Splinterlands BATTLE MAGE SECRETS Featuring Aimless and Unprotected in a Silver Match
Featuring Bronze League Summoner and Monsters in Action!
Back in action with my bronze level account battling in silver for this week's challenge. This week's challenge is equalizer which is an interesting rule set that makes everyone's health equal at the start. This really changes the strengths and weaknesses of a lot of different monsters and is a nice change of pace when it comes along. There are some unique combinations that you can build that can become quite devastating. Let's take a look at how I played this match in my battle or aimless and unbroken combined together to provide me the victory.
CHALLENGE RULES
RULESET: AIMLESS
Description: All units start with the same health, based on the highest health on either team.
Buffs and debuffs are done afterward - this impacts base health.
Reasons Why I like it
There's a lot to like about this rule set when you're building your team, but there's also a lot to consider that will benefit your opponent. Those pesky low health cards that are otherwise very powerful now become really powerful. Not just those little health cards, but also cards that have the ability to heal or heal others become very powerful as it becomes difficult to knock out monsters if they're being healed and have very high health throughout the lineup.
I think this rule set also takes away some of the benefit that other monsters have with things like trample or bloodlust since they're less likely to knock a monster out early
The Matchup - Where Rules Sets, Splinters and Mana Collide
The Rule Sets
Watch the Match Here
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_a6ce7a2a21f24c8631440da63173aa09&ref=senstless
MANA: 27
Ruleset: Equalizer: All monsters start with the same health, based on the highest health in either team.
Ruleset: Unprotected: All armor is removed from monsters and one cannot gain armor.
SPLINTERS: Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Death, Dragon
Initial Rule Set and Mana Gameplay Thoughts
** Rulesets
These two rule sets are going to play fairly well together. The only wrinkle is there are a few monsters that typically have very low health with an extraordinary amount of armor. In the equalizer rule set they tend to be very heavily used because you have to get through both the health and the armor, but since the armor is removed in this match those monsters lose that additional peel and it's unlikely to see them. Overall I expect the typical equalizer rule set monsters to be used, those focusing on high attack, life leech, and tank heal for all the typical cards that I see used the most.
- Mana
The lower mana 27x is a bit more of an interesting matchup. It will certainly limit the card choices while also introducing the game of chicken between you and your opponent. Everyone wants there to be at least one high health card to bring up everyone's out health, but you don't want to spend all of your mana on acquiring that high health card. That leaves everyone picking the lower mana cards hoping for there to be one decent moderate to high health card to bring everyone up.
** Splinters
This is the first match in a long time but I can remember where the splinters are wide open. I don't see any clear benefit to any splinter over another since this rule sent really sort of equalizes everything out promo pro and con. I wouldn't be surprised to see a fire line up with very heavy melee or sneak attack, also wouldn't be surprised to see life being played with a very heavy arrow double attack really it's hard to figure out what my opponent's going to do.
Summoner IMMORTALIS
I picked immortalis for several reasons. First of all it gives all of my monsters the void ability to help counter those magic attacks. If the magic attacks are only one that means none of them will get any damage. There's also helps to reduce those monsters who have life leech counter that and not to provide them additional health.First Position MYCELIC MORPHOID
Typically that one man of card that isn't used very often, but in this rule set it'll get a ton of health to go with those thorns and still only cost one mana.Second Position VENARI MARKSRACT
Really only playing this for its bloodlust as I'm hoping to boost the Monk on both health and attack and give it a double heel
- Third Position XENITH MONK
When it moves to the front line should have been boosted your blood loss get two attack, with additional heel and goblins I could behind it to hopefully keep it around
- Fourth Position GOBLIN PSYCHIC
My goal was to have a self-healing monster plus a tank heel monster and hoping of high health from one of their monsters to make it almost unbeatable. Getting to heal 50% of a monster's health is pretty devastating in a lot of situations. The two magic attack was also pretty solid I felt. - Fifth Position GOBLIN THIEF
Wanted to go a little counter-attack here with a sneak monster. I also felt like it would be a decent supplemental attack once fungus finger given a martyr roost. - Sixth Position FUNGUS FLINGER
Put fungus finger at the back to absorb those pesky sneak attacks plus hopefully give a binder boost when it's taken out. And worst case it just sits back there delivering an arrow attack every round and doing a little bit of damage
Opponent Lineup & Match Play
- Summoner THADDIUS BROOD I can't say I'm surprised, it's pretty hard to counter lives magic in a lot of matches and Thaddeus seems like a logical choice in a situations.
- CRYPT BEETLE great choice, and I used it. In a very similar match the fact that it has Shield makes it really pesky to get through
- VENARI BONESMITH I know brainer for death lineups. Giving it a health boost Plus life bleach can make it very difficult to eliminate once it moves to the front. Unfortunate for them I have void which means it will never add to its health
- LIFE SAPPER I very often play bonesmith in life sapper together as well. Having them set up like this works really well unless you face off against void where you don't get to build up your health
- SILENT SHA-VI pretty much have to assume this is going to be played if they're playing death. Luckily for me it's only a level two which means it's only a two damage sneak attack instead of three but either way I'd be happy with it.
- SOUL STRANGER underrated in most situations due to its low health but given the health boost it's a great rear attack card with decent speed and two range attack
- CARRION SHADE looks like they were planning to counter my sneak attack and put it here. Decent card to speed with flying means that I might miss occasionally.
Round 1
Just looking at the lineups before I start, things look pretty good for me. I think my biggest advantage is having void on all of my monsters which counters half of their attacks and prevents them from building health. As the first round starts and gets on your way we trade blows back and forth taking away damage, healing damage, and end around without much difference by the end. I don't think we learned enough yet to really see how the match is going to play out
Round 2
Round two has a lot of action again but his shield and my void are negating most of the tax by the end of the second round we end up with neither of us losing any monsters and it appears that this battle is going to take much longer to play out even though we only start with five health.
Round 3
Round three seems the first elimination and it's my fungus finger. I'm actually happy with this as it now boosts my sneak attack to 3 speed and three damage moving me up the power ranking and attack chart. I end around with a knockout from goblin thief scoring my first knockout of the round which is quickly followed by knocking out the beetle for a two knockout round that leaves me feeling very good.
Round 4
Things are looking pretty good for me. My biggest risk is that goblin thief only has for health left and is next in line to be attacked by silent Sha. Cuz around 4:00 starts we both trade blows again but no one get to knock out. It's pretty clear that next round though a few more monsters will be off the charts.
Round 5
Around five starts off and I continue to take damage but I'm the one who's cured the next knockout by taking out soul strangler. That leaves them down to three monsters and I don't feel that I'm at too much risk anymore. It's just going to take a long time to finish them off. A score another knockout on my next turn bringing them down to only two monsters of Life saver and silent Sha.
Round 6
Has around 6:00 starts I'm surprised to see that I still have my first monster mycelic morphod in place. It's crazy that it hasn't been knocked out yet and is still around given that it's only ever had five health. As the round plays out I lose goblin thief but deal significant damage to Life saver leaving it with only one health.
Round 7
There will be around 7:00 and 8:00 but they are meaningless and I am in complete control. I won't lose another monster throughout this time and it won't take long to dispatch my enemy.
Round 8
Thoughts - and Chances to Win Again
Actually surprised at how dominate my lineup was considering I only ever got up to five health. I don't necessarily think that my lineup was as powerful as it could have been, it's more likely I just happen to have the perfect counter to my opponent. Having void against two monsters that have life samper and only one magic attack means I was able to negate the largest part of their strategy.
Looking at my chances for repeat victory, they come in at 100% and it confirms my suspicions. It's not like I got lucky with a lot of misses, for low chance hits. I think I'd give this strategy another shot and see how it played out. I'm sure there are plenty of good counters to this lineup given all the splinters and choices out there. In fact I could see a really good lineup with lob lowland and Katrelba Gibson.
Thanks for sharing! - @mango-juice
