Have you been cubed? @Splinterlands challenge of the week

'Cubed' - to be beaten by fatigue in a Splinterlands battle when your opponent's gelatinous cube is the last card standing.

This really is the MOST annoying way to be defeated in Splinterlands, and I'm pleased to say I've managed to do this twice since this week's @splinterlands share your battle weekly challenge was announced.

The challenge this week was to showcase the very neutral Gelatinous Cube, and IMO unless you can demonstrate 'cubing' your opponent, you're not really showing the card off!

Having been 'cubed' in two battles in a short period of time a couple of seasons back, I decided to go buy sufficient cubes to take it to Level 6, where the cube both scavenges and heals itself, doing a massive 5 points of healing per round!

It's definitely an 'it' this cube, not a he or a she.

If you want to see my opponent receiving a damn good cubing, check out this battle - which goes on for 26 rounds.

The Rule Set

• 17 Mana - just about optimal for the cube - I find this low-ish mana mark is spot on for the cube because it's just enough to include it and a few other cards to do decent damage, and there's also a reasonable chance that your opponent won't have sufficient damage to kill the cube off as it can heal 5 per round, hence making a 'cubing' possible.
• Two extra armour - useful with low-ish mana as it allows one time to kill off at least the first monster, bringing the overall end-damage of your opponent down. Also led me the water splinter and the obvious choice of Ruler of the Seas as my main damage card.
• Even numbers only - again, led me to water plus the cube.

The Line Up

1. Furious chicken - purely to soak up the first attack and to give The Cube something to scavenge early on
2. The Cube - I figured with a low mana battle and my attack behind, I could get away with this as my main tank early on.
3. Ruler of the Seas - 6 mana, but it is an obvious choice in low-ish mana battles because of the blast. I figured that my opponent would go for water too, to neutralise the shields, and water is short on reflectors, so worth the risk.
4. Ice pixie - I anticipated sneak would be out of the question in a low mana battle (wrongly it turns out) and this gives me another 2 attack with the summoner buff.

Did my strategy work?

Well basically YES - to see it in action click here!

• Round 1 - carnage already, but that's what The Cube likes. I lose my chicken straight off to my opponent's ROS, and vice versa for my opponent. I lose my ice pixie to my opponent's snip - The Cube scavanges 3 points of health and is already up to 14 once it heals at the end of the round.
• Round 2 - My opponent loses his Turtle, The Cube scavenges and heals up to 15, still gaining health!
• Round 3 - ROS blast exchanges
• Round 4 - I lose my ROS thanks my opponent's ROS blast..... but too late, it's time for a cubing!
• Rounds 5 - 20: need I say more!

And it all ends by my opponent dying by fatigue!

Awwee.

How important was The Cube?

Absolutely essential, and planned.

• Firstly all of the early carnage was lapped up by the cube, taking it from 11 to 17 health points.
• Secondly, the heal function meant it was able to soak up blast from my opponent's ROS and heal back to max before becoming the tank.
• Thirdly, that heal capacity meant there was no way my opponent could beat me with only 4 damage.

Do I use The Cube often?

As often as possible, I love giving my opponent a good cubing!

I've found it especially useful for the following:

• low-ish mana battles around 17-21.
• For the earthquake rule set.

Here's some more examples of my opponents getting cubed:

With the Earth Splinter - VERY annoying if you lost like this - NB I lost in exactly the same way which is what promoted me to level it up - earthquake rule set...

And with the Dragon Splinter - Probably even more annoying to get cubed like this - my opponent had two monsters left standing, just crazy!

EDIT - Added four hours after I originally published this - another opponent beaten by a cubing.... this time with the Life splinter. This one is particular good as they've got much better cards than me - honesty, sea monster at L10 and Seaweed and L9, they didn't see this coming!