Battle Mage Secrets: Earthquake

*RULESET: Earthquake
Description: All non-flying units take 2 physical damage at the end of every turn.

It's been a while since I wrote a blog with regards to Battle Mage Secrets but it's Earthquake this time and I happen to come across this ruleset very often in the battlefield. So allow me to share with you this battle and hopefully give you tips and tricks on how to win when faced with this specific ruleset.

Ruleset:
• 37 Mana Cap
• Earthquake
• Going the Distance
• Rise of the Commons
• Available Splinters: Fire, Water, Life & Dragon

This battle is extra challenging for me as the list of the playable monsters is limited. I only had 3 monsters with the Flying ability so I had to utilize the abilities of the other monsters available. In this case, I took advantage of the following:

• Speed
• Martyr
• Healing

I would have used Quix the Devious for the -1 range attack but I only had it at level 2 and so my Pelacor Arbalest would have not been flying had I went with that direction.

In this battle, I used General Sloan instead, that gave +1 range buff to my monsters. Extra damage might be useful, especially when we got an earthquake waiting for the non-flying monsters at the end of each round.

I strategically placed Venari Marksrat in front so it takes the first few damages instead of the Gargoya Devil (which is not affected by the Earthquake) and once the rat dies, the Devil benefits from its martyr ability adding +1 to all stats.

I made sure to add the Supply Runner for the extra speed to gain advantage before the opponent's monsters attack.

Although I'd have to note that I think there might have been a miscalculation on the opponent's side or maybe confusion on the ruleset since they used Sthispa when there isn't a single magic monster playable.

Or, they just wanted to use the Runic Skyclaw but doesn't have Quix the Devious. Idk, but there must be a reason for that. Anyway, let's move on to the battle itself.

By the end of the first round, we both lost our "tanks" but they lost a flying monster and I lost a martyr. Now my buffed Devil with 5 range damage is in the front line head-to-head with a now non-attacking Runic Skyclaw

Round 2, 20/20 with earthquake still on its way, I'm left with 5 monsters, 3 of them flying while my adversary is left with a now non-attacking flying monster in front and a non-flying healer at the back.
At this point, it's already clear who's winning.

The end of Round 3 shows my team still intact while the other team is completely wiped out.

Strengths in Earthquake

Here are some strengths in the Earthquake ruleset I'd like to mention that were not showcased in this battle:
• Protect (+2 armor for allies)
• Shield (reduced damage from melee and ranged attack… and also earthquake)
• Rust (-2 armor for the other team)
• Shatter (breaks armor when attack hits)
• Snare (removes flying ability and cannot miss)