Sometimes, the Splinterlands ruleset doesn’t suit the cards you have available. Or perhaps you willingly ignore it to mess with your opponent. Either way, I have a battle to share where only four melee monsters took part despite being under the Melee Mayhem ruleset, which generally calls for melee-only packs. In my defense, the Earth pack I went with is quite versatile and can handle almost any opponent in my league. See for yourselves.
Helios Matriarch allowed me to draft one Gladiator, which is crucial for this strategy. Her speed buff is a pleasant bonus, working well for my tank and allowing me to take the initiative.
Speaking of tanks, Terraceous Grunt might not stand out as the best one ever. However, with the speed buffs, high HP, and Dodge, this strategy seems tailored for Grunt.
Especially when it only faces melee attacks, as all magic and ranged monsters aim at Terraceous Hulk instead. This monster is usually just a decoy intended to block magic strikers for a while. Yet under this ruleset, Hulk became a real threat with its powerful attacking abilities.
This set would hardly work without Katrelba Gobson. While all my other monsters focus on the first opponent’s creature, causing damage that only a few foes can withstand for long, Katrelba eliminates the rear monsters one by one. Thanks to the buffs, it’s almost unstoppable.
And then there are three rangers - Than Newsong gets weapon-trained and buffs the melee monsters – what a value for only 5 mana points.
Ava the Undaunted makes it all possible – this legendary monster turns its unarmed peers into elite rangers. And she only costs 8 mana points!
Clockwork Aide is my favorite rear monster – given that I can get it weapon-trained. Then, Aide can hold the opponent’s sneakers at bay, buff my monsters, and deal some damage.
The Battle
My opponent’s tank was the only suitable monster for the ruleset - Drybone Barbarian can be a nasty foe when it starts retaliating when enraged. I am glad I sniped it with my ranged monsters. Iziar played a similar role to my Terraceous Hulk – blocking the magic strikers – except that I didn’t have any in my rows. Aves Sturgis weapon trained two of its peers and played a similar role to Ava the Undaunted in my set. And just like myself, my opponent also drafted a Gladiator – Captain Katie. That was a mistake that lost the battle for my opponent, though. If there were no sniping monsters, I could have ended up defeated. Not drafting a single healer was the other crucial mistake my opponent made, as the Life Splinter usually relies on healing.
The battle unfolded in my favor. However good Iziar is when facing magic strikers, it was an easy target for my ranged monsters backed by Katrelba Gobson. My opponent’s magic strikers were held in check by my anti-magic monster, granting me time to build up a good position, which I didn’t lose throughout the battle, especially after taking down Captain Katie. Then it was just a matter of time, even though I lost my Gladiator too.
See the entire battle here.
