CRYPT BEETLE

Hello, guys, how're you doing? In this weekly challenge, we were tasked to talk about the Crypt Beetle, and I must say, I have mixed opinions on this card, and in a moment I'll show you the pros and cons of using it. But before that, who is the Crypt Beetle? Well, it's a common Death monster from the Chaos Legion edition, which means that it's part of the base set, so everyone can use it!

Lore

Any explorers that delve too deeply into the crypts, mausoleums, and necropolises of the world will find a foe they are unprepared for. Not undead, not liches, and not other monsters that can be found in the deep. Instead, tales are told of the crypt beetles. Enormous insects that are found feeding on the corpses within. Most explorers think they are a mere nuisance and will try to scare them away from whatever tomb they are choosing to rob.

But things don't end well for those explorers. These large beetles will defend themselves and their food aggressively. And any explorer that makes it back out alive will have impressive scars to show from the crypt beetle's bite.

I was going to title this post "A Sturdy Little Guy", but after reading its Lore, I found out that the Crypt Beetle are not actually that small, which makes them even more terrifying!

Stats

What makes the Crypt Beetle stand out against all the other low mana melee monsters is its Shield ability, which allows it to take less damage from physical attacks (melee and ranged). Thanks to that, it can serve as a low mana tank, especially useful in Equalizer matches, since its main problem is only having 2 health points, making it quite frail against magic damage.

After leveling it up, you don't get much difference. It still only has the Shield ability, with only having increased stats, which is not bad, but it's nothing to write home about.

Battle

Here I'll show you a battle using Djinn Chwala, and a strategy that can be useful. I'll describe it as best as I can, but nothing beats the feeling of actually watching the battle, so in this link you'll be able to watch the battle yourself.

Ruleset

• Super Sneak: All melee monsters have the Sneak ability, targetting the monster in the final position.
• Reverse Speed: Monsters with the lowest Speed attack first.
• Allowed Splinters: Water, Earth, Life, Death, and Dragon.

Team

Because of the ruleset, I decided to go for a fully melee team, to target the backline, and I also used my ace to counter that same strategy.

Card	Description
	DRAKE OF ARNAK With +1 armor, it protects all my monsters from melee attacks, which I'm expecting.
	SHADOWY PRESENCE For only 1 mana, it has 4 health and 1 speed, making it a great secondary tank, for such a low cost. It's especially useful since I'm not expecting many attacks to the first position.
	CRYPT BEETLE With its low speed and Sturdy, it can come in handy in this battle, being one of the first monsters to attack, and not taking melee damage (if the enemy goes with melee as well).
	DISINTEGRATOR With Demoralize, it lowers the enemy's melee attack. Since I'm hoping for a lot of melee attacks against my main tank, this could be deadly for the enemy.
	CARRION SHADE Since I had 1 mana left, I chose the Carrion Shade to deal some more melee damage against the enemy.
	DJINN CHWALA My main tank. Whenever Chwala is attacked by a melee monster, the aggressor will also be damaged. Since it's in the last position, any melee monster that attacks it will be damaged as well.

ROUND 1

• Well, looking at the opponent, it looks like they went for the same strategy, with Cursed Wendiku's thorns and the Disintegrator.
• Thaddius lowers all of my monsters health by 1, but Drake gives them +1 armor, which protects them for one round against the Thorns.
• The enemy Cursed Slimeball and Carrion Shade both attack Chwala, dying in the process due to Thorns.
• My Shade doesn't die thanks to its armor, and the Crypt Beetle only takes 1 damage from Thorns thanks to its ability.
• After everyone attacks, Chwala's armor is destroyed, but the Windeku is a lot worse with only 3 health left.

With only 2 attacking monsters left, and one on its last legs, I think this battle is already decided.

ROUND 2

• The Beetle is the first to attack and it still doesn't die to Thorns, thanks to Shield.
• The Disintegrator also attacks, leaving the Windeku with only 1 health, and the Carrion Shade defeats it, while dying in the process.

With the Cursed Windeku defeated, there's nothing much that the enemy can do.

ROUND 3

• My Disintegrator attacks, leaving the enemy with only 1 health, and then, with its last breath, it attacks Chwala and perishes.

With only 2 non attacking monsters on the enemy team, this battle is already over, since they can't defend themselves.

Final Thoughts

• Crypt Beetle, while being really weak against magic, can be quite good with certain teams and rulesets. When playing low mana battles, it can be a great tank for such a low mana cost.
• However, the stars of this battle were the Disintegrator and Djinn Chwala. This strategy is so useful that the enemy tried to use it, but sadly for them, Chwala is better than Windeku.
• Finally, while death isn't my preferred deck (I prefer using Water, Life or Earth lol), I've found myself using the Crypt Beetle in some battles, and I don't have many complaints about it, to be honest. It serves its purpose and can fit in many teams.

If you want to be part of the incredible community of Splinterlands, and earn money while playing a really fun game, click here!