We're now 30 days into being able to unbind Splinterlands Soulbound Rewards cards from the Chaos Legion set (which has so far burned >163M DEC) and so I wanted to do a recap tier list of this amazing set of cards. There are tons of incredible cards in here and it was hard to decide on certain tiers, so let me know in the comments if there are some you strongly disagree with. In the next few days I plan to do another one for the Rebellion soulbound reward cards.
In general the tiers mean the following:
- S: Amazing. Highly usable under many different circumstances, and frequently the MVP.
- A: Great. Versatile and when it's not the MVP, it'll often be a key role player.
- B: Solid card. Can come in handy under specific circumstances, but doesn't always shine.
- C: Ok. Occasionally shows up, but mostly an afterthought.
- D/F: Nope. Stays on the bench, and if it comes off the bench often disappoints.
Full Tier List
S class
In the S class we have some of the key martyr cards in the game: Iziar, Fungus Flinger, and Venari Marksrat. Iziar is undoubtedly the strongest card in the set, combining Taunt with Martyr and a lot of HP as well as Void. The other two are highly versatile, costing only 3 mana, and also come with some neat secondary abilities like Blind and Shatter.
I put Dumacke Orc in the S class because of its dominance in melee-only rulesets as well as being one of the most powerful sneak defenses in the game.
Clockwork Aide belongs in the S class due to being a 4 mana neutral card with two extremely powerful abilities: swiftness and rust. It's highly versatile and can even be weapon-trained, though be careful of giving it magic damage in case you meet magic reflect.
Kulu Mastermind for me was borderline between S & A, but with the opportunity and enrage in addition to Weapons Training it felt like it needed to be at the top.
Finally Drybone Raider is a clear S tier card to me with double strike combined with double attack, as well as Cripple and Shatter to boot. This card, particularly if you power it up with some martyrs or stick True Strike on it (e.g. with Drath or Kitty) can be lethal to almost any lineup.
A class
There are tons of cards in the A class for me, which is a testament to how strong the set is.
Swamp Spitter is a terrific card. 4 damage Giant Killer makes it an anti-bear, and protect makes it a must-have in no-magic battles.
I put Coastal Sentry in A class instead of S because despite its massive double strike attack and the ability to combine it with Possibilus (so it can be in the Reach position), it does have quite a few counters (e.g. the Bear or Oshannus, with Forcefield, Tofu with Thorns).
Ravenhood Warden is a terrific 4 mana card which gives both Protect and Inspire. It pairs very well with cards with Armored Strike and is a must in many no-magic battles.
Will-o-Wisp is one of the best no-attack cards in all Chaos Legion, in particular due to its Blind and Silence abilities as well as having tons of health.
Noah has Martyr which is great on its own, but it also has very high speed and dodge which makes it great in the speed meta, particularly in no-magic battles. In magic battles, you can consider pairing Noah with Sthispa to give him phase.
Iidri is another great no-attack card which brings Taunt, high speed, AND phase. Redemption and Return Fire are cherries on top.
Usut is terrific thanks to its bloodlust and heal, but it starts off slow. Pair it next to a rat in rulesets where you can guarantee the rat will die quickly in order to try to get Usut going. He can also be an absolute force under Lorkus with Life Leech and the bonus magic attack.
Aves and Skok are both incredible Weapons Training cards thanks, each reaching 3 magic damage at max level. Note that Aves gets its 3 magic damage at Gold, making it S tier in gold league tournaments. Both are terrific cards but just not quite S tier to me because of their fairly mediocre base stats.
B class
Starting the B class we have Firecaller, who's another great Martyr card. It costs 5 mana, has ranged damage, and its other abilities (Fury and Snare) are mediocre, which is why it fell to B for me.
Wily Coyotian is an interesting card thanks to Phase and being only 2 mana. It's not super resilient, but if you give your enemy Blind and add some speed to your team it can be a very annoying tank.
Imperial Knight is interesting with Void Armor and Magic Reflect as well as Heal. Unfortunately Corrosive Ward decreases the knight's viability in a lot of cases, but he still finds situations where he can be an incredible tank.
Drybone Barbarian has amazing base stats which can be powered up further with Enrage. Having no armor means it'll get enraged the first time it gets hit, and it can pack a huge punch, as well as retaliate its way to victory in some cases. However, it hates Tofu.
Madcap Magus is a solid card with the scattershot/life leech combo, but a bit situational due to its low health and speed.
Kra'ar Xoc is a great filler at 1 mana and the redemption is nice. However he's not often your best no-attack option.
Ferexian Hero has a nice combination of reach/reflection shield and weapons training, but somehow doesn't seem as meta as his kit would suggest. Perhaps it's the cost, or the other options available that often make him less appealing.
Musa's a great low mana option with Scavenger who can come in handy in multi-revive battles, but he's extra squishy starting at 3 health so you need to keep him well protected.
Sorriel can be incredible under certain situations, such as in Equalizer with Lorkus at the helm. However, he often just dies before he can get going due to his very low health.
Ferox Defender has a nice armor-related combo with protect/repair/shatter, but he's not really one you want to put up front, so unless there's a ruleset where he can attack from the back line he often just ends up being a filler in your back line.
C class
Starting the C class we have Possessed Puppet who SEEMS pretty awesome at first with double strike, but just doesn't cut it due to how squishy it is (5 health). Cripple and Dispel don't add much. It mainly comes in handy in cases where melee can attack from the back, and since Death doesn't have good Flank units it's hard to find other situations for the puppet.
Gobson Bomber can be lethal under specific circumstances, such as to one-shot snipe a Mycelic Slipspawn. However it's bogged down by Recharge and is just very, very situational.
A lot of people seem to be fans of the Riverboat Captain thanks to his 3 magic damage + Blast, however I just don't find much of a use for him, as Water has so many better options in Magic in my opinion.
Pyrewatch Devil has Life Leech, one of my favorite abilities in the game, but he's Ranged, which limits his ability to leech. In very specific circumstances, he can be useful, particularly in no-armor rulesets and if you expect a Grim Smith (due to his Oppress).
War Pegasus is a nice card with good attack and the shatter/demoralize combo make it useful in no-magic rulesets, however at 7 mana it's no often going to be your #1 choice.
Evelyn has several interesting abilities, but the package doesn't make a ton of sense, and there are so many great options for no-attack cards in Life that it's rarely a first choice. Pairs well with Rathe however, and may get new life under the new summoner (EMP).
Thane is similar to Evelyn in that he has 4 individually interesting abilities but an odd package, compounded by the fact that he has the worst speed in the game (2, which is worse than 1 as it's not even best in reverse speed rulesets, made worse because he has swiftness...).
Ava and Berix are oddly similar... Both have Weapons Training and Oppress and are ranged. And they're both C class in my opinion. They can circumstantially be interesting, particularly when you expect a Tofu/Grim pairing, but they don't often find themselves in your lineup, particularly at those mana costs.
D/F class
Finally we have the D/F class, which in my opinion only has TWO cards in this entire set (goes to show you how strong the set is...).
The first is Terraceous Hulk, who simply isn't much use as an 11 mana taunt/void armor tank when you have Immortalis in the same Splinter and when you have much better taunters for 11 or less mana (Coeurl Lurker, Mycelic Slipspawn, or the obvious Iziar if going with Tofu as the summoner). In reverse speed he may occasionally make an appearance, but even then there are so many better options. Can't remember the last time I played him.
The second D/F class is Terraceous Grunt (guess CMT has something against the Terraceous clan). I will occasionally play this guy as a meat shield (12 health for 6 mana is cool), but his return fire and dodge barely play so he usually stays on the bench.
Summoners
When it comes to the summoners, I've mainly rated them based on the Gladiators available at their disposal.
I put Helios as an S-class, though tbh it's debatable whether any of these should be S-tier. I ultimately decided she should be however because accessing Gladiators from ANY splinter is just absolutely exceptional. I would also say she has the best secondary base stat with the +1 speed.
Lobb is A-class largely due to the availability of Quora, who can be game-altering.
Franz and Eternan Brune go in B-class in my opinion due to the availability of match-altering units like Krash and Helmet Kharafax.
Lastly I have Octavia and Pembrook Nymph in C class, as they have relatively weak secondary stats and don't have Gladiators available to them that can single-handedly sway a match.
Let me know what you think of these ratings. Do you think I got anything wildly off?
Oh and check back in soon for another tier list on the Rebellion soulbound rewards cards.