Hello fellow Splinterlands warriors! It's @zoe01 here with another episode of my journey on Splinterlands. Because of my busy schedule I couldn't continue for a few days but luckily I have got my free time again and it's time for grinding. I did not stop after breaking into Silver II, the real test of endurance has already began. I will be pushing further into the rank meant refining my strategy, learning to adapt on the fly and mastering elements that aren’t necessarily my primary go-to picks.

You guys already know that my favourite element is death and summoner Thalgrimore but today, I wanted to experiment other elements as well. I am absolutely excited to share a breakdown of two intense, back-to-back matchups! It has helped me a lot solidify my position, alongside some incredibly lucky daily rewards that dropped right when I needed them most!

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Match 1: The Mirror Matchup Against OAGUNGAD

• Mana Cap: 33 Mana
• Ruleset: Up close & personal: you can only summon units with Melee power
• Active Elements: Fire, dragon

(Death element locked out again!) lol I don't care as I wanted to experiment other elements. I'm against OAGUNGAD, I was sitting at a 1300 rating and if I lose then I would be going back to silver III again, which I couldn't afford to do so. I decided to use fire element because I am not that familiar with dragon element. So, I had put my growing confidence in the Fire element to work.

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My Lineup Layout:

• Summoner: Barthalamas (Level 1,all friendly units have +1 Speed)
• 1st Position: Frankarsgard (melee)
• 2nd Position: Chaos Furibringer (melee)
• 3rd Position: Vengeful Monk (Melee)1
• 4th Position: Kanaaq Miner (Melee)

Interestingly my opponent also had the same idea and opted for an almost identical strategy, picking Barthalamas as their summoner. Their frontline unit came equipped with a slightly higher health pool of 8 HP I was confused because I didn't notice that my opponent had brought level 2 cards. So, the battlefield into a battle of pure attrition in a while.

Because we both had the +1 speed modifier active, positioning and target prioritization were the absolute deciding factors. But my opponent had one less card I don't know for what reason, maybe he was confident that he doesn't not need to add many card to play against someone with level 1 cards. And I think that was his biggest mistake. My level 1 cards gave damage and managed to bypass their primary shield much faster.

As I had Vengeful Monk on my side, it became easier to win. The match lasted a grueling 5 rounds and my decision to keep Vengeful Monk came to work, I secured a flawless victory. This win earned me +20 rating points, moving me up to a solid 1320!

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Match 2: Extinguishing Earth Against PITU71

• Mana Cap: 27 Mana
• Ruleset: Standard
• Active Elements: Fire, Water, Earth

Right after the first win, I hopped back into the queue and matched against PITU71 from the Dark Templars guild. With a lower mana cap of 27, every single point counted. I think I have played against him in the past as well. So, it was great experience to see him again in the battlefield.

I decided to stick with the Fire element, trusting Barthalamas to give my cards the speed priority. My opponent opted for the Earth element, summoner Aurelia, bringing out a formidable lineup, I think his frontline was strong and he had a mix of high-damage secondary attackers.

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My Lineup Layout:

• Summoner: Barthalamas (Level 1,all friendly units have +1 Speed)
• 1st Position: Frankarsgard (melee)
• 2nd Position: Chaos Furibringer (melee)
• 3rd Position: Vengeful Monk (Melee)

Despite their defensive layers the speed advantage granted by Barthalamas proved to be their downfall. Three of my cards were continuously attacking and tore through their armor.

By round 4, their squad was completely dismantled, I got another +20 rating points and pushing my total rating to 1340!

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Lux's Favor & Spark Shop Spoils

The victories on the battlefield weren’t the only highlights of this session. My daily streak wheel spins on Lux’s Favor completely delivered some unbelievable drops!

• Yesterday's Spin: I managed to pull a rare, incredibly vibrant Card Skin: Carnival! Unlocking new aesthetics for the deck is always an awesome feeling.
• Today's Spin: The wheel hit big on utility resources, rewarding me with a massive +1,000 Sparks along with a +150 Bonus Sparks multiplier.

So, after I reached a stable 1340 rating within Silver II , to be honest, I feel fantastic and having the extra daily rewards ready to claim makes the grind well worth it. I also opened my daily rewards for 5 matches which was an incredible reward as well. After collecting those cards hopefully I can upgrade them to level 2 anytime soon.

Last but not least I have got a new card, which is Lenore Nevermore level 2. I will be using this card in my next battle. Thanks to @bhattg for delegation.

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Full Gameplay, 1st match link, 2nd match link.

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What are your favored setups when running a low-mana Fire team against Earth or Water? Do you prefer stacking speed or prioritizing raw shields? Let me know your best strategies in the comments below and good luck out there on the ranked ladder!

Have you played splinterlands before? If not make sure to play it now. Here's the link

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Thanks for reading 🌷