Arachne Weaver

The new Rebellion Rewards Edition has introduced several new abilities and debilities that can change the tide of battle. Among them, Corrupted Healing stands out – it is arguably the most efficient healing ability in the game, even though it reduces the max health stat by 1. When surrounded by cards with high HP stats, a corrupted healer can help you survive for rounds without a single casualty. My recent battle demonstrated this – Arachne Weaver was the card that secured my victory. Let’s scrutinize this new addition to the realms of Splinterlands.

The Weaknesses

Arachne Weaver hardly catches your attention as a standalone card. It is not a one-man army like Kralus or Kron the Undying. Quite the opposite, Arachne is a card you must protect due to its low speed and HP stats, making it easily targeted by any monster with Opportunity. If that happens, you have wasted five mana points on a decoy. Because of these limitations, it is unsuitable for low and mid-mana games; you may even find it lacking in high-mana caps. However, its low speed ensures that Arachne Weaver heals her allies from the first round.

Finding Suitable Strategies

Splinterlands is about synergy – you don’t need to draft the best cards to win; you only have to assemble a set tailored to the ruleset, neutralizing your opponent’s strengths and exploiting their weaknesses. Checking your foe’s previous battles helps. To maximize Arachne Weaver’s potential, you need to protect her. I often rely on one of these cards:

• Dumacke Orc or Clockwork Aide as the rear tank. Both have only one HP, but their high armor stats are enough to block both sneaking monsters and those with Opportunity. Dumacke Orc has Retaliate, so he is often my first choice.
• Kra'ar Xoc, backed by a monster with Weapons Training, can block an Opportunity monster if I opt for a different rear tank.
• Night Reaper. If I am confident no opportunists will appear, perhaps due to the Super Sneak ruleset, I often place this epic Dragon in the last position. Its high HP, Flying ability, and Arachne Weaver's healing support make it an excellent rear monster, not to mention its offensive potential.

You will also need a bunch of damage dealers to be healed by Arachne Weaver. I often deploy her to support Will-o-Wisp, Skok Duskblight, and Riftwing. The latter scavenges HP throughout the battle, and if it ever reaches the first position, it usually ends up with twice as much HP as it started with. Together, these three monsters have over 20 HP to be healed, allowing Arachne Weaver to shine. The choice of tank depends on the remaining mana, but it doesn’t typically impact the battle much.

My battle without a single casualty

In Conclusion

Protect your Arachne Weaver. She will protect every other monster in your set. Surround her with high-HP monsters and prepare for a long battle. While the fight may take time, as long as she stays safe, you can hardly lose. Arachne Weaver is an outstanding card for 30+ mana cap games.