For this battle, I wanted to try something different from my usual Water magic lineup. I just got my new Kaylia Silverleaf Sweetheart Skin from the Amorendel event so I decided to build around mostly Elf Bloodline units. I wanted to see how strong Kaylia Silverleaf is and if her Execute can actually be useful in a real match. I am still experimenting with other archons, so this felt like a good time to use Kaylia Silverleaf instead of Marlai Singariel for few battles. I was a bit nervous because I am not fully used to this style yet. But sometimes the only way to learn is to just commit to the idea and see what happens.
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_4315761a46728f6a0091c741cf5e4203
This battle has a Standard modifier, which means it doesn't have special effects in the battle. It is simple and I can use the units I want without disadvantages. The 43 mana is usually very little for me when using Foundation units but since this is Modern Ranked and I have more units to choose, the 43 mana is very forgiving in my opinion and I was able to draft the ones I liked to see.
My lineup for this battle is mostly composed of Elf Bloodline units to gain the Execute ability from Bloodline Dominion. Bloodline Dominion allows me to use Elf units that are not Earth and that is why you can see a mix of colors in the units I used.
Kaylia Silverleaf: Kaylia Silverleaf feels very useful against magic teams because of the -1 magic damage to enemies. That alone already makes her strong in some matchups. What I really wanted to try though is her Bloodline Dominion, because it allows Elf units from other elements and gives them Execute. Execute is scary when it works since it gives another attack if the target has 2 or less health. This secures the kills which in turn reduces the damage my team gets.
Silverleaf Fighter: Silverleaf Fighter looks very tanky with 6 armor and 6 health, which made me comfortable putting him in front. Void Armor is very important because magic attacks will hit the armor first, which gives him more survivability. Flank is also nice because it lets the next unit attack from the second position. With Flank, the melee unit in the next position would not be wasting turns and can attack freely even without abilities like Opportunity or Sneak. Silverleaf Fighter also has an Elf Bloodline so he gains Execute from Kaylia Silverleaf. If there would be a chance, he can also help finish enemies instead of just standing there.
Endless Ape: Endless Ape is very simple but scary because of the 11 health. That much health makes him hard to kill. Scavenger helps him grow even stronger as units die which helps more if the battle drags on. Endless Ape is obviously not an Elf so it doesn't get any benefit from Kaylia Silverleaf's Bloodline Dominion ability.
Lady Amara: Lady Amara only has 1 magic damage and no abilities so at first she looks very plain. But because she has Elf Bloodline, she gains Execute from Kaylia Silverleaf. That makes her more useful than she looks. Even small damage can matter if it triggers an extra finishing attacks.
Sorrow Harvester: Sorrow Harvester feels like one of the more important units here. With 2 magic damage and Weaken, she lowers enemy health, which makes Execute easier to trigger. That combo actually makes sense when you think about it. She is not just doing damage, she is setting up kills right from the very start.
Silverleaf Ranger: Silverleaf Ranger might be the most dangerous unit in my lineup. She has 3 range damage and Double Strike, which already means two attacks each round. If Execute activates, she can attack up to three times in one round. That kind of situations can kill units very fast. I really like how aggressive she feels.
Blackmoor Wild Elf: Blackmoor Wild Elf has low 3 health so she is fragile and easy to kill. Camouflage protects her from being targeted, which helps her survive longer. She also has 2 magic damage, which benefits from Execute when enemies get low. Amplify was not very useful in this battle since I don't have units with Thorns, Magic Reflect, Return Fire or Corrosive Ward but the magic damage alone made her worth it.
What I noticed immediately was all units that my enemy used are from Foundation. Only Great Bear Druid is the one that is benefitting from Marlai Singariel's ability as well. Lastly, they have a number of problems in the position of the units making me think that this is either a new player or a bot pretending to be a new player.
Marlai Singariel: Marlai Singariel gives +1 magic damage to all units with magic attack which can be very strong. I already know how powerful that boost feels since I use her often. Seeing her on the enemy side made me slightly worried. Magic attacks can snowball very fast if not handled early.
Great Bear Druid: Great Bear Druid has no abilities but having both melee and magic attack makes him flexible. Two types of damage in one unit can be annoying. Even without abilities, the mixed damage is still dangerous. With the magic damage, that is also boosted by Marlai Singariel making him more dangerous.
Frostguard Warrior: Frostguard Warrior has 2 range attack and Snipe, which targets backline magic or range units. That can threaten my weaker units if not protected well. It was attacking Lady Amara, which is okay because Lady Amara does not have abilities or is crucial to my lineup. I don't know why Frostguard Warrior is in this front of the lineup. The range units cannot attack when in front so this doesn't make sense for me and should be avoided at all cost when planning your team.
New Beluroc Aegis: New Beluroc Aegis has Taunt, which forces attacks onto him. That can mess up Execute because everyone hits the same unit. With 3 armor and 5 health, he is not too weak either. Taunt works in the back but without Opportunity or Sneak, this unit also cannot attack making it a sandbag getting attacked without fighting back.
Vengeful Monk: Vengeful Monk has 2 melee damage and Opportunity, which means he targets the lowest health unit. That is dangerous for my weaker Elves. Opportunity units can remove backline units quickly. I had no Taunt units in this lineup so I cannot do anything about this unit this time. Vengeful Monk, despite having Opportunity, cannot attack Blackmoor Wild Elf though because of her Camouflage ability.
Colossus Raider: Colossus Raider only has 1 health, but with Reach and 2 melee damage if only he was positioned correctly. At the last position, this unit cannot really do anything so I don't understand why they put Colossus Raider here.
The enemy's lineup is clearly full of holes. The position of the units are clearly wrong and the choices feel like it wasn't thought very well. This made the battle easy. This battle with Kaylia Silverleaf felt different from my usual magic stacking style. I liked seeing Execute trigger because it makes the battle feel faster. I am still learning this setup but I think Elf Bloodline has real potential if I build around it better next time and with higher levels.
