This unit kinda reminds me of how certain strategies work in real life. You think you’re pushing ahead but overlook the quiet threat in the corner, waiting for the right time. That patience and timing often matters more than raw stats and in Splinterlands, some units are made exactly for that role.

Lore

Night reapers are monstrosities born of a realm of demons and dragons. When their world was subsumed by the dark god Uul, they joined the Host of the legions of Chaos. These malevolent creatures answer to Silus of the Rift alone and unleash their wrath according to his will.

Unpredictable and brutal, night reapers ensure terror reigns wherever they soar and have been a crucial instrument in quelling the rising rebellion in the towns and cities that span the empire’s horizons.

https://splinterlands.com/card-detail/695/regular/13?tab=lore

Stats

Night Reaper is a powerful magic attack unit that combines strong offensive and defensive abilities. With Flying, Deflect, and Last Stand, it can evade hits, negate indirect damage, and become even stronger when it's the last one left. Its high mana cost makes it more of a centerpiece unit, carry, in other words, best when supported by other units and can be the linchpin or saving grace if you get into pickle and this is the last unit you have alive.

Abilities

Icon	Name	Description
	Flying	Has a 25% bonus chance of evading Melee or Ranged attacks from Units who do not have the flying ability.
		is a match because it Increases evasion even further, making Night Reaper very difficult to hit with melee or ranged attacks.
		is a counter because if enemy has Aim True, it completely negates the evasion benefits of Flying, ensuring every attack lands.

	Wingbreak	Always targets enemy Units with Flying first regardless of abilities or rulesets. +2 damage if the target has Flying.
		is a match because the speed boost pairs well with Wingbreak. As Night Reaper punishes enemies with Flying ability, the extra speed allows you to attack first eliminating some pesky units before they even move.
		is a counter because if enemy has Flying, this ability does extra damage to them. On top of that, this attack will be unavoidable even if the enemy has abilities like Phase.

	Deflect	This Unit doesn't take damage from Blast, Magic Reflect, Thorns, or Return fire.
		is a match because if you have a Taunt unit, attacks get forced onto the Taunt unit, but Deflect prevents Reaper from taking splash damage from that Blast. This allows you to control the damage done to your team.
		is a counter because if enemy has Blast, Deflect completely negates the damage from that allowing your team to be healthy as long as your Taunt unit is alive.

	Last Stand	Gains +50% to all stats if it's the only Unit on the team alive.
		is a match because the extra health means Night Reaper becomes much scarier when Last Stand triggers. Any extra stats this unit gets will also have the positive bonus of from Last Stand. For every 2 extra stats, you get a free 1 extra with this ability when it activates.
		is a counter because the most reliable way of ensuring this is the last unit to live is by putting it last. Usually, attacks come from the front so the unit in last position is usually the last unit to survive triggering Last Stand.

Good Rules to Consider

Icon	Name	Reason
	Earthquake	Non-flying Units take 2 Melee damage at the end of each round.
		Flying negates Earthquake damage, while Wingbreak punishes enemies with Flying. It's a two for one ability perfect for this rule.
	Armored Up	All Units have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor stat.
		Since Night Reaper deals magic attack, it bypasses the added armor on enemy units. If your enemies have melee and range attacks, you get the benefit from Armored Up rule without the demerits.
	Explosive Weaponry	All units have Blast (deals an additional 50% damage to units adjacent to the target, rounded up).
		Deflect nullifies Blast damage, giving Night Reaper better options. If the enemy has Flying, the bonus attack from Wingbreak means more damage from Blast.

Bad Rules to Think Twice

Icon	Name	Reason
	Super Sneak	All melee units have Sneak (targets the enemy unit in the last position).
		Sneak units can take out Night Reaper before Last Stand can trigger. While you can counter this by putting Night Reaper in the middle, it's still going to be tricky because your enemies might not use Melee units that gets benefit from Super Sneak rule, which means you just sabotaged yourself by not putting this unit as the last one.
	Aim True	All units gain True Strike (attacks will never miss).
		Flying’s evasion is negated, leaving Night Reaper vulnerable to melee and range attacks.
	Noxious Fumes	All Units start the battle Poisoned.
		Deflect can only negate damage from indirect sources. Poison damages the unit directly without interaction from another unit. This means Deflect will not be useful in this rule.

Battle

Link to battle

I may be down in numbers but I certainly win in quality. Since my enemy loves using Dragons and units with Flying as much as I do, Night Reaper and his Wingbreak had a great field day in this battle. The Blast from Nidhoggr is also a great touch. That 5 damage from Night Reaper's Wingbreak targetting the units in the middle certainly dealt a lot of stress to the enemy with that 3 blast damage around the unit.

Images were taken from Splinterlands, made in Canva, drawn in Krita and animated in Photoshop.

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