One might say there’s no place for skill in Splinterlands: once you pick the monsters to fight for you, all you can do is watch them in action. That’s true to an extent, yet there remains space to analyze your opponent’s previous battles and adjust your strategy for the monsters you might face on the battlefield. When you do so, you can blow out a high-mana golden Fire set as if it were nothing more than a graveyard candle shivering in a cold breeze. I managed it in this battle—extinguishing the last flame of otherwise lethal fire in just over one round. Admittedly, the ruleset modifications—Explosive Weaponry and Are You Not Entertained—helped speed things up, ensuring swift encounters.
I anticipated a similar Fire set, as my opponent had used it in most of their recent battles. Fire monsters tend to resist brute force, so I considered two options to counter them: fast Water monsters to flood the flames or a Life Splinter magic set. I opted for the latter, assuming my opponent would draft Tarsa rather than Eternan Brune. Even though Franz Ruffmane’s shield buff was neutralized, I could draft an extra Gladiator that came in handy.
Drybone Barbarian isn’t the most durable tank, yet its high stats combined with Retaliate are priceless under this ruleset—it can easily take down three or four monsters in a single round.
I expected no magic strikers—or perhaps just one—so positioning Evelyn Auvera, with her high shield stat, in the second slot made perfect sense, especially since she was about to be weapon-trained.
Aves Sturgis is a sly monster, considering you only pay six mana points for him. If only he were a bit faster!
One of the two gladiators in my set was Helmet Kharafax; I always pair him with Aves. I bet on his survival thanks to his Scavenger and Bloodlust abilities.
Olivia of the Brook was clearly built for rulesets like this. She attacks twice per round and always targets the weakest link in your opponent’s deck.
Lastly, Captain Katie is the cornerstone of most of my Life Splinter strategies. If I were to face a magic striker, she was ready to take it down. Moreover, Bloodlust monsters often become overbuffed under these rulesets.
The opponent’s deck was more or less what I expected—I had assumed they would use Tarsa and one extra opportunist or sneaker instead of a magic striker. Nevertheless, their monsters were impressive, and every single one came in golden foil. The two gladiators, Fina Voxom and Gorth, would have become unstoppable if they had managed to get buffed. Djinn Inferni and Technowizologist fit the ruleset well—fortunately, I had no monsters costing more than 10 mana points in my rows. Meanwhile, Tenyii Striker and Radiated Brute were classic examples of Fire brute force.
At first glance, you might assume my monsters were fated to be wiped out swiftly. However, they all survived the first round, while four of my opponent’s monsters perished. Captain Katie eliminated two, and she buffed herself to become the fastest monster on the battlefield. That essentially marked the end of the battle: Katie took down the last two foes with the opening strike of the second round, and my army emerged victorious without a single casualty. That’s how you win a battle like this!
