Today's post features a magical item called POWER GLOVES. This is a life splinter item summoned during the tactics stage for 2 mana, allowing the caster to put TANK HEAL on 1 unit. Similar to the PELACOR FIRETORCH which is a magical item with an epic rarity, POWER GLOVES is a magical item with RARE level rarity.
As disucssed in previous posts, magical item are NFTs on the Hive blockhain minted by players. They look like typical #splinterlands cards. They have a mana cost and a splinter (or multiple splinters for epic and legendary itmes). They're applied like tactics during the tactics screen. They do not combine or level, and THEY DO NOT LAST MORE THAN ONE BATTLE. Every item and spell cast by its owner is burned after its battle. See my previous posts for the rationale why this model seems like the simplest and most seamless way to incorporate player minted NFTs into our decentralized gaming metaverse. Have a better idea? Explain it in the comments 🙏
There has never been an SPL card set released yet that didn't feature at least one life unit with the TANK HEAL abiltity. Based on this, it seems like a safe bet that magical items with the TANK HEAL ability should fit right in with the life splinter meta.
Here is the OG tank healer of the game herself, DIVINE HEALER. Even after all these year, for 3 mana and with 7 health, that old shaman lady is still a pretty solid option for low mana battles in wild 💪
Here we have one of my favorite cards ever ANGEL OF LIGHT 😍 This is also a card that has found a new life when paired with magical weapon training. This card works extremely well when weapons trained by AVES STURGES or MOXIAN REBEL.
Similar to ANGEL OF LIGHT, here's another card that rotated out of the Modern format but found a new life in the legacy Wild format, especially benefitting from the introduction of weapons training. TRUTHSPEAKER is espcially useful in low mana battles when weapons trained my MOXIAN REBEL
Within the Modern format, there are two life units with tank heal. The first is from the CHAOS LEGION reward card set, VENARI CRYSTALSMITH. Although there are usually some better options for tank heal, I find myself still playing this card a decent amount. It's especially handy when looking for a TANK HEAL card in the LITTLE LEAGUE ruleset, because in that ruleset only units with a mana cost of 4 or less can be summoned. It's also nice because it has a ranged attack of 3 which is a higher than average attack power for a life card with TANK HEAL.
Last but not least, we have the most recent life unit with TANK HEAL named MERIPUT MAGICIAN. This card comes from the REBELLION card set. It's great for a variety of reasons, and it's one that I use relatively often in Modern format ranked play. Not only does this card have the STRENGTHEN ability---for a team-wide +1 HEALTH stat buff---but it also has relatively high health itself, and the SHIELD ability on top of that. That combination of abilities and stats allows this little mouse to be pretty tough, and actually survive some low to medium power SNEAK attacks in the back. That can be pretty helpful sometimes 💪
The only drawback to this card is its relatively weak attack power. Although to be fair, that's generally on par with all the other cards we just talked about. With the exception of VENARI CRYSTALSMITH, all the other cards we just discussed either have +1 magic attack (DIVINE HEALER) or no attack at all (ANGEL OF LIGHT and TRUTHSPEAKER). MERIPUT MAGICIAN is just continuing that trend.
If you've read any of my previous posts on this topic, you'll know that I try to stay on target with the current meta theme for the various different splinters, and the general pulse of Modern format gameplay dynamics. Hopefully by now I've got you on board---POWER GLOVES fit right into the SPL meta legacy of life splinter, esepcailly in light of that splinter's deep connection to the TANK HEAL ability.
Another thing I've been clear about is that I like the idea of magical item card art showing an "action shot" of the item being used---rather than just a picture of the item by itself. Despite the temptation here , I didn't try and draw inspiration from the original nintendo "power glove." I'll admit, that particular item holds a nostalgic place in my heart (as it does for many of us). If you're like me, it's probably because you watched the nintendo-themed movie "The Wizard" way, wayyy too many times as a kid. If you haven't seen that movie, the nintendo 'power glove" is featured prominently in it. Despite the temptation, I stayed clear. It is "so bad" after all 😄
Lucas, the evil villan from the "The Wizard"" who was super good at playing original nintendo games. Especially Rad Racer 1 using the nintendo "power glove"
Instead I tried to imagine some type of Meriput (pretend his name is MERIPUT FIGHTER) who's friend and ally has taken some damage. That's the little dude laying on the floor 😵 Luckily, MERIPUT FIGHTER has been equiped with the POWER GLOVES so he can heal his buddy. I like the art here and it seems to fit with the game art, especially the MERIPUT creature category that has become so popular in the latest card set REBELLION.
The scene being conveyed here is one where MERIPUT FIGHTER is using the POWER GLOVES to heal his ally. His ally is in the tank position but has taken some serious attack damage. The POWER GLOVES glow hot when activated, even though they don't burn the hands of the user. They also emit magical healing diamond stars that float gently down and absorb into the injured unit. These magical healing diamond stars are what partially restores the injured unit's health.
There are a few ways to imagine how items will work, but the simplest would be giving them their own mana cost. Just like units and summoners now. Except you'll be spending "item mana" in the tactics screen, not in the pre-battle screeen. This means that when you select the summoner and units for your lineup in the pre-battle screen, you'd need to leave some mana to spend in the tactics screen.
For example, if you wanted to use POWER GLOVES in a 20 mana battle, you would only be able to spend 18 mana on a summoner and units during the pre-battle screen, and then use the remaining 2 mana to summon POWER GLOVES and equip them onto 1 of your units during the tactics screen. On the other hand, if you used all 20 of your mana on a summoner and units during the pre-battle screen, you wouldn't be able to summon POWER GLOVES (or any other items or cast any spells) in the tactics screen.
The POWER GLOVES card art against the background of a battle arena.
The TRIFOIL RUNE used to mint the POWER GLOVES NFT is shown in white below. Unlike many other TRIFOIL RUNES that are physical separated from each other, the three runes for POWER GLOVES physically overlap. When properly aligned, they emit a rich harmonic sound. The sound is said to be beyond the human capacity to fully comprehend and may leave the runecaster in a trance-like state for one or more days.
