How is your Splinterlands season going so far?

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I've made some serious improvements to my game in the last few seasons. Not only have I shifted my focus from buying Untamed packs (to be eligible for airdrops) to buying more individual cards from the market, but I have been working hard to seek out lesser known cards and unlock their true potential. The most important of these are (in most players' opinions) the tanks.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. A good tank is in the eye of the beholder. Just because a monster has a bunch of Health, Armor to spare and a higher Mana Cost, it won't automatically be a good tank. The simple fact that a Monster cannot attack is not always enough to disqualify it from being a good tank; sometimes defensive tanks are even more effective. Additionally, if you can get your first-position Monsters repaired and healed regularly enough, you can use almost any card in this position.

I'd like to just list and talk about a few of the Monsters that I have recently started using as tanks. I have noticed a lot more of my battles ending in flawless victories, and while I'm not claiming that you'll be able to reproduce my success by following my advice, you'll probably at least learn something if you read on.

With over 300 cards now in the game, it's extremely easy to overlook specifics. Usually the things that are overlooked are the abilities gained as cards level up. I often just fail to notice that a certain card gains Repair (my favorite ability) at a certain level, so I overlook that card completely. This error can make the difference of barely making Diamond each season to repeatedly blowing the Champ I competition out of the water.

My Favorite new Discovery: The Low-Mana Tank

I'll start with the specific example of the Skeletal Warrior, one of my absolute favorite cards that I never even used until a couple months ago.

The best thing about this card is the Mana cost. At only 2, the Skeletal Warrior can be used in low-Mana battles even in conjunction with higher Mana Summoners like Daria Dragonscale. The next best thing is its ability: Shield. It only has one ability, and if you're thinking about playing the Warrior at level 1-4, I wouldn't even bother, because Shield is everything. The low Mana cost and Armor makes him a quality, usable tank,but he cannot be truly extraordinary until he has his awesome skull shield.

Generally speaking, the Death Splinter thrives in low-Mana battles. In a 12-15 Mana battle, the -1 Melee Debuff of Zintar Mortalis and the -1 Range debuff of Contessa L'ament go a long way, often completely crippling your opponent. With Black, you can also compound debuffs by using cards like Death Elemental, Phantom Soldier, Dark Astronomer, and Octopider (who gains Blind at level 7). Even with Mana Caps in the teens, you can use the Death Splinter (led by the Skeletal Warrior) to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, always filling your roster. Trust me. The Skeletal Warrior is an excellent tank.

I Finally took the Plunge...

That's right, I started sometimes using the Cocatrice as a low-Mana tank. This card should only be used as a tank in certain situations, and only if you're willing to really piss off your opponents. First, as a big sweeping rule, I only use the Cocatrice in the Equalizer ruleset. In fact, I tend to use low-health and low-Mana cards only in Equalizer, assuming my opponent will throw in some whoppers. If they don't, no problem at all, we just have a shorter battle and I probably win anyway.

I wouldn't recommend playing the Cocatrice as a tank until you can get it to level 5, when (like most cards) it "comes of age" in terms of abilities. Luckily it only takes 21 BCX to get to level 5 with a Beta Rare like this one.

If you'd like to venture out of the realm of Equalizer with the Cocatrice, I would combine it with Swiftness, Blind or both to make sure that it can never get hit by a Melee or Range attack. it will still get hit by Magic attacks, a problem you can only really deal with by increasing its Health.

How about Piercing in the Front?

The Minotaur Warrior has been around since the very beginning, but Green was one of my lesser played colors until recently. It's easy to assume that because a card has Reach that it was made to go second in the lineup. Some of these Reach cards (other examples are Manticore and Silvershield Knight) fit in quite well as medium-low-Mana tanks.

The main reason I like the Minotaur is his Piercing ability. If your opponent has also chosen a low-Mana tank (and they probably have), chances are your Minotaur Warrior will attack first and take out the enemy tank in one blow.

Tons of Fun: The High-Mana Tank

With so many new cards in play, there are a lot of high-Mana Splinterlands games going on. I absolutely love them, especially the 99 Mana cap ones. I think if I could look at my stats in that ruleset alone I would have a 96% win rate.

High Mana is not only about how much Mana you use. It's about maximizing the abilities and buffs of all your Monsters and Summoners as if Mana weren't even an issue (because it's not). I've won tons of high Mana cap battles with teams in the mid thirties. But no matter your strategy in a high Mana battle, you'll want a really beefy tank.

When I think of big, beefy tanks one of the first ones that comes to mind is The Kraken. With a Mana cost of 12, this monstrosity will not disappoint, even at level 1. Normally I would discourage using a Monster with Taunt as a tank (because it's essentially a waste of an ability), but the Kraken is powerful enough at level 1 even without its native ability.

I only finally maxed this card a couple months ago, and that is when I discovered its truly utility as a high-Mana tank. Just look at those abilities. And like any good Legendary, each level earns a new enticing ability, so you almost can't not level it up. Right?

At level 4, Retaliate makes the Kraken perhaps the best tank in the game (when Mana cap is not a factor). Think about it. Every enemy attacker must target the Kraken (who has 14 Health and heavy Armor). The Kraken quickly becomes Enraged and Retaliates about half the time, wiping out the enemy's entire team. I've seen this play out dozens of times.

If You Can't Beat 'em, Demoralize 'em

I think the Demoralize ability (like the Molten Ogre has) is often overlooked. This unfortunately bald Fire Ogre has Demoralize from level 1. That means that you can play with him against level 1 teams and reduce all their Melee attacks to 1 (most of the time).

You may think why would I use the Ogre as a tank? Wouldn't I want to protect the Demoralize ability? Sometimes you may want to do that, but there is also value in protecting the Monster through Healing. Also, when using the Molten Ogre as a tank, your strategy is generally to kill them quickly, hopefully utilizing the Ogre's Trample in the process. Remember the old days, when Trampling never stopped?

To get the full attack power of the Molten Ogre, you only need to get it to level 9. For the additional 200 BCX, you only get 1 additional Health point, which probably won't make much of a difference.

Magic: A Different Approach

The Diamond Dragon does not have huge Health, but she has tons of Armor. I have found myself using her lately as a high-Mana tank (and winning) in a lot of battles. There are a lot of Legendaries in the Dragon Splinter, and because they were added at nearly the same time, some of them are frequently overlooked. Diamond Dragon is one of these.

The best way to use Tulafra (of course) is maxed, when she gets the Last Stand ability. Sometimes a good strategy with Last Stand is to use her alone in a 14 or 15 Mana battle so she gets the Last Stand buffs instantly. To take the greatest advantage of her Armor and reduce the obstacle of her low Health, you should use any Magic debuffs that you can. Options to debuff Magic with the Dragon Splinter are extremely limited, so you must affect the relevant stats you can, like Health. The Scale Doctor and the Black Dragon combined can double strengthen and add 2 Health point to the Diamond Dragon. This can allow her to survive for another crucial turn.

This Guy Doesn't Get Enough Attention

He's the Gloridax Guardian. He does his job well. If you have a Gloridax team full of Magic and Range attacks, buffs and debuffs, the Guardian is just the card to protect them. You don't get the literal Protect ability until the max level of 4, but it's well worth it. With 7 Health, 3 Armor and Shield, protecting your entire team becomes almost overkill.

I also really like that the Guardian's Mana cost is only 6. He can be used in low or high Mana battles. Don't be distracted by the little green hand; while he does alright in second position, the Guardian is far more useful as a protective tank. You'll want to arrange some formidable Tank Healing. Remember, when the Protector dies, the protection is lost, and that can be detrimental to a battle's outcome.