Battle Mage Secrets Weekly Challenge - Back to Basics - Modern Diamond Tournament

Hello everyone! This is my first entry for this week's Battle Mage Secrets Weekly Challenge with the Back to Basics set!

Back to Basics is a rule set that removes all abilities from all monsters. Only the monsters' stats and types of attack(s) matter. However, abilities granted by the Summoner still work. I both like and dislike this rule set. I like that it exists because it allows some monsters to shine. Several of them are not usually good options and this is the best rule set for them. I dislike it because usually, I end up thinking "I wish I could do this combination but it doesn't work because it's Back to Basics". It can be a little annoying. Some Legendary Summoners also become even more OP simply because they grant a few powerful abilities when there's nothing else to combat them. Thankfully, the biggest offenders are out of Modern now. The worst part about this rule set is when it's combined with some other rule sets. Noxious Fumes and Earthquake with this don't leave room for much strategy. Combined with restrictive rule sets like Going the Distance, Up Close and Personal, Wands Out, etc. can also create very uninteresting games. Up Close and Personal is the worst offender as the game turns into some weird fight with monsters lined up waiting to get into the front to start fighting. I still want this rule set to exist, I just wish it couldn't be combined with some of these. As for strategies, monsters that already don't have abilities (or have just 1 or 2) are good options, since they should already have better stats than monsters with a lot of abilities. Hill Giant and Terraceous Grunt are good examples of this. Monsters with 2 types of attacks can also be great. Runemancer Florre is perfect for this rule set. In general, Magic monsters are great because they can attack from anywhere and ignore armor.

This game also has the Born Again and Super Sneak rule sets. My opponent made a huge mistake. They played as if there was no Super Sneak. Immortalis is a great summoner for this but placing a 1 health monster in the back doesn't work out here. I killed their last monster before it could attack and they had almost no firepower after this. I even had some backline protection that I didn't need. I could have missed several attacks on Regal Peryton and I would still have won. My Vruz was faster and would always hit. This game can be a great example of what not to do.

What do you all think about Back to Basics? Do you have any interesting games or strategies for it? Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading!!