Pelacor Arbalest: Double Striking with Dhampir Infiltrator

In all our decks, I think it is fair to say that there are just some cards that we don't use. They are not in our main deck, and only exist in the periphery. For me, this is General Sloan (who I don't even own) and his archers, including the Pelacor Arbalest.

Now, I'm not saying the Pelacor Arbalest is a bad card, it's just not one I'd usually play with. If I'm forced into the LIFE splinter, I'd tend to play a LORNA SHINE attack with a lot of low mana sneak attackers if it is a low mana battle, or to play a strong magic damage line-up if it is a high mana battle. I just don't really have the arrows worked out. This isn't unique to the LIFE splinter, the truth is, I barely play arrows at all. I don't know why, but I havn't seen a lot of value in investing in this attack style.

So it should come as no surprise then that my Pelacor Arbalest hasn't been pushed to a higher level, despite my playing in the gold league. As you can see, I have this card at Level 3, which is only 1 card total. This little fellow has 2 speed, 2 health and 2 attack - but what makes him amazing is the DOUBLE STRIKE ability. It's value? You hit twice, that's 4 damage in a round. It feels useful enough, one hit to take the armour, the next for health - rather than 4 base damage only taking armour. Looking at the card, for him to really SING, you'd want him at Level 5 - which would involve combining 7 of this card. That would allow you to play him with the FLIGHT ability, which will make him harder to hit and very useful if there was an Earthquake ruleset.

This card is in the RARE list of cards, which means his printing isn't super high. In fact, there are only 7,007 of this card floating around in circulation (in the gold edition). This means that it isn't a common card you're likely to see - but, I think that the circulation will go down over time as it is combined to Level 5. From an investment point of view, the card costs around $3.30 per ard, making the Level 5 around $22. It's actually not a bad investment if you have a good line-up for him to exist in - and in truth, it should be a popular one to combine. Even pushing the card to Level 7 with 16 cards would feel necessary if I was in the DIAMOND league - as you can imagine how powerful a 3 + 3 attack from this card would be. The biggest issue with this card that I can see, however, is it always maintains low health.

Would I invest in more? Look, probably not - it's certainly not on my radar (I have made the decision not to heavily invest in LIFE, I own a couple of cards and rent a few, but it's not really my splinter of choice). But at $3.30 - it's not a bad card if you play an arrow attack. (That said, after you see how he becomes a hero in my battle, maybe I'll change my mind).

And, it's worth having a look at the amazing stats with #peakmonsters provides - as the truth is, at $3.30 it's looking like it's had a spike today above it's 4 week average which is $3.069. Given 346 of this card has sold, it suggests there has been a fair bit of movement, and in the last couple of days, you can see the Quantity Sold is on the rise, likely coinciding with this card being part of the Battle of the Week character:

But as we all know, every card needs a summoner to help him become a hero - and perhaps I've gone for a slightly odd choice in the Drake of Arnak. I think this card, however, is a good fit as it will give the Pelacor Arbalest +1 armour and will give him a bit of defense. And, as I said before, I don't own a General Sloan - so a dragon summoner is my logical pick (aside from Lorna Shine).

And the ruleset I found, I think, will favour my Pelacor Arbalest. Here's why: playing the opportunity ruleset, if I play other cards the same health as him, and put him after them - he will be the last to be hit. Genius! The intention here is to keep him alive with his +2 +2 arrows each round. Interestingly, my opponent played the strategy of LIFE with a strategy of using TAUNT out the front and continually healing. It's a good strategy, so I'll be glad for having so much attack in my line-up. You'll notice I'm also playing the DHAMPIR INFILTRATOR who also has the DOUBLE STRIKE ability.

Now, looking at this battle line-up, I'm feeling a bit 50/50 about it before it gets underway. The crux of this battle is this: I need to take down my opponent's SHIELDBEARER - if the Shieldbearer falls, I win. If he doesn't, I lose. It's really that simple.

At the end of Round 1, you'll see that not a lot has changed. My opponent has healed his SHIELDBEARER twice, and restored his armour. Meanwhile, one of my cards has been defeated. Interestingly though, the Pelacor Arbalest was able to do +4 damage to the SHIELDBEARER's health. As I have a speed advantage in the battle, this one will be all about whether I can do the damage to kill the SHIELDBEARER before my opponent's two healers get to play their heal.

By the end of Round 2 though, I feel like the momentum in the battle has equalised as my Pelacor Arbalest landed the killing blow on the SHIELDBEARER. The battle now looks like it is in the balance, but I'm feeling like it's starting to turn in my favour - particularly since two of my cards have the DOUBLE STRIKE ability.

By the end of Round 3, the battle continues with both my opponent and myself trading blows and knocking out one card each. However, my advantage in this one is that the TEMPLE PRIEST is reduced to 3 health - that's my opponent's most powerful card, and given the OPPORTUNITY ruleset, it means that I will target him this round and if that card falls, this battle will certainly turn in my favour. The PELACOR ARBALEST has not missed a single hit, and his +4 damage each round has been a major contributor to being in such a strong position at this point.

And then, at the end of Round 5, you can see that I have moved to a strong advantage. My Pelacor Arbalest finished off my opponent's back-line last round, and with only 3 health remaining, I will take the win in 6 rounds. And, in the end, let's be honest, it was pretty dominant in the end.

Want to watch it again?
Here's the battle link:
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_47245d3f053db965dafe21a0bb709115
Or - watch the video:

Evaluation:
The Pelacor Arbalest was an impressive card in this battle, doing +20 damage over five rounds. It all comes down to his DOUBLE STRIKE. I've often overlooked this card, but the truth is, I really should be giving it a lot more though, as he paired with the DHAMPIR INFILTRATOR's double strike to do some serious damage. At a cost of $3.30 - this card is certainly worth it's money, and, had I leveled mine up, I can only see him being more competitive. But - this won't be an investment I make it in the short term. To others - go grab your bargain now, as I'm sure the price will jump before long.

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