Hello, Splinterlands warriors—how are you all doing today?
The crypto world hasn’t been very friendly lately—BTC is swinging like a roller coaster, and HIVE is wobbling along with it. Hopefully it doesn’t plunge even further. But that’s how it goes: in the Splinterlands arena, token prices may shake, but strategy must stay upright.
In today’s Battle of the Day, I want to share a fight that looked ordinary at first, but turned out to be full of plot twists. The main character of this story isn’t the monster with the biggest damage, nor the thickest tank. Instead, it’s a card often considered “unique but situational”: Olivia of the Brook.
As usual, whenever I play the Life element, I almost always bring Olivia. The reason is simple: I enjoy melee play, and Olivia has one skill that can be extremely dangerous when the timing is right—Mimic. This skill allows Olivia to randomly copy an enemy monster’s ability each round. Sometimes it’s useless, sometimes just average—but when it hits the right skill… it can completely change the outcome of a match.
Our formations were almost identical. Both my opponent and I used Ulundin Overseer as the main tank. Behind it were Chaos Battle Mage, and of course, Olivia. The difference was that my team included Janni Rebel, Happy Quokka, and Halfling Refugee, while my opponent ran Palimpsest Prophet, Meriput Magician, and Saltwraith Bulkhead.
The active rulesets were Now You See Mee and Ferocity, which meant all attacks would focus on the front. This made the tank’s role absolutely crucial. Whoever’s tank survived longer would most likely win.
The problem was, from the very start I had a bad feeling. My opponent had Meriput Magician, a monster with the Tank Heal skill. Every round, their Ulundin regained HP. Meanwhile, I had no healer at all—just raw durability and hope.
Round after round passed, and my fears proved true. By the end of the first round, my Ulundin’s HP was already behind. Entering round three, my Ulundin finally fell, while my opponent’s Ulundin was still standing tall—though its armor was beginning to peel away. At that point, I had started to accept defeat. Without healing, this usually means the end.
But this is where a small miracle happened.
Every round, Olivia of the Brook kept copying enemy skills. Sometimes irrelevant, sometimes minor. Until finally, in round four… Olivia copied Meriput Magician’s skill: Tank Heal.
From that moment on, the direction of the battle completely changed. Every attack my tank took could now be healed. Damage that had once been permanent could now be patched up. Slowly, my previously pressured team began to stabilize. On the other side, my opponent’s Olivia hadn’t received the same Mimic, so they lost their greatest advantage: healing.
Little by little, the opponent’s tank HP was chipped away. The attacks from Janni Rebel and Chaos Battle Mage began to make a real impact. And in the end, what had almost certainly been a loss turned into a sweet victory.
If you’re curious and want to watch the full battle, you can check it out here:
What’s interesting about this fight is how a single, small skill can change everything. Meriput Magician itself is actually a fairly simple card, but its Tank Heal is absolutely vital in a ruleset like this. Meanwhile, Olivia of the Brook proved that Mimic isn’t just a gimmick—it can be a strategic weapon at a critical moment.
For me personally, this was one of those battles that reminds me Splinterlands isn’t just about stats, but about smart luck. Luck definitely plays a role, but we still have to create space for that luck to appear—by choosing the right cards.
Never underestimate cards that look strange. Sometimes, in the arena, what decides the match isn’t who’s the strongest… but who’s most ready for surprises.
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