Here's a link for this week's challenge
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_ae92ecd8b2eb480c5d7abacd409cadcb&ref=submo
Lineup:
Summoner: Delwyn Dragonscale
Delwyn occupies a unique place among Splinterlands summoners as the only common summoner. As the only common summoner you can run the card up to level 10. The end result is the same as maxing out other summoners for card level caps: 10, 8, 6 and 4.
I play in silver league, so Delwyn can be played at level 5 with caps of: 5, 4, 3 and 2. The same as any other summoner that's been maxed out for silver.
The place this gets interesting is all of the in-between levels that become available. I'm playing a level 4 Delwyn here which is not maxed out for silver. It allows for creatures at level 4, 3, 2 and 2. A level 4 Delwyn only costs about half as much as a level 5, but it allows you to play the same level 2 legendary cards.
Final position: Chaos Dragon
You can see in this match that the only card I have leveled up is Chaos Dragon. I made this a priority for some incredible synergy. Chaos dragon's 3 magic damage become 4 with Delywn. Chaos Dragon's Scattershot ability pairs best with Magic because it gets under any armor that your opponent's creatures might have. It would be a pity to hit 1 armor for 4 damage. I place Chaos dragon in the backline, usually in the final position like I did here to get the most out of that Scattershot ability. I made it a priority to get a level 2 Chaos Dragon because that's where it gets Blast. Those 4 magic damage become 3 magic damage for neighboring creatures. Blast synergizes extremely well with Scattershot because if you can hit a creature that's not in the first or last position you'll end up hitting 2 creatures with your Blast damage. In the case of Chaos Dragon paired with Delwyn that's a whopping 10 damage.
Does this strategy work?
The short answer is a clear yes in this example with some caveats. Delwyn costs 5 mana and Chaos Dragon costs 14. The minimum mana cap to try this combination with is 19. At a mana cap of 19 most matches will be playing 3 or more monsters in each lineup. If Chaos Dragon is your only monster, then your opponent's creatures and going to gang up on it. Additionally, if Chaos Dragon ends up in your tank position you'll miss out on the synergy of Scattershot with Blast. Then you'll only get a measly 7 damage with each shot instead of 10. In order to run this combo, I recommend a high mana cap: at least 30 and preferably over 40 to get the most out of Chaos Dragon with a strong supporting cast.
Do I like dragons?
Yes, dragons add a whole extra dimension to the game, and they are my favorite splinter to play with.
What do I mean by extra dimension? There are 6 splinters in the game. If you choose a summoner from the fire splinter for your match, then you're able to play monsters from the fire splinter and monsters from the neutral splinter. Neutral monsters can synergize with monsters and summoners from the other splinters to be used in a variety of situations. Dragons add another group of summoners and another group of monsters that are able to synergize with monsters from all of the other splinters in a variety of ways.
Until next time, I'll see you in the game. Thanks to any of you who like, follow and/or repost.
