Gotta 'Gotem' all, Gearnut!

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

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^{The tips and possible advises in this article are designed for Bronze League, in which I am in right now.}

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^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Dar 'Gottem' Gearnut is a monster that looks like it was built from meme. The name is a joke and the card art is just pure fun. I don't know how the devs thought about this but if I am to guess, I saw in previous posts of Splinterlands that they do some card commissions when you bought the most cards or something. The one who thought about this card might be one of the people who won that contest.

However, he's pretty stacked as a card. He is not fast or flashy but he is the kind of monster that just stands there and keeps taking hits like nothing happened. His 25 health at max level makes him the highest health in the game so far. If you ever need a monster that can last till the end, this one is made for that job.

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

His 25 health makes him one of the toughest monsters in the game. He can take heavy hits for many rounds and still stand strong until the end. This can happen more with proper support.

Inspire boosts the melee damage of all your friendly monsters. This turns your whole melee strategy into a stronger and more dangerous team. Inspire ability can also stack which can get things out of hand if your enemy does not do any counters.

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💊 Abilities 💊

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Trample: [Damage] If a monster with Trample kills another monster, it can attack again targetting the next monster on the lineup.

Flank: [Attack Modifier] Melee monsters next to this card gains Reach ability. This monster must be on 1st position to activate this effect.

Inspire: [Stat Modifier] [Positive Status] As long as this monster is alive, all friendly monsters has their melee damage increased by 1.

Void: [Defense] Monsters with Void ability reduces the incoming magic damage by half. If the damage is 1, before the effect applies, the damage is negated and becomes 0.

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Pros

1. Extremely High Health. At max level, he has 25 health, highest among all cards in the game. High health is very good as a tank as he can withstand most attack whether it's melee, range or magic.
2. Good Compatibility with heals. Heal, Tank Heal, and Triage scales with health. The higher the health the unit has, the higher the heal. At max level with health of 25, he heals for an amazing 8 heal per round.
3. Good Anchor with Melee Team. The Inspire ability he gets at higher level is a good base to build team around. Inspire and other abilities that gives other monsters buff only works as long as the monster is alive. Dar Gearnut's high health helps make that come true keeping the increased melee damage for a long time.

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Cons

1. High Mana Cost
   At low mana cap battles, this monster is almost unusable. With 14 mana cost, it quickly depletes your allowed mana that you can use to field other monsters.
2. Low Damage at Lower Levels.
   At lower levels, Dar Gottem Gearnut does not have access to Inspire Ability and his damage is only at 2. The high health is not a reliable factor to carry if the monster does not deal a good damage.
3. Not a Flexible Monster.
   Dar Gottem Gearnut is a good tank based on his stats. However, that's the only thing he is good at. This limits your choices because he cannot be as useful as say, "Harbinger of Chaos" which can both act as a damage dealer or a tank or both.

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^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Rank	Rules of Combat	Description
	Global Warming	All monsters have the Burning status effect applied at the start of combat.: Because of Dar Gottem Gearnut's high health, it makes him take a lot of rounds before he dies with burning. Your opponents would most likely die first before Dar Gottem Gearnut even gets to low health.
	Up Close & Personal	During this battle, only monsters with melee damage type are allowed: Since only melee monsters can fight in this rule, his Inspire makes your whole lineup stronger. His high health also gives a big edge because most enemies cannot outlast him.
	Stampede	When a monster with Trample ability kills an enemy, the effect of Trample resets. This effect lasts until the monster with Trample ability kills the last monster or the attack failed to kill a target: He has high damage if leveled up and also unlocks Trample which works with Stampede. With high damage and Stampede, he can quickly eliminate the opponent's team if they aren't careful enough.

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Rank	Rules of Combat	Description
	Equalizer	The Max Health of all monsters on the board will be equal to the Max Health of the monster with the highest max health: Equalizer removes his advantage since all monsters will have the same health as his. This wastes his biggest strength which is his extremely high 25 health.
	Maneuvers	All monsters on the board gains the Reach ability that allows melee monsters to attack from the 2nd position: This modifier removes the function on his Flank ability since all monsters get Reach ability whether they are behind of a monster with Flank ability or not.
	Healed Out	All healing effects and abilities are disabled during this battle.: Because of Dar Gottem Gearnut's high health, it makes him take a lot of rounds before he dies with burning. Your opponents would most likely die first before Dar Gottem Gearnut even gets to low health.

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^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Rank	Monsters	Description
	Bera Dallin	Bera Dallin works well with Dar Gottem Gearnut because of Flank and Taunt. You can place her in second position so Triage monsters focus their heals on her while Dar Gottem Gearnut keeps steady in front.
	Avina of the Wolf	Avina of the Wolf is a solid pick because her Heal keeps Dar Gottem Gearnut’s high health up during long battles. This makes him harder to bring down while he keeps boosting melee monsters with Inspire at higher levels. Even at lower levels, it's a pain especially with Dar Gottem Gearnut healing 8 health per round.
	Lily Shieldpaw	Lily Shieldpaw is a great match in Wild Ranked Format since she gives all monsters Camouflage. This forces enemies to attack Dar Gottem Gearnut first while your other monsters stay safe behind him doing damage.

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

Lineup

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^{Eternal Tofu}

Gives +2 health Thorns and Snare to all friendly monsters and can give Corrosive Ward or Divine Shield to some. He helps with Dar Gottem Gearnut's lack of damage while also keeping the team behind alive with Triage.

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^{Dar Gottem Gearnut}

Extremely high health monster who soaks hits. Since he is low leveled, the only role he has now is a damage sponge. However, it's one role that he does the best in the game.

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^{Albahoo Forester}

Used as a filler for the extra 2 mana so you can hit the 14 mana cost more easily. He is not the focus but he helps fill in some slots.

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^{Harbinger of Chaos}

A 3 magic damage monster with 8 health early that can act as a secondary tank. He pairs with Dar Gottem Gearnut by giving steady damage while the big tank soaks the damage.

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^{Meriput Magician}

Has Tank Heal which keeps big health monsters like Dar Gottem Gearnut up longer. She is a natural fit with Dar Gottem Gearnut as her heals always do insane amount due to his high health.

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^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

This was a hard battle for me. Even though I have a good tank, the damage was not enough to quickly get to their key monsters. This made Kelan Gaines and Barashkukor to stack a good amount of health before I reach them. Lorkus also countered me because of the Affliction ability removing the ability to heal Dar Gottem Gearnut with Meriput Magician. I still won this battle but by the skin of my teeth.

^{> > Click here to view the full battle < <}

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Dar Gottem Gearnut is a high health monster built to soak damage and help his teams last longer. His 14 mana cost means you must plan your lineup around him or at least don't use him in battles where mana cap will be a problem.

At max levels, his abilities include Trample, Flank, Inspire and Void which give a solid place in front of the fights. Inspire is the pick that helps your melee allies most since he can stay alive to buff them.

Use Eternal Tofu's Thorns can help his damage and Meriput Magician's Tank Heal to heal and protect him. He is a new card that would take a good while for players to understand his true usefulness but I can see great potential in this card if you can maximize all of his abilities and absurd amount of health.

• This post is an entry for Splinterlands Social Media Contest.
• Animated Banners and Dividers are edited in Canva Pro.
• Other sources that I do not own are cited under their respective photos.
• Some of the fonts used are from instafonts.io

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