Zalran Efreet Battle Challenge

Check out the game state and think about who might win

Here's a link for this week's battle

https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_39853f786be2c924a16f616a1d8c3383&ref=jingo-submo

Here's the ruleset

Let's talk about my lineup

Summoner: Conqueror Jacek

Speed is king in the explosive weaponry ruleset. Jacek gives plus 2. Scattershot can be great or sometimes less great. I think scattershot pairs perfectly with the explosive weaponry ruleset because it means that blast damage is likely to hit 2 extra monsters instead of just 1. I've pointed this out before in regards to a level 2 Chaos Dragon.
I've also talked about magic attacks working better with scattershot but melee and ranged attacks get the same sort of benefit when you also get armor piercing from Jacek.

Tank: Grum Flameblade

Grum was the first non-gladius monster with bloodlust. In order for bloodlust to help, Grum has to be able to hit the opponent. Speed is a big factor here to the point that Grum probably does better in the reverse speed ruleset. Jacek helps a lot with the speed and makes Grum a great monster for this tank position.

1st position: Lava Launcher

I like to see 3 damage from my monsters in the explosive weaponry ruleset. 1 damage means 1 damage to any monsters in the blast radius. 2 damage also means 1 damage to any monsters in the blast radius, but when you get to 3 damage it means 2 damage for any monsters in the blast radius.

2nd position: Djinn Inferni

Here's another monster that deals 3 damage (7 damage if blast damage hits 2 monsters).

3rd position: Zalran Efreet

The Zalran Efreet only does 2 damage which means just 1 damage to monsters in the blast radius. Zalran Efreet does have the life leech ability which means that it can gain life from those other monsters in the blast radius and that allows the Efreet to actually soak up some damage when it starts taking hits.

4th position: Lava Spider

Lava Spider is just 3 mana which ended up being important as I filled up my entire mana cap for this battle.

In case you didn't know the scattershot ability supersedes the snipe ability. It's interesting to see which order abilities take precedence when they stack like that.

5th position: Ash Mirage

Ash Mirage ended up being one of the best cards from Riftwatchers. Fast enough to dodge some hits. Big enough to deal some legitimate damage and the headwinds ability can singlehandedly win watches against the right opponent.

Did we win?

No. I'll give credit where it's due. My opponent @sonniwins brought a fantastic lineup that was leveled up to destroy the silver league competition. A level 2 Chain Golem is difficult to handle for any team and even harder when the summoner and a monster in the back line are repairing armor. The reflection shield ability is so good with the explosive weaponry ruleset and Corsair Bosun is the best monster that I've played with to have the ability. My opponent placed both of these 2 monsters perfectly.

Do I like Zalran Efreet?

Yes. I'm a big sucker for the Life Leech ability, and it pairs beautifully with the blast ability.

What will I try differently next time?

I wish that I could work on that in a focused environment. It would be so cool to toy with lineups that I could try against a great lineup that my opponent brought. I would love to tinker with the best options against this specific lineup.
The simplest switch that I could make here would be to replace Grum with Cerberus and replace Lava Spider with Tinderlock. Another lineup that I would consider would be something from the water splinter that would have brought a more focused attack to bear on Chain Golem with magic. I don't know if either of those options would be enough.
What would you have brought for this ruleset?

Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game.