The Magic isn't gone... it's just weak.

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Welcome back to the Ruleset Strategy Series, in which I take you one by one through the Splinterlands Rulesets. Today we're discussing a fairly bland Ruleset in which Magic attacks hit Armor before Health points...

Weak Magic

With the upcoming release of ΛZMΛRÉ Dice on Wednesday, 8/28, a new ability will be released called Void Armor. The Void Armor ability will be the same as the effect of the Weak Magic Ruleset. When a Monster has Void Armor, Magic attacks go straight to their Armor before affecting their Health. If you'd like to catch up on the details of the ΛZMΛRÉ Dice update, please visit the following 3 posts:

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https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/will-you-tempt-fate-and-roll-the-lzmlre-dice
https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/the-secrets-of-the-lzmlre-dice-part-2
https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/the-secrets-of-the-lzmlre-dice-part-3

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First Thoughts

There are so many unique monsters and combinations in Splinterlands that there is never a single correct answer for a single situation. On top of that, I'm not one of the best players. I have battled close to 20,000 times and you can definitely benefit from my experience. But the main thing I want to encourage is for you to gain the skills to make these critical decisions when it counts: In the 2-3 minutes you are making your team.

If you have some great ideas, please share them in the comments below this post so that new players can benefit from your tips as well!

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Weak Magic

The first thing to remember with Weak Magic is that it's not the same as no Magic. The simple fact that Magic hits Armor before Health is not enough to render Magic attacks useless. I actually find myself using Magic attacks almost as frequently as in a normal battle with slight adjustments to my Magic attacker choices.

With Rulesets it's important to remember that each Ruleset affects both teams. So even though it feels like you are at a disadvantage, the playing field is just as level as it has ever been, and as long as you get more benefit than your enemy from the current Ruleset, you're in good shape.

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Go Crazy on the Armor

One thing you know in this Ruleset is that more Armor will always be helpful. In standard play, Armor can be easily bypassed by a few good Magic attacks, but in Weak Magic, everyone is stuck chipping away at the Armor. That means that by using the Protect ability, you can gain extra hits for every monster on your team. If you're also able to throw in 1 or 2 instances of Repair, then chances are all damage your tank is taking will be healed at the same rate.

For Weak Magic, I always favor the Life Splinter, who has greater Armor, Healing and fortification than any other Splinter. Tyrus Paladium gives +2 Armor to everyone on the team, which allows even those monsters without Armor on their own can be repaired. The Armorsmith and the Lone Boatman are the 2 Repair cards that I always use. If I can get the Defender of Truth, Armorsmith and the Lone Boatman in the same Weak Magic battle, I rarely lose.

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Take it Easy on the Magic

It's not necessarily a good idea to completely ignore Magic in these battles, but you'll want to pay extra close attention to the Magic attackers' abilities and the strength of the Magic attack. For example, a Magic attack card that I use commonly (even in the Weak Magic Ruleset) is Medusa. She's a low-Mana mage, but I like her in these battles because of the Stun ability. No matter where she is placed, she will most likely stun the enemy's tank, and she has high enough Health to take a few hits if she ends up in the front.

When thinking about using a Magic attacker in Weak Magic, you should consider the Armored mages and the ones with the highest Health. Naga Fire Wizard is a nice back-row Magic attacker for this Ruleset. She has a powerful Magic attack (usually enough to take out the tank's Armor), and Thorns for the sneakers.

Other abilities to pair with Magic to make it worthwhile in this Ruleset are Blast, Demoralize, Magic Reflect, Healing and Headwinds. When you know the enemy will be using fewer Magic attacks than in a normal battle, you can get extra advantage from debuffing their Melee attacks with Demoralize or their Range attacks with Headwinds. Concentrate your defenses on those two types of attack and you'll inhibit your enemy's ability to do substantial damage (aka win).

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Another Tactic: Ignore Magic

Another thing you can try in Weak Magic is to simply not use any Magic attackers. They have always been more rare than Melee or Range attackers anyway, and there are plenty of great Melee attack monsters with Opportunity and Sneak. You can easily set up a team of any Splinter without using any Magic attacks; just make sure that your buffs are plentiful and effective.

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Some Cards I Like to Play

These are some cards that I like to use in Weak Magic, with a brief explanation of why. If you don't have these cards in your Splinterlands collection, do not fret. There are plenty of other cards that do similar things, and chances are you already have some of them in your collection. If not, you can pick them up on the market for pretty cheap!

Serpent of the Flame

The Serpent, one of the original Splinterlands cards has finally established itself as one of the most long-term effective tanks. It is still the tank I pick for Fire more than half the time. In Weak Magic, the Serpent is extra effective, mainly because of his high Speed that allows him to dodge certain Melee and Range attacks. If you can also repair his Armor with the Flame Monkey, the Serpent of the Flame almost can't lose in Weak Magic.

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Tortisian Fighter

Because of the way the Water Splinter favors Magic attacks, it can be difficult to find a good Water Tank in Weak Magic. I like the Tortisian Fighter mainly because of the Shield ability that he gains at level 4. If you can get him to level 8, where he gains the Repair ability, he becomes one of the more unique tanks that can actually repair his own Armor, which is incredibly useful in this Ruleset.

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Sacred Unicorn

In classic Legendary fashion, the Sacred Unicorn gets way better with each level. When using the Unicorn as a tank in the Weak Magic Ruleset, it is imperative that you use the Protect ability to give it some Armor. At level 4, the combination of Divine Shield, Protect and Repair give the Unicorn a huge advantage (if you can keep it alive).

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Octopider

I think the Octopider is the strongest monster from the Death Splinter that you can reach for in the Weak Magic Ruleset. Not only does it have high Health and one of the strongest Range attacks in the entire game, but it debuffs the 2 specific types of attack that are your biggest threat from your enemy. The Demoralize ability lowers each Melee attacker's power by 1 and the Blind ability makes everyone twice as likely to miss with their Range and Melee attacks. Even in low Mana battles with Death, it's usually worth it to spend the 8 Mana on the Octopider.

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Mitica Headhunter

The Headhunter comes out throwing hard, right at level 1 with a Range attack of 4. By level 5, its Range power has increased to 6. There are only a couple cards out there that can reach a Range attack so powerful. In addition to the raw power offered by the Headhunter, every one of its abilities is extremely useful in the Weak Magic Ruleset. Snare cannot miss monsters with Flying. Piercing cuts through the Armor, a great ability when the attack power is so high. Finally, at max level the Headhunter gets the Shatter ability, which is a dream come true in Weak Magic.

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War Chaang

If you can only use Melee and Ranged attacks, why not use a monster that has both? The War Chaang with relatively low Mana cost for such a powerhouse) is the perfect addition to a Weak Magic team from pretty much any Splinter. It's really nice in the way-back, where you can enjoy occasional Retaliations against the enemy sneakers.

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Check out THIS TOP BATTLE between @Adelka and @Wonsama.
...or THIS ONE between @Spirits4u and @TS-Neoxian for some great examples of Weak Magic battles at the Champion level!

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Previous Editions of the RuleSet Strategy Series

1. Back to Basics
2. Healed Out
3. Heavy Hitters
4. Silenced Summoners
5. Aim True
6. Super Sneak
7. Melee Mayhem
8. Keep Your Distance

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See you out there.

Splinterlands