This match forced both teams to rely almost entirely on their frontline tank. There were no tricks, no backline sniping, and no surprise Sneak plays. It became a pure test of stats and durability and what you can make the most of when all your units can attack is the front. There are some battles like this that strips the strategy down to the basics and tests you on what you would do when the impact of what your units can do are very limited.
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_5f4bb7554b7695181e8763541b9a4620
This battle has Fog of War and Holy Protection modifiers. Fog of War modifier removes all Sneak, Opportunity and Snipe for the battle. Holy Protection gives Divine Shield which negates one instance of damage. So, in this battle, all the damage would most likely be coming from the front. A strong tank will be crucial for survival. Even though there's Divine Shield for the units, it's not as crucial to accommodate it because the battle will be one by one whoever is acting the as the frontmost tank.
My lineup was very straightforward. Dread Tafarian tanks while the rest deal damage safely from behind. Since Fog of War modifier removes certain targeting abilities, I didn’t need to worry about protecting the backline from Sneak. The catch is, if Dread Tafarian falls, the team collapses. It's a very risky play because everything relies on my tank alone but that's all I can manage since only the only options for this battle is Earth and Fire elements.
Aurelia: Aurelia is the Earth Element Archon in Frontier Ranked. She gives +1 health to all friendly units, which is always helpful in any form of battles. That extra health slightly improves how long units can live across your team. In a match where fights happen one by one at the front, even small health boosts can make a difference.
Dread Tafarian: Dread Tafarian has 1 armor, 6 health, 1 melee damage and Heal ability. Heal is the most important part of his kit because it allows him to recover health each round. Even though the heal is not a lot due to his health, this makes him very difficult to kill since he only takes 1 attack from the enemy lineup at a time. With Holy Protection modifier giving Divine Shield absorbing the first hit and Heal sustaining him after, he becomes a reliable frontline. He works best when the enemy doesn’t have the ability to attack him all at once.
Grand Consul Minion: I originally considered using Spellmonger for Thorns but I realized something important. If my main tank dies, Thorns won’t matter because my lineup cannot function without a frontline. Grand Consul Minion may only have 1 range damage and 1 health but he still contributes some damage while my tank lives. In this match, I think having another attacker is better than having another tank with low stats.
Kicking Roc: Kicking Roc has no abilities, but his 3 range damage is significant. This unit is my main source of damage for this battle. Without him, I would've lost this battle as well but as long as Dread Tafarian holds, Kicking Roc can consistently chip away at the enemy tank. His impact depends entirely on being protected but if kept safe, he can deal a lot of damage to the enemy tank with his 3 range damage.
I think they used this lineup since they had full leveled archon and units. Even if they cannot attack, each one can win against other players just because of the disparity between levels. Their backline units have abilities that make them able to attack the back line though if there was no Fog of War modifier so this was a confusing lineup for me.
Barthalamas: Barthalamas is the Fire Element Archon in Frontier Ranked. He gives +1 Speed to all allied units. Speed can influence turn order and if your units hit which is good when you have a lot of melee and range attackers. Attacking first can sometimes benefit the team but I don't prioritize speed over health so I used Aurelia instead.
Frankarsgard: Frankarsgard has very strong base stats. His health and armor are among the highest I’ve seen in Foundation units. In a battle focused purely on frontline battles, raw stats matter a lot. He serves as a durable wall that can withstand multiple rounds of direct attacks. He also has Enrage that can increase the speed and damage by half which is good. He doesn't have a lot of damage so his melee damage only increases by 1 but the speed can be problematic if my units consistently misses once Enrage kicks in.
Echelon: Echelon normally relies on Opportunity to target low-health enemies. Fog of War modifier completely disables that ability. Without it, he cannot attack from his position. In this specific battle, that makes him far less effective than usual.
Ember Roast Sow: Ember Roast Sow typically uses Sneak to attack backline units. With Fog of War active, Sneak is also disabled. That means he cannot perform his main role. So, I am not sure why he was added when he cannot attack from the back. It might be because he is max leveled but that's just my speculation.
Vengeful Monk: Vengeful Monk also depends on Opportunity to function properly. Since that ability is removed, he cannot attack from his position. In a normal match, he would be useful in tandem with Echelon to focus on low health units. Here, he just waits until he can move to the front so he can attack.
This battle proved how problematic modifiers can be when they remove key abilities. If you look at my enemy's lineup, you can see the damage the Fog of War modifier did on their lineup. If you learn how to adjust on problematic modifiers, you can win battles like this even if your units and archon have lower levels that your enemies.
