Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Weapons Training ability and how popular and useful it has become with the release of rebellion. Last week, I put the spotlight on the Corrosive ward ability talking about how strong it is and how it can be countered. Those abilities are cool but they are not all that The Rebellion has brought to use. Far from it actually. There are still four new abilities that came with rebellion and this week I will talk about one of them.
For this week, we will look at the Ambush ability. I think this is quite an interesting one so let's get right into it.
AMBUSH
There are certain times you'd have a great attack strategy all set up just to have a key unit taken out as soon as the game starts. Maybe the unit just needs to attack once but does not even get the chance. This happens when the unit isn't as fast (or slow in reverse speed ruleset) as the opponent's unit and so does not even have the chance to attack first. I have really never thought that we'd get a way to totally ignore this speed requirement so I either just make my units faster or I protect them as much as possible. Well, now we have something that temporarily ignores the speed requirement.
Ambush gives its wielder the ability to attack as soon as the first round begins regardless of his speed. This attack is in addition to the unit's regular attack when he gets his turn. In order words, the Ambush ability lets a unit attack once the battle begins and does not stop him from attacking again in the same round.
So, the ambush is just an extra attack that activates once in a battle. It sounds unimpressive but one attack can actually go a long way. That extra attack can help kill a pesky unit or reduce its armor stat. It's a nice way to start a game but the ability has limits.
COUNTER TO AMBUSH
The ambush ability would have been nice if it was an absolute attack that happens devoid of any of the regular restrictions that can come with a splinterlands battle. Well, this is not the case.
For one, unless the unit with Ambush also has True strike or the ruleset is Aim true, the ambush attack can miss and be wasted just like that. So, flying, Dodge and just extra speed stats can make the ambush useless.
Another way to counter ambush is by having what I like to call a "dummy unit". These are the types of units that exist just to take hits. They include 0 and 1 mana monsters among others. Having a 0 mana monster like the fiends or furious Chicken can help absorb the damage of the ambush without affecting the core team strategy.
The Ambush ability can also be countered by regular attack counters like thorns, demoralize, headwinds, armor, shield, return fire and so on.
Lookout
The Ambush ability came with its own special counter which is Lookout. These two abilities came in the Rebellion package and I like the fact that they complement each other name-wise. I also like that Lookout exists and works in a special way against Ambush.
So, Lookout basically warns every unit of the presence of an Ambush and this reduces the effect of the ambush by half. I will leave the contents of this ability for another post. For now, let's see the units with ambush.
REBELLION UNITS WITH AMBUSH
Just like with the Corrosive Ward, there are currently five units that have this ambush ability. There are two from the fire splinter, one from death, one from water and one neutral. Let's see them, shall we?
SULTRY BARMAID
The Sultry Barmaid is one of the more recognizable rebellion card because it has been used a lot in the lower levels. I have used this card a couple of times and I would describe it as simply average. One issue for me is that I cannot get this unit to use Stun when it ambushes. I don't know if the stun can be used with ambush.
On the bright side, this unit is more on the fast side so it is less likely to miss and ambush. Also, it is more likely to attack just a few hits after its ambush.
CHAOS JAILER
The death splinter is represented by this guy, the so-called Chaos Jailer. Given that I never use the death splinter unless I don't have a choice, I've not used this unit before. Looking at his stats though, I think that ambush with opportunity can be really helpful. The 1x melee attack, on the other hand, is just really weak unless, that is, the poison can be activated during an ambush. I can't say for sure whether this is the case or not given that I have not used this card yet.
DRYBONE BOWDOG
We've had two bowmen in the past and now we have a Bowdog. This "hyaenan" is a neutral unit with the ambush ability. I have used this card probably once or twice and I'm not yet a fan. I think he has balanced stats for a 4 mana card and will likely do well in low mana battles.
The downside for me is the scattershot ability. I don't really like scattershot so much. Using ambush with scattershot can work well sometimes but other times it may just not make a difference depending on the monster that is hit.
RUSH TOWNSEND
The fire splinter has the only legendary unit with ambush and he looks great. I haven't used this card yet because he is super expensive to rent so I just stand in the distance and admire it. The 5x ranged attack at level 2 makes its ambush something to be really scared. The 5x speed increases its chances of hitting so that the ambush is not wasted. It's great for the cost of 9 mana. It would be even better if the affliction works on ambush. Again, I can't say for sure.
To make sure that this guy isn't overpowered, he was given just 4 health. I think it's a good balance considering his high speed that may just help him to dodge some sneak or opportunity attacks.
GOBALANO SOLDIER
And the last monster on this list is this goblin, the Gobalano Soldier. I have used this guy multiple times in level 3 and I like him. He performs well because that sneak and ambush ability is just perfect.
Just like the other melee monster with ambush, this guy has just 1x attack but I think's its ok considering his mana cost and speed. This type of monster is one that is used when you have other sneak attackers on the line. Here's one battle of what that looks like;
Ok, I'll admit that the ambush ability was redundant in this battle because the Crystasmith would have been taken out by the regular sneak attacks. Still, it was nice to get that damage in before the opponent knew what hit him. In other cases, that attack can make a lot of difference.
CONCLUSION
Ambush is basically an ability that give just an extra attack. I would love to use more than one ambush unit in a battle and see how that would work out.
In summary, I like the ability but I kind of wish it granted an absolute attack that cannot be dodged. Maybe there should be an ability like that or an ability that lets a monster attack first every time regardless of speed which would make the speed just a dodge factor. Would you like such an ability?
That's All For Today, Warrior!
- Unless otherwise stated, all images used in this post are from the Splinterlands game.
- All dividers were made by me with Canva.
One more thing.
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