This is a very recent battle I fought using the Earth element Summoner, Elowen Sylphie; due to a system hang, I was only able to apply the Summoner's powers to a single frontline card. Despite the 'Melee Mayhem' ruleset, I didn't focus solely on melee cards; instead, I created a balanced mix of magic and melee units. Furthermore, rather than placing the Doomshield Warden in the lead spot, I assigned that position to a card with the 'Thorns' ability. While I usually deploy the Doomshield Warden as my tank, the unique conditions of this battlefield gave me the freedom to position that powerful melee attacker further back and select a different tank for the frontline. You have to make these kinds of decisions every time, and more often than not, it is card positioning—rather than the cards themselves—that determines who dominates the battle.
Additionally, I placed the Empusan Darkguard at the end of the lineup; at Level 2, it possesses the 'Shadow Focus' ability. This ability activates only when the card is in the last position, granting it 'Camouflage' while providing all other cards on the team with +1 Attack Power and the 'Determination' ability. Yes! 'Shadow Focus' is an ability that triggers three distinct effects, benefiting every card on the team. Consequently, by gaining +1 Attack Power and the 'Determination' ability from this card, my entire team became far more lethal—not only would their attacks deal increased damage, but defending against them would also become significantly harder for the enemy. That is the power of 'Shadow Focus' and the impact of correctly positioning this card.
You will see the impact of this throughout the battle; for instance, if an attack failed, my card—thanks to the 'Determination' ability—would immediately launch the same attack against the same enemy with equal power. Essentially, if it didn't work the first time, there was a second attempt—and as the saying goes, those who try never truly lose. Although some cards might still manage to dodge attacks even after 'Determination' kicks in, this ability significantly reduces the enemy's chances of evading damage from your cards. This is a huge advantage, as I have personally lost battles despite having more powerful cards simply because my attacks failed to land.
Furthermore, seeing the 'Resurgence' ability in action is a unique experience; even after being knocked out, the card reappears with its stats fully restored to 100%. Although it does not perform attacks during that specific round, its reappearance deals 1 point of damage to every card on the battlefield—often leading to knockouts for cards that were already low on health. While this damage affects your own cards as well, once that initial hit is weathered, the card is ready to perform at full capacity from the very next round. In this particular battle, I managed to win easily without even assigning the 'Resurgence' ability to two of my cards; this suggests that even against a stronger opponent, my lineup would have put up a formidable fight. This highlights the importance of the 'Shadows Focus' ability and showcases the powers of the 'Elowen Sylphie' Summoner, though ultimately, a great deal depends on how and where you position these cards in your lineup.
Note:
English is not my first language. So sometimes I use 'Google Translate'. Please don't think that anything I have written in this blog has been copied from somewhere or is AI-generated.
Paragraph Dividers and all the photos are from #Splinterlands.
All the other content images and words are mine unless otherwise stated.
Have a Happy and Blessed day!
