This match is all about how to deal with Earthquake Modifier and includes how one Flying unit changes everything. You will see how Surgehammer hovers over the ground units while Opportunity picks off targets at the right time. There’s also the Weapons Training tricks doing heavy work behind the scenes.
When all these parts come together it creates a battle that looks messy at first but actually shows a multi-layered plan. The lineup mixes high health, magic attacks, unique abilities and Flying units to survive longer. Now let’s break down the actual fight and talk about how the lineup handled the modifiers and the 48 mana limit.

Battle Breakdown

Modifier in this Battle:

• Earthquake - All nonflying and snared units take 2 physical damage at the end of each round.

My Thoughts on Modifiers

• Earthquake Modifier always pushes teams into picking Flying units or just die from the 2 damage per round but I was able to create a strategy without relying too much on Flying ability. Since every unit that is not Flying will take damage each round, having high health and armor would help which makes tanky units more important. This also means Opportunity units become better because they can finish damaged enemies early which combos well with the consistent Earthquake damage.

Team Composition

Archon: Marlai Singariel

• I am still using the Weapons Training build here so she is still a good choice. She fits well with this lineup because she lets the other units become stronger by giving more magic damage to the Weapons Training units which improves all of my damage.

Units Chosen

Unit 1: Asel Alagosdil

• I had extra 4 mana so I added Asel Alagosdil. I want another tank but don't have any of the good ones and Asel Alagosdil still gives strong frontline value with the armor and Divine Shield even if he is not the top pick.

Unit 2: Ulundin Overseer

• Big tank that can be a target for Weapons Training since he has no attack but he can become even stronger with magic attack when Daarg Deadblast gives him Weapons Training. His high health and armor is the main reason I added him in the Earthquake Battle.

Unit 3: Daarg Deadblast

• Main source of Weapons Training. He has 2 magic attack so he also gives 2 magic attack to units beside him because of Weapons Training and this makes the whole team stronger.

Unit 4: Grimbardun Smith

• Another beefy target for Weapons Training. Since I don't have a lot of Flying units I want units as beefy as possible to resist rounds of Earthquake damage.

Unit 5: Abyssal Elemental

• Good all around unit. The Resurgence is good as it gives him essentially double the health and armor which helps him survive the Earthquake modifier one more time after his death.

Unit 6: Surgehammer

• Melee unit with Opportunity and Flying. He is the only Flying unit worth adding to my team so I could have a unit not affected by Earthquake.

The Battle

Opening Rounds:
The enemy lineup was worrying at first. The combination of Thalgrimore and Sorrow Harvester's -1 health brought my unit's health down by 2 which is a lot. The key units weren't that affected though so overall, it's fine for now but it might turn out bad pretty soon.

Mid-game:
After the death of the enemy Taunt unit, we staarted to see some movement in the battlefield. Marlai Singariel is very good against Void units like Nim Guard Captain. I discovered that when units have 3 damage and the enemy have halving effects like Void or Shield, they get 2 damage instead of 1. Since Nim Guard Captain doesn't have that much health, the four magic attack units I have are good enough to deal with him despite the Void advantage.

Final Rounds:
Towards the late game, my strategy started to come to fruition. My high health units are the ones left. Abyssal Elemental still has Resurgence for a round 2 and Surgehammer is still unharmed with the Flying ability while the enemy is on their last legs. It was a swift battle but also a long one and I am happy with the result.

👉 Watch the full battle replay here
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_ebbbdba1249d0cf53a8f800300d49f9d?ref=ashenova

Results & Reflection

What strategy I was aiming for:
Pick high health Non-flying units to deal with Earthquake damage and at least one unit with Flying Element to negate the Earthquake damage to him. The main focus in this battle is survival while fighting back. The higher health my units have, the longer they would stay in battle and in turn, the Earthquake would deal with the rest.

What surprised me:
I was surprised at how my plan worked so well. I don't have a good choices of Flying units so I relied on brute strength and abilities. The high health and armor from the non-attacking units supported by Weapons Training was really good as well as Resurgence and Flying. It was unexpected that they held as long as I thought they would.

What I learned:
I learned that even if you do not have many Flying units you can still win if you stack enough health, armor and complementing abilities. Weapons Training can act like a hidden damage strategy that adds unexpected strength to your lineup. Since units without attacks have higher stats to compensate, they work well in modifiers where constant damage is unavoidable. I also learned Surgehammer is stronger in Earthquake Modifier than I usually think because he can stay alive and pick targets freely without taking an ounce of Earthquake damage.

Closing Thoughts

The whole strategy felt simple but very effective. It's a good thing that you can still deal with Earthquake modifier even though you don't have enough Flying units. At first, I thought that having Flying units are enough to win an Earthquake modifier but you also need to deal enough damage or the land will eat your units alive.