Introduction

Splinterlands is quite an exciting and grey matter short-circuiting game. You got to out-think your enemy in battle. You need to know what cards are best to use and what would provide you with a benefit. The best of the best strategies can be unleashed when the “Mana Cap” is at the max level. That gives you the freedom to get all your high health and heavy attacking cards in the game.

Well, but then you do end up with many low mana games, what do we do then? Have to fit the most in the available space. Which are the cards that best fits the description? There are quite a few, but today we will look at the Serpentine Spy.

The Serpentine Spy is an odd card out there. It is one of the few cards which at a mana level of 3 packs an attack of value 2. That’s a rarity. However, what makes it a non-regular choice is its health value of 1. The low health level means that the Serp will be obliterated by just one attack from the weakest enemy monster.

So, will it be a wise choice to include her in battle? Well, yes, there are a few situations where she is good. Let me rephrase that, she is excellent!

I will explain in the following sections, but first, what is Splinterlands for those that are new?

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectable games. Though I started playing the game quite late, on hindsight, I should have had got going early. Anyway, no need to despair, there is so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game which 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 or guilds that you can join.

I hope that gives an overview of the game. I just love the game, and those interested can go to Splinterlands’ site and join. If you want a link to join, I will leave one at the end of the article which you can use.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Serpentine Spy, let’s get back to her!

Now, as discussed earlier, the Serpentine Spy does cause concern with her low health value. It is a situation which can go either way in a battle. You would be lucky if you win.

That said, it is hard to overlook the fact that the Serpentine Spy packs a lot of punch for the mana cost. As you can see in the adjacent figure, an attack value of 2 is something you see in cards with higher mana requirement.

So, the Serp is definitely a choice in low mana battles requiring some severe damage on the enemy.

How does the Serpentine Spy Fair in Battle?

One of the best advantages of the Serp, other than the few mentioned above, is the fact that it can attack from any position. Now, those of you that play the game know that that is a superb advantage.

In normal circumstances, we have to keep guessing where to place the cards, but with the Serp, any place is the right place. How cool is that?

Let’s look at one of the battles where I used the Serpentine Spy.

Screen 1: The Enemy and I Face-Off

Incidentally, both the enemy and I had chosen the Fire Splinter. Even though I had chosen the Serp for the battle to see how it faired, I did not feel that I had compromised. The formation was quite good, in my opinion.

The lineup was as follows:

First Position: Cerberus

For its self-healing ability, it formed a great monster at the front.

Second Position: Furious Chicken

The Furious Chicken was chosen in case of the opponent selecting the Fire Elemental. Under the Fire Elemental's attack, she would kill the Serpentine Spy, if the Serp occupied the second position. So, the Furious Chicken was a precautionary filler.

On hindsight, it was not a wrong decision.

Third Position: Serpentine Spy

The Serp would feel at home attacking from the third position, so no problems there. Being a melee monster, she was in the best position before all the ranged monsters.

Fourth Postion: Fire Elemental

Fire Elemental was a no-brainer addition as the monster would attack the adjacent monsters too. That was like two birds with one stone.

Fifth Position: Goblin Fireballer

To be honest, this was a place filler to fill the two mana requirement.

Sixth Position: Ettin Spearman

Despite the high mana cost, the Spearman had a significant health value and one of the best attack values for a level one card. So, it was the obvious choice for the last position, should the enemy monsters attack that position.

Screen 2: The Carnage Begins

Well, not the enemy’s but mine. The difference in strength was visible almost immediately. Here is how the screen appeared after just a couple of attacks:

My monsters were hardly denting the opposition, whereas they had almost eliminated the Cereberus.

Carnage would be an understatement if you looked at the next screen.

Screen 3: The Death Knell

Well, to be honest, the monsters did not last long enough to hear the death knell. The elimination was swift. 😊

There was still some consolation for me. My monsters eliminated the opposition’s Golden Furious Chicken. 😊 😊

So, here is an example of why a Serp in the lineup does not work. In fact, most of my experiences have been such. It is difficult to rely on the Serp to deliver every time.

So, where does the Serpentine Spy work?

Well, all is not lost with the Serpentine Spy as I had stated before. There are situations which automatically call for using the Serp or strategies which support the Serp’s placement.

What are they? Let’s find out.

Strategy 1: The Equalizer Rule

Equalizer rule is one of the newest rules of the game, and it has allowed the use of low health monsters without any inhibitions. Why is that?

Well, the rule equalizes the health of every monster to the highest base health of a monster in our or the enemy's line-up.

What this means is that if there is even one monster with the highest base health of 9 (let’s say), then all the monsters’ health upgrades to 9. That is the equalizer rule – all healths are made equal. In other words, the Serpentine Spy’s base health becomes 9.

And that my friends would make the Serp a lethal monster!!

Strategy 2: Low Mana Battles

Now, in case of battles where the mana cap is less than 16, then it would be a prudent call to include the Serpentine Spy. Why? Because there aren’t many monsters in the small mana bracket which has an attack value of 2. That means, the Serpentine would prove to be lethal to the opponent, and she only takes three mana.

Unless the opposing monsters attack the Serp first, it would be an excellent game for the ones choosing the Serp in a low mana battle. It has a very high chance of victory.

Strategy 3: Battles with Armour for All Monsters

Now we know with the Serp the health is an issue, so if we get armour, then our problem is solved to a reasonable extent. I say to a reasonable extent because the magic attack may still by-pass the shield.

But more likely than not, we may do well using the Serpentine Spy under the Armour Rule. I used the Serp in one battle where there were two armours given to the monsters as a rule.

Let’s look at that battle.

Screen 1: We Face-Off Under Our Armour

Both the opponent and I used Fire Splinter, and one more thing about the Fire Splinter is that it increases the attack value of the Serp and other monsters by 1. In other words, the Serp now had an attack value of three.

It was a deadly combination.

Screen 2: The Enemy was Obliterated

The opposition had no idea what hit them. The Cereberus with a high mana cost had the same attack value as the Serpentine Spy, so you understand how practical and useful the Serp is in low mana matches, I hope.

The Serp was ruthless at the enemy. Take a look as they were obliterated.

Screen 3: And the Serp was Still Standing

And here I rest my case of how effective the Serp is in a battle that protects her health. In fact, she hardly had to face the opponents, but she crucified them.

Take a look - the Serp stands tall!

And no prizes for guessing, who won the battle. 😊

So, these are the strategies around the Serpentine Spy. Use them and chances are that you will end up on the winning side.

How do We Level Up the Serpentine Spy

The Serpentine Spy’s levelling up will see her health improve, but it is her speed and attack value which develops the most.

Take a look:

In fact, once at level 10, the Serp has an additional ability of poisoning when attacking. That’s a cool feature. Also, don’t forget that the Serp plays under the Fire Splinter, which means when used her attack value increases by 1.

Now, you are never going to find too many cards at level 10 having a three mana cost and five (because of fire splinter value increases by 1) attack value!

Did Your Opinion Change about the Serpentine Spy?

I am sure it must have to a certain extent, or at least, now you know in what circumstances you can use the Serp to get the most out of the game.

I hope you play more, enjoy more and have fun doing so!! 😊

Want to Join Splinterlands?

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

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands