We're a bit late for Halloween honestly, but not to worry since zombies never go out of style. In fact, they never even stop moving. Animation is another word for movement, and therefore this week's card's name, Animated Corpse, is pretty literally the definition of a zombie. A moving dead body. Whether it's alive... whethere it thinks... feels... whether it has ambitions, dreams, unrequited love or a specific collection of favorite TV shows... that we don't know. In all honesty, I also don't think it matters very much for the purposes of a Splinterlands match. Either way, if I had to venture a guess, this zombie is actually from the late Western period of the pioneers moving out west for the California Gold Rush. Hey, I actually like this card. Not only is it one of the few original cards that release way back in alpha, but its raw stats are definitely thematically accurate for what we're dealing with here: a zombie.
My opinion on the card design: First of all, my opinion doesn't matter. In fact, I strongly believe that thoughts in and of themselves do not matter. It's what you DO that matters, not what you THINK. I DO use this card and I DO choose to ignore the previous statement and give my opinion on this fantastic horror creature: First of all, I gotta say it's hard not to get the impression that this creature had, in its... previous life, a very oddly shaped head. I mean c'mon, it is MASSIVE. And what is with the big eye sockets? Hey, I love it. Like I said, we're seeing typical attire of a bounty hunter, pioneer, or cowboy of some sort. The colors match, the outfit matches, even the gunbelt is accurate. How is he still around? Has he really avoided headshots for over a century?
My History with this card: This card was made available to me as a starter card when I began playing this game. Initially, I used it quite frequently, due to its stats being quite respectable at level 1. I've continued to use it pretty often for certain game modes.
Official Lore: "A fledgling Dark Eternal is also known as an Animated Corpse. Emerging from the Tar Pits of Creation in the Southern Waste of Mortis, each fledgling must first shed what remains of its mortal flesh. While in decay, the Animated Corpses are placed on the front lines to speed their transition." -Splinterlands.com
Unofficial Lore: The Walking Dead, Train to Busan, ZOMBIES, ... wait, I'm just listing movies right now. I don't think that's the point. Let's be clear on the fact that the idea of re-animated corpses has been around for millennia, as is confirmed by the most trusted source of information in the world: Wikipedia.
Stats from Splinterlands:
Let's look at the level-ups and note any important milestones:
Base level Stats as seen on the card
An increase of 1 HP.
An increase of 1 Speed
Skill Acquisition: Void - Important milestone here. Void is a very useful skill indeed. It reduces the magic attack done to the unit that has this ability. Thematically, it only kind of makes sense. However, practically, this makes Animated Corpse a lower cost alternative to the Bone Golem. Very nice addition.
An increase of 1 speed.
An increase of 1 attack -the additonal 1 attack is very important to put pressure on the opposing enemy's frontline unit.
An increase of 1 HP
An increase of 1 Speed.
An increase of 1 Attack.
An increase of 1 HP.
Recommended level:
Taking these milestones into account, a minimum of level 4 of this card is STRONGLY recommended, since it greatly increases its survivability against the ever-present danger of magic attacks.
Setting: Ranked match in Silver 2, month of December, 2021
Opponent: ROLWEB, sporting none other than a GOLD FOIL Sand Worm. Nice!
Aim true means that attacks will never miss. Stampede is largely irrelevant before Gold tier Ranked.
I considered several factors, but the most important here was that there are only two factions available (not counting dragon, of course). At the time of this match, both Earth and Death had the alternative choice of using a magic-oriented team. With the addition of the availability of Dragon, this means that the alternative choice of summoner, Delwyn Dragonscale, may be used in order to boost magic and make it a real danger. It is important to remember that both Earth, and especially Death, have significant cards that create strong synergy with Delwyn. I prepared for this possibility by using the level 4 Animated Corpse I rented, which has Void, which would prepare for such a situation, but if not, is also somewhat beefy in high HP for its low mana cost. It also has a decent amount of attack to put pressure on the front line, so I decided to use this match as the first real foray with this class unit.
Summoner: Daria Dragonscale. This is one of my favorite summoners, and I like to rent this card at a higher level than my own collection. Currently I am fielding a lvl 3 daria, which allows me to also use Twilight Basilisk with every faction. Since I am renting a level 4 Animated Corpse, I need to have a high level summoner. All in all, a very strong choice for melee.
Position 1: Animated Corpse! Of course!!! Time for that spotlight moment, that time to shine, to make the great appearance even if... undead.
Position 2: Twilight Basilisk: My second choice after Manticore, who is too expensive for me. A solid unit with Reach that can take over if the tank falls.
Position 3: Sand Worm: This is to capitalize on Daria's +1 to all melee. In this case, I rented a level 2 for the additional 1 speed. This ensures that if the other team also has a Sand Worm, mine will go first and likely defeat the other one.
Position 4: Skeleton Assassin: A solid choice for a budget deck. In this case, the purpose is to assist Sand Worm in assaulting the enemy's back line with Sneak.
Position 5: Parasitic Growth: Another one for the horror theme. An opportunity unit that is not especially strong, but does the job.
Position 6: Battering Ram: A very low mana cost, fragile, but agile Opportunity unit to work together with Parasitic Growth.
Yes! I would have hoped for the opponent to pick more magic damage units to really show off Animated Corpse's strength as an anti-magic tank. However, even so, it was able to do a very respectable amount of damaga. Luckily, the opponent had a base level 1 Sand Worm, which was swiftly outmaneuvered by my level 2 rental. This was no contest whatsoever. As unlikely as it seemed from the start, the Animated Corpse held its ground and actually survived the entire battle. Impressive! It also tanked 3 magic hits from the unfortunate choice of Prismatic Energy by the opponent. Nice job guys!
Most of the heavy lifting in all honesty. It managed to tank the entire opponent's team. Congrats!
Based on this information, let's have a quick look at the current market value of this card in our COST ANALYSIS for a Level 1 Stone Golem:
Beta Version:
Current Low price (1card): $2.100
Current Best price (per BCX): $1.563
Current High Bid: $1.210
Current Market Value: $1.563
Alpha Version:
Current Low price (1card): $7.950
Current Best price (per BCX): $6.417
Current High Bid: $3.000
Current Market Value: $3.417
Summoner(s): Daria Dragonscale, Camila Sungazer, Contessa L'ament. This is a simple unit which benefits greatly from reducing the opponent's incoming damage, as well as from a Melee boost itself, of course. Another choice would be Owster, for the magic reflect and a complete KO to any magic team.
Rulesets: Ideally? Ranged units banned. This would force the opponent to use more magic, therefore increasing Animated Corpse's effectiveness significantly. Another ruleset that helps is when melee can attack from any position, as its 2 attack is indeed formidable for just 4 mana.
League: I would recommend this card more for Bronze league than for higher leagues. If leveled up to level 4, it is a strong choice for Silver as well.
Overall, there are a few scenarios that come to mind in which I would not use particularly recommend using this card, since it is a low mana cost. It has nice stats for its 4 mana. One scenario in which it would be not recommended is when ranged and magic get snipe, since it would be unable to tank magic attacks as they would bypass the tank position.
I actually used a level 4 version for the first time and it did very well. It is nice to think that it would have done even better and been more impressive if the opponent had selected more units with magic attack!
I will continue to enjoy using this unit. I am glad it exists and I really enjoy the card art and thematic. Give it a chance if you haven't!
Be sure to join Splinterlands if you enjoy a TCG that allows for a myriad of battle tactics. If you're interested, I invite you to utilize my referral link:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=letsjam
