As I have talked about multiple times before, the new Frontier format in Splinterlands is an absolute win. It's exciting for existing players and accessible for new players, but there is one huge question that we need to talk about.....what is the best Splinter??
I want to start off by saying that this post is completely for fun and my evaluation is going to be entirely subjective. Choosing the best Splinter is incredibly difficult because the rulesets and mana caps for each separate match change. So, a team that does really well in one ruleset could be completely obliterated in another ruleset. The beauty of Splinterlands is that you can't just spam a single team and expect to win. You have to be adaptable and change your strategy in response to the ruleset. That being said, I have played over a hundred matches, and I've noticed some general trends.
To create my tier list, I'm going to use three separate criteria.
-First, I'm only going to be evaluating the Splinters on the base set of cards that come in the new player campaign. For purposes of this analysis, leveled-up cards and earned rewards cards (even if they are from the Foundations set) don't count.
-Second, I'm going to be assuming that each match is being fought with a standard ruleset and somewhere around 30 mana.
-Finally, I'll evaluate how well the cards in Frontier format represent that Splinter's overall theme.
There's no way around it. If you've played Frontier mode for more than 30 seconds, you've probably run into a very strong Death Splinter team that consists of Nim Guard Captain, Little Sister, and Sorrow Harvester. This is an exceptionally hard lineup to beat. Nim Guard Captain has the Void ability that reduces damage from enemy magic, Sorrow Harvester weakens all of your opponent's units, and Little Sister constantly increases her own health pool through the Life Leech ability. Not only is the Death Splinter extremely powerful, it accurately represents the themes and abilities that we find in the Death Splinter throughout the rest of Splinter Lands. Specifically, lowering the opponent's health and the Life Leech ability are classic Death Splinter abilities.
Final Grade: S - The cards are powerful and they accurately represent the themes and abilities of the Death Splinter. It doesn't get better than this.
The Earth Splinter cards in the Frontier format are relatively strong, but not as strong as the Death Splinter. Putting Dread Tafarian in first position and Time Bandit in the back line is a strong move in the noxious fumes rulest because Dread Tafarian can self-heal any damage it takes while the noxious fumes slowly go to work eliminating your opponent's lineup. Dread Tafarian also shines in the Earthquake ruleset. That being said, this analysis focuses primarily on standard combat conditions, and my experience is that the Earth splinter isn't the strongest. However, the thematic focus of the Earth splinter is on point. The Archon gives increased health, and the Cleanse and Heal abilities are classic examples of Earth Splinter traits.
Final Grade: B - Under standard combat conditions, the Earth Splinter isn't necessarily the most powerful, but it accurately represents the abilities that new players can expect to find in the Earth Splinter as they venture into other Splinterlands formats.
There are no dragons in Frontier, soooooooo
Since the days of Alric Stormbringer, powerful magic has always been associated with the Water Splinter, and the Frontier format is no exception. The Archon gives a powerful plus one magic attack boost that Water-Logged Wizard can take advantage of. However, the key problem is that the Water team only has one magic monster. To get the full effect of the Archon's +1 magic boost, you need to use neutral monsters such as Lunaki Howler or Great Bear Druid. The cards available in Frontier format accurately represent the thematic focus of the Water Splinter, but only having one magic unit (remember, I'm only talking about base set Frontier cards), means that the Water is weaker than the Death Spinter both in combat ability and in thematic focus.
Final Grade : A - When the Water Splinter has access to neutral monsters, it can compete with the Death Splinter in terms of combat ability, but the reliance on Neutral units means it is a little bit less effective.
Ever since I used Pyre and Serpentine Spy back in the Untamed set, I have associated the Fire Splinter with speed buffs and the Opportunity ability, and I think the Frontier cards do a good job representing that theme. The Arcon gives a speed boost to all friendly monsters, and there are both a Sneak and Opportunity Monster. The problem is that the Fire team has no magic monsters (with the beginner cards), and this can be a real problem when facing armored teams. The Fire team is best suited to the ruleset with no armor, but it seems to struggle in other matches.
Final Grade : C - The Frontier cards accurately represent the themes of the Fire team (Speed and Melee attacks), but the combat performance is below the other Splinters.
In the broader Splinterlands ecosystem, the Life Splinter is an incredibly powerful team that typically has abilities such as Heal, Cleanse, Strengthen, and Protect. However, I don't think that these abilities are accurately represented in the Frontier format. True, the summoner does give a +1 armor boost, but the units are all pretty vanilla and have generic abilities that don't evoke the theme of the Life Splinter. In my experience, the Life Splinter also struggles in combat. Under the right ruleset, Life can win, but under most conditions, it seems considerably weaker than Death or Water and marginally weaker than Fire or Earth.
Final Grade : F- Low combat power combined with uninspiring special abilities means that I avoid playing the Life Splinter unless absolutely necessary.
As a whole, I think the Death and Water Splinters are the strongest, both thematically and as far as combat is concerned. The Fire and Earth Splinters are towards the middle of the pack and the Life Splinter rounds out the bottom. That being said, the constantly changing rule sets and mana caps mean that even a Splinter like the Life Splinter will someday have its day to shine, and it's important for players to familiarize themselves with strategies from each Splinter.
As I have attempted to demonstrate in this post, Splinterlands is a beautifully complex game that involves strategy, synergy, and strategic thinking. Just as importantly, Splinterlands has a rich and vibrant lore and each of the different Splinters have their own identity. And finally, Splinterlands is a blockchain-based trading card game that allows players to earn cryptocurrency and NFT rewards for winning matches. If you like the idea of earning real rewards for a game that you enjoy playing, then Splinterlands might be for you. Feel free to join me in the game using this referral link.
Disclaimer
As a US resident, I am required to disclose that I might receive a benefit, such as reward or incentive, if you join using my affiliate link. All image credits belong to Splinterlands. Nothing is financial advice.
