Hello Everyone! Hope you all are doing great and welcome to another #Splinterlands post.
Alright, time for another #Splinterlands card spotlight!
Today I鈥檓 looking at a card that I think is actually pretty scary when you build a team around it.
The card for today is, Solace Ashinach.
This is a Legendary Dragon unit, and at max level 4 it has 4 abilities:
And honestly, looking at this combination made me think one thing:
"So, how exactly am I supposed to attack this thing?"
Because depending on what type of attack you're using, Solace Ashinach can punish you for it.
Ranged?
Return Fire.
Magic?
Magic Reflect.
And then there's Deflect and Redemption on top of that.
So yeah, this is definitely not a card I would want to attack without thinking first.
When I first looked at Solace Ashinach, I didn't immediately think of it as a normal damage dealer.
To me, this card feels more like a defensive threat.
And what I mean by that is, the opponent actually has to think about how they want to deal with it.
A lot of cards are dangerous because they hit really hard.
Solace Ashinach is dangerous for a different reason.
It can make your own attacks hurt you.
That's a pretty interesting concept.
If you have a strong ranged team, you might normally think:
"Easy, I'll just shoot it down."
But then Return Fire kicks in.
If you're using magic attackers instead?
Magic Reflect says hello.
And if the battle continues and the card eventually gets defeated, there's still one more surprise waiting.
Redemption.
Return Fire: Returns 50% of damage to attacker when hit by a ranged attack.
Let's start with Return Fire.
This ability returns 50% of the damage to the attacker when Solace Ashinach is hit by a ranged attack.
And this can be pretty annoying for ranged teams.
Imagine your opponent has several strong ranged attackers.
They're sitting safely behind their tank and doing damage every round.
Then they start attacking Solace Ashinach, and suddenly they're taking damage back.
That's the kind of ability that can make an opponent regret their lineup choice.
Of course, Return Fire isn't going to make Solace Ashinach completely immune to ranged attacks.
The ranged attacker can still damage it.
But they're paying a price for doing it.
And if the enemy has several ranged attackers, that reflected damage can start adding up.
Magic Reflect: Returns 50% of damage to attacker when hit by a magic attack.
Now this is where things get even more interesting.
Solace Ashinach also has Magic Reflect.
It returns 50% of the damage to an attacker when hit by a magic attack.
So basically, magic teams don't get a free pass either.
This is probably one of the things I like most about this card.
Usually, if a card has a strong defensive ability against one attack type, you can just use another attack type against it.
But here?
You have to be a bit more careful.
If you decide to use magic, you're still taking reflected damage.
And against a team with multiple magic attackers, that could become a real problem over several rounds.
Deflect: 0 damage from Corrosive Ward, Magic Reflect, Thorns, Return Fire and Blast splash damage.
Then we have Deflect.
This one is really interesting because it protects Solace Ashinach from certain types of reflected and splash damage.
It takes 0 damage from Corrosive Ward, Magic Reflect, Thorns, Return Fire and Blast splash damage.
And I think this fits the card really well.
Because if you're building a team around defensive effects, you don't want your own reflected damage mechanics causing problems.
Deflect basically gives Solace Ashinach another layer of protection.
It's not just about surviving direct attacks.
The card is also prepared for some of those annoying secondary damage effects that can happen during battle.
That makes it even more difficult to deal with in certain matchups.
Redemption: When defeated, deals 1 physical damage to all enemy units.
And finally, Redemption.
This is probably my favourite ability on the card.
When Solace Ashinach is defeated, it deals 1 physical damage to all enemy units.
Now, 1 damage might not sound like much.
But this is one of those abilities where the timing matters.
Imagine the enemy team has several units that are already low on health.
Solace Ashinach gets defeated, every enemy unit takes 1 damage.
That could potentially finish off weakened units or bring several enemies even closer to being defeated.
And even if it doesn't get a kill, you're still getting some value from the card after it dies.
I always like abilities that make a card useful even when it's finally taken off the battlefield.
Personally, I think Solace Ashinach makes the most sense in battles where you expect the opponent to rely heavily on ranged or magic damage.
Those are the matchups where Return Fire and Magic Reflect can really start doing their thing.
And if the enemy has a lot of units attacking every round?
Even better.
Because you're potentially getting value from those reflected damage abilities again and again.
I also think it can be interesting in slower battles.
The longer Solace Ashinach stays alive while being attacked, the more opportunities there are for those defensive abilities to matter.
And then when it finally goes down, Redemption gives you one last little surprise.
Things I really like:
I especially like that it isn't just about doing more damage.
It's about punishing the opponent for attacking the wrong way.
Of course, there are some downsides too.
The biggest thing is that these abilities are very matchup dependent.
If the opponent isn't using much ranged or magic damage, Return Fire and Magic Reflect aren't going to be nearly as useful.
And while Redemption is nice, 1 damage isn't going to completely destroy an enemy team.
So I wouldn't say this is a card you should blindly put into every lineup.
You still need to look at the ruleset and think about what the opponent might play.
After looking at Solace Ashinach properly, I think this is a really cool Legendary Dragon card.
It's not necessarily the type of card where you just throw it into a team and expect it to carry everything.
Instead, it's a card that rewards you for understanding the matchup.
If you know the opponent is going to use ranged attackers?
Return Fire.
Magic team?
Magic Reflect.
Lots of annoying reflected or splash damage?
Deflect.
And if they finally manage to take Solace Ashinach down?
Redemption.
So even defeating it isn't completely free.
Anyway thats it for today鈥檚 #Splinterlands grind. Please do give your reviews in the comments section below. I would really appreciate it :)
I'll be back with another one soon. So do follow me if you want to stay updated. Till then, Stay Happy and Stay Hydrated.
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