I recently did a post about Nidhoggr and the lessons I learned from that battle. You can see it here:
@konaqua122/a-blast-from-the-past
I missed using him so I decided to use him again and I realized something very important and weird as I pick my team. Something seems different. Something is missing... or something is not missing, which was the problem.
Image from Splinterlands.
Since before the reach of memory or history, the immense dragon known as Nidhoggr has slumbered beneath Praetoria, buried in the nethermost reaches of the Deep.
But when the legions of Chaos tore open rifts in the boundaries that separated the Splinterlands from the other realms of existence, Nidhoggr stirred. For he is a guardian dragon and custodian of these ley lines.
Find more of the lore here: https://splinterlands.com/card-detail/658/regular/12?tab=lore
Nidhoggr has 3 main abilities, -1 max health, -1 max armor, and Forced Reduction debilitation. Then, he you can also have a choice between Blast and Deathblow up to three monsters OR +2 Speed and Execute up to three monsters. The second part of his ability is called "Summoner Tactics."
In Summoner Tactics, you will be given an additional step right before the battle called, "Tactics Stage". You can see your opponent's field before deciding which Summoner Tactics you want to apply and to whom you will give it to just like in this example:
I didn't know if Splinterlands have patch notes saying the changes but I realized it while I was playing.
Image from Splinterlands
Image from Splinterlands
The New Nidhoggr still have the main abilities and the Summoner Tactics but without the Forced Reduction Debilitation.
The Forced Reduction debilitation is an ability that has a negative effect to the player. It reduces one of your own monster slots. Normally, you can place 6 monsters in your board but with Forced Reduction debilitation, you can only use 5.
Image from Splinterlands
Info about old Nidhoggr from: https://support.splinterlands.com/hc/en-us/articles/30325610976788-Force-Reduction
The removal of Force Reduction is the main difference. Basically, they decided to buff out Nidhoggr by removing the only thing that stops it from being overpowered.
This battle is unrelated to the example I gave beforehand but this is a better example of how overpowered Nidhoggr is right now. With 6 monsters on board similar to my opponent, I have more freedom to add nuisances like Asel Alagosdil. Normally, I would just focus on huge damage to complement Nidhoggr's Blast ability. However, with the extra unit, I can add an additional defense either in the front or at the back. This time, it's Asel Alagosdil.
I never thought about this before this battle but Nidhoggr's ability was very geniusly made. I actually just use him because Blast is so strong when combined with the right units. I never looked at its synergy. Blast inflicts damage to multiple monsters beside the main target and usually this is enough to win me the games.
In this battle, Dar Gottem Gearnut with Heal from Avina of the Wolf has a very strong synergy as well. At 20 health, Dar Gottem Gearnut heals 6 health per round. That's huge. This means to kill him, I need to inflict at least 7 magic damage per round for 20 rounds or 7 melee or range damage for 24 rounds to win.
Going back to the synergy of Nidhoggr's abilities. If the team gets on a stand still like this, Blast will take care of any monsters behind the main tank. Blast will kill them one by one leaving the main tank alone as the last monster. Then, Deathblow kicks in. This ability doubles the damage to the opponent's monster if the opponent has one monster remaining. This is why towards the end, the 3 monster I have can kill Dar Gottem Gearnut in less than 20 rounds.
For Nidhoggr's +2 Speed and Execute, while it's strong as well, I haven't found a good reason to use it except when Blast is not good like in Deflection Field modifier. So, the other set of ability just acts as a substitute keeping the build still alive when Blast is not a good choice for the battle.
Overall, Nidhoggr's Force Reduction Debilitation being removed from the archon is a huge impact. It doesn't have any demerits for using it now making it the best archon in the game. Before, you have to compensate in using him by one slot and even with Force Reduction debilitation, I do think he is still unbalancedly overpowered. Removing it now means he cannot be stopped especially on higher mana battles. They really did the unthinkable and removing the limiters of Nidhoggr to make him the best archon in the game.
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