The Grumpiest of Dwarves - Share Your Battle Challenge

This week's @splinterlands Share Your Battle Challenge is the perfect challenge for all of the new players who have joined the game recently. I'm going to talk a little bit about a battle I fought with this card, but also why this is such a good challenge for new players. Let's start by talking about the card.

Grumpy Dwarf

Let's go over the stats and abilities and attributes of this card. Grumpy Dwarf is a Common rarity card from the Neutral Splinter. At Level 1 he has 1 melee attack, 2 speed, 1 armor, and 2 health. Honestly, nothing special. BUT he has the Reach ability enabling him to attack from the second position. This makes him very useful as a secondary tank. At level 5 he gets Enrage improving his attacks when he gets hit. At a cost of 4 mana this dwarf is easy to fit into most linups.

At first glance this common card isn't that special. It doesn't hit hard, and it has only a little bit of survivability by virtue of its armor. And in high mana battles, there are certainly better choices for melee attackers or secondary tanks. But in lower leagues (where most new players are playing), low mana battles are abundant. And that's where this dwarf shines. Most importantly, this is a neutral card that can be played with any other team. It is also part of the starter deck that comes with a spellbook purchase.

Let's Talk About The Battle

This was a 16 mana battle, with Aim True and Little League rulesets. Available splinters included Earth and Dragon.

Aim True means that every melee and ranged attack hits its target. This is very useful for slower speed cards who can miss when attacking a faster card. Our little dwarf is slow and grumpy, so this helps him quite a bit.

Little League limits the card pool to only cards with 4 mana or below. Our dwarf just barely makes the cut.

My Strategy

With Earth and Dragon being the only splinters available and melee attacks always hitting, Mylor Crowling was the obvious choice for summoner. All of those melee hits would be greeted with thorny vengeance as damage was dealt back to the attacker. Using Mylor is just a gratifying win, even if it does feel a bit like dirty boxing.

And clearly, my opponent had the exact same thoughts:

I chose Biceratops as my first position tank. Out of my collection, this was the most durable card available. And while its attack is slow, a 2 damage is not bad for a 4 mana cost tank. I counted on the armor to keep it safe for for the first attack, and Mylor's thorns to increase its damage output.

Grumpy Dwarf came in second position as a backup tank. Again, I was counting on that little bit of armor to keep him in the fight should he find his way to the first position. Reach kept that spot in the lineup providing damage output.

Furious Chicken came next to provide an additional buffer to the ranged attackers who came up next. Costing ZERO mana, the chicken is essential in low mana battles as canon fodder or positioning help. With thorns, it also tends to dispatch squishier monsters with Sneak or Opportunity. And this alone can really swing the tempo of the battle.

Ranged attackers came next. With the Aim True rules I knew they'd hit their target each time. And I chose Goblin Dartling for Fourth position and Earth Elemental for Last Position. I like Earth Elemental in the back because it's cheap at 3 mana, and has lots of health for the mana cost. This can help protect against sneak attacks.

Neither of them hit hard, but also neither of them have Snipe or other back row attack abilities. So all attacks would be focused on the opponent's first position. My intent was to just overwhelm and not spread out my attacks or my strategy too much. Just a classic bully aggro strategy. Simple.

Did It Work?

My opponent also chose to use Mylor in this fight. But their strategy was a little more varied. And with the limitations imposed by a low mana cap and the Little League ruleset, I think that my simple strategy was really what won the battle. There just isn't enough room for much card synergy or combos in this ruleset.

So, while we fielded the same summoners, they had a weaker tank, a combination of melee and magic attacks. Some back row attacks with the Goblin Thief's sneak attack. Some mana was spent on the Creeping Ooze to slow me down, and some was spent on the Wood Nymph to provide Healing.

All of those are very good and useful abilities. But if you don't survive long enough to use them, then there's no good combo or synergy. And at lower mana battles, it seems to me that an aggro style of play will usually beat out combos or de-buffs. That's why we see so much Malric, and Alric, and Mylor in Bronze league and even Silver league play.

Here's the link to the battle so you can watch it yourself!

A Note For Newbies - The value of Neutral and this Challenge

If you're just getting in to playing Splinterlands you may be finding it hard to know which splinter to focus on growing your power and card collection in. You can't go wrong by getting well acquainted with the Neutral Splinter, which is where are little dwarf comes from.

Neutral cards will be useful in a wide variety of games and rulesets and will work well with any other splinter you decide to focus your efforts in. Here are some good guides to the Neutral Splinter:

• Splinterlands New Player Neutral Guide from @stever82
• BEGINNER'S GUIDE: Essential Neutral Splinter Rentals for Bronze League from @quixoticflux

Also, if you have already bought the spellbook and have your starter deck, you have this card. So, if you haven't already started posting on Splintertalk.io and making Splinterlands content, this is literally the PERFECT time to start making and earning from Splinterlands content.

You have everything you need. If you have a Splinterlands account, you already have this card. You already have your Hive account to post on Splintertalk. You can start earning Hive and SPT tokens from engaging in the community. This will help you to build your points towards your SPS airdrop and allow you another earning opportunity to grow your card collection with.

Right now it may seem hard to get cards as we wait for the next set to drop. Be pro-active in building your Splinterlands assets and start today by engaging in all of the opportunities the game and community offer.

Use your dwarf, fight, talk about the battle. Comment and upvote on others' posts. Win. This post explains how to do it.

And if you haven't already joined the fun that is Splinterlands, get started here. If you sign up using that link, let me know so I can send you a little gift to help you get started on your journey.