I fought an interesting battle in Modern Champion ranked. In this battle, we both used very similar teams: the same Archon and 3 of the same units. The strategy was also the same: using Moribund Arrowbait to buff our Ulunds and Shapeshifters. In such games, small details can make a big difference. Let's see how it all went down.

This game had the following rule sets: Close Range and Earthquake. It was a 46 mana cap game, and only Life and Earth were available. We both picked Eternal Tofu and Moribund Arrowbait as the first unit. More often than not, that's usually where you want it; otherwise, you risk losing it much later in the game. After that, I placed Phlegmunculus and Thunderous Herald. I followed up with Mystic Mudbinder and Calabash Sage, and I finished the team with Arcane Skinwalker. Their second and third units were Commander Goff and Caravan Guard. After them, they had 3 units I also used: Thunderous Herald, Mystic Mudbinder, and Arcane Skinwalker. I gave Triage and Scavenger to my Sage. They gave the same abilities to their Mystic.

Both Moribund's died twice each. Their Mystic also dealt 4 damage to my Phlegmunculus, and my own Mystic eliminated their Moribund for good.

Thankfully, Phlegmunculus had 3 HP before the Earthquake. Their Skinwalker finished it, with the Poison affecting the Skinwalker and Mystic. The next unit to go down was Commander Goff. My Sage Healed Herald and their Caravan went down to 1 HP.

Earthquake's damage finished the Caravan. Their units were faster because of the extra buff, and Skinwalker took out my Herald. Their other units destroyed my Mystic's armor. However, with both Heals, it got back to full HP. My team also eliminated their Herald.

Despite Mystic's full HP, they had enough damage to kill it. My team took out the Mystic's armor and some of its HP. At this point, the game was my Sage against their Mystic, both backed up by Skinwalker. Their Mystic had no armor, and both front units could Heal themselves for 7, and the back unit with Triage. The difference was that my Sage had 7 attack while their Mystic only had 5. And their team was also Poisoned.

It was inevitable that I would win, considering we had the same healing power, but I was dealing more damage. By round 6, I eliminated the mystic, and in the following round, I finished the game.

They had one extra Bloodline Tribute trigger, thanks to Commander Goff's Resurrect. However, they had one less unit that benefited from it. The Poison from Phlegmunculus was nice but probably irrelevant to the outcome of the game. I don't know if it actually made a difference at any point for Triage usage, but that's unlikely. For the final showdown, it might have taken a few more rounds, but I still had more damage. My Sage's base attack of 5 was the highest in the field. Even with one extra Bloodline Tribute trigger, they didn't have more damage than I, and that was the small detail that decided the game. The Sage was also taking 1 less damage from Earthquake, but their Skinwalker dealt 1 more than mine. It was a very close game, and there was nothing wrong with their team. I was expecting to lose until I saw how much attack the Sage had.

What do you all think about this game? Would you have done anything different? Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading!!