Published via Ecency

Good morning fellow warriors! it is weekend already and how is the grinding on your side? Win or lose we battle on. Welcome to my blog @zusi78.

Splinterlands fam, buckle up — this Modern Ranked battle was a masterclass in “even death isn’t the end.”

Splinterlands is no walk in the park, but that's what amps up the excitement.A winning strategy weighs stats, abilities, rulesets, mana caps, and beyond. That's why you must factor them all into your deck building. Toss in strong cards to boost your setups, and push hard to rack up as many victories as possible! 🔥

Featured card:
Today I want to share with you about the monster called Skrag the Gnaw.

At max level, Skrag the Gnaw typically runs with:

Melee Attack 4.
Health 8.
Armor 5.
Speed 3.

Lore and personality
From the Conclave Arcana lore snippets:

Skrag is a deep gnome who has lived in the sewers of New Beluroc for a very long time, gnawing through bone and rot to survive.
He works for Craniax, the undead lord, and is essentially a paid scavenger who loots bodies left behind by Craniax’s undead legions.
Quotes from lore describe him as filthy, undignified, and not pleasant to be around, with the line: “He's not dignified, he's not clean, and he's not pleasant to be around.The dead don't smell any worse than he does.”
Narratively, Skrag isn’t a noble warlord or refined mage; he’s a degenerate, opportunistic survivor who feeds on decay and death, making him a perfect fit for a grotesque, grind‑heavy Earth deck that slowly wears down the opponent.

Key Abilities
Skrag’s core identity in Modern Ranked

Health 8 / Armor 3 / Speed 3 / Melee 3 at level 1, scaling up to Reflexes, Cripple, Thorns, and Rebirth at max.

Poison Burst: When defeated, he has a 100% chance to apply Poison to the attacker and a 50% chance to apply Poison to the unit opposite the attacker; Poison deals −2 health at the beginning of each round.

Reflexes:After the first successful attack by an attacker,all subsequent attacks from that attacker misses for tye rest of the round.

Cripple: -1 to target's max health after each successful attack.Does not affect units with immunity.

Thorns: Returns 2 physical damage to attacker when hit by a melee attack.

Resurrect: Self-resurrects once per battle with plus one health and 100% armor. All magic debuffs are removed and all magic buffs are reapplied.Skips turn anyway.

Battle
The ruleset and lineup
The rules states

All units have shield 50% less damage (rounded up) from physical attacks or 0 damage from physical attacks of 1 power.In splinterlands community we call it the Shield Ability

The total Mana cost of this battle was 89, and you are to chose from the Earth, Life and Death splinters.

My Lineup;
Summoner: Kaylia Silverleaf (Earth) – Level 2, a solid tanky support for Earth‑heavy decks.

Skrag the Gnaw – Tank (Earth) – Poison Burst only.
Doomshield Warden – Assist Tank (Neutral) – Flank.
Mindless Thrall – Magic monster – Phase.
Chaos Battle Mage – Ranged Magic monster – Piercing.
Forlorn Geomant – Magic monster – Standard magic attacker.
Gramel the Hunger – Final Magic monster – Late‑game damage dealer.

Opponent lineup;
Summoner: Chuul Jujinchi (Limewoodine) – Level 3, favoring tanks and bruisers.

Saltwraith Bulkhead – Tank (Earth) – Melee, Weary.
Quilliun Legionary – Ranged monster – Close Range, Thorns.
Janni Rebel – Magic monster – Flank, Inspire.
Thanalorian Blade – Melee monster – Opportunity, Execute.
Olivia of the Brook – Dual Attack (Magic/Melee) – Opportunity, Mimic.
Husk of the Hunter – Ranged monster – Sneak, Headwinds.

Round 1
Going for each other jugulars

Round 1,Scene 19
Lost my magic moster Mindless thrall

Round 2,Scene 10
This is where the poison burst ability was activated,when Thanalorian Blade took out my tank Skrag the gnaw and change everything about this game to my favour

Round 2,Scene 11
Skrag the gnaw eliminated

Poison burst in action but loss chaos battle mage

Poison burst

Poison burst

Round 3
Another new round, poison burst effect continues

Round 3,Scene 10
I lost another moster,this time Gramel the Hunger

Round 4
Another new round,the mayhem continues

Round 4,Scene 5
3 against 1

Game over

WATCH THE BATTLE HERE

My Verdict
What Happened to Skrag? Thanalorian Blade dealt the killing blow to Skrag the Gnaw.
Here’s the key mechanic:

Poison Burst says:

When Skrag is defeated, the attacker is 100% Poisoned.
The unit opposite the attacker (front/back) has a 50% chance to be Poisoned.

In this case, Thanalorian Blade was the attacker, so she got 100% Poison. The unit directly opposite her position – Olivia of the Brook – was also poisoned. On top of that, due to positioning and ruleset, the unit behind her Janni Rebel, was also affected, creating a chain‑reaction of three poisoned monsters.

Thank so much for reading and watching my post.
Keep slaying, warriors! 🔥
— @zusi78 signing off.