Weekly Battle Challenge! Featuring Lava Spider
Lore:
The village folk always say that Tarsa was born with fire in her blood, and that is true in many ways. Her burning rage and quick temper are amplified by her powers to summon and control fire. While her parents and teachers tried to instill patience for such dangerous magic, Tarsa had little time for that. She used her abilities to bully and threaten those that got in her way.
Her young and innocent-looking appearance only helped her to further manipulate people around her. “Tarsa always gets what Tarsa wants” is what she says to herself every time something or someone challenges her.
*When the Chaos Legion arrived, Tarsa saw this as an opportunity to have free reign of her fire power without interference from anyone else. So long as the Chaos Legion opens the path for her, she can burn everything else to the ground. *
Tarsa's laugh echoed into the night. She stood in the middle of the wide-open plains, a blanket of stars above. Her arms moved in circles around her as she controlled a raging torrent of fire. It spun about her, embers drifting up into the night.
She was surrounded by a tribe of barbarians. Barbarians that were angry she was on their land, using their resources, and hunting their animals. They tried to talk to her, but Tarsa cared little for conversation. She was stronger than all of them combined.
She flicked her wrist and bolts of fire shot from her spinning torrent, impacting the warriors around her. They screamed. She laughed.
“Well, come on!” she shouted. “Let's see if any of you are strong enough for Tarsa!”
Reasoning:
Even though she doesn't synergize with the Lava Spider she is clearly the best pick for our formation. +1 Health for all and +1 attack for 3/5 in my mind is clearly better than +1 speed from Pyre in this matchup.
Lore:
*An Antoid Platoon typically consists of five to seven Fire Ants, each approximately the size of a man's fist. They are well armored and wield shields and spears that, while tiny, provide a formidable defense and offense against the antoid's foes. Operating through a shared hive mind, the Antoid Platoon is employed to defend Ant Miners, other workers, the colony, and its queen. They are also known to become aggressive when invaders encroach upon their homes and surrounding territory. *
The Weirding Warrior tried to bring his foot down on the Ant Miner, but the vile little insect skittered away and disappeared down a hole in the soft silt of the forest's floor.
The Weirding Warrior rubbed his calf where it had struck him with its pickaxe, limped over to the hole, and peered inside.
“Come on out little fella,” he hissed. “I won't bite.”
A rustle of shifting dirt, and an Antoid Platoon consisting of five red ants wearing armor and wielding shields and spears poured out of the hole and skittered toward him.
The Weirding Warrior snorted and raised his boot. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”
The rustling grew louder. He paused and cocked his head. Suddenly, a flood of fire ants poured from the hole and surged toward him.
Eyes wide, he gasped and turned to flee. Tiny pinpricks tore into his lower legs. He stumbled and fell.
And the Antoid Platoons swarmed over him.
Reasoning:
Antoid Platoon is the undisputable king of little league tanks, in my opinion (for starter cards at least). As long as the opposing team doesn't go magic damage.
Lore:
When the Horny Toad puffs up and fills itself with air, razor-sharp spines protrude in every direction from its body. This amazing defense helps make sure the toads are not eaten as snacks. They also urinate uncontrollably when frightened, an attribute repulsive enough to save their lives quite frequently.
Reasoning:
Pure attack filler, I'm not happy to use the horny toad but reach combined with the tarsa buffs make him a decent choice here.
Lore:
Serpentines are naturally sneaky, but their highly-trained spies can infiltrate even the most secure bases in the Splinterlands. They wear minimal armor, because they are never caught. Retractable miniature spears are the chosen weapon of the Serpentine Spies; they can be hidden easily and brandished quickly for many uses.
Reasoning:
Serpentine Spy is the second monster in this lineup, 3 attack with opportunity for 3 is just amazing. Putting him in the middle to protect him from potential sneak units. Unfortunately, the mana didn't allow for an opportunity blocker in front of him, so he is still vulnerable.
Lore:
Few explorers dare to go deep within the volcanoes of the world. Tales are told of great spiders that weave threads of fire and trap their enemies in webs of flame. An inescapable and painful death.
*When the Chaos Legion entered the Splinterlands through the great volcano in the center of Praetoria, they saw the lava spiders and used them to their advantage. Transporting these spiders into areas that need defense is a win-win for both groups. For the Chaos Legion, it is an easy barrier to ward off unwanted visitors. And for the lava spiders, they get free meals from the curious, the foolish, and the unwary adventurers that seek to strike at the Chaos Legion. *
The dwarven warrior crept his way towards a long stretch of stone corridor. It had taken him months to find this secret entrance within the dense jungle. A hideout for supporters of the Chaos Legion. He intended to destroy them all and make safe the area once again.
He made his way silently into the corridor, gripping his dagger tightly. But as he trekked further into the darkness, he felt the heat increase. A heavy frown crossed his features. That wasn't right. Why was it getting so hot?
He turned a corner and stifled an alarmed cry. Crisscrossing the corridor were strands of spiderwebs that glowed red hot. He brought his dagger up, but it was too late. A searing pain stabbed into his back.
He was unconscious by the time the burning web was wrapped around him.
Reasoning:
Not a huge fan playing 1 damage unit in little league. The possibility of doing 0 damage to a shielded unit is pretty high. But Lava Spiders snipe works in its favor here. Most decks bring ranged/magic units here, so our little spider will mostly find a target to nibble at.
Lore:
In the Burning Lands, the force of electricity is barely understood; it is considered a form of fire. These small but powerful living sparks bring fire through the natural electricity they carry. They are extremely fast, and as a group, they can burn a village in mere minutes.
Reasoning:
Spark Pixies' high speed and flying make it a decent backline projector against sneak having mostly a 45%+ dodge chance.
Into the battle:
Round 1:
Commentary
Hmm that lineup looks amazing for us even though the -2 armor from Wizard of Eastwood isn't great for our Antoid Platoon. But our opponent actually only was 1 unit that's able to even damage our platoon and that unit will be busy attacking our backline. Don't see how we can possibly lose this match.
Round 2:
Commentary
As expected we instantly killed his failed summoner. Too bad for us that our serpentine spy went for the summoner so, that we didn't get work on decimating the rest of his deck. In addition, we got unlucky that the Goblin Thief hit his 45% hit chance vs our Spark Pixies. This messes up our attack sequence further, Serpentine Spy is now vulnerable to the Venari Scout.
Round 3:
Commentary
The Spy kills the backline archer, but can't find the 10% dodge against the scout and succumbs to it. We waste the spider attack on the Hill Giant. Which dies in the next hit.
Round 4:
Commentary
The Goblin Thief finally manages to damage our Antoid Platoon but meets his demise shortly thereafter. Well no it's definitely GG. They have no way left to damage us.
Thanks for sharing! - @alokkumar121
