Splinterlands is an online collectible card game using blockchain technology. Every card in the game is owned as a non-fungible token (NFT) and is traded using similar features to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. If you’ve ever played collectible trading card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh!, you’ll find a similar experience, but through a web browser and blockchain wallet.
This week, the ruleset we have to introduce for this challenge is the Little League ruleset, which prohibits big monsters from entering the battlefield, so only monsters and summoners that cost 4 mana or less can be used.
Personally, I like this ruleset because not only does it force us to use our low mana creatures, but the summoner is affected as well.
With fewer options to play with, it's a little easier to choose our lineup.
Something curious is that at the moment there are no monsters that cost 4 mana or less with the following abilities:
Deathblow
Forcefield
Flank
Giant Killer
Last Stand
Taunt
(I omit abilities that currently only 1 monster has, such as Venka the Vile "Charge")
And at the moment there is only one monster with the following abilities that cost 4 mana or less:
Resurrect
Trample
Recharge
Lookout
Weapons Training
Corrosive Ward
Since only Moxian Rebel has the Weapons Training ability in this ruleset, you can use it to buff your monsters that have no attacks, giving them +2 magic attack.
Now let's analyze a high-ranking battle in the Champions League Wild format: Hametaro VS Orrkis!
Only the Little League ruleset is active in this battle. And since a maximum of 7 cards can be used per battle, including the summoner, 29 mana is great, since if players want, they can use cards that cost 4 mana in all their lineup.
The first player, Hametaro, chooses Tarsa as his summoner, which allows the use of fire monsters, and will give all his units +1 health. His melee attack units will receive a +1 melee attack bonus.
In the frontline position, Cerberus, the fire melee monster with 4 mana or less that has the most health at the moment. It will restore one-third of its max health each round. And when hit with a melee attack, it has a 50% chance to attack the attacking enemy.
In the second position, Antoid Platoon, will be his second tank monster when Cerberus is defeated. It is resistant to melee and ranged attacks, and only takes 50% of the damage from those attacks. Additionally, when a monster dies, it will gain 1 max health due to its Scavenger ability.
In the third position, Clockwork Aide, which although it cannot attack, has a lot of armor and will grant +1 speed and +1 health to all its friendly units. Additionally, it will reduce the armor of enemy units by -2.
In fourth position, Doctor Blight, who will be the only magic monster in his lineup. Possibly the most powerful 4 mana legendary unit. Its attacks have a 50% chance to apply Affliction (cannot be cured) and/or Poison (at the start of each round, it will lose -2 health) to enemies. Also, this card cannot be attacked while on the backline by direct attacks, and gains +1 max health each time a unit is defeated. Additionally, reduces the health of all enemy monsters by -1.
In the fifth position, Fire Demon, which is the only 4 mana creature with the Blast ability, causing its attacks to deal half damage (rounded up) to units adjacent to the target enemy.
In the last position, Spark Pixies, which is one of the range units with the highest speed. It can fly, giving it a 25% chance to evade melee and ranged attacks from non-flying units. It also has a 25% higher chance of evading melee and ranged attacks thanks to its Dodge ability. In addition, their attacks have a 50% chance to Stun enemy units, forcing them to skip their next turn.
The second player, Orrkis, also uses Tarsa as his summoner.
From the first position to sixth, use the same monsters as his opponent in exactly the same order, except in the second position. In which he uses Xenith Monk, who will be the second tank and will restore a third of his max health each round. The monk will also take less damage from magic attacks by 50% and, when attacked, will return half the magic damage back (rounded up) to the attacker.
Round 1: Fire Demon (Hametaro) destroys ☠️Cerberus (Orrkis).
Round 2:
☠️Cerberus (Hametaro) is defeated by Spark Pixies (Orrkis). Fire Demon (Hametaro) destroys ☠️Xenith Monk (Orrkis). Doctor Blight (Hametaro) destroys ☠️Clockwork Aide (Orrkis).
Round 3: Doctor Blight (Hametaro) destroys ☠️Doctor Blight (Orrkis).
Round 4: Fire Demon (Hametaro) destroys ☠️Fire Demon (Orrkis) Doctor Blight (Hametaro) ends the battle by destroying ☠️Spark Pixies (Orrkis).
In this battle, both players used almost exactly the same lineup, if not for their second position units, which changed the battle completely.
Orrkis was a bit unlucky as his Cerberus was stunned before it could attack, being defeated in the first round. Orrkis' Xenith Monk could be a good choice if Hametaro had used a lot of magic monsters but he didn't, and with his death his next units were defeated very easily.
In this way Hametaro wins by losing only one creature.
MVP
Fire Demon (Hametaro) with a triple death and for dealing more damage.
Keep Your Distance is an anomaly card in Hearthstone.
