Splinterlands Rare Card Profile - Serpentine Soldier

Serpentine Soldier

Splinter - The Burning Lands

Set -Alpha/Beta

Class - Slippery Armored Tank

Size - Compared to humans, Serpentines are quite large. When extended to their full height, most Serpentine males (the larger of the sexes) are about twice as tall as an average human man. While they are slithering, Serpentines are significantly shorter though because the majority of their bodies follow the upright portion, dragging behind on the ground. This is one of the reasons the Torch loves ato use Serpentines as frontline soldiers. When they are standing still at attention, they are so tall that they provide cover for the second line, who typically controls the most powerful close-range projectile weapons. They can also undulate their bodies very easily, allowing them to dodge even the quickest of attacks. From top of head to tip of tail, the average Serpentine is the length of about three and a half men.

Lifespan - The life of a Serpentine is quick and dangerous. If allowed to die of old age, a Serpentine can live to be about twenty-five. This is why their practices and beliefs are based mostly on instinct and necessity. There is little time for wisdom and growth, so Serpentines prefer to live dangerously.

Weapon - Serpentines have sharp teeth and sturdy nails capable of tearing flesh, but these are rarely necessary, especially since Serpentines are lovers of weapons. The most preferred weapon is the halberd, which can be thrown or thrusted quickly and easily as a Serpentine evades enemy blows. They also make use of blades, bows and harpoon projectiles. When attacked at close range, a Serpentine is immediately able to inflict some counter damage from the sharpened spikes on its tail. Engaging a Serpentine is often more than an enemy soldier has bargained for. Frontline Serpentine Soldiers are also equipped with shields, but among themselves they joke that the shields have few benefits beyond the aesthetic.

Habitat - The Serpentine population of the Burning Lands is concentrated in the south, where the fortified city of Sskah sits as their Capital. The holes in which the Serpentines live are specifically designed to limit entry to slitherers only, and the guards at the gates to their city are not welcoming to outsiders. Serpentines are also able to easily travel the massive network of caves that runs beneath the Molten Mountains. They are able to do this thanks to a serpent-exclusive web of tunnels known as Serpent’s Sling.

Diet - Serpentines are one of the only species in the Burning Lands that enjoys a diet rich in seafood. For most Ferexia, the great Ring of Fire that surrounds the Splinter makes it impossible to reach the sea. The Serpentines, with their brilliant tunneling skills, burrowed under the moat of lava, granting them access to the deep ocean. This method of tunnelfishing is entirely unique to the Splinterlands. Since the Serpentine holes are crafted for Serpentkind only, no other people have been able to observe their proprietary methods.

Allies - Serpentine youth are required to serve a term of military service for the Torch, the result of an ancient agreement. These Serpentine Soldiers comprise the front lines of the Ferexia battalions, for whom they fight with bravery and honor. Most Serpentines are also on surprisingly excellent terms with the Trolls of the caves, who tend to smash anyone different than themselves. Perhaps the Trolls simply do not have a taste for the tough, scaled flesh of Serpentines.

Enemies - Ferexia Serpentines hold a deep hatred for the Naga of Draykh-Nahka. Though they are distant relatives, the fire Serpentines feel the Gloridax worms have grown soft in their years of service to the Dragons. They are not friendly with any other races, but fortunately, they do not consider other races enemies simply because they are different. Serpentines have great enmity for Cyclops, with whom they share land and who are always throwing things at their settlements from a great distance.

Work - The work of a Serpentine Soldier is simple. They spend their time training, ready to deploy at any moment’s notice for the Torch. It is a brief enlistment period, but during that time, they do little but soldiering. Serpentines who have completed their enlistment spend the majority of their time fishing, since seafood comprises the majority of the Serpentine diet. Some (few) Serpentines are farmers, tending the crops of potatoes and other root vegetables that are somehow able to grow in the inhospitable grounds of the Burning Lands.

Pastimes - Serpentines enjoy playing games, but outsiders would not find their games enjoyable. Poke a Sleeping Cyclops is a popular one. Another is Leap the Fissure. For a Serpentine, a game is not fun unless the players risk death at least a few times. They also enjoy one-on-one land races, but being chased by some deadly monster is more fun for these warriors than running from nothing. This is why they like to provoke sleeping beasts.