Welcome everyone to another Battle Mage Challenge, this time featuring the “Going the Distance” rule.
Going the Distance
In this rule, only units with Ranged attacks may be used, so no complicated issue here, you can only pick a very limited number of Monsters.
So, considering that “Ranged” are physical attacks, you’re definitely going to be benefited by stats like Speed and Armor and, if we talk about Armor, we should talk about your ability to Repair it, so that is also an ability you should consider. And talking about Speed and evasion, you should consider Flying Monsters. The ability, “Close Range”, which allows Monsters to attack from the first position is definitely a must, since you necessarily need to inflict damage.
Anyways, there are multiple combinations of cards you could use, so
I’m going to just name some key cards from the Modern sets, at a Silver level cap, that always help in this ruleset.
Neutrals
Supply Runner: at level five it gets Swiftness, which boosts your Speed.
Gargoya Devil: it has an strong attack, which can be used from the first position. It can also fly.
Drybone Raider: Reward Legendary card with a great trick. You can use his Melee attack, since it has mixed attacks. Combined with the Venari Marksrat, a Martyr, you can avoid a probable “Return Fire” effect from your opponent, by using his great Double Strike Melee attack.
Fire
Lava Launcher & Molten Ash Golem: great attack for the Launcher and lots of hit points.
Ash Mirage: it has “Headwinds”, which reduces Ranged attacks by one point.
Torch Myrmidon: never used him, but his Flank ability would allow the Drybone Raider to use, not only his Ranged attacks, but also his Melee ones. Besides, the Myrmidon can also attack from the first position and he is quite fast.
Water
Prophet Rosa: new Rebellion Summoner. You can choose between boosting two cards Ranged attack or giving Shield to one unit. Whatever you pick, is a great decision.
Wave Brood: insane amount of hit points, plus the Taunt effect, which draws attention to him.
Angelic Mandarin: if you position the Wave Brood in the back line, you could apply Triage to him with the Angelic Mandarin.
Swamp Spitter: great Reward card that can Repair Armor. Remember you should use Kelya as your Summoner, since she gives you Armor to Repair.
Earth… don’t use Earth, unless you have Fernheart, Riftwatcher Summoner, who allows Ranged cards to attack from the first position.
Death
Queen of Crows: this Rare Riftwatcher has an insane amount of health, plus she can attack from the first position. From level three she also has the Headwinds effect.
Ravenhood Raven: it has a weak attack and few hit points, but it protects your whole team with two points of Armor.
Daigendark Hunter: Ranged Sneak attackers are rare, so this card could prove useful at taking down key cards in your opponent’s team, which could be guarded in the back.
Life
Sloan & Ilthain: the Life Splinter is a great option in this ruleset, because you can choose between Sloan, a Summoner that boosts your Ranged attacks, and Ilthain, a Summoner that returns the damage from these kinds of attacks.
Venari Crystalsmith: a healer, what else?
Anachron Bolter: this Rebellion card has mixed Magic and Ranged attacks, so regardless of her position, she’ll be able to attack. Besides, already from level one, she has the Headwinds effect.
Dragon
Quix the Devious: great Summoner for this rule. It de-buffs Speed and Ranged attacks.
Runic Skyclaw: this one is expensive to summon, however it has a great Sniping attack; but my favorite thing is that you can position it as a reliable tank, because of it’s insane level of evasion, six points of Speed, plus the Flying ability.
So, I told you not to use the Earth Splinter, unless you have Fernheart… the justification is that you don’t have enough, or any, outstanding card to assemble a reliable team for this rule, at least in the Modern Format… however, here we didn’t have many options, not only because many Splinters were inactive, but also because of the Little League rule, so I took my chances with the options I had in Earth.
The battle was done in the Wild Format, in the high Diamond League. Even though my cards have a Silver cap, I had a great advantage over my opponent.
As a Summoner, Obsidian. No benefits at all, just to be able to use Earth.
The Barking Spider as some sort of tank. It was the only card in my power with respectable hp.
Then, the Xenith Archer. I didn’t expect much of her. Just a victim for the Blast.
In third position, another victim for the Blast, but this time a Martyr.
Fourth, the Acid Shooter. I wanted to actively attack my opponent’s backline, to take advantage of the Blast effect, so his Scattershot effect was good for that.
In fifth position, the Fungus Flinger, another Martyr, but this one improves your evasion, thanks to his Blind effect.
At last, my main reference of attack, Iza the Fanged, who has a decent, but fast attack, that targets the last unit in the enemy team.
The battle was a total success, no casualties. It’s fair to point out though, that my opponent didn’t make use of all his Mana points, while I did. So, not only I had an advantage with the level of my cards, but I also had more possibilities.
Another battle from the Wild Format. This time we were able to attack from the first position with our Ranged cards, but the Mana available was very limited. Also, only two Splinters were active.
Kelya Frendul as a Summoner. Armor and Speed.
The Merdhampir as a “tank”. It works good there, because his Life Leech effect gives him extra hp, every time he inflicts damage to the enemy’s health.
Then, the Swamp Spitter. It has a strong attack and it can repair Armor.
Another good battle, with no casualties, but again… my opponent had lower-level cards, which played to my advantage.
