In this week's Splinterlands Share Your Battle Challenge, we have been tasked to fight a match with Coral Wraith. Coral Wraith is a well balanced card that combines decent health with a strong magic attack and the "Sneak" ability which allows it to target the last monster on the opponent's team instead of the first. Although I like the card, this is actually my first time using it in a match, so let's see how it goes!!
**The Lineup** This match was played with a 22 Mana cap allowance and no modifications to the standard ruleset which was great because it allowed me a good chance to see Coral Wraith's abilities without being affected by a non-standard ruleset that could have given Coral Wraith either a buff or de-buff.In first position, I placed Frozen Soldier. Frozen Soldier is one of my favorite first position monsters of the Water Splinter because he has the "Shield" ability that reduces the damage that he takes from enemy melee attacks. He doesn't have as strong of an attack as Living Lava (my favorite Fire Splinter monster) but he's still a good first position monster.
In second spot, I played Wave Runner which is my only "Reach" capable monster that I have on the Water Splinter. Although this was a choice of necessity, I still think it was a strong choice. Wave Runner has good speed and a strong attack, and its "Reach" ability means that it can fight and deal damage from second position as well as being able to keep fighting if it moves into first position (unlike a ranged monster).
As usual, I placed Furious Chicken in third position as a buffer monster. Since Furious Chicken costs zero Mana and I had extra spots open, there really wasn't any reason not to play him.
In fourth spot, I played Elven Mystic. Elven Mystic is a neutral monster that can be used alongside any Splinter, which makes it a great way of adding another magic monster to any lineup.
In last spot, I placed Coral Wraith. As Coral Wraith is a magic monster and attacks from any position, I thought placing it in the rear of the formation would be a good strategy to protect it from enemy attacks while still allowing it to fight and deal damage.
The Battle
When I first saw the opponent's lineup, I was optimistic and thought that we would be able to carry the victory, but then I saw my opponent's monsters get a +1 Armor buff from their summoner Tyrus Paladium as well as a +1 Melee attack boost from Silvershield Knight. If that wasn't bad enough, I saw my opponent played Divine Healer which meant that their first position monster would be recovering a bit of its health each round.
Right off the bat, Coral Wraith was knocked out by a sneak attack from Feral Spirit, and things just went downhill from there. Although my team fought hard, they were completely defeated and I had to concede a well earned victory to my opponent on this one.
Analysis of Coral Wraith
Although we lost this match, I still think Coral Wraith is a good card, and under a different match with a different opponent, it the results could have been different. For example, If my opponent didn't have a +1 melee boost, Coral Wraith would have easily absorbed the -1 melee from Feral Spirit then eliminated Feral Sprit with one attack and kept on fighting.
That's one of my favorite things about Splinterlands. A card itself isn't really "good" or "bad" each card that you play can be good or bad depending on the circumstances, the ruleset, Mana cap, and the opponent's choice of cards. That being said, I do like Coral Wraith, and I think that it has a good balance of low Mana count, good health, good speed, and a good magic attack. It isn't OUTSTANDING in any one area, but I think it is relatively well balanced which is its main strength.
Summary
Even though we lost the match, it's always fun to take part in the challenges, collect new cards, and try out new tactics. Splinterlands is free to get started playing, and I'd encourage you to check it out or view my battle replay here.
All images belong to Splinterlands