Impending Calamity

SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE.png
I've been quite busy this past week and I haven't even made any Hive post. But I was still keeping track somehow of what was going on in Splinterlands and I've been met with this post in X:

I believe this is a huge thing as it is a confirmation of what Dave has said in the most recent town hall that we might see the same reward card structure in modern league as with Frontier. I'm glad that I am currently playing in the modern format as this new Conclave Arcana reward cards might trigger a renewed interest in Splinterlands. I mean, sure Frontier cards are great and all but if you think about it, it's only maxed at half level and not really that competitive in modern, although some cards are pretty useful, especially the Sorrow Harvester that I use all the time. That card is so good, I would buy a black foil if I had the money. And if the new reward cards would also feature new archons with new bloodline representations, I would definitely grind modern hard.

Impending Calamity
When playing in mobile and waiting for my opponent, I can't help but read and be invested in what is written in the flavor text, especially if it's about lore.

One of the more interesting ones I've come across recently is about an axolotl egg that was raised by the great dragon, Sheng Xiao. And it appears Calamity is now on her way as the new unlockable card for CA conflicts.

And when I checked out its stats and abilities progression, I was surprised at how it was designed. It was like a true Calamity when played through a match.

Now, I'm in no means an expert when it comes to how Splinterlands work, but initially looking at it, having a four mana card with 3 magic attack, 10 health, and 4 speed, is a bit overpowered, in my opinion. I mean, I have cards in my death deck with way higher mana cost that don't even reach 3 points of magic damage. And the other abilities are also insane to me.

Shapeshift

First, it has shapeshift. Now, Calamity is a dragon type which means whenever you play it, you can also choose another element. So my thinking is you will definitely want to place Calamity in the last position of your team. Then if you include two separate elements with Bloodline Tribute, let's say Songale and Filthy Scavenger, Calamity will end up with +2 to health, speed, and armor.

Electrified

Next, we have Electrified, which may be considered a debuff to somehow balance out Calamity being too overpowered, but it also becomes a positive thing for it since it forces out all other allies to die and be left all alone for the Last Stand to activate. With Electrified, you can even tuck Calamity right in the center of your team and somehow still manage to proc Last Stand in the end.

Life Leech

Life Leech is definitely what will make Calamity a beast in the end game of a match. Imagine positioning it in the back slot and then it slowly increases health. And by the time it is exposed to the front, Last Stand kicks in and it becomes an even bigger threat.

Expose

Giving Expose to Calamity is just too much at this point. Having a way to counter an opponent's only way to counter Calamity is brutal. Imagine preparing Void Armor and Void monsters because you know what's coming and Expose suddenly strips those defenses away. That is quite unforgiving.

Last Stand

Imagine a scenario where Calamity is given two counts of Bloodline Tribute due to Shapeshift. It also has gain a significant amount of health. Then Last Stand kicks in and suddenly its stands were increased by 50%. If I were to be in the receiving end of that situation, it would be a Calamity for sure.