Hello Everyone! Hope you all are doing great and welcome to another #Splinterlands post.
Alright, time for another #Splinterlands card spotlight!
Today I'm looking at a card that honestly has a pretty interesting combination of abilities.
The card I'm talking about is, Folen Flameye.
Folen Flameye is an Epic Earth unit, and at max level 6 it has 4 abilities:
Flank
Thorns
Divine Shield
Impede
And looking at these abilities together, I think this is one of those cards that can become really annoying for the opponent.
It isn't just about doing damage.
It can protect itself, punish melee attackers, help another unit attack from the second position, and even slow enemies down as the battle goes on.
That's quite a lot going on for one card.
So let's start with the basic stats.
At max level, Folen Flameye has:
7 Mana
4 Melee Attack
1 Armor
12 Health
3 Speed
The first thing that caught my attention was definitely the 12 health.
That's pretty good.
This isn't some tiny damage dealer that is going to disappear after one or two hits.
It has enough health to actually stay around and do its job.
The 4 melee attack is also decent.
And then there's the 3 speed, which isn't crazy fast, but it's definitely not painfully slow either.
So overall, the stats are pretty balanced.
But obviously, the real reason this card is interesting is the abilities.
Flank: At the beginning of the battle, if this unit is in the first position, the unit in the second position gains Reach.
The first ability is Flank.
This ability activates when Folen Flameye is in the first position.
If that happens, the unit in the second position gains Reach.
Basically, your second-position unit can now use melee attacks from behind Folen Flameye.
And I really like this idea.
It means Folen Flameye doesn't necessarily have to be the only melee attacker in your frontline.
You can put a second melee unit behind it and let that unit attack as well.
So instead of having one unit doing all the work in the frontline, you can have two melee attackers going at the enemy.
That can make a big difference, especially in battles where melee attacks are strong.
And honestly, I think this is one of the main reasons I'd consider putting Folen Flameye in the first position.
Thorns: Returns 2 physical damage to attacker when hit by a melee attack.
Next up is Thorns.
This one is pretty simple but very useful.
When Folen Flameye gets hit by a melee attack, it returns 2 physical damage to the attacker.
And this can become VERY annoying for melee teams.
Imagine your opponent has a strong melee attacker.
They hit Folen Flameye, 2 damage comes right back.
And if multiple melee attacks hit Folen Flameye during the same round, that reflected damage can really start adding up.
This is one of those abilities where the opponent can technically be damaging your card, while also slowly destroying their own units.
That's always fun to watch.
Of course, Thorns isn't going to do much against magic or ranged attacks, so it's definitely more useful against physical attackers.
But when you face a melee heavy lineup, Folen Flameye can become a pretty annoying wall.
Divine Shield: Ignores all damage once, after which the Divine Shield is destroyed.
Now we get to Divine Shield.
This ability means Folen Flameye ignores all damage once.
After that, the Divine Shield disappears.
And honestly, this is always a nice ability to have.
That first attack basically does nothing.
This can be especially useful because the card already has 12 health.
So the opponent has to get through Divine Shield first, and then they still have to deal with all that health.
And if they're using melee attacks?
They also have to deal with Thorns.
That's a pretty annoying combination.
Impede: -1 to target's speed after each successful attack.
The final ability is Impede.
Every time Folen Flameye successfully attacks a target, that target loses 1 speed.
And this is where the card can become more useful as the battle continues.
At the start, an enemy might be faster than Folen Flameye.
But after getting hit once, their speed goes down.
Then Folen Flameye attacks again, another speed reduction.
Over several rounds, that can make a noticeable difference.
And slower enemies are obviously easier to hit.
So Impede isn't just about making the opponent slower.
It can also help your team gain more control over the battle.
I really like abilities that become more useful the longer the fight lasts.
This is probably the part I like most about Folen Flameye.
The abilities actually work together pretty nicely.
Flank helps your second-position melee attacker.
Thorns punishes enemies for attacking Folen Flameye with melee.
Divine Shield protects it from one big hit.
And Impede makes enemies slower as the battle continues.
So the card isn't really just one thing.
It's a mixture of frontline support, defense and disruption.
And that's what makes it interesting.
You can put it in front and let another melee unit attack behind it.
Meanwhile, Folen Flameye itself is hitting the opponent and reducing their speed.
If they attack it with melee, they're taking Thorns damage.
And if they have a huge opening attack?
Divine Shield can absorb it.
That's quite a package for one card.
Personally, I think Folen Flameye is best when you're expecting melee-heavy battles.
That's where Thorns becomes much more valuable.
I also really like the idea of using it in a team where you have another strong melee attacker that can take advantage of Flank.
That way you're getting value from both your first and second positions.
It also seems pretty useful in longer battles.
The longer Folen Flameye stays alive, the more opportunities it gets to use Impede.
And once enemy units start losing speed, your entire team can potentially benefit.
There are quite a few things I like about this card:
12 health gives it good survivability.
Flank can activate another melee attacker.
Thorns punishes melee attackers.
Divine Shield blocks one attack completely.
Impede makes enemies slower over time.
4 melee attack is pretty solid.
3 speed is decent.
It can fit multiple different strategies.
The biggest thing for me is definitely the combination of Flank + Thorns.
You get extra offensive pressure while also making the frontline annoying to attack.
Of course, it isn't perfect.
The biggest weakness I see is that some of its abilities are very matchup dependent.
If the opponent is using mostly magic attacks, for example, Thorns isn't going to help much.
And if Folen Flameye doesn't get many successful attacks, then Impede isn't going to have much impact either.
Also, while 12 health is good, it only has 1 armor.
So once Divine Shield is gone, strong attacks can still start chewing through its health pretty quickly.
After looking at Folen Flameye properly, I think this is a really interesting Epic card.
It doesn't have one ability that immediately makes you go:
"OMG THIS CARD IS BROKEN!"
Instead, it's the combination of everything that makes it good.
You get a frontline unit with decent attack and health.
You get Flank to support another melee attacker.
You get Thorns to punish melee enemies.
You get Divine Shield to absorb one big hit.
And then you have Impede slowly making the enemy team weaker and slower.
That's a lot of utility.
I especially like the idea of putting Folen Flameye at the front and building the rest of the team around it.
If everything goes right, the opponent has to deal with a unit that is attacking them, slowing them down and damaging them whenever they try to hit it with melee.
Sounds pretty annoying to me.
Anyway thats it for todayโs #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.
THUMBNAIL IS EDITED IN CANVA
IMAGE SOURCE IS GIVEN BELOW
