Hello Everyone! Hope you all are doing great and welcome to another #Splinterlands post.
Alright, time for another #Splinterlands card spotlight!
Today I'm checking out a card that I think is actually pretty interesting because it has a combination of abilities that can make it useful in more than one position.
The card I'm talking about is, Steppe Stalker.
It's a Common Water unit, and at max level it has 4 abilities.
When I first looked at the card, I was mostly looking at the artwork and the stats and thinking okay, this looks like another ranged attacker.
But then I looked at the abilities, this thing has quite a few tricks.
So let's take a closer look.
At max level, Steppe Stalker has:
Mana Cost: 7
Attack: 3
Health: 8
Armor: 2
Speed: 2
The 7 mana cost is definitely not super cheap.
But 8 health is pretty decent, and the 2 armor gives it a little bit of extra protection.
The speed is probably the weakest part for me.
Only 2 speed means it isn't exactly going to be one of the fastest monsters on the battlefield.
But honestly, the abilities make up for some of that.
Especially Close Range and Shield.
Close Range: Can use ranged attacks from the first position.
The first ability is Close Range.
This means Steppe Stalker can use its ranged attack even when it's sitting in the first position.
And I really like this ability.
Normally, ranged units become pretty useless when they reach the front.
But Steppe Stalker doesn't have that problem.
If your frontline tank gets defeated and Steppe Stalker moves into first position, it can still attack.
That can be a huge advantage in a battle where the frontline is constantly changing.
Instead of becoming a useless card after moving forward, Steppe Stalker can keep doing damage.
That's always nice.
Slow: -1 speed to all enemy units.
The second ability is Slow.
This reduces the speed of all enemy units by 1.
And this is one of those abilities that can be useful without Steppe Stalker even doing any damage.
Speed can make a massive difference in #Splinterlands.
If your team gets to attack before the opponent, you can sometimes remove an enemy unit before it even gets a chance to attack.
So having Steppe Stalker sitting somewhere in your lineup and slowing the entire enemy team can be very useful.
The funny thing is that Steppe Stalker itself only has 2 speed.
So it's not exactly a speed monster.
But it doesn't need to be.
It's making the other team slower, which can help your faster units.
Painforge: +1 power when damaged by Poisoned or Burning or hit by an ally.
Now we get to Painforge.
This ability gives Steppe Stalker +1 power when it is damaged by Poisoned or Burning, or when it gets hit by an allied unit.
This is a pretty unusual ability.
Basically, certain types of damage or even friendly attacks can make Steppe Stalker stronger.
So if the right situation happens, getting hurt can actually make it more dangerous.
I especially like abilities like this because they can create some interesting combinations.
You could potentially build a team where Steppe Stalker benefits from certain effects instead of just trying to keep it completely untouched.
Obviously, you still don't want it getting destroyed.
But a little bit of damage isn't always a bad thing.
Shield: 50% less damage from physical attacks or 0 damage from physical attacks of 1 power.
And finally, we have Shield.
This gives Steppe Stalker 50% less damage from physical attacks, while physical attacks with only 1 power deal 0 damage.
This is probably my favorite defensive ability on the card.
Because 8 health + 2 armor + Shield can make Steppe Stalker surprisingly annoying to kill with physical attacks.
It isn't a traditional tank, but it has some defensive tools that can help it survive.
And that becomes even more interesting when you remember the Close Range ability.
If Steppe Stalker ends up in the first position, it can still attack while having Shield protecting it.
That's a pretty nice combination.
Personally, I wouldn't immediately put Steppe Stalker in the first position.
I'd rather place it somewhere in the middle or back of the lineup.
That way it can attack normally while benefiting the whole team with Slow.
But there's another reason I like this card.
If your frontline eventually collapses, Steppe Stalker can move forward and still attack because of Close Range.
So it basically has a backup plan.
It's not just:
"Protect this ranged unit or it becomes useless."
Instead, it can continue fighting even after the battle gets messy.
And we all know how messy some #Splinterlands battles can get.
There are quite a few things I like about this card.
Close Range makes it useful in the first position.
Slow helps the entire team.
Painforge gives it extra power in certain situations.
Shield provides strong protection against physical attacks.
8 health is pretty solid.
It can remain useful even after moving forward.
I also really like that the abilities don't all do the same thing.
You've got offense, defense and team utility all packed into one card.
Of course, it's not perfect.
The biggest problem for me is probably the 7 mana cost.
That's a decent amount of mana, so I wouldn't be using Steppe Stalker in every battle.
The 2 speed is also not amazing.
And while Shield gives it good protection against physical attacks, Magic can still be a problem.
So you definitely need to look at the ruleset and the opponent's lineup before deciding to use it.
I think the most interesting thing about Steppe Stalker isn't one single ability.
It's the combination.
Slow makes the enemy slower.
Shield helps Steppe Stalker survive physical attacks.
Close Range lets it keep attacking from the front.
And Painforge can make it stronger after certain types of damage.
So depending on the battle, this card can play completely different roles.
Sometimes it can be a ranged attacker.
Sometimes it can become a frontline fighter.
And sometimes its biggest contribution might simply be slowing the enemy team.
That's pretty good flexibility for a Common card.
After looking at Steppe Stalker more carefully, I think this is one of those cards that can be easy to overlook.
It's not some crazy legendary with a giant list of abilities.
It's just a Common Water unit.
But the abilities are actually pretty useful.
Close Range is probably the ability that caught my attention the most.
Being able to keep using ranged attacks from the first position means the card doesn't completely fall apart when your frontline disappears.
Then you add Slow, Shield and Painforge on top of that, and suddenly you have a pretty flexible card.
The 7 mana cost means I wouldn't blindly use it everywhere.
But in the right ruleset?
I think Steppe Stalker could definitely do some work.
I'm especially interested in trying it in battles where the opponent is using a lot of physical attackers.
Shield + Slow + Close Range sounds like a pretty annoying combination to deal with.
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
