Hello there.
Welcome to my Tournaments post. It's been a while since I posted an update regarding tournaments, and it's because I haven't been winning for a while. The meta in the Novice Tournaments have shifted a lot. A lot more players are using the Gladiator cards, and just using Quora is no longer enough. Quora is still very powerful, but she is no longer a sure fire way to win.
I have frequently suggested to newer/weaker players to play in tournaments, both in my posts, and in discord. I especially encourage them to participate in the Novice tournaments where card levels are equal, and they have a higher chances of winning.
It took me a while, but I was able to slowly adapt to the meta and get used to my opponents' playstyles. From always placing 20+, I was able to get two 5th place, one 12th place, and one 13th place finish.
I heard from some players online and in discord that a lot of the tournaments are either being botted, or that players are using Battle Helpers. Some mentioned that this also happens in the Novice tournaments, and even more so, since it is easy to optimize the teams there.
I don't know how true these statements are, but that could explain why I had a long losing streak. As I got used to facing them and learned from their strategies, I adapted what I can, and also improved on what I saw. I also countered a lot of the teams that I saw was being abused.
A good think I noticed is that there was a bit of an uptick in the tournament participation leading up to the no bots in modern change. There are usually just under 150 players in the Novice tournaments. But in the July 23 and July 25 tournaments, there were more than 200 participants, and one even reached 250 players.
I was very excited to face new opponents, and I even recognized a lot of names that don't usually join. Unfortunately, the number of participants went back to the normal amount after these two tournaments. I still see some names that decided to stay and continue to play, like cmmndrbawang.
With the number of regular players under 128 for a lot of these novice tournaments, I still encourage newer/weaker players to join them. They just cost 5/10DEC, and you can immediately earn 2 SPS just from joining. If you perform well, you can get more SPS.
Another reason for my post, is that I recently just won a Novice Tournament again, after a very long time. I shared above how I was in a losing streak, and was able to slowly get higher and higher placements. In the last August 6 Novice tournament, I was finally able to break through and win it all.
A lot of the battles involve Gladiator cards, and it's a matter of identifying what team to use. There is also an added strategy of whether you want to use the best team possible [normally Quora], or if you want to counter the best team [using Katrelba].
I would like to share some of battles which I think are interesting, and some that I learned some strategies. This can also give you an idea of the types of battles in the Novice tournament:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_O3ISZTZSXf5RzexVtY0f&ref=outwars
I really like using Katrelba in Equalizer. The double strike attack with sneak usually takes people off guard. The Enrage ruleset, also makes here even more powerful. I was hoping the Acid Shooter could have survived and increased its speed with enrage, but it all worked out in the end.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_bGcKpbU6RcfjdVQsCPei&ref=outwars
In this ruleset thorns is to be expected. I was debating on whether to use a thorns monster on the back as well. I decided against it since I didn't want to be too reactive. If my opponent used a sneak monster, then it will be useful, but if they don't, then it's a wasted monster that is just idle. I also didn't want to fall for that, so I just went with at full frontal attack.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_If0RXqONFGFT6xcx9f7G&ref=outwars
This was a battle where I doubled down on the Gladiator cards. I maximized my mana consumption, and had a multiple of win conditions going for me. My opponent decided to use Martyr and Inspire, but that is a lot of damage and mana they are missing.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_boMBuGqghuXlzoq0mhfb&ref=outwars
I was initially going to go with my usual Grund+Quora and Martyr team, but I realized I was fighting cmmndrbawang. I have lost a lot of battles against him, since he is really good at countering Quora teams. I decided to switch my team up and add a Venari Knifer at the back to counter the Katrelba. Lo and behold, he did field a Quora counter team yet again. But this time, I was prepared, and countered his counter.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_SjuiEeZJqJrhdKSulDxW&ref=outwars
This is my usual Fire team. I like to put double Martyr between my Gladiator card, and watch it beat a lot of monsters by itself. What I learned about this loss, is that if it is only Fire and Dragon, you can expect a lot of Melee attacks. Using Djinn Chwala is a really good counter. My opponent also used Magic, as well as countered Melee with the Demoralize. They were more flexible with their team than I was, and they won because of it.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sm_tv9hBDDaq7YZqlPaSfcg&ref=outwars
I was actually debating between these two teams. I decided to go with my team, but later on realized my mistake. I am granting them a free bloodlust stack, and I also lack the damage. The Radiated Scorcher at the back is useless, and all of that combined, made me lose the battle.
That is it for my Tournament post. I don't plan on making one every time I win a tournament. It needs to be a combination of a win, as well as an update on the meta of the tournaments. Apart from the Novice Tournaments, I encourage everyone to join most of the tournaments they can join. A lot of them are basically free because of the low number of participants, since you get your entrance fee back even if you perform poorly. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if have suggestions for improvement.
And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.
If you want to start playing Splinterlands, you can use my link:
Splinterlands Referral Link
