Hello there.

Splinterlands battles can be complex. There are a lot of different strategies available to players, and there isn't a team composition that beats all. Some consider the different tactics to be like rock, paper, scissors, which makes the game pretty balanced. There are the usual front to back teams, which have tanks in front, and damage dealers in the back. Then there are the Sneak/Opportunity teams, where the monsters target the backline and ignore the front tanks.

There are Taunt and support teams where they have a very tanky front monster, which can have the Taunt ability, and there are support monsters at the back that heal, repair, and cleanse the front monster. This is usually very strong against the two teams above. Then there is the Scattershot team that is mainly a counter to the Taunt and support teams. This one though is very weak against the first two teams.

Those are just some basic examples, and are not always the case. Because of the different abilities available a lot can change because of positioning and ability usage. An Obsidian front to back team can put a Regal Peryton in the back to protect against Sneak attacks. Teams can use Corrosive Ward and Affliction to disrupt the Taunt and Support strategy, etc.

I believe that being flexible in battle is the ideal strategy. Check the opponent's history, check what they are most likely to use, and counter it. But always pick teams that can also counter different strategies.

Without further ado, let's get into the battle.

The Ruleset

This was a modern ranked battle, with the What Doesn't Kill You Ruleset. A 35 mana battle is on the high normal amount, and only Water and Life are available. I can think of a lot of different strategies for each so I will try to counter as much as I can.

The ideal team for Water is Kelya with an Oshannus and some melee monsters. Oshannus will get very high speed, and can deal with all types of attacks because of its Void ability. The monsters at the back can then deal damage safely. Another option is Possibilus with melee monsters, but they might have some problems with the speed difference if they faced a Kelya team.

For Life, Ilthain can be an option to take advantage of the Enrage, adding Drybone Barbarian in front and War Pegasus at the back can be a good combo. Franz Ruffmane with Marisol can also be good to deal a lot of front to back damage.

The Battle

Link to the Battle

---

The Matchup

My opponent decided to go with a Kelya team which I did not consider. They went with a Tank and Support team. Instead of a Taunt monster, they went with Mantaroth for more damage. They had a Tank Heal, Repair, and Cleanse as support abilities. Since they didn't use a Taunt monster, they are very vulnerable to my Sneak and Opportunity attacks. I was prepared for a Possibilus mirror, and even placed my Uraeus at the back as the Opportunity target, so they won't trigger a Trample on the first kill.

---

End of Round 1

I was able to kill their healer, and because of Possibilus' Trample, I also damaged their Sea Stalker even though it has Camouflage. A mistake that the opponent made was they split their damage. The Sea Stalker has Snipe, so it targeted my Noa instead of my Cruel Sethropod, which survived because of the lack of damage and was later healed by my Merdaali Guardian.

---

End of Round 2

This battle state is the typical scenario when a Sneak/Opportunity team faces off against other teams. If my opponent used a Taunt monster instead of Mantaroth, it might have been more effective with their strategy. Sea Stalker dying from Trample is the icing on the cake. This is one way of dealing with Camouflage monsters.

---

End of Round 3

Mantaroth is strong, but it can't deal with my remaining monsters. This battle is over.

---

End of the Battle

I will have to say that I was surprised how that battle turned out. The Sea Stalker dying to Trample is a bit funny and lucky, and my Opportunity monsters getting the kills and Trampling were perfect. Apart from Mantaroth and the Sea Stalker, my opponent used low level monsters, which helped make the battle easier.

The Result

---

Conclusion

In my battles, I try to make it a point to look at the possible teams and imagine them fighting against one another. I will then choose the team which I think is best. For this specific battle, my opponent used a team composition that I think wasn't optimal. If they had used the Life Taunt version, I don't think I would have won. I chose my team because it can win against most of the teams I can think of, and I was proven right in the end.