If Ellen Ripley ever managed to reach the realms of Splinterlands, she’d likely suggest taking off and nuking the entire site from orbit, as it would be the only way to be sure what lives there dies there. While nothing like nukes exists in Splinterlands (yet), some battles, especially those between two defense-oriented Life sets, could span for ages. Contrary to those chess-like battles, blending Blast with Snipe and a high-attack monster renders a killing machine that wipes out opponents like a small nuclear missile. In this battle under Explosive Weaponry and Super Sneak modifications, my keen card actually became akin to a nuclear missile launcher. See for yourselves!
Gladiator cards become extremely powerful when they combine Bloodlust and Blast, regardless of whether it is by nature or by the ruleset modification like this time. No wonder I opted for a summoner that allows drafting one extra Gladiator, Franz Ruffmane.
The mana cap didn’t allow me to pick the tank of my choice, Imperial Knight, which suits the best thanks to his Void Armor and self-healing. Instead, I went with Palecor Conjurer. Call it an economical option – 5 HP for only 2 mana points.
Scavenging Vulguine was just another result of being on a tight budget. True, this monster has very little HP stats, yet it can drain life from the dead, which I counted on.
When every monster gets Blast, you either need cards with Reflection Shield or self-healers to stand a chance. That’s why I drafted Xenith Monk.
And now for the keen cards. Adelade Brightwing comes with Repair and Resurrect, both extremely important under this ruleset. If only she were faster!
Captain Katie was actually in the lead of my set, I'd call her General Katie instead. Snipe, Blast, and Bloodlust – what a lethal combo!
And last but not least, I placed Venari Marksman at the rear of my army. I expected it to be slain, resurrected and then killed again to make Katie even more destructive.
The Super Sneak modification makes you focus on the rear of your army. That’s precisely what both my opponent and I did, yet we came up with two different approaches. My opponent focused on defense, and their strategy was quite brilliant, I must admit. Dumack Orc and Venator Kinjo effectively neutralized my melee-attack potential. I rather used my rear card as bait, which worked great and held the offensive just for the needed time to allow me to eliminate frontal monsters.
Quora Towerhead is almost undefeatable when played wisely, yet this was not the case. She only killed a single monster, which is poor performance given the circumstances and her potential. If she were placed as a tank, she could have done way better, slaughtering through my weak frontal monsters.
It was the Gladiators, who played the decisive role in this battle, though. Captain Katie got +4 to her stats within the first two rounds, and that’s quite hard to defend. No wonder the battle resulted in my decisive victory in only 3 rounds.
