I have played a lot of Splinterlands matches, and I'd like to think that I've won at least some of those matches because I had an amazing strategy. However, I know that there's other matches that I've won because I had a really powerful card, or because my opponent made some tactical blunders. I think it is very difficult to say that any single factor is the key to winning a match. Rather, I think that winning matches is influenced by a variety of factors including having the right cards, picking the right strategy, hoping that your opponent makes some mistakes, and getting some lucky RNG breaks. In today's post, I want to share a match that highlights how a bunch of different factors contributed to my success.
This was a 26 mana match with the water, dragon, and earth splinters available. Prior to the start of the battle, my opponent used Underboss Fabino's tactics ability to give plus 2 melee damage to Folen Flameye and Tay Lorsewift.
My opponent's units were quicker than mine, and the high melee damage meant that they were able to strike first and eliminate my Halfling Refugee prior at the very start of Round 1. While this might have seemed like an early victory for my opponent, it was actually part of my plan. By putting Halfling Refugee in the first position, I was able to ensure that my opponent wasted their most powerful attacks on a 1 mana unit and that my more powerful units were protected. If I wouldn't have had this 1 mana card in my collection, I would have been in a much weaker position.
Although I did expect to loose Halfling Refugee, I didn't expect Sacrosanct Shanker to get knocked out of the fight so quick. However, my opponent's melee attacks were simply too powerful and I lost Sacrosanct Shanker in the middle of Round 2.
Although the situation looked bleak, I knew things were about to turn around. Rune Arcanist launched a powerful magic attack that took the opponent's Silverleaf Mage from 4 to 2 health, and then triggered the Execute ability that finished off the remaining 2 health.
In the middle of Round 3, my Blackmoor Wild Elf once again used the Execute ability and finished off the opponent's Folen Flameye.
At the end of Round 3, Thandalorian Scion used used a magic attack to knock the opponent's Tay Loreswift out of the fight.
One of the most challenging aspects of Splinterlands is designing your team and picking your strategy without having any idea what strategies, units, or tactics the opponent is going to use. However Archon tactics are a powerful ability that you select AFTER you see the opponent's lineup. They are therefore incredibly powerful because they are one of the only ways to adjust your own strategy after seeing what team you are up against. Choosing the right (or wrong) tactic can sometimes mean the difference between victory and defeat. I can't say for sure, but I suspect the match would have ended quite differently if my opponent had chosen the Poison tactic instead of the +2 Melee tactic. Since Poison targets health directly, my opponent could have eliminated my Thandalorian Scion or Blackmoor Wild Elf by the end of the first round simply by placing this debuff on them.
At the end of the day, I think my success was influenced by a variety of factors. Using Halfling Refugee as a 1 mana damage sponge was a great move, and I think my opponent's decision to use the Melee buff instead of Poisoning my units helped as well. Regardless of why my team won, the good news is that we secured the victory and earned some SPS as well as Glint. If you like action packed trading card games and you are interested in the possibility of earning cryptocurrency and NFT trading cards for winning matches, then I'd like to invite you to join me in Splinterlands using my referral link.
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.
