Every player has a moment in Splinterlands that changes how they think and play the game. For me, it was not a big tournament win or a perfect win streak. It was the moment I truly understood the power of an Archon.
That moment came when I discovered Nidhoggr. I would bet that he is probably the best archon in the game and if he isn't as expensive as he is, I'd probably play him all the time and get to Champion again in less than a month.
It became clear that when I want to seriously climb the ranked ladder, having a strong monster is not enough but a strong archon to support your plays are also required.
This match I played with Nidhoggr was special not because of the monsters but because it shows how strong this archon is. I tried the same lineup with other Dragon archon but I mostly lost. What stood out was how easy the battle felt once Nidhoggr was in play.
Nidhoggr is a Dragon Archon, which means he must be paired with another element. This gives more freedom when building a team. You can mix Dragon monsters, Neutral monsters, and monsters from the chosen element. For this battle, I mixed the Dragons with Earth element because they are the best with what I have at that time.
What really caught my attention was his abilities. For team-wide effects, Nidhoggr can reduce opponent's monster's armor and health, making all opponents weaker from the start. Then, he can give you the choice of two powerful sets of abilities to select monsters that you can use depending on what's best on the currect situation like Blast and Deathblow as a normal choice or Speed and Execute for when Blast and Deathblow aren't suited.
I've played this archon even before this but I don't have the record of my first battle so I had chose this one instead which still shows his strong suits.
One thing I learned quickly is why Dragon Archons are so useful. Dragons have always had some of the strongest monsters in every set. This has been true since the Alpha set all the way to Conclave Arcana.
The flexibility of Dragons is one of the big reason for this strength. You are not locked into one element. You can choose the best monsters for the modifier instead of forcing a single splinter. Imagine having two elements like Dolfar Darflak but yours would be a Dragon and any of the other elements you want.
This flexibility helped me learn how to adapt better. Instead of using the same lineups every time, I started thinking about options. That change alone improved my win rate.
Nidhoggr is not perfect and learning his limits also made me better. Dragon Archons and monsters are usually expensive to rent or buy. They also tend to have high mana costs and for this archon, you are also limited to a maximum of 5 monsters to play instead of the usual 6.
This means you must plan carefully when using them. You cannot just throw random monsters into a lineup. Each choice needs to support the others especially since you're always and already down one full monster to play in the battle.
On the other hand, I also think having that freedom can be a disadvantage as well. Newer players may feel confused by having too many options. More choices mean more thinking. While I am not directly affected by this since I've been playing Splinterlands for a while, I can still acknowledge that disadvantage for playing Dragon archons for others.
The biggest lesson from Nidhoggr was not just his power. It was how one Archon can affect an entire battle. Even average monsters become dangerous when they gain Blast or Execute.
Blast is especially strong when used with monsters that have multiple attacks. Zyrx the Emberglace is one example of it. Every attack triggers the blast splash damage so each of his attacks can inflict damage to multiple monsters. If you combine this idea with modifiers like Equal Opportunity, this can be more dangerous for your opponents.
Even though Nidhoggr is a strong archon, I realized that I need to expand my horizon and not rely on his strengths alone. I should try out other archons and combinations even though they are weaker than Nidhoggr. However, I still play Nidhoggr once in a while when I feel down and wants some win.
The moment I discovered Nidhoggr was long before this battle and it changed how I play Splinterlands. It taught me the true value of Archons and how some of them can heavily affect the battle. Power is not just about monsters and their synergy. It also includes the archons that you use along with those monsters and some of them, like Nidhoggr, can completely take over the game.
Nidhoggr taught me both the good and bad parts of having a strong archon. On one hand, you have more wins and builds confidence. On the other hand, you may over rely on it and don't expand your horizons. If you do the latter, it would bite back on you once Modern Ranked Format rotates and you cannot use that archon anymore.
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