Alright, time for another #Splinterlands card spotlight!

Today I want to talk about a card that honestly looks like it was designed with one simple idea in mind:

“What if we make something REALLY hard to kill?”

The card I'm talking about is, Lioceros.

Lioceros is a Rare Earth unit, and at Level 8, which is the max level, it has 2 abilities:

• Thorns –> Returns 2 physical damage to the attacker when hit by a melee attack.

• Trample –> After using a melee attack to defeat a unit, it performs another melee attack against the unit in the next position.

And just look at those stats:

• Melee Attack: 4

• Health: 9

• Speed: 4

• Armor: 9

• Mana: 7

That is 9 armor AND 9 health.

Yeah, good luck getting through this thing.

First Impression

When I first looked at Lioceros, the first thing that caught my attention wasn't even the attack.

It was the armor.

9 armor.

That's a LOT.

And then it has another 9 health sitting behind that armor.

So before the enemy can even start doing serious damage to its health, they first have to chew through a huge amount of armor.

For a 7 mana card, that's definitely something I would notice.

The 4 melee attack is also pretty good.

It's not some tiny defensive unit that just stands there doing nothing.

Lioceros can actually hit back.

And with 4 speed, it's not painfully slow either.

So already, we're looking at a pretty solid frontline unit.

The Armor Is A BIG Deal

Let's talk about the obvious part first.

9 armor.

This is probably the biggest reason you would consider using Lioceros.

Against physical attackers, that armor can give it a huge amount of survivability.

Especially if the opponent is relying heavily on melee attacks.

They have to keep hitting it...

And Lioceros just keeps standing there.

This is where its second ability becomes even more interesting.

Because every melee attack against Lioceros also has the possibility of causing problems for the attacker.

And that's because of Thorns.

Thorns

Thorns: Returns 2 physical damage to attacker when hit by a melee attack.

Lioceros has Thorns, which returns 2 physical damage to an enemy when it gets hit by a melee attack.

I really like abilities like this because they make attacking the tank feel like a bad idea.

Imagine an enemy melee unit attacking Lioceros.

It deals its damage...

But then immediately takes 2 damage back.

And then it attacks again next round.

And takes another 2 damage.

Over multiple rounds, that damage can really start adding up.

So the opponent isn't only trying to destroy a tank with 9 armor and 9 health...

They're also hurting themselves every time they hit it.

Obviously, Thorns isn't going to help against every type of attack.

If the opponent is mainly using magic or ranged attacks, the ability isn't going to give you the same value.

But against melee-heavy teams?

It can be nasty.

Trample

Trample: After using a melee attack to defeat a unit, performs another melee attack against the unit in the next position.

Now we get to the fun part.

Trample.

This ability gives Lioceros the chance to attack again after it defeats an enemy with its melee attack.

So imagine the battle starts.

Lioceros is sitting in the front.

It attacks the enemy unit in front of it.

The enemy has low enough health...

BOOM.

Lioceros defeats it.

And instead of just stopping there, it gets another melee attack against the next unit.

That's where things can get VERY interesting.

A tank that can survive for a long time is already useful.

A tank that can potentially start getting extra attacks after killing things?

Now we're talking.

A Very Strong Frontline

I think the biggest role for Lioceros is pretty obvious.

Frontline tank.

With 9 armor and 9 health, that's where I would usually want to put it.

And the 4 melee attack means it isn't just sitting there absorbing hits.

It's actually contributing damage every round.

Then you've got Thorns adding extra punishment against melee attackers.

And Trample gives it some offensive potential after it gets a kill.

So you get a nice combination of:

Defense + damage + counter damage + extra attack potential.

That's a pretty good package.

How I Would Use Lioceros

Personally, I would look for battles where I expect a lot of physical damage.

If I see an opponent who likes melee-heavy lineups, Lioceros starts looking VERY attractive.

The combination of huge armor and Thorns can make it annoying to attack.

I'd also like to have some kind of support behind it.

Because if Lioceros survives longer, that's when Trample can become more useful.

You don't just want it to survive.

You want it to survive long enough to start getting kills.

That's when the card can go from being a tank into something much more dangerous.

CONCLUSION

So after looking at Lioceros properly, I can say this is definitely one of those cards that feels built for the frontline.

It's not the cheapest card.

It's not the fastest.

And it isn't going to be amazing in every single ruleset.

But when you need something that can stand there and take punishment, Lioceros looks like a very solid option.

The 9 armor + 9 health combination is already impressive.

Then you add Thorns, and suddenly melee attackers have another problem to deal with.

And if Lioceros gets a kill?

Trample can kick in.

That's what makes the card more than just a big wall.

It's a tank that can actually turn defensive survival into offensive pressure.

I especially like cards like this because you don't need them to completely carry the battle.

Sometimes their job is simply to survive long enough for the rest of your team to do its work.

And Lioceros seems REALLY good at that.

Of course, the big question is always the same:

Can you get enough value out of that 7 mana?

I think in the right matchup, absolutely.

Especially when the opponent is relying heavily on melee attacks.