Splinterlands BATTLE MAGE SECRETS - CLOSE RANGE W/ Target Practice and Stampede in a Bronze Brawl

Featuring Bronze League Summoner and Monsters in Action!

This week's battle mage secrets challenge was a bit challenging for me. It's been a solid 3 days of gameplay and I don't believe I have seen a single close range rule set. I decided to go back through my history, and focused on brawl matches to see if I was lucky enough to get one during my brawls I was fortunate enough to find this instance of close range match, in combination with target practice in stampede. Let's dig in and take a look at how the rule sets, mana, and splinters all play together and play out for my opponent and i.

CHALLENGE RULES

RULESET: Close Range

Description: Monsters with ranged attacks are allowed to attack in the first position.

Reasons Why I like it making new all powerful cards
Close range is an interesting rule set. It changes all of the ranged attack cards specifically those shooting arrows to attack from the first position. While there are a few monsters out there that have close range as an ability and with this gives it to all of those cards. In my mind it makes aerocards much stronger especially cards that have double strike, or big attack damages that can now be used in first position. It removes the risk of having those cards move to first position and losing their attack during the match.

Below are a couple of my favorite cards to use in matches like this, dry bone raider gets a significant boost if it can do both attacks from first position. If even at a level one, it can do up to six base damage in first position. Much like Runemancer Florre where in first position it can now do a base damage of four or more depending on the summoner boosts. These cards can really start to get pretty powerful.

The Matchup - Where Rules Sets, Splinters and Mana Collide

The Rule Sets

Watch the Match Here

https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_tQsiy9n68S8jxsIeJ5fy&ref=senstless

MANA: 54

Ruleset: Close Range: Monsters with ranged attacks are allowed to attack in the first position.

Ruleset: Stampede: Trample will be able to retrigger infinitely as long as the trampling monster keeps killing other monsters.

Ruleset: Target Practice: All ranged and magic monsters gain the snipe ability.

SPLINTERS: Water, Life, Death, Dragon

Initial Rule Set and Mana Gameplay Thoughts

The rule sets for this match are in odd mix for me. The close range and target practice play hand in hand and hint towards a mass heavily favored by range attack arrows that have no fear of losing their ability to attack as they move forward. Adding snipe to all of them also means that whatever monster is in first position is likely to stay there longer. The third rule set of stampede throws everything into chaos. This rule said clearly favors melee monsters and especially water if the summoner of Possibilus the Wise is chosen, giving every monster trample.

Having the choice of summoners between water, life, death and dragon just adds to the possibilities. I can see my opponent choosing life to get a boost to all arrow attacks, Dragon to reduce arrow attacks and open up the all powerful Dragon cards, or water trying to split direction and go with trample.

Really high man of the 54 is pushing me towards a trample match, but I am slightly concerned that they will go with a range attack with a lot of double strikes, or Dragon cards that might be harder to hit.

• Summoner POSSIBILUS THE WISE I chose to play for the trample on most of my melee monsters. The additional health Plus trampoline reach was just too much for me to ignore. Although I am concerned with getting picked apart.

• First Position COEURL LURKER
  I wanted to use a heavy hitting card that would take away all of the attacks with taunt. While I know it's not likely to last very long in this match, it was worth it to allow my other cards to attack.

• Second Position COASTAL SENTRY
  And obvious choice, anytime that you use this strategy it's almost always in second position.

• Third Position DEEPLURKER
  I swear deep lurker is in 90% of water lineups no matter what the scenario is.

• Fourth Position KULU MASTERMIND
  My other new favorite opportunity card. It's big damage and high-speed makes it very powerful.

• Fifth Position DEMENTED SHARK
  Since I went all in I melee I might as well give everything another boost. Even though it does not attack from here it will eventually when it moves up the line

• Sixth Position BAAKJIRA
  In argument could be made that this should be in fifth position, but I really wanted to put it at the back of the lineup as the target for when Coreurl Lurker was knocked out. Allowing the rest of my melee cards to go mostly untouched.

Opponent Lineup & Match Play

• Summoner CHANSEUS THE GREAT my opponent chose to play life, and with a very nice legendary seminary of their own. Having a summoner that has resurrect, triage, and repair will make it more difficult for my cards to get through if they have armor.
• URIEL THE PURIFIER classic tank card, high armor and health with massive damage but not until the second round.
• BILA THE RADIANT the card I have not seen for a while, but with life leech it's a pretty solid choice. Only downside is the low health in first range position
• ADELANDE BRIGHTWING another favorite part of mine, it also has repair but given the lineup there isn't much armor to actually repair. It might have been a slight oversight
• CAPTAIN KATIE I'm guessing they wanted Captain Katie to get loaded up and start knocking out monsters to become that all powerful five or six magic damage by the time of the front
• DINVINE HEALER I miss some of these older cards and no longer have, having a healer it could move, now combined with the seminar you have triage and him helping to keep the monsters around
• SIVLERSHIELD SHERIF Mr great choice, while it has snipe as a base ability, it has really high health. I would have honestly expected this to be in second position and not last position.

Round 1

Before the match starts, it's a pretty interesting visual. Neither of us chose to play the close range, mostly because of the high matter I expect as the majority of the cards probably were too low of health to consider using. I'm feeling fairly confident before the match starts but I am concerned with how much magic they have, not to mention healing triage and resurrect.

Has round one starts the one factor that I forgot was the speed differential. Baakjira applied a negative one speed to all of the monsters, but the majority of my monsters for three or four speed of a base level. This means unfortunately for my opponent that I'm going to have most of my attacks in before they ever get in turn. My second attack actually knocks out divine sorceress, triggering my first trample onto silver Shield share while Divine sorceress does get resurrected, this is actually very bad for my opponent as two attacks later for me it's knocked out by deep lurker again, triggering another trample which also knocks out silver Shield sheriff. I've already knocked out two of their cards and burned the resurrect ability before they even had a chance to attack. While they do get their returns to attack, I have enough health to not lose a single card yet.

Round 2

Round two starts off and it looks pretty good for me, while their tank has been recharged and looking to deal out nine damage, it'll have to wait as all of my monsters are faster. Once again Kulu Mastermind delivers a knockout blow, triggering trample. This sets up a series of knockouts and tramples that are almost a big comical. Next Coastal century does a double attack on the purifier, knocking it out and trampling on to Bila the Radiant. At this point he made are down to two monsters with only two health and my team is yet as untouched. Unfortunately for my opponent I still have one attack left with deep lurker, dealing four damage with trample that knocks both of them out before they even got a turn.

Thoughts - and Chances to Win Again

This was the fastest win for a 54 man of match I think I have ever played. I was actually quite shocked at how quickly it went. Looking back my opponent did choose some monsters that had lower health and were especially susceptible to opportunity cards with trample. This is the risk of using some of those range to attack cards at times, some of my favorite cards such as PELACOR Arbelest just doesn't have enough health in these big man of matches.

I found an interesting that neither of us relied heavily upon the close range rule set, while it does appear that my opponent went heavily with the target practice all snipe rule set thinking they could cut through my back defense.

Looking at the chances below it shows that I am very likely to win again, and I think the waiting game played out will support that even if the tool is not 100% accurate. I think that close range is a great rule set that changes things up, but some of the combinations of three rules that matches will make it a less powerful choice or at least less impactful than it would be on its own.

If water splinter was not available, I believe this would have played out much differently and trample would not have factored in as highly as it did, making the close range of snipe a bigger aspect to the match.

Well I know this match included close range, it didn't really highlight close range in a format sense other than to say it needs to be factored in versus the rest of the rule sets, splinters and mana. Relying too heavily on the rule set at times can get you to not focus on putting in the strongest lineup, even if that line up is ignoring the rule set for the change but it gives. While close range can give significant boosts at time, if it is played towards too heavily then it became and become a negative.

~~@senstless

#sbi-skip