Splinterlands Card Reviews: The Nimbledook clan

Splinterlore:

The Nimbledook are a clan of rock gnomes who have made it their purpose in life to experience firsthand every wonder—both magnificent and malevolent—of the Splinterlands, starting with Praetoria.

They may look small and frail at times, but don't underestimate their resourcefulness. The Nimbledook have made a name for themselves since the start of the Rebellion. In this post I look at the 3 Nimbledook cards currently in the game, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and point out some key synergies.

Nimbledook Ranger

The Nimbledook Ranger has double strike and snipe, but only 2 damage. It's relatively survivable with 2 armor and 7 health, but also costs 7 mana. It's versatile given that it's neutral. On its own, it's not a particularly big threat, and it needs some support to be more dangerous.

Synergies:

• Buff it up by putting Martyr cards next to it, so each of its double strikes will deal more damage.
• Use Drath (aka "the squirrel") to give it +1 ranged, effectively giving it 6 damage per turn. If you then pair that with a Marksrat that you taunt and is adjacent to the Ranger, you can beef that up to 4 damage per turn. Remember Sloan can also give it +1 Ranged.
• Pair it with other Snipe units like Aria Bandit, Lava Spider, Gobson Sniper, etc. to focus fire on a backline enemy.

While Nimbledook Ranger can be circumstantially useful, it's somewhat niche and you're unlikely to pull it out very often. I rate it a 4/10.

Nimbledook Scout

The Nimbledook Scout is a fearsome card, so disregard her smirk at your own peril. As a no-attack card with Blast, she's primed and ready for some Weapons Training. She'll also inspire your melee units and can serve as a decent backline sneak defender thanks to her speed and backfire.

Synergies:

• Pair her with Lorkus + Moxian Rebel to get 3 Magic Damage, causing her blast to do 2 magic damage
• Use a Dragon summoner with the Fire Splinter to pair her with Rage, giving her 3 magic damage
• Put her between two weapons trainers with different attack types to give her 2 attacks (e.g. Moxian Rebel + Dalthin Ironhood to get Magic and Ranged)
• With Drath or the common fire/earth summoner, you can pair her with Croire or Ava as well for additional Weapons Training options
• Paired with Ferexian Hero she'll end up with 4 (four!) melee damage due to her own Inspire!

Based on currently available summoners, here are the cards Nimbledook Scout can currently pair with depending on your summoner choice:

Nimbledook Explorer

The Nimbledook Explorer is a card nobody currently has maxed (pretty sure of that) as we're only in the second season of the new reward set. Therefore it's hard to completely evaluate his abilities, but on paper this card looks AMAZING.

It's another no-attack card and this one's in the Life splinter, which means it can pair with lots of different cards (see below). It has Armored Strike, which again means that it's a primary target for Weapons Training. It'll use its Weapons Training whenever it has an attack and is within reach (Armored Strike counts as a melee attack).

At max level, the Explorer has 4 armor, and with Protect that goes up to 6, which means it can already start dishing out 6 damage with its Armored Strike.

His healing at max level just adds to the versatility.

Synergies:

• Stick it behind the Silverblade Fighter to give it Reach AND an extra 2 armor, then put a weapons training behind the Explorer and watch the fireworks. Just be careful of...Tofu 😬.
• Put it between Aves and Zyriel, or if using a dual element summoner between the likes of Daarg & Kulu or Croire and Ava. Tons of options to give this guy some nasty firepower.
• With healing, you can pair him with Tofu and give him the Scavenger/Triage tactic to make him extremely hard to kill. Just mind the corrosive ward - you'll probably only get a few rounds of Armored Strike in against Tofu.
• Put him in your lineup along with Mantaroth to beef up Mantaroth's own Armored Strike.
• Stick him in the front line with Rathe as your summoner to make him a powerful Tank. Consider Aves behind him, then Scavo Hireling and Adelade in the back to keep recharging his armor.

Based on currently available summoners, here are the cards Nimbledook Explorer can currently pair with depending on your summoner choice:

The Nimbledook have made themselves known, and they're here to stay. Who's your favorite Nimbledook?