Take a look at this starting frame and try to figure out who will win the battle before watching it play out.
Here's a link to this week's battle
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_e06fb70459d22d1a89515a972c23a30e&ref=jingo-submo
Here's the ruleset
My record overall with the little league ruleset is pretty mediocre. I'm probably near 50% and may be a little bit under. Then you throw in the new return fire ruleset. So I'm expecting not too many ranged attacks from my opponent and I don't want to use a lot of ranged attacks either.
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Owster Rotwell
Owster gives my whole team magic reflect. Any ranged attacks that my opponent uses are thrown back at them because of the ruleset and now that I've selected Owster their magic attacks are also coming back.
Tank: Xenith Monk
Xenith Monk has one of the biggest bodies available to me in the little league ruleset and gets a lot of play for that. It can soak up a couple of little league hits even though it won't dish out much damage. The Monk will be able to absorb even more hits when I've had a chance to level up.
1st position: Animated Corpse
The Corpse can't even attack from this position. Why would I put it here?When I want to get the most out of summoners like Owster or Mylor I'm sometimes hoping to take more hits than I dish out. At 4 mana or less many monsters start with just 3 life or less.
2nd position: Venari Bonesmith
I played Magic the Gathering long before finding Splinterlands. Lifelink was one of my favorite abilities. When I started playing Splinterlands in November 2021, cards were expensive. I bought up a whole bunch of copies of bonesmith to level the card up and use that Life Leech ability to the fullest. Afterwards I learned that I had to level up my summoner before I could use my leveled up Bonesmith. I also learned that some abilities like Life Leech don't work in a 1 for 1 exchange. I wish that I could go back and correct the financial mistakes that I made early on in Splinterlands but that's the cost of an education. I hope that my future financial choices in the game prove stronger over the long term.
Venari Bonesmith didn't prove to be everything that I hoped for but I still love the card. Similarly, I love the Life Sapper for 1 less mana.
3rd position: Life Sapper
Practically identical to the Bonesmith for 1 less mana at level 1. I like to use both of them together and usually place them near the middle of the pack to get the most out of their life leech ability. That way they're able to grow a little larger before taking damage.
4th position: Death Elemental
This offers some great dependable damage to the back line. I think the Snipe ability is stronger with magic attacks than it is with ranged attacks. It's happened quite a few times where my Life Sapper gets killed by my opponent's Death Elemental before my Sapper can get a shot off.
Rear Tank: Crypt Beetle
Again I can't attack from this position with my Beetle but I expect my opponent to use some sneak attacks in the little league ruleset and this can take a few hits. It payed off as my opponent's Uraeus was held at bay for a couple of turns.
Did we win?
Yes. I was surprised that my opponent included Haunted Spider and Dark Astronomer in this ruleset. They're great cards and overpowered for the cost but pretty much killed themselves with the new return fire ruleset.
Do I like Venari Bonesmith?
Yes, it's one of my earliest favorites. I think this is the only card that I have maxed out so far. Not that I can play it at Max level yet but I'm working towards it one little step at a time.
What will I try differently next time?
I was certainly happy with the result of this match. I'm not sure what I will do differently next time. Like I said I struggle with the little league ruleset. What are some of your favorite strategies in little league?
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game.