Share Your Battle - Can Water Extinguish Yodin Zaku?

The theme for the current "Share Your Battle" challenge is Silent Sha-vi, but when it comes to Melee, I always like the Water cards because they have high speed and hit with decent damage. So as I was doing my brawls, I came across this battle where I had to face Yodin Zaku, one of the most dreaded Fire Summoners in the game. With the help of Relenor Cleaver (Gladius Card), the result was a pleasant surprise!

Before we jump into the battle, here's a snippet of the lore for Relenor Cleaver!

The Cleavers are the only family of ΛZMΛRÉ Axemasters who have ventured away from their homes on the edges of the jungle. Many members of this family have even made names for themselves in other Splinters, such as Pearl Cleaver, who currently earns her living diving for treasures outside Lyveria in the treacherous waters near the Whirlpool of Fyor. Janus Cleaver, who has an artistic and adventurous spirit, has left ΛZMΛRÉ to live with the eccentric poets of Balfair in the Smoldering Forest of the Burning Lands. One of the Cleaver ancestors called Borgot signed the Dark Contract some fifty years ago, and went on after death to study black sorcery in Mortis. Relenor Cleaver wields the heaviest axes in the history of the Axemasters; he has been drawn to the glory of arena combat and the roars of adoring crowds at Mount Mox, where he now lives as a professional Gladiator.

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Battle Type & Team Lineup

Position	Card	Notes
Summoner	Kelya Frendul	I would go for Kelya Frendul for Enrage battles because Water cards generally have high speed and Kelya's provides a +1 speed.
1	Diemonshark	One of my reliable Water tanks these days because Legionnaire Alvar is more expensive to rent and Serpent of Eld can be squishy to magic.
2	Relenor Cleaver	I was contemplating whether to pick Relenor Cleaver or Isgard Vorst for this Water lineup but I went with my gut feeling and picked Relenor Cleaver.
3	Torrent Fiend	A 0 mana cards to buffer for any attacks on the backline.
4	Scavo Hireling	With my 2 big cards on the front full of armor, Scavo Hireling's Repair ability might come in handy.
5	Water Elemental	My trusty Water Elemental sits at the backline.

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• Pre Battle: Once again it was not surprisingly to see big cards on the opposing end in this guild brawl, but I always have confidence in my Water lineups. The magical part about Guild Brawls is that the Bloodlust ability of Gladius Cards can turn games around once they get going. The challenge is getting them to make the last hit.
  

• Round 1: Yodin Zaku's +1 Ranged and Blast immediately showed its power when all my 5 cards were hit in one way or another. Fortunately the additional armor from Kelya Frendul buffer all the attacks for the first round. My opponent put out a squishy tank and Diemonshark earned a Trample by finishing off 1 card while Relenor Cleaver finished off the 2nd and earned the Bloodlust and is up to 5 Melee, 4 Speed, 8 Armor, 7 HP.
  

• Round 2: Water Elemental, Diemonshark and Relenor Cleaver combined to earn another Bloodlust and he was up to 6 Melee, 5 Speed, 7 Armor, 8 HP. I also realised my opponent was having issues with accuracy due to the speed difference, which was one of the strength of Water cards/summoner.
  

• Round 3: 7 HP on the opposing side didn't seem to be a lot when Relenor Cleaver put out a massive hit and claimed the 3rd Bloodlust. With Scavo Hireling dutifully repairing his armor, he has effectively turned into a monster, 7 Melee, 6 Speed, 10 Armor, 9 HP. When Gladius cards turned into such stats, it was almost impossible to lose.
  

• Round 4: Relenor Cleaver went first with 6 speed and claimed 4th Bloodlust. Just look at the stats - 8 Melee, 7 Speed, 9 Armor, 10 HP. Lava Launcher was undoubtedly a strong tank and took a while to take out.
  

• Round 5: Lava Launcher held on for one more round.
  

• Round 6: And Relenor Cleaver got his 5th Bloodlust and the final stats read 9 Melee, 8 Speed, 8 Armor and 11 HP. Lol!
  

If you are interested to watch the battle, you can find it here.

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Post Battle

Did my strategy work? It is never easy to go against a string of Ranged cards boosted by Yodin Zaku, and I would think that I picked the strong possible team within my deck. I went with Water and the high speed saved me a few hits due to misses. Also, I was able to protect my Gladius card and clocked many Bloodlusts. Finally, Scavo Hireling's Repair ability kept the tanks standing longer than expected.

Do I like Relenor Cleaver? Yes, I think it is definitely a strong Gladius card, but its main weakness is its slow speed and weakness to magic so a few Bloodlusts are required to overcome that. (That said, I like Isgard Vorst equally too!)

Final thoughts? Fighting with Gladius cards are very interesting because they can make or break the battle (think Quora Towershead) and they can only be used in Guild Brawls. And that's why I think Guild Brawls presents a new kind of fun and experience.

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So that's all I have! What are your takeaways from this battle? Feel free to comment below, as I am always keen to learn and improve!

As always, thanks for reading and have a pleasant day ahead!

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