This week's Splinterlands Challenge of the Week was to showcase the Retaliate Ability....

And The Hydra is one of the best retaliate cards out there, featuring 4 damage at max level, decent health and a stack of damage stats which can trigger one after the other.

The only real weakness of The Hydra is that he lacks any kind of shield or void buff, reducing his utility as a Tank, but in 'melee monsters' attack from any position, he's a must play!

The battle below features the myself and my opponent playing Retaliate cards - the lesson is even when it works for you, Retaliate won't help you kill off a load of Legendaries if you have none yourself!

The Rule Set and Line Up

• Mana 48
• Silence Summoners
• Trample (hence the Hydra!)

Summoner - Lianna

• Hydra - I wouldn't normally play him as a tank, but combined with shields, repair and silence, I was happy enough to do so.
• Centauri mage - such a useful card as a second tank with that repair!
• Spirit of the Forest - always best played! Heal and protect, nice!
• The mushroom - for silence mainly, nice damage too
• Aticca head hunter - my main damage card, what's not to like about 6 damage!
• Kron - if you've got the mana for it, may as well Last Stand It!

Did my strategy work?

Yes, as you might well expect with three to zero Legendaries, but not in the way you might think! To see it in action click here!

• Round 1 - I lose my Hydra, mainly thanks to the Wasp Queen retaliating, my Hydra doesn't return the favour and take her down, but someone else does and my opponent's second tank, the Mech ends up being afflicted! Nice!
• Round 2 - I take out his Mech, my Centaur clings on for dear life!
• Round 3 - I lose my Centaur but also take out his Energy, that 6 ranged damage coming in very handy!
• Round 4 - my Spirits now in front, she is quite handy there, eliciting a miss and I also take out his next two monsters, it's all over!

How important was The Retaliate Ability?

It made no difference to my opponent AT ALL! It worked perfectly for him but at the end of the day I had a far superior deck of cards which ultimately made the difference.

Maxed legendaries simply trump maxed commons, hands down!

If you don't yet play Splinterlands, why not give it a go?

Anyone using my referral link will receive a free rare card!