We are heading quick towards the best days of the summer. Here in the UK, the weather will always retaliate with days of heavy rain and gloomy vibes. My Splinterlands journey took me to mysterious lands and I am still the underdog in most battles, but I will always retaliate and give my opponent a fair challenge.

You probably notice the excessive use of "Retaliate" as an introduction to this week's battle challenge. This ability gives the monster a 50% chance to strike back his attacker when hit with a melee attack.

There are 15 monsters with the Retaliate ability and some are top of the crop! All Splinterlands players are aware of how a top card can be a real gamechanger and how cool will be to have an upgraded Kraken or Cerberus. The best use of Retaliate will be with Close and Personal rules, as casters and ranged monsters cannot be used. I hope that one day I will level Fineas Rage or the Nectar Queen, and my journey beyond Silver III will be boosted.

I don't own so many or the ones I own are not leveled to have the Retaliate ability. My choice was limited to the Stonesplinter Orc, Naga Warrior or the War Chaang. The War Chaang was by choice as he is more versatile, and can be used in any position with his Ranged skill.

The War Chaang is an expensive epic neutral monster that costs 8 Mana. He has 8 Health Points, 3 Speed, 2 Melee Damage and 1 Ranged Damage. Will gain Trample ability at level 4 and I like this one as it can be used as tank, secondary tank or even at the back of the team.

Battle 1 - Easy win

I used the Death splinter for the 1st fight, but the War Chaang didn't had any impact in the game outcome so I decided to have another try.

The first battle had 99 mana cap and "Healed Out" ruleset. It was an easy win as my team was clearly superior to my opponent's selection. See the full battle here!

Battle 2 : details and line-up

The second fight gave the War Chaang the chance to shine and stay in the spotlights. This battle had 22 mana cap and no ruleset.

I choose Contessa L'Ament as summoner, considering that her ability to reduce 1 Ranged Damage will be helpful and it did reduced the ranged attack of the Ettin Spearman. The tactic was clear ... down the Goblin Mech and the battle is done!

Death Splinter line up:

Undead Rexx - Main Tank/Ultra DPS

War Chaang - Off-Tank/Ranged with Retaliate

Death Elemental - Caster with Snipe

Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy

I was expecting a longer fight, with victims on both sides but it turned up to be a walk in the park. Goblin Mech and Ettin down in 3 rounds. See the full battle here!

Battle 3: details and line-up

Still not happy with the War Chaang involvment ... the show must go on! The 3rd battle had 23 mana cap and Reverse Speed ruleset. Monsters with the lowest speed will attack first and I changed my tank to Bone Golem

I choose Contessa L'Ament again and what a great choice as my opponent had three ranged monsters in the team.

Death Splinter line up:

Bone Golem - Main Tank with 1 Speed

War Chaang - Off-Tank/Ranged with Retaliate

Dark Astronomer - Ranged with 1 Speed

Undead Priest - Weakened ability

Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy

This Death v Death battle looked promising from the beginning! The Haunted Spirit feel quick even if he had Heal. Once the barrier between my monsters and the ranged monsters was broken, my opponent had no chance. See the full battle here!

Battle 4: details and line-up

The battle had a 30 mana cap with Healed Out ruleset, meaning that all healing abilities are removed from monsters and summoners.

I changed the splinter to Water and choose Bortus as summoner. My opponent choose Water splinter as well and Bortus -1 spell damage was neutralized by his summoner +1 spell damage.

Serpent of Eld - Main Tank with Dodge

Wave Runner - Off-Tank with Reach

War Chaang -Ranged/Melee with Retaliate

Creeping Ooze - Slow ability

Axemaster - Ranged with Double Strike

Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy

My Serpent fell at the end of round one and the opponent Serpent was down at the start of round two. Grinding and scattered damage followed and my Wave Runner was defeated by the casters.

It was the War Chaang who took a last stand. He was the last defender of the ranged monsters and had to survive. The Axemaster did his part and created carnage!

The War Chaang high HP contributed to the win, as the enemies were taken down by throwing axes. Bortus spell power reduction, the three melee tank set-up and the speed reduction were the factors that influenced the battle. See the full battle here!

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