Mindblast Battle Report : Defensive Stance

It's another week to submit our battle reports as a gamer and as a collector at the same time. The constant submission of battle reports every week will surely open up some ideas on what are your weaknesses and how you will be able to improve them. Knowing the card's functionality and its advantages could help you optimize your strategy and tactics while mastering them throughout the process. It is also one way of digging more ideas on all the monster cards as well as summoners on how you will be able to put them into challenges while keeping their spirits high and active.

This Amplify ability can really be a headache and it can surely punish those that are attacked whether it would be in Thorn, Return Fire, or Magic Reflect which will all increase by 1. With that increase, I am sure that monsters that are suffering from those damages will experience a lot of pain as it was being amplified. With that kind of effect, it will surely be somewhat scary to many monsters, and would have second thoughts about attacking which is not likely to be possible. But I think that is when we see how tough monsters will get once they receive those amplified damages. The result of such damages will take the battle to another level as those who have those defensive skills will surely have the advantage once Amplify rules are being applied.

These Amplify skills are not stackable in which some skills Amplify will not be very useful. We can check on Lost Magic in which all magic attacks will not be very useful and only two remaining attacks are applicable. Anyway, it's up to the player to analyze very well when to choose the best monsters that will gain some time with amplification. But still, we should be thinking of some counters for Amplify in which there is a Stun ability that could prevent the trigger of such kind and also have Phase and Reflection Shield which will also cancel the positive amplify.

We sometimes think of summoners like Grandmaster Rathe which has this kind of ability to provide to its friendly allies. So with such added ability in the ruleset, some players will opt to use this summoner as it would be a waste of mana to choose it and just look for another suitable summoner that would fit the vacant slot.

Now let's just see how my battle report results with Amplify as an added skill in the battlefield.

RULESET

Name	Description	Image
Active	Life, Death
Mana Cap	48
Even Stevens	Only monsters with even mana cost may be used in battles
Up to Eleven	All monsters have the amplify ability
Heavy Hitters	All monsters have the Knock Out ability

Based on the ruleset, we have seen that only two elements are applicable and that only death and life elements are possible in the selection screen. Another thing is that the mana cap is good as I can see it since you have a lot to spare in selecting monsters and a couple of bigger monsters are applied in selection and then the remaining small ones will be filling out the remaining ones.

We have Even Stevens that only mana cost are possible to be included in the battlefield. With such an added ruleset, you will decrease the number of possible monsters to be selected on the screen but with such availability, I think a player should rely on their instinct as to which monsters to include in the battle concerning that only life and death monsters are there in the battlefield.

Another added to the ruleset is Up to Eleven which is the main part of this battle report. As I have explained earlier amplify does tremendous damage to anyone being attacked due to Thorns, magic deflect, and return fire. I would say that this kind of ability triggers defensively to its counterpart and that this is the best time to set your monsters to their defensive skills to get benefit with the amplified effects.

And lastly, we have a Heavy Hitter that would be kind of painful whenever you get hit while you have an active stunned effect. That is why stun ability monsters can be really useful as they could serve as a defensive way of disabling the amplify effect to target the opponent if successfully stunned and in the meantime, a double damage is in effect that could help defeat monsters, especially those strong ones.

MATCHUP

Based on our following lineup I am choosing Death Summoner which costs me seven mana but I think it is still ok as long as it provides good boosts towards my monsters with protection against magic attacks and ranged attacks while having poison effects to enemy monsters as well. I think I have the advantage in this match as I can see since I was able to suppress its ranged boosts because of my summoner's ability to decrease ranged attack. But still, life monsters have very good armor and more like very defensive in most monsters within Splinterlands and I think poison could slow down that defensive stance.

Anyway, I am more focused on the offensive side while on my opponent it might be a mixture of defensive and offensive to which he used a boost of ranged damage. With that effect, I think that he is concentrating on using more ranged units, and by that, I was able to suppress and slow down its summoner to take the boosts toward its rallied monsters on the battlefield. We may see that I have the advantage because I have used a legendary summoner and my opponent used a rare one, still, there is no guarantee as monsters inside the battlefield are surely battling with their lives and proving their worth that they may able be standing out against the rest.

Checking on our levels, I sense that he has a base level in which lesser-level monsters are possible to be used and we all know that most basic-level monsters do not unlock most of their potential capability. That is why I have now a much higher percentage of winning our matchup.

LINEUP : MINE

Summoner	Active Skill in Battle	Image
Mimosa Nightshade	-1 Ranged Attack, Void, Affliction

I have chosen the legendary summoner as I sense that there is still enough mana to maximize the potential of my team to be created. I think that the best summoner to represent in battle is Mimosa Nightshade because it has a Void skill that could limit the full potential of magical attacks which will punish some of my monsters. With such kind of ability, I know that it could minimize the magic damages taken throughout the battle, and the survival of some of my monsters will surely be no problem.

This summoner can also provide degradation of ranged attack as well and it will limit also the full capability of ranged attack. If ever my opponent thinks that a ranged attack could make his team powerful, I think it would be a big change as I have already countered such a threat and that disabling such kind of attacks should be taken seriously. That is why focusing on the ranged attack coming from the enemy would be the best option to do so in order to limit its attack because we know that most ranged attackers do have faster attack speed compared to some magic and melee monsters.

I also love the affliction skill that this summoner will cast unto enemy monsters as it will put poison counter to them and that it could help the damages taken. And it could be an attack assistance even though there is no direct attack towards such monsters. So a combination of these three abilities of the summoner could be a big plus on the battlefield as most monsters except melee will be totally roasted without any problem.

Monster	Active Skill in Battle	Image
Harklaw	Shield
Phantom Soldier	Flying
Mantoid	Snipe
Ravehood Warden	Protect
Grim Reaper	Affliction
Octopider	Demoralized

I put Harklaw as my frontline because it has high armor in it and it has already a shield ability that could protect him from melee attacks. And with boosts coming from my summoner that could protect both ranged and magic attacks this monster will surely be as hard as a rock and I am sure that this monster could stay in the battle for quite a long time or might totally survive even taking the most damage from opponent monsters.

It does not have so much speed in terms of attack but I think it is still good as I am focusing on putting him defensively because it turns out that a high armor as well as health points could be a good mark for a defense position and also active skills in protection from any sorts of attack could stand tall in ball, whatever the scenario may be.

Second in position to be posted is my magic attack monster Phantom Soldier which has a flying ability that could slightly evade ranged and melee attack which is a benefit also. It has no other skills other than that but boosting on both coming from my summoner as well as in the ruleset could make it more powerful in battle. It has a good average attack speed with two magic damage which is a great deal to be put into the second frontline position.

Sometimes we need to put a non-melee monster in order to organize well the team according to the strategy or tactic that has come into my mind and that putting such kind of monsters could deliver a better outcome.

The next one is Mantoid which has a ranged attack that is good as well because of its attack speed and health points and can stand up against cheap attacks. I think this monster could throw a lot of ranged attacks throughout the battle and that it could be a big weakness of my opponent if he isn't able to stop this monster.

Ravenhood Warden also helps boost armor to all my monsters and it could help harden them on the battlefield in which ranged and melee attackers will be having a much harder time. It has not so much to give in terms of attack but what I love best about this monster is the benefit of gaining armor from its buff.

Another ranged attacker Grim Reaper added to my team as it has good ranged damage and even its skill is not anymore that effective because it has already been distributed by my summoner. I think its ranged attack will still be a good asset as one of my team members.

And lastly, Octopider can definitely help limit the effectiveness of enemy melee units by decreasing their attack. And with that melee monsters will have less damage when they do attack me and that it could be a big hindrance for my enemy to win against me.

LINEUP : OPPONENT

Summoner	Active Skill in Battle	Image
General Sloan	+1 Ranged Attack

In my enemy lineup, he used General Sloan as its summoner and he is focusing on boosting its ranged attack which could also be a good idea. With such using this kind of summoner he was able to save some mana to be able to use it from some monsters in a team. Anyway, General is a good summoner which sometimes I do use depending on the situation inside the battlefield.

Monster	Active Skill in Battle	Image
Shieldbearer	Taunt
Elven Defender
Drybone Raider	Double Strike
Supply Runner
Time Mage	Slow
Pelacor Arbalest	DoubleStrike

I sense that he used Shieldbearer as its frontline tank which focuses on defending the team since it has high armor as well as health points. Throughout the battle, all my attacks would probably be hitting this monster due to its taunt skill. This monster may be a stone but in the later rounds, I think I would be able to suppress this monster without any doubt.

In second position I see Elven Defender which also has good armor and health points which is more likely the same function as its frontline but has no taunt skill. I think my opponent is concentrating on defending some attacks coming from my monsters which is why we have seen two tankers in its frontline that could slow down my monster's aggressive tactics.

In the third position, I see that he is using Drybone Raider which has a double strike skill which is really painful if you are focused on its attack. This monster does have a double attack type which makes it a versatile monster that can easily switch from one attack to another without any problem. Even if we see that its ranged attack is not that good later on its melee attack is more hurtful.

In the fourth position, we see Supply Runner which is also a great ranged attacker, and its attack damage and attack speed could be an asset. It has low health points which is why protecting this monster should be its priority so that this monster could deliver a variety of cheap attacks.

Second to the last is the Time mage which is a magic attack type monster that has a good attack speed. Even though it has low magic damage, I think a direct hit to health points is the best asset for this kind of monster. Also, it has slow speed which concentrates on slowing down all of my monster's attack speed.

Lastly would be Pelacor Arbalest which is a ranged type monster that could spear any monsters on its range. It has low health points but lethal in terms of attack since it can attack twice during its phase to attack.

BATTLE ROUNDS

At the start of round 1, my summoner puts a negative attack on all my opponents ranged attack which is a big deal because three of its monsters are all ranged attackers. Void is now attached to all my monsters to make it will be protected by Time Mage which has only 1 damage which makes all my monsters durable against magic attacks since any damage with only one is automatically being pend off. After that, all of my enemy monsters received affliction which made them weaker inside the battlefield.

After that, my opponent takes the opportunity to increase back to one all of its ranged attack damage which makes it back to their normal attacks. Now his Time Mage decreases all my attack speed which makes me slow down my attacks towards him.

Most of its ranged attack monsters are throwing damages at my Harklaw but its armor really takes good protection even though his Shieldbearer performs an attack as well.

At the start of the second round, there is no wasted time to perform an attack in which its first frontline was slain in battle without any question. Now Elven Defender takes the task seriously it was able to survive the second round but has already taken so much damage from my monsters which now weakened at the end of round 2.

My Harklaw still managed to stand even damage taken was too much but was still able to eliminate with counterpart which resulted in a wipeout of enemy monsters. The battle was won without any casualties on my side.

ANALYSIS

Based on what I have experienced in this battle is that taking a big step against your opponent could give you a chances of winning. A higher level a well-equipped summoner monsters and a combination of monsters will blend a mixture of excellence inside the battle with the best outcome it can give.

Bigger level means unlocking higher skills and abilities of your monsters with additional boosts on their statistics, which is way better than base level monsters which will have a hard time dealing with others inside the battlefield. I think we should not waste any time leveling up our cards as it could give you benefits ahead of others.

FULL BATTLE

Full Battle can be seen here: https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_9a3444adacb20c49ca137685a02c0bfd

CREDITS

• Images are taken from Splinterlands / Steemmonsters
• Some of this images are being edited in Photoshop
• Thank you Splinterlands for letting us use images for our post and other promotions for the game.