Many of my most successful strategies depend on sneaking monsters. You might expect this ruleset to be my favorite, but you'd be wrong. I love playing sneakers when my opponent doesn't expect them. Once they take measures to keep sneakers under control, I can't use any of the strategies I've devised over time. So, whenever I have to deal with a Super Sneak battle, I rely on magic and ranged monsters, which remain unaffected. This approach worked well in this epic battle that lasted 13 rounds, mainly due to another modifier – Born Again.
Under this ruleset, I needed a gladiator, even though it meant spending some extra mana on the summoner. Among the available options, Franz Ruffmane stood out as the best choice, since the extra armor point comes in handy when a card is resurrected.
Imperial Knight was the ideal tank for this ruleset, especially against magic monsters. Mine is leveled up enough to heal, and his high armor stats combined with the Void Armor ability ensured he stayed alive longer than any other tank.
Xenith Monk was a filler this time, meant to keep the opponent away from my power monster in the third position. The self-healing ability helped the monk survive longer than expected.
The power monster, as usual, was Captain Katie. She often becomes almost unbeatable thanks to her Bloodlust, and that’s precisely what happened in this battle, where she emerged as the sole survivor.
Passing on a martyr would have been foolish, so I drafted Venari Marksrat. Positioned last and buffed by the summoner, this marksman was there to hold off the sneakers for a while and help Katie.
My opponent drafted a well-balanced set with no major weaknesses. In fact, Immortalis effectively ruined my defense with the Shatter buff, while the Void buff effectively weakened Captain Katie. Venari Knifer or another monster with Thorns in the last position was predictable, but the two healers and two martyrs were an unexpected addition. The martyrs could have turned the tide of the battle, potentially buffing one monster to +4 if played a bit smarter. Their placement was quite strategic, too.
This was one of the most epic battles I've endured, lasting 13 rounds. That’s rare for a game with a 27-man cap. It felt more like an attrition war than a typical Splinterlands battle, with the first casualty only occurring at the end of the fourth round. And it was my tank who perished – the Shatter ability was something I hadn't anticipated. Fortunately, Captain Katie got buffed in the meantime and managed to build high enough stats by the time Xenith Monk died for the second time.
At that point, the numbers were on my opponent’s side, but Katie became unstoppable and too fast to hit – the battle was finally decided. In games like this, I sometimes regret that the game is set once you submit your deck and that you can’t influence the outcome any further.
