Hello there.

Since I have discussed about the Rulesets and the different Abilities. I will now document and share my strategies with my rentals. But first I have to explain some of the thoughts behind my choices.

I play mostly in Silver, but I follow the 3 2 2 1 levels similar to Bronze [Common Rare Epic Legendary]. This is because these cards tend to be cheaper than the 5 4 3 2 counterparts, which are the max in Silver. They provide the minimum level requirements for earnings in Silver, and these are the 1BCX levels of Gold Foil cards, except for Legendary cards.

I also look at the CP/DEC of cards, and their actual DEC/day cost. The minimum CP/DEC I rent is usually around 800 CP/DEC. I can go lower than 800 CP/DEC if they are common cards that are around 0.100+ DEC/day, or if they are essential cards like Mylor when I'm trying to get out of Bronze.

The reason I'm this stingy is because I rent out my cards, and I use my rental income to rent the cards I will use. I have to be picky to get a good amount of cards. Finally, I look at the stats and abilities. Cards that have strong abilities and stats at these levels are plenty, but the best ones have high cost. That's why I try to look for the overlooked ones that are still good.

Let's get to it.

AFFLICTION

Affliction is a good ability to have especially when facing Water, Earth, and Life that have multiple sources of healing. Unfortunately this is an ability that I am not able to rent a lot of. The cards below are the ones that fall within my level requirements:

Mimosa is a Summoner that I am sometimes able to rent. She is not too popular because her abilities have been overshadowed by other cards. If you are trying to counter Ranged, Contessa is cheaper and has the same debuff. If you are countering magic, Thaddius is better most of the time. If you want Affliction, there are a lot of Death monsters that have it. I do use her in Rulesets where Melee monsters are not allowed so I can be flexible and counter both Ranged and Magic. Since she is not popular, she also falls within my budget. When I'm lucky I can rent her for 1000+ CP/DEC.

Grim Reaper is a Rare Death card that costs 6 mana with 3 Range Attack, 2 Speed, and 4 HP. It gets the Affliction ability at level 1. It is a cheap card to rent and has higher than average [1-2] damage. The 4 HP is a bit low, and can be dangerous when facing Opportunity. I usually use it in Equalizer ruleset, and when Melee is not available, or when Ranged monsters only.

Undead Archer is a Rare Death card that costs 2 mana with 1 Range Attack, 2 Speed, and 3 HP. It gets the Affliction ability at level 1. It is also a cheap card to rent. I usually use it in low mana battles, or in the Little League ruleset when I see my opponent uses healers. It is also good as a filler card instead of the Xenith Archer which doesn't have an ability.

Captain's Ghost is a Rare Water card that costs 7 mana with 2 Magic Attack, 2 Speed, and 7 HP. It gets the Affliction ability at level 1. This is an example of a card that is very popular, and I am lucky when I am able to find a good deal for it. 2 Magic attack is already good, add to that the 7 HP, and it becomes a second tank. The Affliction ability is the cherry on top. Being a Water monster to counter their multiple healers in a mirror, and being a viable option in Alric teams just pushes it over the edge.

Serpentine Mystic is a Rare Dragon card that costs 3 mana with 1 Magic Attack, 1 Speed, and 4 HP. It gets the Affliction ability at level 1. Currently, this is my go to Affliction monster, because it can technically be used with all elements as long as Dragon is available. I think the stats are average, but the 3 mana makes it easy enough to put in a lot of teams.

Doctor Blight is a Legendary Neutral card that costs 4 mana,
with 1 Magic Attack, 1 Speed, and 4 HP. I am rarely able to rent Dr. Blight, because he usually costs a lot of DEC/day. I also don't think he is that good at level 1. But with the Martyr abilities, I might try to make him work if I can rent him for cheap.

As seen from above, there aren't a lot of cheap and viable options for Bronze level cards. Death has 3 cards with Affliction, Water has one but is too popular and costly. The Dragon monster is Wild only, and the Neutral card also costs a bit, and stats wise is not that good.

The Goblin Chef[Common], Goblin Psychic[C], and Runeslinger[R] get Affliction at level 4, and the Darkest Mage[E] gets it at level 3. Not only do they usually have bad CP/DEC and DEC/day, I will also need to rent higher level Summoners to use them which would also cost more.

That is it for my Affliction Rental post. I plan on making one for every ability, and the next one will be on Amplify. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if have suggestions for improvement.

And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.

If you want to start playing Splinterlands, you can use my link:
Splinterlands Referral Link