Here's the ruleset for this week's battle
The holy protection ruleset gives all monsters the divine shield ability. There are a few tips for managing this ruleset. Firstly monsters that come with the divine shield ability don't get any brownie points over monsters that don't, because those monsters that normally don't come out just the same. The same goes for Lorna Shine. She's giving away free samples. Secondly I think it's helpful to fill as many slots as possible. Even 0 mana monsters will soak up at least 2 hits. Thirdly I think there's added benefit to focusing all of your attacks at the same point. If you spend all of your time taking off divine shields while you're opponent efficiently dispatches your last monster with a bunch of sneak attacks then you've done yourself a disservice and will be at a disadvantage in the next round when you're down a monster.
I think going the distance is the more game altering ruleset for this battle as it severely limits the monsters available for you to choose from and gives specific expectations for what you can expect out of your opponent. I like to use Quix the Devious here and I think that's the most likely thing to see on the other side of the battlefield. The other summoners that I most like to use for going the distance are not available for these splinters.
Here's the starting frame
While I prefer summoners that come with a more direct effect on ranged attacks, Kelya does have some nice synergies like putting armor on all of your monsters that swamp spitter can repair.
The water splinter also gives access to Wave Brood which can taunt all of your opponent's attacks to itself. If Wave Brood is placed in your final position then you can heal it with Triage from Angelic Mandarin which becomes available at level 4.
Think about how this might play out before clicking the link
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_8a27fb9bf3aa3fa881659b7822491daf&ref=jingo-submo
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Quix the Devious
Quix debuffs my opponent's ranged attacks, debuffs their speed and gives me access to dragons. Not to mention at level 2 my Quix is maxed out for silver.
Tank: Gargoya Devil
The close range ability makes Gargoya Devil a great choice here. Flying also makes it harder to hit.
1st position: Iza the Fanged
Iza comes with the sneak ability which is fairly unique for ranged attacks. Attacking something different than the rest of my team isn't ideal for the holy protection ruleset, but the scavenger ability is great for soaking up a few extra hits and the speed is enough that my opponent's monsters may not all connect.
2nd position: Venari Seedsmith
The Seedsmith is another scavenger and at level 4 picks up that third ranged attack damage which gives me 5 monster dealing 3 damage or more.
3rd position: Runic Skyclaw
Another heavy hitter. Skyclaw also comes with flying and great speed.
4th position: Hunter Jarx
Like Runic Skyclaw, Jarx comes with the snipe ability which doesn't really synergize well with the holy protection ruleset, but my team has so much raw power that it doesn't matter much.
5th position: Mitica Headhunter
Headhunter has the most raw power on my whole team dealing 4 damage each time.
Did we win?
Yes. While my opponent was plinking away for 1 damage each time (and sometimes missing) thanks to Quix, my monsters were making big hits.
What will I try differently next time?
Not much. I was very happy to have some big hitters available. When I get Kelya up to level 4 my Angelic Mandarin will become a priority, but mine isn't leveled up yet and I was better off with Quix which is.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game. I hope the updated format that I'm using is helpful. Feel free to share any specific feedback in the comments.