Introduction
Another week, another ability deep dive! This time, we’re taking a closer look at the Retaliate ability.
There’s something so satisfying about this ability in action—it’s like a perfect comeback: you hit me, I hit you back harder! It’s a fantastic counter-strategy that can turn the tide of a battle when used just right. Let’s dive into what makes Retaliate such a fun and effective part of the Splinterlands arsenal.
Ability
50% chance to counterattack successful melee attacks, even if defeated.
Notes:
- Retaliate ability can activate even when the unit is killed.
- Two units with Retaliate can attack each other continuously if their Retaliate abilities continue to activate.
- Armored Strike can trigger Retaliate.
- Retaliate can be Amplified <= must say after 3 years of playing I did not know this TIL.
- Spite and Retaliate paired together can almost guarantee a counterattack to each offense.
Official ability information from splinterlands: List abilities
Synergies / strategy
Abilities benefits
Inspire - Boost your retaliate unit with +1 melee attack
Be aware of abilities
Stun - When your retaliate unit is stunned it will not retaliate
Demoralize - You retaliate has less attacking power.
Swiftness/Slow/Blind - These are all modifiers on speed and miss change so be aware of them use them in you favor or be aware of how your opponent can you it in his favor when you retaliate unit is not hit is good but also does not retaliate .
Ruleset benefits
What Doesn't Kill You - All Units can become Enraged resulting in increased speed and melee attacks when damaged. This can allow you to deal an even more devastating blow with Retaliate.
Melee Mayhem - Melee unit can attack from any position, nice opportunity to place a retaliate unit at the back. Such ad the Forgotten One.
Select / favorite
Here are mine retaliate units.
These are the stats I have form my retaliate units:
First when i start writing this post it was clear to me Forgotten One is the number one card. Then i look at some of my matches and i do not select the forgotten one not that often anymore. In the beginning when i start playing this was one of my strongest cards until i got at higher levels.
Because the Diemonshark only gets retaliate on the almost highest level and the forgotten one already on level 3.
This makes me thing in silver i would go for forgotten one but on higher leagues my number one is definitely Diemonshark i chose this unit very often here are some specific stats on my Diemonshark:
Strategy
Medium to high mana match with only melee units to perfect opportunity to pick a retaliate unit. Water is available so here my Diemonshark will have a spot in the team.
Rulesets
Up Close & Personal:
Only melee unit can be selected
Healed Out:
No healer allowed. The units are still selectable but they will lose the healing abilities like tank heal, self heal and triage.
Unprotected:
All armor is remove. Also the repair will become useless here. Note also protect will not gain you any armor.
The Lineup
Summoner
| Card | Reason |
|---|---|
 | With up close and personal and extra unit that can attack from the second position is useful. Even with a water team that has a lot of unit that can attack from any position. Most important in this case is because there are now healing abilities is the extra health. |
Units Lineup
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  |  |  |  |
Diemonshark (lvl 8)
Star of this week. High health with the retaliate in combination with enrage can be a lethal combination.
Flying Squid (lvl 10)
Second position another high health unit that already can attack from the second position. The blind will give a extra change that my opponent will miss.
Pelacor Bandit (lvl 10)
Strong sneak unit with the flying combined with the high speed/blind (from Flying squid) and enemy team is slowed (by Venator Kinjo). It has the highest change that my opponent will miss its attacks on this unit.
Venator Kinjo (lvl 4)
made in the team for the slow even it cannot attack from this position it use full.
And also what i learned today is that the amplify will boost the retaliate damage lets see that in action.
Deeplurker (lvl 10)
First important is the demoralize of this unit, will do -1 melee attack damage for my opponent. With only melee units this is maximal put to use. Secondly the opportunity with poison is so strong it will hurt the enemy team.
Kulu Mastermind (lvl 4)
Protecting my backline is the Kulu Mastermind strong opportunity unit that has shield so it also reduces the damage form any sneak attackers.
The Battle
Reference
Link to the battle:
Link to battle
Rounds
Start :
Let’s break down the battle lineup. My opponent brought a maxed Rebellion unit—a card I don’t yet have at the level I need, but wow, it’s a game-changer! This summoner grants two incredible abilities: Retaliate and Enfeeble.
Interestingly, the summoner chose to give Venka the extra Retaliate and Enfeeble ability, while Diemonshark—already a powerhouse with Retaliate—picked up the extra Enfeeble also. This means these two units not only hit back but also reduce their target’s melee attack by one when they land their attacks. That’s definitely concerning when paired with their lineup.
However, I’m banking on my strategy: extra health and a bit of protection with a Shield in the backline to fend off their two sneak attackers. It’s going to be close, but let’s see how the battle plays out!
Round 1:
The battle starts off strong for me as Venka misses its first attack! Even though my Diemonshark doesn’t retaliate, it’s still a win—every hit it takes reduces its damage by 1 thanks to Enfeeble.
Kulu Mastermind delivers the first blow, taking down the Pelacor Bandit. That’s a small but important step forward, especially with my summoner’s Trample ability allowing Kulu to strike again, landing another 6 damage on Captain Fellblade.
Diemonshark gets a clutch Retaliate in, dealing 3 damage even before its turn. And then, my Deeplurker finishes off Captain Fellblade, giving my team a solid advantage at the end of this round.
That said, my opponent still has some serious firepower left on the battlefield—this fight is far from over!
Round 2:
A crucial moment as my opponent’s Diemonshark misses its attack on mine—dodging that hit was key. However, Venka retaliates with a solid strike, dealing 6 damage to my Diemonshark. Ouch, that hurt!
The tide turns in my favor as Kulu Mastermind takes down their Diemonshark, a huge win at this stage of the match. Kulu gets another shot with Trample but, unfortunately, misses Venka.
This round was full of misses—three in total against Venka. It’s a reminder of just how important speed and abilities like Blind can be in battles like these. On to the next round!
Round 3:
Venka takes down my Diemonshark, but not before it lands a clutch Retaliate, dealing a solid 3 damage—just shy of finishing off Venka. This was a great reminder of the power of Amplify! My Diemonshark’s Retaliate should have done 2 damage, but thanks to Amplify, it managed 3. Nice boost!
Kulu Mastermind steps in and finishes off Venka. However, Venka gets a parting shot with a Retaliate of its own, dealing 3 damage to Kulu. Thankfully, Kulu’s Shield ability reduces melee damage by 50%, minimizing the impact.
With the heavy hitters on my opponent’s side now out of the picture, the tide has turned firmly in my favor. The path to victory is clear the poison will do its thing in the next round!
Round 4:
I didn’t have to lift a finger this round—poison finished off the last remaining unit. Victory is mine!
Conclusion
The Retaliate ability truly shines, especially with the Up Close & Personal ruleset—it’s so satisfying to see it in action! My opponent’s strategy was impressive and gave me something to think about. To pull off a similar approach, I’d need to upgrade my Cryptic card, which currently costs around $216—a bit out of reach for now.
This battle highlighted two important things: first, how powerful Rebellion units and summoners can be; and second, that Chaos Legion cards, which are far more affordable, can still hold their own against them. However, it’s worth noting that in just a few months, Chaos Legion will no longer be playable in Modern format, making battles like these even tougher.
Exciting times lie ahead for Splinterlands in the first half of 2025, and I can’t wait to see how the meta evolves!
Previous ability strategy posts
Below you will find references to the other ability strategies / analysis posts.
Affliction
Amplify
Backfire
Blast
Bloodlust
Camouflage
Conscript
Close Range
Cleanse
Cripple
Deathblow
Dispel
Divine Shield
Dodge
Double Strike
Enrage
Flying
Forcefield
Fury
Giant Killer
Halving
Headwinds
Heal
Tank Heal
Immunity
Knock Out
Last Stand
Life Leech
Magic Reflect
Martyr
Opportunity
Oppress
Phase
Piercing
Poison
Protect
Reach
Recharge
Redemption
Reflection Shield
Repair
Resurrect
RetaliateThat's all for this week hope you enjoyed reading this ability strategy/analysis. See you all on the battlefield.
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