Hello there.
Today I'll share my battle under the Little League ruleset. But first, I will share some of my thoughts regarding it. With this ruleset, only monsters and summoners that cost 4 or less may be used. This removes a lot of the strong legendary summoners, and there usually is less damage output because lower mana monsters are the only ones available.
In this ruleset, magic monsters are usually used. There are melee sneak teams that are viable, but they can be slowed down by armor. Me personally, I prefer to use Death with Thaddius to counter the magic, and add Ravenhood for the Protect. The other ruleset can then help me determine the specific strategy to go and prepare for.
I believe that being flexible in battle is the ideal strategy. Check the opponent's history, check what they are most likely to use, and counter it. But always pick teams that can also counter different strategies. Without further ado, let's get into the battle.
The Ruleset
This was a Rise of Champion tournament battle, so it was a Diamond battle with Little League, Tis but Scratches, and Corrosive Fog Rulesets. A 50 mana battle is more than the needed amount. Only Water, Life, and Dragon are available, and I can think of a lot of different strategies for each so I will try to counter as much as I can.
The ideal team for Water is an Alric Stormbringer magic team. There is an option for Bortus, but it is safer to go for Alric in case the opponent didn't go for Magic. Because of the availability of Alric, Kelya with the armor isn't too effective.
For Life, Sloan and Ilthain are options, but both face an uphill battle against Alric. They can try to outspeed them with the Time Mage, but they could be lacking in damage.
For Dragon, Quix can counter range attacks, and Sthispa can be an option against magic teams. From experience though, relying on evasion against pure damage usually doesn't work out.
The Lineup
For me, between the lineups I mentioned above, I'd rather go with the Alric Magic team. It was a no brainer, and there really wasn't much choice to begin with. Sloan without Pelacor Arbalest lacks damage, and range monsters can't attack in the first position. Ilthain and the Dragon teams also lack damage. I went with the Xenith Monk in front because of its Void and Magic Reflect, as well as the Heal. I'm hoping to damage the backline, while also staying alive for a long time. Putting Tide Biter in the second position provides additional damage, and a Reflection Shield in case they use blast monsters. I then added the group of Kelp Initiate, Moxian Rebel, and Merdaali Guardian for my support and main damage. Kelp can Cleanse any debuffs like Affliction, while also providing Triage in case they try anything funny to my backline. Merdaali guardian is there mainly for the Strengthen and Tank Heal. Finally, I added Doctor Blight to apply Affliction and Poison, in case they have hard to kill monsters.
The Battle
The Matchup
As expected my opponent also decided to go with an Alric team. But apart from Doctor Blight, they used a completely different set of monsters. They had the Spineback Turtle in front, which has Thorns. The Electric Eels in second position with Blast, makes my use of Tide Biter worth it, since it will ignore the Blast damage and Thorns because of the Reflection Shield. Medusa with the Stun can be annoying. I'm not a big fan of the Coral Wraith because it splits the damage, but the high damage output can definitely make short work of the backline. I overlooked the Elven Mystic with its Silence, and it would have been effective with the Xenith Monk in my team. I should be able to handle the Afflictions with my Cleanse.
End of Round 1
The Coral Wraith's damage is really terrifying, being able to one shot my Merdaali Guardian. My focus attacks were able to kill the Spineback. Xenith Monk's Magic Reflect really did a lot of damage to their backline. Since Doctor Blight and Moxian Rebel both have Camouflage, the Kelp Initiate will be the Wraith's next target, which is perfect since it has high HP, and Triage.
End of Round 2
I might have miscalculated the damage, and forgot about the Poison. My Xenith Monk and Tide Biter died quickly, and so did their Eels and Medusa. But it ended up being my Kelp in front together with the Wraith, so it still worked out. With only the Elven Mystic and Doctor Blight left on my opponent's field, while I still have my Kelp, Moxian Rebel, and my own Doctor Blight, it looks like it is going to be my win.
End of Round 3
The Elven Mystic wasn't even able to attack. With Doctor Blight at just 3 HP and also Poisoned, this battle is over next round.
End of the Battle
I will have to say that as soon as I saw the Spineback and Electric Eels, I was fairly confident that I was going to win that, especially because Tide Biter countered both. The Wraith was a bit scary with the high attack, and the Elven Mystic lowering my magic damage made it close. If either one of us had the combo of Xenith Monk and Elven Mystic together, that would have been the team that won. Although, the Triage from Kelp Initiate might have kept me in the battle for a while.
The Result
Conclusion
In tournaments where there are additional limitations on top of the Rulesets and banned elements, I try to make it a point to look at the possible teams and imagine them fighting against one another. I will then choose the team which I think is best. For this specific battle, my opponent had a similar strategy of going for magic damage. My Xenith Monk with its Magic Reflect did a lot of damage to their backline which helped seal the win for me. I think we both missed out on the optimal team, but I still ended up with the win because of my flexibility and counters.