Ruleset Focus
In this week's Battle Mage Secrets, we shall dive into exploring the LOST LEGENDARIES ruleset. This ruleset is fairly uncomplicated, essentially stating that Legendary Monsters are prohibited from participating in the battle. Its impact on your tactical approach depends on your typical battle setup.
During my early days in Splinterlands, my strategy revolved around Non-Legendary Monsters, mainly because Legendary ones were beyond my budget. However, after joining Balthazar's Scholarship program, I gained access to a wider range of cards, including Legendary Monsters that I've increasingly incorporated into my strategies when viable 😅
Summoners Focus
LOST LEGENDARIES ruleset is that it solely restricts the usage of Legendary Monsters, not Summoners. Consequently, players should capitalize on the presence of Legendary Summoners whenever the opportunity arises 🤗
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 LOST LEGENDARIES ruleset. To get right into the action, the battle link can be found here. Otherwise, do read on as I go into more detail regarding the lineup and fight.
We will begin by analyzing the ruleset governing this particular battle. It's a relatively straightforward engagement with just two rulesets at play. The first one being the Fog Of War ruleset, which eliminates the Sneak, Snipe and Opportunity abilities from all Monsters. Next, we have main highlight of this week's challenge: LOST LEGENDARIES ruleset, which we've extensively covered in the earlier section. The battle adheres to a 24 mana limit and excludes the utilization of the Dragon Splinter.
Summoner, Grandmaster Rathe
As mentioned, despite being a Legendary Card, Grandmaster Rathe remains unaffected by the LOST LEGENDARIES ruleset, allowing me to leverage on this exceptional Summoner's capabilities in the battle. His synergistic combination of +1 Armor and Void Armor abilities provides significant defensive advantages. Additionally, the Amplify ability possessed by Grandmaster Rathe complements Pelacor Conjurer's Counterspell ability, proving particularly valuable within the Fog Of War ruleset where opponents are prone to deploying Magic Monsters for attacking from the backline ✌️
First Position, Pelacor Conjurer
Pelacor Conjurer emerges as a standout option for a cost-effective tank in this battle. Its minimal mana cost of 2 is accompanied by remarkable Speed and Health attributes. With abilities such as Magic Reflect, Phase, and Divine Shield, Pelacor Conjurer becomes a formidable adversary against a range of enemy monsters. The synergy between Pelacor Conjurer's Magic Reflect ability and Grandmaster Rathe's Amplify ability increases the potency, particularly when facing Magic Monsters from the enemy's lineup 💪
Second Position, Sunkai Harvester
I wonder why the Sunkai Harvester remains underrated within the Life Splinter. Personally, I have found myself relying on it in numerous battles, especially when mana resources are constrained. Its Reach ability plays a significant role, allowing the monster to launch attacks effectively from the second position, enhancing its flexibility. Additionally, Sunkai Harvester's selection for this battle is anchored in its Oppress ability, capable of inflicting double damage upon a target monster with no attacks (such as Pelacor Conjurer) 😝
Third Position, Dax Paragon
With just 2 mana cost left, my choices narrowed down to Celestial Harpy, Vulguine, and Dax Paragon. The Fog Of War ruleset prevented Celestial Harpy (even with the Opportunity ability) and Vulguine from attacking from the backline, making Dax Paragon the logical choice. Dax Paragon's Affliction ability, which halts healing on the target, emerged as a potentially pivotal factor that could significantly impact the battle's course 🙏
Fourth Position, Time Mage
Time Mage stands out as a remarkable budget-friendly monster in the game. With a mere mana cost of 4, it showcases impressive attributes: 3 Magic attack, 5 Speed, and 4 Health. Its Slow debuff ability provides a strategic Speed advantage for the team throughout the battle. Additionally, its Rust ability holds significant value within team compositions, capable of stripping 2 Armor from the enemy's units. However, given its relatively low health, my primary concern when using Time Mage is the potential presence of an enemy tanker equipped with the Counterspell ability as well 😥
Fifth Position, Xenith Archer
Coming in at a mere 2 mana cost and hailing from the Neutral Splinter, the Xenith Archer has established itself as an incredibly versatile utility card, finding relevance in a multitude of battles. Boasting 2 Ranged attack, 4 Speed and 5 Health, there's little room for complaint when it comes to incorporating this monster into the team as the situation demands, wouldn't you agree? 😁
Last Position, Venari Crystalsmith
Earning the final spot in the lineup, the Venari Crystalsmith was selected primarily for its adept Healing abilities, which are particularly advantageous in the context of the ongoing battle governed by the Fog Of War ruleset. Positioned in the backline, the Venari Crystalsmith efficiently deals out Ranged damages while offering consistent Healing support to the frontline, all the while immune to the threat of enemy's sneak attacks 🤣
The Analysis
Despite the wide range of Splinters available for selection, my opponent's choice of the Life Splinter for this battle wasn't surprising given the circumstances. However, what did catch my attention was my opponent's use of the Lux Vega Summoner, a privilege I have yet to experience in my battles so far 😪
When it comes to the lineup, there was a certain similarity in the monsters selected. What truly set my team apart was the strategic inclusion of the Sunkai Harvester, which expertly inflicted substantial damage on the enemy's Pelacor Conjurer thanks to its Oppress ability. Rapidly incapacitating the enemy's tanker, coupled with my own tanker's resilience boosted by the Healing prowess of the Venari Crystalsmith, led to a swift conclusion of the battle 😉
Do you guys have any better recommendations for setting up the team in this particular ruleset? Do share them with me in the below comments 😜
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