Hello everyone! Today I'm gonna talk about the cards in Conclave Arcana that I like the most, in the Earth splinter. I already made posts for Fire and Water. There are several interesting cards in this one, so let's get on with it! This time I'll be using this as my first entry for this week's Splinterlands Social Media Challenge.

Don't let the 11 mana cost take anything away; this is an excellent card! It has 4 ranged attack, 4 speed, 3 armor, and 13 HP. Nothing too impressive, except maybe the HP. It's the abilities that make it amazing. Taunt turns Silverleaf Mage into an excellent backline tank, making use of all that HP. Corrosive Ward is nice for all the melee units that attack it. Poison Burst is what makes this unit shine. After absorbing so much damage, it inflicts Poison on the killing unit (unless it has Immunity), and it also has a 50% chance to spread that Poison to each adjacent unit. It's easy to get a lot of value. You can make it even better by using Silverleaf Mage in the Born Again rule set or having Resurrect on your team. And Divine Shield is nice too. It also works very well with Eternal Tofu. It already has both Divine Shield and Corrosive Ward, so that you can apply Triage and Scavenger and still have those effects if you need, or you can apply Divine Shield and Corrosive Ward to other units. Even at level 4, it already has Poison Burst. If you're on a budget, that's the level you should aim at.

Another unit with Poison Burst. However, this one just costs 2 mana, making it very easy to fit in most line-ups. It has ranged and melee attacks, as well as Close Range, but it doesn't matter too much. Phlegmunculus is here to take some hits, die, and spread some Poison. It also works very well in Born Again and with Resurrect. This one is much less budget friendly, though. If you can't afford at least level 7, just forget about it. Without Poison Burst, Phlegmunculus is very situational.

This is a pretty cool unit. It doesn't have Poison Burst, but it has Poison. It simply does a lot for just 3 mana. It has Reach, 3 melee attack, 4 speed, 1 armor, and 5 HP. This would be enough to have a playable card. Certainly not great, but there would be games for it. Add Poison and Rust, and it becomes pretty useful. Its biggest downside is Eternal Tofu because Thorns is very scary for a unit with just 5 HP. I believe it will become even better once Rebellion rotates out of Modern. If you're on a budget, this isn't likely to be a priority, but level 4 already has Poison. You only get Rust at max level, though.

Another unit with Poison. I guess that's a theme for Earth, in Conclave Arcana. It's a 5 mana unit with 2 magic attack, 3 speed, 1 armor, and 7 HP. Honestly, this is another unit where the stats don't matter too much. It also has Impede, which I don't think makes any meaningful difference. What matters is Poison and Shield Ward. You're paying 5 mana to place a unit that can attack from any position and give Shield to the unit in front of it. And Poison is a very nice bonus. For those on a budget, level 5 gives you everything you need. It already has 2 magic attack from level 1, Shield Ward shows up at level 3, and Poison at 5. While I like Virid Venomancer, I think its levels were poorly designed. It doesn't gain anything meaningful after level 5. It gets 1 more speed, a bit more HP, and an ability that doesn't do much. 400 copies for a max level card, when you can get just 60 copies for almost the same effects, is not good. I feel like it should have received a bit more speed or some armor, and have the last ability be more powerful. Slow would have been a much better ability, and it wouldn't break the card. Or maybe just give Impede earlier and Poison later. I like when cards are functional before max level to allow players on a budget to compete. My own budget isn't infinite, and I have some Rebellion cards below max level. Silverleaf Mage is a good example. By level 4, it gives out the most important aspects of the card, but level 6 gives another good ability, and the max level has more attack. I still love using this card, and I often pair it with Venka, so that it takes less damage from Thorns in Tofu mirrors.