Prelude
Hello everybody, how is it going? It's the Chinese New Year season for those of us whom celebrate. And because Chinese New Year revolves around items that are red, I will be doing a sharing on a Fire Splinter card, Ant Miners. An often overlooked card which has a fiery potential. Continue reading as I share more.
Thoughts on Ant Miners
Ant Miners, from the name goes, cannot really see what it actually brings. But being a miner, it probably can bring us some treasure when given some time.
Without further a do, let's get started with this week's sharing.
Let's look at the Level 1 base stats for Revealer:
| Mana | Attack | Health | Speed | Armour | Ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 (Melee) | 1 | 1 | NA | Scavenge |
Bronze League - Health + 1, Speed + 1
Silver League - Armour + 1
Gold League - Speed + 1, Shield
Beyond Gold - Attack + 1, Health + 1
What does Ant Miners looking on growth?
To be honest, when I first saw this card, I wasn't impressed by it's stats. 1 attack, 1 speed and 1 health. But something I overlooked was the scavenge ability (something that I will continue share later on in the post).
As Ant Miners level up, it gain more health, speed and finally 1 more attack at max level. Also, it gains shield at level 6, improving its survivability.
Stats wise, this card is really not impressive. However, it's the ability it possess that makes it shine.
Alritey, let's see start the battle sharing.
The Battle
Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_115ead3c449f7281135cfdda345ca995&ref=vaynard86
Rules
Little League
Mana Limit: 48
Lineup
| Splinter | Mana Cost | Position | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarsa | 4 | Summoner | Trusty Fire Summoner |
| Xenith Monk | 4 | 1st | Little league tanker |
| Magma Troll | 4 | 2nd | Off-tank reach to support front tank |
| Serpentine Spy | 3 | 3rd | Opportunist to take out any easy targets |
| Ant Miners | 2 | 4th | Scavenger |
| Spirit Hoarder | 3 | 5th | Backline healer |
| Uraeus | 3 | 6th | Sneaker |
| Total Mana: | 23 |
Opponent Lineup
Prediction before pressing rumble
Rather similar lineup with the difference being the tank and backline choices. I use a sneaker, a scavenger and a healer while my opponent opted for 2 range attackers.
Let's get ready to rumble
Round 1, Not a very good start, my opponent's Serpentine Spy struck first and down goes my own Serpentine Spy. Rest of the lineup in tact. However, Ant Miner gained 1 health due to the fall of Serpentine Spy.
Round 2, Many cards fell this turn, Xenith Monk and Magma Troll from my side and Antoid Platoon from my opponent. And that helped Ant Miners to grow another 3 health. Out of the blue a tank is born.
Round 3, Ant Miners took the first position, while my opponent's Lava Spider and Magma Troll fell. This allowed Ant Miners to gain another 2 health while taking punishment from other cards.
Round 4-7, Ant Miners fell but this bought time for Spirit Hoarder and Uraeus to continue dishing out damage to my opponent. Through this, victory was secured after Uraeus landed the fatal blow.
After Thoughts
Remember I said, the stats for Ant Miners is not very flattering. Now, in this match, if not Ant Miners, the match would have been long gone.
So how did the unflattering stats become bigger and bigger, allowing Ant Miners to even take up the tank role as Xenith Monk and Magma Troll fell? It is the Scavenge ability.
Every time a card fell, cards like Ant Miners with Scavenge ability gains one health. Another card that possess this is Riftwing from Death Splinter. This ability becomes a hidden potential for a card to turn the tide of the game. As the game progresses, more fatalities will happen and that is where cards with Scavenge shines towards the end if able to survive sufficiently.
Did my strategy work in this game? This match, I am only given Fire Splinter as a choice so I had to think hard what to place. So like what I shared last week on Revealer, cards with abilities are key for victory for Little League, so here I am once again with a full ability lineup. I have healing, reach, opportunity, scavenge, triage and sneak. All of which are important. Ant Miners was chosen due to the Scavenge ability as it will grow into a third tank when front liners fall or even cards get picked up from the back.
Will I be using such a lineup in the future? Yes for little league or even other ruleset where I need versatility and a hidden potential to turn the tide of a match.
As I reflect, what would have happened if I didn't choose to field Ant Miners. After the tanks fall, I effectively will be having a fully easy to pick on backline. Do not ever underestimate Scavenge ability as it is really a tide turning ability. Another application for Scavenge will be Noxious Fumes match up as many cards will get poisoned and while this happens, there will be fatalities which will feed Ant Miners and it will become a real threat if it can be dispelled off the poison. When things are poisoned off, Ant Miners can then pick up the scraps one by one to secure victory.
Ant Miners is a very nice utility card to have. While it is a reward card, but it is no longer available to be get via chest. So in order to get a copy, we have to get it from the market or rent a copy. It is not very expensive and I highly recommend everyone to have a copy of it and consider levelling it up due to the shield ability later on at high level to make it even stronger.
Wrap Up
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my sharing on Ant Miners. I would really appreciate it if you liked and/or commented to let me know what are you thoughts.
I am currently part of PIZZA, an active gaming and creative arts crypto community on the HIVE blockchain and part of PIZZA guild. Popular cryto games such as SPLINTERLANDS, RISING STAR and HASHKINGS are actively discussed in this community.
Many events are being organized from time to time. Join the PIZZA DISCORD. This is a place filled with 💰🍕🎁GIVEAWAYS & AIRDROPS💰🍕🎁 and most definitely consisting of a friendly community to be in.
Till my next battle sharing, take care, stay safe and happy battling!
If you are keen on playing Splinterlands, feel free to join me via this link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=vaynard86
