Welcome back to another fresh and awesome Splinterlands post and I guess all of you are doing pretty well in your lives and enjoying a calm and pleasant day with your loved and close ones. Now, if I address those of you in particular who are actively playing this web3 strategy game and building your NFT card and other asset collection in splinterlands, I believe many of you are already busy fighting on the battlefield through this new ranked season and trying to increase your trophy rankings. If we take a quick look at the current ranked season timer, there are still around 11 days and 0 hours left before the reset takes place. So there is still a great amount of time in our hands to climb the trophy ladder steadily, secure your goal league tiers, and later make a push for bigger rewards or leaderboard positions if you have enough card collection and skills. Just keep an eye on your battle energy bar and make sure to manage those energies wisely throughout the season.
Now, talking about my own progress in the Frontier mode of this game, I am currently playing in the highest Gold I league tier with a trophy count of around 3,020. This time, I have set my goal a bit higher than usual, as I am aiming for the 4,200 trophy mark first and then trying for an entry position on the leaderboard. It will not be easy, of course, but there is still enough time left to grind consistently, so let's check out.
On the other hand, if we take a look at the weekly Frontier raffle, I have currently collected a total of 45 entries. With around 23 hours and 30 minutes left before the raffle draw, I will try to increase this number to somewhere between 52 and 55 entries. Let’s see if luck finally decides to notice me this time. On the other hand, as you can see from the screenshots above, this is the outcome where I have opened a total of 5 foundation packs. As you can see, i have got 2 gold foil rares, 6 regular foil rares including 1 archon and all rest common cards.
Now moving forward, let me come to the main topic of this post, as today I will be taking a closer look at another powerful monster from the newest Escalation mini cardset edition. As you have already seen in the title and thumbnail above, today I will be talking about the Esper Shadowbeak. So if you are interested in learning more about this monster card, let us take a deep dive without any further delay.
The Esper Shadowbeak is a monster type card that was introduced in the game with the newest Escalation mini cardset edition. This monster belongs to the Fire element and it comes from the Avian bloodline. By rarity, this card is a Legendary monster, so you will require a total of 11 CC cards in order to upgrade it to its maximum level. Now, if you want to use this monster in battles, you need to spend a hefty 9 mana, which makes it more suitable for medium to high mana limit matches. The most exciting part of this monster is its dual attack type, as it comes with both Melee and Magic attacks. Along with that, it also carries solid health, useful speed and multiple strong abilities. At its maximum level, this monster gains a total of four abilities. Let us now take a closer look at its league-wise stats and abilities below.
At level 1, this monster starts with impressive stats that consist of 2 melee attack power and 2 magic attack power at 4 speed with 2 armor and 7 health. Apart from these stats, it also gains an ability called Flying. This ability helps the monster survive longer against melee and ranged attackers.
FLYING – +25% chance to evade physical attacks. No effect if the attacker also has Flying. Immune to Earthquake.
When you upgrade this monster further to level 2, all of its stats remain the same as level 1. However, it unlocks another useful ability called Kindred Will: Shatter. This can be very effective when paired with the right allies, especially against armored enemies.
KINDRED WILL: SHATTER – At the start of battle, adjacent units with Kindred will gain Shatter.
As this monster gets upgraded further and reaches level 3, its offensive stats improve and it now carries 3 melee attack power and 2 magic attack power at 4 speed with 2 armor and 7 health. At this level, it also gains another ability called Determined. This gives the monster another chance to land important hits if the first one misses.
DETERMINED – Once per round, after missing an attack, makes the second attack at the same card.
Finally, when you upgrade this monster to its maximum level of 4, it becomes even more dangerous. It now holds 3 melee attack power and 3 magic attack power at 6 speed with 2 armor and 7 health. At this level, it also gains another strong ability called Piercing. This helps both of its attacks deal maximum value against defensive enemies.
PIERCING – Damage in excess of the target's armor is applied to health.
Last but not least, I think this monster can be extremely useful in many different battles. First of all, the dual attack type is the biggest attraction of this card. Having both melee and magic damage together, especially combined with Piercing, allows it to make full use of both attacks and punish enemy tanks. Another strong point is the Kindred Will ability. If you place other compatible bloodline monsters next to it, they can gain Shatter and remove enemy armor with a single hit, which can swing battles quickly. The Flying ability is also very useful for dodging physical attacks from non-flying enemies, making it stronger in matches where magic damage is less common. On top of that, the Determined ability gives the monster extra attacking opportunities if it misses, which feels like a nice bonus on an already powerful card. Overall, I think the Esper Shadowbeak is a dangerous and well-rounded legendary monster that can bring huge value in the right lineup. What do you think?
