Introduction

Now, if we were to search all of the Splinterlands realms for a magic attacker costing just four mana and having an attack value of two, we wouldn’t find many cards out there. I would be surprised if there is any card at all. Even if there is, I am sure it is quite rare.

Talking about rarity, the Coral Wraith is an Epic card belonging to the Water Splinter. By now, we would have guessed that the Wraith is a magic attacker and has a mana cost of four. What that does is that it puts the Wraith in a category of monsters that are available for use in the mini-monster rule (or the rule where only monsters with four mana or lesser can be used). So, the Wraith is a versatile monster.

With such an immaculate stat that ticks all the boxes, the question is, why isn’t it used so often? One look at the health, and we will have the answer. The health of two is just too small to depend on. If the opponent has a sneak monster, then it will most likely go for the Coral Wraith. That is not a favorable outcome.

Despite the odds stacked against it in battle, there is still a lot that goes for the Coral Wraith. For example, it is one of those very few magic attack monsters that have a sneak ability. This is a priceless ability, especially since it is a magic attacker. Imagine that no flying or dodge monsters at the back can evade an attack from the Wraith. Isn’t that awesome? You bet it is.

All this is great until you see the Wraith in battle, and that’s where we are headed. But before that, let’s take a moment to know more about Splitnerlands. After all, that’s the game where you will find the Coral Wraith. 😊

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game relatively late, I should have had gotten going early in hindsight. Anyway, no need to despair. There are so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments that you can play or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of how lucky you can get in Splinterlands - read my story of getting cards worth $327 for buying few packs worth $20 only.

Got Cards Worth $327 for $20

And this is just a small number. I have witnessed people getting uber-expensive cards in their pack and selling it for as high as $6500. This means the game has interested buyers for your cards too. In fact, there is a whole Splinterlands marketplace.

Now, if all that interests you and you want to try out the game, then I am leaving a link below for you to join.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Coral Wraith | Strong Magician | With a Sneaky Attack

So far, all our discussions would have given everyone a fair idea of the Coral Wraith as a card. Since the Coral Wraith has a speed of two, it is not too slow during a regular rule. However, a reverse-speed rule does accentuate the ability of the Wraith.

Also, if the health is of concern, then it would make sense to use it along with a taunt monster. That way, it won’t be targeted until the taunt monster is alive, while it would more often than not take out the opposition’s monsters at the back. The other possibility is using the Coral Wraith along with the Furious Chicken and/or Creeping Ooze. These monsters would act as decoys to attract the opponent’s sneak monsters. So, that will give the Coral Wraith a breather to attack.

There are many more ways the Coral Wraith can be used in battle despite its low health. These were discovered as I started using the card more often. Nowadays, I use it almost always when going with the Water Splinter, and to think that at one point, I didn’t even bother looking at the card. What a change! 😊

Let’s take a look at a battle to understand the strengths of the Coral Wraith.

The Coral Wraith in Battle

Okay, so here’s one of the battles that I am taking the Coral Wraith into. It is a mini-monster rule (less than four mana) battle. So far, so good, but the blast ability makes it a bit complicated. If there is a four or less than four mana battle, then we cannot expect the health to be too big. The highest health that I have seen in four mana monsters is six. If that is so, how will the blast rule impact my game?

The one who has the most monsters with the most health should win. Of course, there are many more items in play like the Sneak and Snipe monsters, etc. However, the good part of the Coral Wraith is that it is a sneak monster and would be quite effective in battle. Besides, I am pretty sure that there will be no other magic monster with such a strong magic attack like the Coral Wraith. At this point, I am only guessing, but we will come to know soon.

So, on to my choice of monsters and the opponent’s lineup. Let’s go.

The Face-Off

And there you go. Both my opponent and I have chosen few monsters on merit, but I felt that I would make it through. Also, when I use the Coral Wraith under Alric Stormbringer, the result is devastating for the opponent. The Wraith, as much as all the magic attackers, have an increased attack value, and that works in my favor.

Anyway, before getting carried away by my choice of monsters, let’s look at both the lineup. We will start with the opponent’s lineup. The opponent has chosen the Dragon Splinter summoner along with the Fire monsters. At this point, I can also see that I am actually battling a bot. ☹

Summoner: Drake of Arnak | Dragon Splinter | Gives one shield to all friendly monsters.

Monsters:

Position 1: Manticore | A melee attacker with an attack value of one. It is one of the few monsters to have a health of six for a mana cost of four. Also, its flying ability makes it difficult to get hit by ranged and melee attackers.

Position 2: Beetle Queen | Magic attacker with an attack value of two. Probably an equivalent to the Coral Wraith.

Position 3: Fire Spitter | Ranged attacker with an attack value of two. Its flying ability makes it virtually tough to hit.

Position 4: Fire Pixie | Ranged attacker with an attack value of two. Being a very fast-flying monster, it is difficult for ranged and melee monsters to hit it.

Position 5: Ranged attacker with an attack value of one. One more flying monster in the lineup.

Position 6: Tower Griffin | Ranged attacker with an attack value of one. Being a fast-flying monster, it is virtually tough to hit.

I am surprised that the opponent has gone with just one magic monster. While the ranged attackers are flying and fast, they would not mean much against my magic attackers. The ranged attackers don’t have much health either.

Those details notwithstanding, let’s look at my lineup.

Summoner: Alric Stormbringer | Water Splinter | Increases the magic attack value by one for all friendly magic monsters.

Monsters:

Position 1: Spineback Turtle | A melee attacker with an attack value of one and two shield. It falls in the category of those few four mana cost monsters with six health.

Position 2: Medusa | Magic attacker with an attack value of one.

Position 3: Crustacean King | A non-attack monster with tank heal ability.

Position 4: Dwarven Wizard | Magic attacker with an attack value of one.

Position 5: Coral Wraith | This is our champion with a magic attack of two.

Position 6: Elven Mystic | Magic attacker with an attack value of one.

My lineup was filled with magic attackers, and each would have their attack value increased by one. That would be a lethal combination.

Now, we jump into the battle.

The Battle Gets Intense

Having the faster monsters, the first few attacks came only from the opponent without my monsters having a chance to attack.

And that took out my Medusa. With all my monsters having speeds of two and one, I would have to wait for some time before the attack. My chance came finally.

The first of my monsters to attack was the Coral Wraith, and boy, what an attack. First of all, because of the summoner, the Wraith’s attack value was three, and being a sneak attacker, it went for the Griffin at the back.

Notice that the Griffin is taken out. But what I did not realize was that the blast attack took out the ranged attacker in the fifth position too. Boy, that was my first attack, and the two of the opponent’s monsters were already gone. 😊

But my Turtle and Crustacean King weren’t looking good. One more attack was good enough to take out both. ☹

The Battle Races to Conclusion

As expected, my Turtle and the King were gone. That brought the Dwarven King to the front, which too was in critical condition along with the Coral Wraith. But there was a lot of hope left.

It was time for the Coral Wraith’s second attack, and it worked wonders. Notice that the Fire Pixie has been taken out while the Fire Spitter faces the blast attack. Once again, just one attack takes out two of the opponent’s monsters. 😊

And then it was the final blow.

Both the Dwarven Wizard and the Mystic attacked, taking out the Manticore. That was game over in just two rounds at the exact end of the round. That was fast, and all thanks to the Coral Wraith.

Do I Use the Coral Wraith Often?

Yes, every single time I am using the Water Splinter.

Most of the time, with each of the magic monsters focusing only on the monster in front, a dodge monster at the back ends up doing more damage. The Coral Wraith takes out such dodging monsters. So, you have to love the card.

There are instances when you hope that the Wraith was attacking the monster in the first position and not last. This happens during the low mana battles. If the Wraith is accompanied by just one tank and a weak magic attacker, then it becomes difficult to win if the Wraith keeps targeting the monster at the back. Why? Because the monster at the back could be a Furious Chicken while the opponent’s tank is doing the most damage. In such circumstances, it would have been well if the Wraith attacked the opponent’s tank.

But then again, it is not designed to do so. That is the only problem I have had with the Wraith; barring that, it is definitely a battle-winner.

Where Else Does the Coral Wraith Fit In?

The obvious one is the health-equalizer rule. When the Coral Wraith’s health has an upgrade, it suddenly becomes a tough card to beat. If combined with Alric Stormbringer, it will have an attack value of three and also enhanced health. How cool is that?

While we saw the Wraith in battle during the mini-monster rule, it feels quite at home during medium and high mana battles. It can stand on its own among the bigger monsters. That makes the card an instrumental one.

Rules like opportunity and reverse speed also work well for the Wraith. However, the opportunity rule comes with the risk that the opponent could take down the Wraith before it attacks. If it is reverse-speed and opportunity together, the Wraith will prevail.

How Does the Coral Wraith Level Up?

The Coral Wraith witnesses improvement in stats and abilities as it levels up.

The health just about doubles, making us still wanting for more. That is the only want that goes unattended. The rest of the stats are pretty impressive and helpful. The Wraith gets the “rust” ability at level four, damaging the shield of the opponent’s monster that it attacks. This makes the opponent’s monster susceptible to the Wraith’s friendly ranged and melee attackers.

The Wraith also witnesses an upside in its speed and attack value. The Wraith’s speed increases to three at the very top while the attack value also increases to three. Now, imagine using the Wraith along with the Alric Stormbringer. It would indeed bring a storm against the opponent’s lineup. 😊

The Coral Wraith | Surprisingly Strong Card

From the battle, it would have been obvious how good the Coral Wraith is, especially with the blast rule in play. It was taking out two monsters in each attack. You’ve got to admit that that was one of the reasons for the battle finishing so fast in my favor. If those monsters had remained (opponent’s), the blast alone would have taken me out otherwise. So, a great card to have.

Even in the case of larger mana battles, the Coral Wraith works well. With larger monsters shielding it, it can still continue with its attack magic. So, yes, a great card to have in all battle possibilities. Will I use it often?

Of course, I will, and I continue to use it as we speak!! 😊

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands