We're going to review a creature that is normally not used by low league players even if it's free. I frequently use this for any rule set except for one which I would state somewhere throughout this blog. I hope that more people use this because it's really useful if used properly.
The card we will be discussing today is Silvershield Paladin
We would rate this card based on:
Cost to buy/rent this card. How affordable and accessible is the card.
Card Stats. How balanced the card is based on its role.
Card Effect. How useful is its effect based on the role of the card.
Strengths and Weaknesses. If the card can counter other cards and/or be countered easily by others or not.
Positioning. Adaptability of where the card can be placed.
Compatibility. How useful it is on its current element.
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Rental/Buy Cost ||
Since this card is free and you can play it after buying spellbook, I included the gold foil instead. Renting it would be recommended since it is really cheap and it can be like an extra 10% DEC gain per win. Buying it would be okay but it's on the expensive side. If you have the money, go ahead because it's really useful specially if leveled up.
Below is the rental and buy cost of the card at the time of this writing.
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Card Stats ||
* Mana: 5
* Damage: 1
* Speed: 2
* Health: 5
* Armor: 1
Silvershield Stats is not so amazing but it is a very useful tank. I normally use this because of its low mana cost. Among all level 1s, this is second to the lowest mana with shield ability. The first one would be Onyx Sentinel. If you don't have funds to buy or rent Onyx Sentinel, this would be the go to.
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Card Effect ||
Shield | Reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks by half, rounded up, except attack 1 which deals 0 damage.
To me, shield and void are the best abilities for a tank. With shield, you can have multiple combos possible like headwind for -1 ranged and demoralize for -1 melee.
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Strengths Weaknesses ||
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Positioning ||
The best position for this card is * The best position for this card is at the front. He's the front line who absorbs all damage as much as possible. I sometimes use Silvershield Paladin at the back if there's a rule set that allows him to attack from the back line.
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Compatibility ||
The best combo with this card for me is with with cards that uses Headwind or Demoralize. There's no such card now for light and there's one for neutral but it requires a high level so it's a no-no. with the release of the new Chaos Legion, I hope they provide any of these debuff for Light deck.
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Lastly...
Before doing the final verdict, here is the sample of a battle using this card.
Round 1:
By end of round 1, The opponent's tank received 1 damage and a few of his back row died due to combination of inspired sneak attacks. Silvershield Paladin did not receive damage due to Divine Shield from Lorna Shine.
Round 2:
By round 2, the only thing that was damaged from Silvershield Paladin is his armor. The only one dealing damage at this point is Living Lava and the blast ability. The opponent's back row does not have any way to attack so it's a clear win at this point.
Round 3:
By end of Round 3, all of the back row is gone and Silvershield Paladin only received minor damage along with my second tank.
Round 5:
Game ended at the start of round 5 with Feral Spirit dealing the final blow. If my tanks died there, I would've lost because all my creatures, without inspire, does 1 damage and it would be shielded by Living Lava. Silvershield Paladin's strong ability helped my survive this game.
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Final Thoughts
With all the evidences that we gathered, we could say that Silvershield Paladin is a really great card. Its amazing ability supports what he lacks in armor and health as a tank. However, the low mana also helps since you can put him in more battles and also you can increase your damage dealers while having a decent front line.
