Here's the ruleset for this week's battle
Going the Distance is one of our newer rulesets and I recently talked about it here
@jingo-submo/what-do-i-do-with-this-new-going-the-distance-ruleset
With going the distance I can only use monsters with ranged attacks, so I generally want to use a summoner that will give me an advantage. The options that I have available for these splinters include General Sloan which would buff all of my ranged attacks. Ilthain Which will send back all of my opponents ranged attacks using the return fire ability and Quix the devious which would debuff my opponent's ranged attacks and give me access to dragons.
I recently started playing in gold which means 3 rulesets. Frankly it's a lot of fun but it's also a lot to take in. Depending on how well my internet connection is working I frequently find myself close to running out of time before submitting my team.
The other parts of this ruleset are also important. The spreading fury ruleset makes speed important because the faster my monsters are the greater the effect of enrage on their speed and, the less likely they are to be hit with ranged attacks.
Up to 11 is another fairly new ruleset which amplifies everything. Everything in this ruleset means return fire which means that I want to use Ilthain. I usually choose Ilthain or Quix for going the distance anyways.
I expect that my opponent will probably use the life splinter. They are likely to have General Sloan leveled up now that I'm in gold, but Ilthain would also be great for them if they have a copy.
Here's the starting frame for my battle
Talk about a mirror match. The biggest differences are my opponent's use of Runeslinger where I used Pelacor Arbalest. Minor differences in the ordering of monsters and not only do they have a copy of Ilthain, theirs is level 2 (I'm a little jealous). Their level 2 War Pegasus is faster than mine.
Think about how this might play out before you watch the battle
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_3534dc4bee5a04db25f2390eb05b5172&ref=jingo-submo
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Ilthain
Ilthain increases my team's speed which is especially important with the spreading fury ruleset. Ilthain also gives my whole team return fire which will return the attacks from all of my opponents monsters and and all of that return fire is amplified with the Up to 11 ruleset.
Tank: Venari Marksrat
The Marksrat can't attack from this position, but that doesn't matter because it's here to be a martyr and return fire to my opponent.
1st position: War Pegasus
In this position for a going the distance ruleset I like to use War Pegasus or Gargoya Devil. Both cost 7 mana. Gargoya devil has the advantage of the close range ability. War Pegasus has the advantage of more speed (this is especially true of my opponent's War Pegasus which is faster than mine at level 2) and a higher life total which helps to get more use out of the tank heal ability on Venari Crystalsmith.
2nd position: Prismologist
Thanks to the blast ability, Prismologist has one of the most powerful ranged attacks in the game. 5 or 6 total damage under the most common circumstances.
3rd position: Venari Crystalsmith
The Crystalsmith is here for the tank heal ability. It pairs great with the new War Pegasus. I like to keep the tank heal ability at or near the back in this going the distance ruleset but I put Crystalsmith in front of Pelacor Arbalest because Venari Crystalsmith has a chance to self heal if it's in front of the Arbalest. If the Arbalest gets hit it's usually dead before any healing becomes relevant.
4th position (rear tank): Pelacor Arbalest
The Arbalest is another of the most powerful ranged attacks in the game doing 4 or 6 damage per turn under normal circumstances. The speed isn't great though, so misses are fairly common and the Arbalest is a glass cannon. Frequently in a ruleset like this I'll see General Sloan with a Pelacor Arbalest on the other side of the battle field, their arbalest will hit me once and die to return fire before using double strike.
Did we win?
Not this time. Frankly my opponent had a stronger lineup for the ruleset by just a little bit. Their level 3 Crystalsmith survived more of it's own return fire and their level 2 War Pegasus was faster than mine.
What will I try differently next time?
I was very happy with my lineup for this battle, I wasn't happy with the outcome but I think this was one of the best possible lineups I could have brought. I've been working to level up some of my deck and recently bought some gold foil cards for the earth splinter. I'm hoping to start leveling up Venari Crystalsmith and Pelacor Arbalest in the short term, but at current prices it may be a while before I can level up my Ilthain.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game. I hope the updated format that I'm using is helpful. Feel free to share any specific feedback in the comments.