The Challenge
This week's Battle Mage Secrets challenge is centered around the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset, which grants all monsters the ability to attack from any position and target the enemy with the lowest health. However, it's worth noting that the OPPORTUNITY ability no longer works in a Fog of War ruleset, as per a gaming update earlier this year.
Decided to point this out as I still see players who set up Melee monsters with the OPPORTUNITY ability in the backline during a Fog of War ruleset. Though I am guessing that these "players" I faced might just be broken bots that were not updated along with the new gaming patch 😂
P.S. - Through another gaming patch, the incompatibility of EQUAL OPPORTUNITY and Fog of War rulesets were fixed such that they can no longer be found together in a battle.
The Battle
While fulfilling my responsibilities in the Splinterlands scholarship account I have with Balthazar, bltzr-wizard-729, I was able to engage in a battle that involves the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset. To get right into the action, the battle link can be found here. Otherwise, do read on as I go into more details regarding the lineup and fight.
Let's begin by examining the ruleset for this battle. The first rule is the Are You Not Entertained ruleset, which permits the use of an additional Gladiator card in your lineup. The main focus of this challenge is the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset, which grants all monsters the Opportunity ability. Additionally, there is the Fire & Regret ruleset, which bestows the Return Fire ability upon all monsters. It's important to note that the Water Splinter is the only Splinter banned in this battle. The mana cap is relatively high at 41, allowing for more strategic options.
Summoner, Quix The Devious
Since Fire & Regret ruleset is in place, we should not be expecting a lot of Range attackers. The inclusion of Quix the Devious in the lineup may initially seem counterintuitive due to its -1 Range damage debuff. However, the decision to select Quix the Devious was primarily motivated by the desire to select monsters from the Dragon Splinter for my lineup. The Dragon Splinter offers powerful monsters that can deliver significant damage, which is particularly advantageous in the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset.
First Position, Blinding Reflector - Blinding Reflector is a viable choice for a tank in this battle due to its high armor stat. The combination of its Magic Reflect and Blind abilities adds to its defensive capabilities. Magic Reflect allows Blinding Reflector to return some magic damage when it is hit. Additionally, the Blind ability reduces the accuracy of Melee and Range attacks from opposing monsters. The fact that Blinding Reflector has a low mana cost is particularly appealing as it allows for more mana allocation towards selecting powerful damage-dealing monsters for the lineup 😍
Second Position, Chaos Knight - The Shield ability possessed by Chaos Knight can effectively reduce both Melee and Range damage it receives. Additionally, Chaos Knight's Giant Killer ability grants it the capability to deal double damage to targets that cost 10 or more mana. This can be advantageous in an Equal Opportunity ruleset, where opponents might deploy high mana cost monsters as heavy hitters. However, the main reason for selecting Chaos Knight was due to its Inspire ability where it could further buff up my lineup with a +1 Melee damage 💪
Third Position, Jared Scar - Whenever there is an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset, Jared Scar is a popular choice in the battle when Life Splinter is available for selection. The 3 abilities that it inherently possess have great synergies with the OPPORTUNITY ability. The True Strike ability ensures that Jared Scar's attacks always hit their target, providing a reliable and accurate offense. The Piercing ability allows Jared Scar to bypass the target's armor, enabling it to deal damage that exceeds the opponent's defensive capabilities. Lastly, the Bloodlust ability further enhances Jared Scar's power as it gains strength with each defeated opponent 🤠
Fourth Position, Desert Dragon - In an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset, the Desert Dragon's Piercing ability is particularly valuable in swiftly eliminating opponents, regardless of any armor they may possess. With the OPPORTUNITY ability, the Desert Dragon gains the advantage of targeting the enemy with the lowest health, increasing its chances of securing kills. This, in turn, triggers the Trample ability, allowing the Desert Dragon to deal additional damage to adjacent enemies when it successfully eliminates a target 🤞
Fifth Position, Venari Marksrat - Venari Marksrat is selected mainly for its Martyr ability and is usually used as a fodder unit to buff up its adjacent allies. In an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset, this monster becomes a popular choice as it could be placed strategically in order for it to be targeted first 😵
Last Position, Carnage Titan - Carnage Titan is an incredibly powerful monster, boasting impressive stats in both offense and defense. The Double Strike ability it possesses is particularly advantageous in battles governed by the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ruleset. This ability enables Carnage Titan to unleash two attacks in each round of combat, granting it the potential to swiftly eliminate an opponent's monster and seamlessly transition its focus to the next target after successfully dispatching an enemy with its initial strike 👊
The Analysis
My opponent opted with Lily Shieldpaw as their summoner of choice in this battle. This was a move to conceal its backline with the Camouflage ability so that they could not be targeted unless the monster is in the first position. This effectively eliminates the threat of their vulnerable monsters being singled out by the OPPORTUNITY ability. Through this strategy, my opponent filled its backline with monsters with the Bloodlust ability, hoping to have them powered up through eliminating my team's monster 👍
The decisive factor that distinguished my team in this battle was the inclusion of several potent damage dealers in my lineup, namely Jared Scar, Desert Dragon, and Carnage Titan. Moreover, the strategic placement of Venari Marksrat between the Desert Dragon and Carnage Titan proved advantageous. The Martyr ability possessed by Venari Marksrat provided an immediate stat boost to its neighboring allies as soon as it was eliminated from the battle 💪
One mistake I observed my opponent making was the inclusion of the Chaos Dragon in their lineup. While the Chaos Dragon possesses considerable destructive power, its Scattershot ability actually overrides the OPPORTUNITY ability. As a result, it cannot concentrate its damage on the most vulnerable opposing units and eliminate them quickly, reducing its overall effectiveness in the battle.
If you made it this far, I sincerely appreciate your time and value your encouragement. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions so that we can discuss about other strategies. Thinking about giving Splinterlands a try but haven't signed up yet? Feel free to use my referral link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=ak08, and be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions!
Are you interested in reading some of my future writings? Don't forget to follow me! In the meantime, here are some of my most recent blogs if you'd like to view them:
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