card is Level 3 so it also has a Melee attack of one (1). Just in case my Shieldbearer dies, Armorsmith can deal some damage too, when it occupies the tank position.

Completing my combo with the Tank Heal ability is Venari Crystalsmith. I actually have a Divine Healer in my collection. However, I cannot use the latter because of the EVEN STEVENS rule, so I settled with Venari Crystalsmith. Its range attack will contribute to the damage I need to deal with Sea Monster.

Occupying the third spot is Shieldbearers. While it won't attack yet the Sea Monster, it will help me deal damage to the back monsters in the opponent's side because of its Snipe ability.

Next in my lineup is our focus card... Xenith Archer. Like what I've said, its low mana makes it a good filler for teams. It also has an attack which is great.

Lastly will be my finisher card... Pelacor Arbalest. Its Double Strike ability can deal four health damage to my opponent's monsters. It will do the killing I need to remove the Sea Monster out of the game. I only hope the opponent won't use any Sneak monster with big Melee damage which can attack my Arbalest (if my Shieldbearer gets killed early in the game).