Introduction
It’s been a while since I’ve done an ability deep dive, but let’s get back into it! This week, we're focusing on one of my favorite tactical abilities: Snipe.
In short, Snipe allows Ranged and Magic attackers to target the first enemy unit that isn't in the first position and doesn’t have a Melee attack. This ability is a great way to skip the frontline and go straight for those squishy support units hiding in the back.
Used wisely, Snipe can give you an amazing start to a battle by taking out buffers, debuffers, or glass-cannon nukers early on—often units that are key to your opponent’s strategy.
But it's not just about offense. If you expect your opponent to bring Snipe units, you can plan accordingly. One common counter is placing a Martyr unit in the second position. Not only does it soak up the early Snipe hits, but it also powers up its neighbors when it dies. Win-win.
Magic and ranged attacks target the first non-melee enemy unit behind the first position.
When there are only melee unit, just the first unit will be targeted then.
Note:
- Units with Snipe cannot target Camouflaged units
- Units with Snipe will target non-attack units even if they have been trained.
- Units with Snipe will target units with 2 attack types if one of them is magic or ranged.
- Units with Snipe are susceptible to Taunt.
- Check the Batte Rules and Targeting Interactions article for more details.
Official ability information from splinterlands: List abilities
Synergies / strategy
Abilities benefits
Sneak/Opportunity - I like to play them together with other types of attack that do not hit the first position so avoid the first position and target the weakest or last unit of the enemy team.
Ruleset benefits
Aim True - When all units have true strike, they will never miss. This is a useful ruleset in favor of the snipe units.
Explosive Weaponry - All unit have blast so also you snipe unit. Because the chance is higher that you will be hitting in the middle of you opponents team the blast damage have the most impact, doing damage to adjacent units.
Be aware of ruleset
Fog of War - This disables the snipe ability
Select / favorite
Mine snipe units
I was a bit surprised / shocked to see so many. Many of those i do not play let alone for the snipe ability. There are few that i like because of the snipe. Still in doubt if i should take galdius unit into account for this pick else with would definitely be:
Without her lets see on the stat side who is best:
I have chosen Sea Stalker to be my number one for this ability together with the camouflage you are able to hide her while so does massive 5 damage every round to the first non melee unit that can have a great impact.
Here are mine individual stats of her:
Lets have a look at a battle with her.
Strategy
High mana battle with only water so no choice there. The earthquake and counter spell are not easy to counter with water play so i choice to load up with heavy health/armor units so i can outlast the earthquake damage.
Rulesets
Counterspell:
All unit will receive the magic reflect damage... basically just do not select magic unit unless you have void.
Earthquake:
All non flying unit will receive 2 damage from a earthquake every round.
The Lineup
Summoner
| Card | Reason |
|---|---|
 | Because i have a heavy melee team i need to be able to hit also from the second position. This where the reach is useful of this archon. Also the extra health is a must in this battle with these rulesets. |
Units Lineup
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  | |
Dumacke Orc (lvl 10)
Not a high health unit but it has lots of armor. Earthquake damage will first hit the armor before the health. 🤞 my opponent does not bring any shatter shot or poison else this unit is quickly gone
Arkemis the Bear (lvl 7)
High health unit that can attack from this position because of my archon.
Noa the Just (lvl 6)
Another high health and high armor unit that will gain melee attack and is able to attack from the second position once he gets there. Also not that it will boost adjacent unit when it dies (Martyr)
Kulu Mastermind (lvl 4)
Very strong unit you could earn for free a while back this unit gives adjacent non attacking unit melee attack power. This can attack from this position because of its opportunity.
Baakjira (lvl 4)
Very high health boosted with attack it can easily out heal the earthquake damage. it can take a while before it can attack but once it get in the second or first position the rest of the enemy team should be weakened enough.
Sea Stalker (lvl 6)
Star of this week protect from any attack with the camouflage (note it can still be hit by scattershot). It will be targeting the first non melee attacking unit that is not in the first position.
The Battle
Reference
Link to the battle:
Link to battle
Rounds
Start :
Looking at the lineup, my opponent also leaned into a heavy melee theme—and notably, no flying units in sight. That’s already something I can potentially take advantage of with future abilities (hint: Earthquake ruleset, anyone?).
One thing that stood out immediately: River Hellondale is sitting behind the frontline. And that's exactly why I love having my Sea Stalker in play. Thanks to the Snipe ability, it's going to target Hellondale directly. If things go my way, Sea Stalker will take him out before he can do anything impactful, effectively wasting his Resurrect ability. That’s a huge win if it plays out right.
However, I’m not feeling great about one thing: my opponent brought Deeplurker—and yeah, that one’s a menace. Its opportunity attack is going to lock onto my Orc, who’s already limping in with low health. If Deeplurker lands a poison on him, he's likely going down fast.
I’m just hoping the Orc gets to do some damage first—or at the very least, dish out a bit of return pain with his Thorns before he goes.
Let’s see how the battle unfolds in the next round...
Round 1:
My Orc really pulled through this round! Thanks to Thorns and Retaliate, he actually dished out some decent damage while getting hit. Gotta love when a unit goes down swinging—except, he didn’t even go down! 😎
At the end of the round, my Sea Stalker came in clutch and cleansed the poison off my Orc. That meant no ticking damage, and he lives to fight another round. That’s the kind of synergy I love to see in a team.
Now, on the flip side, Sea Stalker didn’t manage to finish off River Hellondale—it only stripped the armor. But that’s fine. With just 5 health left and another 5 damage shot coming, Hellondale should be gone next round. And that’s huge. Once he’s out, the resurrect threat disappears, and I can start snowballing control.
After Hellondale drops, Sea Stalker’s Snipe will shift to the front line, meaning it’ll help focus fire on Baakjira. That guy has massive health, so I’ll need everything I’ve got aiming at him to bring him down.
Momentum's starting to shift in my favor… let's see if I can keep it rolling.
Round 2:
Well, they finally took down my Orc. 😢 But not before he got in one last Retaliate and a bit of Thorns damage on the way out—definitely made them pay for it.
On the bright side, River Hellondale is also down. So in terms of key support units, we’re now sitting at 1–1. I’ll take that trade any day, especially knowing that Hellondale’s Resurrect is off the table for good.
With both backlines disrupted, the focus now shifts to the big boys up front—mainly Baakjira. That chunky wall of health is going to take some serious effort to bring down, but now that most of my damage dealers are zeroing in on him, I’m feeling hopeful.
Still, it’s not all sunshine. The Earthquake ruleset is starting to chip away at both our teams, mine included. I’ll have to keep a close eye on how much that's tipping the scales—it’s a slow burn, but in tightly matched fights like this, every point of damage matters.
Round 3:
Unfortunately, this round I lost a key piece of my offense—my Kulu Mastermind is down. That stings. The opponent went for a double Opportunity strategy, and it’s clearly working. Credit where credit’s due: it’s a solid approach, especially against my lower-health units.
But let’s not panic. All eyes on my Baakjira, who's still sitting pretty at 18 health. That’s exactly why I placed him there—his self-heal helps him tank through the Earthquake damage like a champ. While others slowly crumble from the tremors, Baakjira just shrugs it off and keeps going.
When you look at the remaining health across the board, I’m actually ahead overall. My team’s still standing strong, and my frontline is doing exactly what it’s supposed to: absorb damage and keep the pressure up.
So yeah—losing Kulu hurts, but the tide hasn’t turned. Not yet. I’m still confident this is going in my favor.
Round 4:
Finally, some sweet relief: his Kulu Mastermind has fallen—and not by my hand, but by the Earthquake. Gotta love when the environment plays in your favor. That was one nasty 8-damage Opportunity unit, and I’m glad it’s off the board.
With that heavy hitter gone, the pressure eases a bit. Now it’s just about wearing down what’s left.
His Baakjira is still holding on, but not for long. I’ve got focus fire coming from multiple directions, and one more round should seal the deal. Once Baakjira falls, it’s match over—no way his remaining units recover from that.
Round 5:
Baakjira finally went down, brought down by my focused fire—no way he was surviving that many hits.
Then the Earthquake swooped in to finish the job, taking out Deeplurker, one of the last real threats on the board.
Victory!
Round 6:
🏁 Conclusion – The Power of Snipe
This was a great battle that really showed the value of a strong Snipe unit. My Sea Stalker played a pivotal role—taking down River Hellondale before he could trigger his Resurrect, and removing the Inspire buff that was boosting all of my opponent’s melee units.
Thanks to Camouflage, Sea Stalker stayed completely untouched throughout the match, doing steady damage round after round until the very end. That kind of consistent, focused pressure is exactly why I love the Snipe ability.
Hope you enjoyed this breakdown of one of my favorite tactical tools in Splinterlands! If you’ve got any thoughts, feedback, or your own Snipe tips and tricks, feel free to drop them in the comments.
Thanks for reading! 👋
Previous ability strategy posts
Below you will find references to the other ability strategies / analysis posts.
Affliction
Amplify
Backfire
Blast
Blind
Bloodlust
Camouflage
Conscript
Close Range
Cleanse
Cripple
Deathblow
Demoralize
Dispel
Divine Shield
Dodge
Double Strike
Enrage
Flying
Forcefield
Fury
Giant Killer
Halving
Headwinds
Heal
Tank Heal
Immunity
Inspire
Knock Out
Last Stand
Life Leech
Magic Reflect
Martyr
Oppress
Phase
Piercing
Poison
Protect
Reach
Recharge
Redemption
Reflection Shield
Repair
Resurrect
Retaliate
Return Fire
Rust
Scattershot
Scavenger
Shatter
Shield
Silence
Slow
Snare
SnipeThat's all for this week hope you enjoyed reading this ability strategy/analysis. See you all on the battlefield.
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