Introduction

Let me start by saying that I had never held the Silvershield Bard, nor was I planning to buy the lady. However, with the Splinterlands character/card article, I thought I would give her a shot. And boy, am I mighty impressed. She was immaculate in battle, and I guess I had underestimated her.

We will soon see the battle but let’s talk about the Bard for a moment. I assumed her to be in the same category as the creeping ooze with the feeble health of one. Nice to have, no loss if lost, and think twice before taking into battle. While I was not holding the card, I did not see why others chose her either.

But now I know I wasn’t watching here closely. You will see when I show you the battle screen. And I won’t be surprised if you would rush to get a Bard for yourself.

The Silvershield Bard is one reason I will certainly buy the cards that Splinterlands puts up for the contest. I may not see such hidden gems if not compelled to look at them closely. In that sense, Carrie Allen and the team have done a good job convincing me to take a closer look.

So, let’s get on with the closer look part. I will just take a moment to explain Splinterlands as a game before getting to know the Bard. Jumping on to the next section then. 😊

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. 😊

Silvershield Bard | Giant in a Bard’s Clothing

Yes, the Silvershield Bard is a giant in battle, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said so. The card comes with a mana cost of one and health of one. It has a decent speed of two and at first sight, nothing to love about.

However, it is the cleansing ability that makes the card a game-changer. Since the Bard has the cleansing ability from level one, it is a strong card to take into battle. The only worry that you and I would have is if she would stand a snipe or sneak or opportunity attack? If that happens then, the Bard is done for even before the first round ends.

Barring this possibility, the Bard is useful if she survives the initial onslaught. Let’s see here in battle. Trust me, my eagerness to show is more than your eagerness to see.

Attack.

The Silvershield Bard in Battle

The battle that I thought was good enough to take the Bard was with a 25-mana cap and the poison rule in play. Remember I had said that I had never used the Silvershield Bar before? Yeah, and so did I not know that this battle was ideal for testing out the Bard.

There couldn’t have been a better battle than this one. Trust me, if I had taken the Bard in any other battle than this one, I would have missed her real benefit. Anyway, this game also disallowed ranged attackers, so magic and melee were the only play for the battle.

Also, I hope you know that the Silvershield Bard is from the Life Splinter, so I had to choose the right monsters for the job. Let’s see how it went. 😊

The Face-Off

Finally, I am there where I wanted you to be.

The opponent had gone with the Fire Splinter while I, as explained before, with the Life Splinter. Remember, even at this point, I am going in with no expectations. I was leaning on my Bila to bring me the win. Nothing about the Silvershield Bard, at all.

Observe: Notice the small globule over all the cards? Well, that’s the indication that the poison rule in play. And this is because of the rule. Not because of any monster in the opponent’s team. Keep your eyes on that one, and I will explain why later.

Now, let’s look at the opponent’s lineup.

Summoner: Malric Inferno of Fire Splinter | Increases the attack value of all friendly melee monsters by one.

Monsters:

Position 1: Cerberus | A melee attacker with self-healing. Difficult to get rid off

Position 2: Fineas Rage | Another good melee attacker with reach.

Position 3: Goblin Shaman | Is a non-attack monster that has the weaken ability. So, all of my monsters will have reduced health.

Position 4: Kobold Miner | Melee attacker with sneak ability. So, it can attack from the fourth position too.

Position 5: Furious Chicken | Space filler and a deflector of sneak attacks from the opponent’s (my) side.

Position 6: Efreet Elder | Magic attacker with Last Stand ability. I had written before about the Efreet Elder’s last-stand ability and how it helped me win from a losing situation. So, now I am a bit wary of that monster in the opponent’s lineup.

Now it’s time to take a look at my lineup.

Summoner: Mother Khala of Life Splinter | Increases the health of all friendly monsters by one.

Monsters:

Position 1: Shieldbearer | A melee attacker with taunt ability. So, it will attract all attacks to itself till it survives.

Position 2: Furious Chicken | Space Filler and the one which can waste a sneak, snipe, or opportunity attack from my opponent’s lineup.

Position 3: Temple Priest | Magic attacker with a strong attack value of two.

Position 4: Silvershield Bar | Our champion and a card with cleanse ability

Position 5: Bila, the Radiant | Magic attacker with a life-leech ability. It is helpful to grow its health before reaching the front.

The Battle Gets Intense

At the beginning of the battle, all my monsters’ health was down by one because of the weaken ability of the Shaman.

Observe: The Shieldbearer has two globules over its card. One is for the poison rule in play, and the other is for the weaken ability because of the opponent’s monster. Note this till the next screen.

My magic attackers were doing a good job and jabbing the Cerberus real bad. But I was yet to see the Bard’s magic. And here it is.

By the time we reached the end of round one, the Bard had played her part and cleansed the Shieldbearer.

Observe: There are no globules over the Shieldbearer card. If you notice, both the effects of the poison rule and the weaken ability is removed. I never knew that the cleanse ability could also remove a rule in play. Noticed?

So, there you go. Saw what the Bard could do? But it was a bit odd for me to know that the Bard could take out a rule in play. For example, in a no armor rule, an armor-enhancing or armor repairing monster can’t bring back the armor, right? Then how could the cleanse ability remove the rule in play? That was the surprise. Anyway, what happened next was a happy realization for me. 😊

The Battle Races to Conclusion

While the Bard saved the Shieldbearer of all negatives, she herself fell for the position rule. Here is where she perished before the second round. But there was no poison effect on the Shieldbearer, which helped a lot.

At the beginning of round 3, when the poison rule was playing out, the Efreet Elder was the last monster standing on the opponent’s side. So, the last-stand ability came into play, and it gained strength to ten, speed of five, and magic attack of two. The minus two that we see on the screen was the poison rule after the last-stand was triggered. So, it causes a drop in health for the Efreet Elder to eight.

The thing is that because of the poison not playing out on the Shieldbearer, he still has health of four. If not for the Bard, his strength of four would have gone because of the poison rule in the last two rounds.

Despite the Efreet Elder’s enhanced stats, it was just not good enough to stand my three soldiers’ attack and the poison rule. So, that did the trick. I won.

I started the game thinking that Bila would be the game-changer. I now realize that the Silvershield Bard was the real game-changer. 😊

Do I Use the Silvershield Bard Often?

Never before. This was the first time. But I suspect it won’t be the last time.

Now you know what I meant when I said that I was pleasantly surprised to see the Bard in action. That cleansing over the Shieldbearer was the only thing that got me the win. If that is the case, it is an essential monster in all battles.

Of course, I would still wonder what to do in case of high-mana battles. Would it then make sense to occupy one position for the Bard and lose out on a heavy attack monster? I think it would depend on the rule in play. If it is the poison rule, then, by all means, I would take the Bard just to keep the first monster in play. We just saw the benefits of that.

Anyway, if I find any more interesting battles with the Bard, I will share them for sure. 😊

Where Else Does the Silvershield Bard Fit In?

The Bard would find a place in almost all small and medium mana battles. After all, a mana cost of one shouldn’t be difficult to make place for. The question is, what rule best suits her.

We just saw how the poison rule is an amazing one for the Bard to be in. Also, I suspect the health-equalizer rule would be another one that suits the bard well. Imagine a low mana battle with the health-equalizer rule. The Bard would be perfect. Besides, attacks from monsters with affliction ability could be neutralized by the Bard. There are many iterations and possibilities with the Bard. Also, with the leveling up, some additional benefits come in.

How Does the Silvershield Bard Level Up?

For a mana cost of just one, the Bard levels up pretty well.

We all know and have seen the cleanse ability from level one. But the Bard remains a non-attack monster at this level. However, from level two, the Bard becomes a melee attacker with an attack value of one. By level five, it gets the swiftness ability which increases the speed of all friendly monsters. Also, the Bard gets improved health and speed at this level.

At the very top, the Bard gets a speed of four, melee attack value of two, the health of three, and two abilities – cleanse and swiftness. Remember, all this is for a mana cost of one. That is a heavily packed card for an extremely light mana cost.

Phew! 😊

The Silvershield Bard | Lots of Surprises

There are many cards in the Splinterlands realm that have fascinated me, and I have written about them too. But there aren’t many cards which surprises me. The Bard is that one exception to the rule in the Splinterlands realm. I have got to say that such a low-cost mana monster coming with such strong abilities are truly an interesting find. In that sense, I am glad that I found the Bard.

So, if you are wondering if the Bard is a good card to have, I have just one thing to say. Go and buy it right away. You will know how good it is by yourself.

Want to Join Splinterlands?

You can click below and follow the link. All the best!

JOIN SPLINTERLANDS

 

Image Courtesy: Splinterlands