Welcome back to another fresh and juicy Splinterlands post everyone, and I hope all of you are doing pretty well in your lives and enjoying a beautiful and vibrant day with your family and friends. Now, if you are one of those who are immune to the daily crypto charts and are actively grinding into the ranked battles and building your Splinterlands card and other asset collection, I hope your season is progressing smoothly and you are chasing your seasonal goal with ease. The current ranked season still has around 9 days and 19 hours remaining, which gives us plenty of time to push higher on the trophy ladder, complete daily missions, and gather as many rewards as possible while reaching our goals before the season reset arrives.
As for my own progress in the frontier mode of this game, I am currently playing in the highest Gold I league with a trophy count of 3,320. My goal remains unchanged as I continue aiming for 4,200 trophies first. After reaching that milestone, I may attempt another leaderboard push if I have enough battle energy and time available.
On a positive note, I received a brand-new cosmetic reward today from the Frontier Wheel. This time, luck granted me a skin called Carnival, which is always a fun addition to customise my profile and collection. Now, looking at the weekly raffle, I currently have 33 entries collected. There are still around 2 days and 18 hours left before the raffle ends, so I am aiming for my usual target of around 54 to 57 entries before the deadline arrives.
As for pack openings, I only managed to open 3 Foundation Packs today because I did not get enough time to play yesterday. The rewards were modest but still welcome as today, I only received 3 Rare cards, 1 Gold Foil Common card, and the remaining cards were Common cards.
Now let's move on to the main topic of today's post. Today I will be talking about another interesting monster from the newest Escalation mini set. As you have already seen from the title and thumbnail, today's featured monster is Vextali.
Vextali belongs to the newest Escalation mini cardset edition and it is a Death element card that comes from the Goblin bloodline. It is classified as an Epic monster, which means players need a total of 46 CC cards to upgrade it to its maximum level. This monster costs only 3 mana, making it one of those flexible cards that can fit into almost any lineup, including the Little Leagues ruleset. Despite its low mana requirement, it comes with respectable armor, health, and attack stats. At maximum level, Vextali gains three useful abilities that provide both defensive and utility value to your team. Let us take a closer look at its stats and abilities across different league levels.
At level 2, Vextali possesses 1 ranged attack, 3 speed, 2 armor, and 3 health. At this level, it starts with its first ability called Kindred Spirit: Strengthen. This ability can be very useful when building lineups around Kindred monsters, as it allows them to gain extra survivability through increased health.
KINDRED SPIRIT: STRENGTHEN – At the start of battle, adjacent monsters with Kindred gain the Strengthen ability.
At level 3, Vextali retains its 1 ranged attack, 3 speed, and 2 armor while increasing its health to 4. At this stage, it gains another powerful ability called Final Rest. This ability can completely shut down resurrection-based strategies and prevent opponents from bringing powerful monsters back into the battle.
FINAL REST – Once per game, blocks enemy Rebirth, Resurrect, Resurgence, and Soul Siphon effects unless that unit possesses Last Word.
At level 5, Vextali becomes noticeably stronger with 2 ranged attack, 3 speed, 3 armor, and 6 health. Although it does not gain a new ability at this level, the significant increase in health and attack power makes it much more durable and threatening.
At level 6, Vextali reaches its maximum form with 2 ranged attacks, 3 speed, 3 armor, and 6 health. At this level, it unlocks its final ability called Return Fire. This ability makes Vextali an excellent counter against enemy ranged attackers and can punish opponents for targeting it.
RETURN FIRE – Returns 50% of ranged damage back to the attacker, rounded up.
Last but not least, I think Vextali is one of those low-mana monsters that offers much more value than its cost suggests. The first thing I like about this card is its mana cost. At only 3 mana, it can easily fit into almost any battle, whether it is a low-mana match, a high-mana battle, or a ruleset like Little League. Despite being so cheap, it still comes with a respectable armor and health combination, along with decent speed and attack power. Another aspect that stands out is its Kindred Spirit ability. If you place Kindred monsters next to Vextali, they gain Strengthen, making your lineup more durable and capable of surviving extra attacks. The Final Rest ability is also extremely valuable. Many powerful monsters rely on resurrection effects to return to battle, and this ability can completely stop those plans. In certain matches, this single ability can make a huge difference and swing the battle in your favor. Finally, the Return Fire ability turns Vextali into a solid counter against ranged attackers. Any enemy ranged monster targeting this card risks taking damage in return, making it much less attractive as a target. Overall, I think Vextali is an excellent low-cost utility monster that provides both defensive and strategic value. Between its low mana cost, Kindred support, resurrection prevention, and ranged counter capabilities, it can find a place in many different lineups.
