Welcome back all,
Today we dive into one of the ruleset, modifiers, as they call them nowadays, Briar Patch.
It looks simple at first glance because it just gives every unit Thorns. Still there is a lot more going on under the surface. The idea here is to keep things casual like always, but also helpful for new players because this is absolutely one of those rulesets I wish someone explained to me early on. Not the ruleset but the impact with certain abilities.
The official text says:
Returns 2 damage to attacker when hit by a melee attack.
If a melee unit hits a target, it takes Thorns damage back.
That damage is normally 2, but a few rules twist that number.
Here is the short version:
So far pretty basic. The real fun begins when Briar Patch mixes with other abilities and other rulesets. That is where battles suddenly go sideways if you didn’t think things through.
Here are the things that will surprise you the first few times you play with Briar Patch.
Shield
Shield cuts Thorns damage in half. Since Thorns is usually 2 damage, Shield reduces it to 1. Sometimes this alone can make a high-damage melee unit worth playing even in a ruleset where melee looks dangerous.
Enrage
If a unit takes damage from Thorns and its health drops, Enrage triggers. That pushes its melee damage and speed up by ×1.5, rounded up. So hitting a target with Thorns can give your opponent a monster that suddenly hits like a truck.
Deflect / Deflection Shroud
A perfect counter. Units with Reflection Shield ignore Thorns completely. This ability becomes extremely valuable in Briar Patch because it allows your melee units to attack without self-harm.
Amplify
If Amplify is present (from a summoner or a monster), Thorns becomes nastier. Briar Patch already punishes melee, but Amplify can turn it into a full-on buzzsaw.
Up to Eleven
Everything gets Amplify. This means every Thorns hit hurts even more. Melee is extremely risky here unless you bring Shield or Deflection.
What Doesn’t Kill You
Enrage for everyone. So every Thorns hit becomes a buff for your opponent. This ruleset can feel like a trap because the unit that survives the first Thorns slap becomes extremely dangerous afterward.
Let’s talk about the following match:
click on the image to rewatch
My opponent understood the Briar Patch ruleset very well. They completely avoided using melee attackers (the backline taunt is just there to lure me into attacking him).
This is one of the safest strategies for this ruleset. If you never attack with melee, you never trigger Thorns, so you take zero reflected damage.
For new players this is often the easiest way to handle Briar Patch until you get more comfortable with the interactions.
Now let me explain what I did and why it still worked.
Even though Briar Patch punishes melee, I decided to use a melee monster that hits for 4 damage and also has Shield. And here is the important thing to understand. Shield reduces the Thorns damage your monster takes. Normally when a melee unit hits something, it takes 2 Thorns damage. With Shield active, that 2 gets reduced to 1.
Why does this matter so much?
Because the amount of return damage stays the same no matter how hard you hit. A small melee unit doing just 1 or 2 damage still takes that same reflected hit and often knocks itself out quickly. But a monster hitting for 4 damage can take the 1 damage back and still come out ahead every round. It survives longer and deals way more value for your team.
If you’re new to the game, try to remember this.
Avoid melee if you’re unsure, but if you want to use it, make sure the monster either hits hard or has an ability that reduces or prevents Thorns damage. It makes a huge difference in Briar Patch battles.
Briar Patch looks simple on the surface but it changes how you build your team. The instinct is to avoid melee altogether which is often correct. Still, with the right abilities you can use melee safely or even turn Briar Patch into a weapon against your opponent. Shield, Deflection, high damage values.
See you all on the battlefield!
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