INTRO

Just Last month, Splinterlands has implemented the guild shop which can be accessed when your guild has unlocked their Guild store at level 2!

In these shops there are Gladius Cases! Which contains really strong cards with "Bloodlust"!
Bloodlust: An ability that activates everytime the card kills / defeats and enemy, which will then boost all their stats by +1 or -1 In "Reverse-Speed" Rule-Set.

These Gladius Cards are ACCOUNT BOUND (Non-Tradeable) but they will boost your Collection Power for climbing into Higher Leagues and adding into your SPS Airdrop Points. However, these cards can only be played in Guild Brawls and NEVER in Ranked. Your guild do however needs to have their Barracks at level 2 before you can play these cards at Bronze level Cap.

In this post I'll be reviewing and giving my Opinions / Strategies for the Fire, Water and Earth Gladius! As there are about 32 cards it is hard to fit all of them into 1 post hence there will be a Part 2!

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FIRE

1. Chimney Wallstop (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Reach	Melee attack Monsters with the Reach ability may attack from the second position on the team.
LVL 5 - Repair	Restores some armor to the friendly Monster whose armor has taken the most damage.
LVL 9 - Strengthen	All friendly Monsters have increased Health by 1.

Opinion: An upgrade to the Fineas Rage, this is a card I would generally play this card with Malric Inferno. I would definitely want to play this card, even more than any other Fire Gladius if I can afford it! The main reason why I really want to play this card is because it deals 5 Damage and is really slow (Common 1 Speed being the Lowest Priority in terms of speed) as you would want your other monsters to weaken the opposing card and deal the final blow with this for the sweet Bloodlust Boost! Second reason of course is to tank for your backrows. 😝

2. Krash Wanderford (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Swiftness	All friendly Monsters have increased Speed.
LVL 4 - Thorns	When hit with a Melee attack, does (2 melee) damage back to the attacker.
LVL 7 - Return Fire	When hit with a Ranged attack, Monsters with Return Fire will return reduced damage back to their attacker. Equal to damage of attacker/2 rounded up.
LVL 10 - Dodge	Has an increased (25%) chance of evading Melee or Ranged attacks.

Opinion: Honestly not a card you would want to use at starting leagues as it is just like an expensive Creeping Ooze which instead decreases the enemy speed but increases your team's speed. However once it is leveled, it would be a pretty fun card to play with Blighton Bloom, Dodge and Flying seems like a real pain to deal with especially when it has such insane speed! Not to mention that even if melee or range hits it, he will hit back thanks to Thorns and Return Fire. This card's Biggest Weakness is Magic which is a very used card so be careful

3. Orella Abadon (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Sneak	Targets the last Monster on the enemy Team instead of the first Monster.
LVL 5 - True Strike	This Monster's attacks cannot miss. Blind debuff will have no effect either.

Opinion: Can be considered as an upgrade of the Kobold Miner not only in terms of Stats but also with the Bloodlust ability allowing it to grow as he defeats more enemies. Would be insane in cheap fire teams like Cerberus - Furious Chicken - Serpentine Spy - Orella Abadon - Creeping Ooze. The best part is that you do not really need to be concern about whether you want to use Malric Inferno or Pyre as they both do very well with this card.

4. Sarius (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL 5 - Poison	Attacks have a chance (50%) to apply poison, which does automatic damage to the target at the beginning of each round after the poison is applied. Poison does 2 damage each end of the turn and is not affected by shield or void.

Opinion: Not really a card I would really play, not in lower levels nor higher due to the fact that I think Orella Abadon is better. While this card gains the Poison ability at higher levels I doubt when the poison kills will Proc her Bloodlust ability.

5. Gorth (Epic):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL 4 - Enrage	Has increased Melee attack and Speed when damaged. Values are multiplied by 1.5 and rounded up.

Opinion: Looks like a cheaper version of Magnor only that it will survive for way longer as it does not have the Taunt Ability. This beast is devastating with its 5 melee and massive health, without forgetting with Enrage at higher levels it will be like a wrecking ball, with each swing it grows bigger and stronger!

6. Fina Voxom (Legendary):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Opportunity	Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy Monster with the lowest health.
LVL 2 - Piercing	If Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health.
LVL 3 - Stun	When a Monster with Stun hits a target, it has a 50% chance to stun the target causing it to skip turns until the stunning monster had its turn. This may cause some monsters to miss 2 turns or to miss 0 turns.
LVL 4 - Redemption	When this Monster dies, it does 1 (melee) damage to all enemy monsters.

Opinion: An absolute beast of a card... I mean if I see this I will be running the opposite direction! The Opportunity ability is one of the best in the game especially with Bloodlust as it is almost 80% chance that it will activate in a game! My actual favorite card in the Fire Splinter is the Serpentine Spy and this card is at a level so much higher than it for just 2 mana more! I guess it is not a LEGENDARY for nothing! 😆

WATER

1. Alva The Crusher (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Shield	Reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks. Attack value gets halved (and rounded up) before damage is dealt.
LVL 5 - Retaliate	When hit with a Melee attack, Monsters with Retaliate have a chance (50%) of attacking their attacker. Chain is possible.
LVL 9 - Stun	When a Monster with Stun hits a target, it has a 50% chance to stun the target causing it to skip turns until the stunning monster had its turn. This may cause some monsters to miss 2 turns or to miss 0 turns.

Opinion: Would definitely use this card in the "Lost Magic" rule-set. If you want to play this card, you will want to play it with Bortus, as its only weak to magic like the Living Lava.

2. Isgald Vorst (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Opportunity	Does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster. Additional damage is equivalent to main damage/2 rounded up. Snipe works well with this ability.
LVL 6 - Piercing	When this Monster dies, it does 1 (melee) damage to all enemy monsters.

Opinion: The Opportunity Ability with Bloodlust are a great pair! Mainly because Opportunity will always aim for the enemy with the lowest health, hence the higher chance on killing and activating Bloodlust. You think of this card like a Fina Voxom.

3. Alfredo (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL 5 - Close Range	Monsters with the Close Range ability can perform ranged attacks from the first position.
LVL 8 - True Strike	This Monster's attacks cannot miss. Blind debuff will have no effect either.

Opinion: Not a card I would recommend using, there are way better Gladius cards in this splinter like Isgald Vorst.

4. Relenor Cleaver (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Reach	Melee attack Monsters with the Reach ability may attack from the second position on the team.
LVL 5 - Inspire	Gives all friendly Monsters +1 Melee attack.

Opinion: Honestly a bit too expensive for my taste! However,this is a pretty strong card that rivals the Fire Gladius Chimney Wallstop with the same weakness to Magic. You should only play it with Bortus, or in either "Lost Magic" / "Weak Magic" Rule-Sets.

5. Edith Emberstar (Epic):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL3 - Cleanse	Removes all negative effects on the Monster in the first position on the friendly team. Does not remove summoner debuffs though.
LVL 5 - Strengthen	All friendly Monsters have increased Health by 1.

Opinion: I would totally play this card if it is a "Keep Your Distance" Rule-Set. But at higher levels you'll want to play this for the cleanse ability in "Noxious Fumes" Rule-sets so that your tank would not be affected by Poison

6. Flagulon Reine (Legendary):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Blast	Does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster. Additional damage is equivalent to main damage/2 rounded up. Snipe works well with this ability.
LVL 2 - Shatter	Target's armor is destroyed when hit by an attack from Monsters with Shatter. Effect isn't affected by divine shield.
LVL 3 - Knockout	Does double damage when attacking an enemy that is stunned.

Opinion: Having mixed feelings about this card... I believe that this card can be played with either Bortus or Alric although I am leaning slightly to the latter. You can think of this as a secondary Ruler of Seas with the higher level being a great support to remove Armor for regular range / melee attacking monsters. If you have higher level Medusa, consider using it for her Stun ability as a combo with Flagulon Reine's Knockout.

EARTH

1. Bertrol Gobson (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Opportunity	Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy Monster with the lowest health.
LVL 6 - Poison	Attacks have a chance (50%) to apply poison, which does automatic damage to the target at the beginning of each round after the poison is applied. Poison does 2 damage each end of the turn and is not affected by shield or void.

Opinion: A very cheap card to play, pretty good for its cost! With 3 speed and 3 health it is almost 80% chance that he will at least hit once per game, unless you have a Furious Chicken, then it has pretty much 60% chance of surviving to the 2nd round on low mana games! I do have mixed feelings about its higher level ability Poison as it does not suit Opportunity nor Bloodlust.

2. Katrelba Gibson (Common):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Sneak	Targets the last Monster on the enemy Team instead of the first Monster.
Base - Double Strike	Monster attacks twice each round.
LVL 5 - Snare	When attacking enemies with Flying, removes the Flying ability and cannot miss those currently with flying. Can still miss monsters without flying or monsters that already have been snared.
LVL 9 - Cripple	Each time an enemy is hit by a Monster with Cripple it loses one max health. If crippled monster is cleansed, it will recover 1 health for every time it has been crippled since the last cleanse.

Opinion: If you love the Life Splinter's Silvershield Assassin, you will definitely love Katrelba Gibson! They pretty much have the same ability hence the same function but their stats differ a lot! For example, while Katrelba Gibson does have more damage it is lacking in the speed and health side, so you really need to defend it from opportunity monsters. The plus side is the Bloodlust boost! 😉

3. Cutter Brieze (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL 5 - Shatter	Target's armor is destroyed when hit by an attack from Monsters with Shatter. Effect isn't affected by divine shield.

Opinion: Another cheap card to play! Now we are getting more and more cheaper card options! In the Earth Splinter with just 1 mana we can play Epona, Brownie, Creeping Ooze and even Furious Chicken without counting Cutter Brieze in Guild brawls! I do not believe this card will be making use of the Bloodlust ability at all since his damage output is so low but he is fast so there is that! I would rather use that 1 mana for Brownie or Creeping Ooze. 😬

4. Palidon Rakk (Rare):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
LVL 4 - Stun	When a Monster with Stun hits a target, it has a 50% chance to stun the target causing it to skip turns until the stunning monster had its turn. This may cause some monsters to miss 2 turns or to miss 0 turns..
LVL 7 - Strengthen	All friendly Monsters have increased Health by 1.

Opinion: The Earth Splinters generally has a lot of good tanks such as Unicorn Mustang, Nectar Queen, Minotaur Warlord and many more. One thing that you must know is that in generally Earth Splinter tanks are awesome in the "Spreading Fury" Ruleset as they generally have more health but less or no armour! Combo this card with a healer and you should be pretty set, especially if this card defeats the opponent and gets more health! 😁

5. Quora Towershead (Epic):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Heal	Restores a portion of the Monster's health each round. 1/3 of the monsters max health rounded down is restored. Minimum is 2.
LVL 3 - Immunity	This monster is immune to negative status effects. Still gets affected by summoner attack debuffs.
LVL 5 - Dispel	When this monster hits an enemy, it clears all positive status effects on that enemy.

Opinion: Well this is one strong card! even stronger than Kron the Undying! Imagine this card with the Scarred Llama Mage... Not to mention with its two attack type it will strike twice, the Bloodlust ability will definitely be activating alot. We better brace ourselves for this beast, maybe hope for Chaos Legends to give us more Deathblow cards (2x damage if their target is the only monster left on the enemy team).

6. Jin Guise (Legendary):

ABILITIES	DESCRIPTION
Base - Protect	All friendly Monsters gain +2 Armor.
LVL 2 - Blind	Enemy attacks have an increased chance (15%) of missing.
LVL 3 - Silence	Reduces the Magic Attack of all enemy Monsters by 1.
LVL 4 - Resurrect	When a friendly Monster dies it is brought back to life with 1 Health. This ability can only trigger once per monsters using the ability per battle.

Opinion: This is a pretty good support card! At level 1, think of it as a Water Splinter Venari Wavesmith. At higher levels, this card will be a beast as magic deals less damage and the opponent will be missing their attacks quite a bit if you combo it with evade / flying monsters.

TO BE CONTINUED

Phew, that was a long write! Can't believe that is only 16/32 of all the Gladius cards! While it has been a long write it has been a fun one!
I have already started on the PART 2 so I'm hoping that I can post it tomorrow!

Do comment down below your opinions on these gladius cards and tell me your favourite!
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Source:
splinterlands.com
splinterlands.fandom.com/wiki/Splinterlands_Wiki