Neutralized! Core Starting Neutral Cards
It's time to start writing in full blast with this new release: As before, I plan to start with beginner focused, starter set explanations, compositions and teams. It's my goal that by reading this article, you'll have an idea of HOW to use the Starter Deck in a way that works best, helping improve your win-rate and figure out how to use different cards in different situations.
I will be ignoring alternative cards, epics, additions, etc and focus entirely on the starting Neutral Rare/Commons, my goal in this article, and each of this set, is to maximize your competitive playstyle without adding any new cards: Keep in mind that the Starter Set is limited, and Level 1s are limited, you will NOT suddenly be jumping 500 Rating because of what's in this article series.
This will be slightly more detailed than the Splinter specific ones: It's my goal here to make you more familiar with WHEN your Neutrals are a good choice, and what THEIR strengths are, so you aren't just tacking them onto a team they don't add much to.
I'll also very briefly talk about upgrading/costs, these will be discussed in more depth in a subsequent article on Neutrals. You will find that Neutrals have a tendency to be very underutilized, or heavily utilized, and so my recommendations here will often fluctuate between "You NEED this" and "Honestly never buy this".
Tanks | Meat Shields | Defenders
Your Neutral Tanks in the Starter set are fairly situational, but actually offer some fairly decent monsters to choose from for specific situations... Neutral monsters are generally weaker than their Splinter specific counterparts, but with CL's release, a lot of power and utility was given to Neutrals that wasn't present before. You'll find yourself being able to frequently use many of these Neutrals, especially the Chaos Legion ones.
Most Melee Monsters can ONLY be placed in Position 1 to attack, there are some exceptions.
Elven Defender | A Generalist Tank
With his high health, Elven pairs nicely with Scavo Hireling AND a Healer: Healing AND Repair.
Use Elven Defender when you're pretty certain you're facing Magic and (for some reason) you want to use Water anyways, he'll do alright in Poison, Earthquake, Reverse Speed and even Unprotected
I would avoid him in Snipe/Equalizer
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.46/BCX and $8/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 2x more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I do not recommend buying a Gold Foil of this Neutral unless you're buying Level 4 and up, and playing in Silver or Gold, where he is more viable as a GF Neutral and gains Shield.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 2 or 3, as the Splinters that need him most (Fire, Water, Death), all gained solid Anti-Magic that can be bought at 1 BCX for cheaper than upgrading this card. He's also not highly used in any of the leagues that I play in, so I can't recommend him on playability either.
Xenith Monk | Low Mana Health Tank
Pair Xenith Monk with a healer to get the maximum effect from his Health, this means you will want to play him in Life, Earth, or Water initially, until you get access to higher levels and new cards! Xenith Monk himself does best with Khala or Kelya to make him a bit more of an effective tank.
This monster is pretty good in Armored, Equalizer, Little League, as well as low mana, you want this monster tanking hits, it doesn't need to do much damage, this monster gives you 2-3 Magic hits before it drops, which is crucial in Little League/Low Mana.
Xenith Monk is not so great in Poison or Earthquake... for now. He's also not very strong against Shield Tanks
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.62/BCX and $7.30/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 2x more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I DO Recommend buying a Gold Foil of this card, as a Level 2 Neutral Tank at low mana with Heal is useful in Bronze and Silver, and I used him pretty regularly, the bonus 10% DEC would be very useful.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 10 for upgrading in the Core set, it's arguably one of the most powerful Rare upgrades for Bronze in the entire game, AND it's a Neutral. This card will give you an edge over your opponent in Bronze and Silver, where it seems to be quite rare.
Disintegrator | A High Mana Anti-Melee Tank
With only a little bit or Armor, and low Health and melee, he's not really fit for other supports. You should treat this card as a support more than another tank, or as a backline tank to protect from Sneak. I like Disintegrator in Tarsa teams, where he weakens your opponent AND is quite threatening, and makes for a mean Reverse Speed Melee Sweep.
Disintegrator is almost a necessary card to play in Super Sneak, Melee Only, and Melee Attacks from Anywhere, and even Lost Magic, this will allow you to consistently debuff an attack type the opponent is probably using. He's also good in Reverse Speed
Disintegrator costs a lot of mana, and has low health, and as such is not very good in Earthquake, Poison, or Unprotected
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.07/BCX and $1.65/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about the same price as a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I DO Recommend buying a Gold Foil of this card, it's very situational, but you're paying only slightly more for a card that will get you +10% DEC per win and help you win nearly any melee only match up in the game (twice so if you have Mylor)
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 4 for upgrading in the Core Neutral set, it doesn't really need the upgrades, but it certainly helps, and factoring in that a GF IS already an upgrade is why it scores a 4 here.
Reach Attackers | Position 2 | Off-Tanks
Your Reach Attackers are meant to be secondary attackers and off-tanks that can add more health and damage to your pool, Neutral, unfortunately, only has access to One in the Starter set.
Reach Cards can be placed in Position 1 OR Position 2 and still attack.
Horny Toad | Low Mana Reach
He is overshadowed by nearly any other Reach attacker, with the exception possibly being Sunkai Harvester or Shadow Snitch, and this would depend largely on what saving 1 Mana lets you do. His damage is a little low, but with Tarsa, Horny Toad can become a somewhat useful Reach Attacker for low mana.
Use Horny Toad in Armored, Equalizer, Little League, as well as low mana, you want this monster tanking hits, it doesn't need to do much damage, that should be its primary goal. However, the most situations you'll use him in with Water is during Melee Only
Horny Toad is a poor choice in Poison and Earthquake and anything above about 15 Mana
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.47/BCX and $7/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about the same as a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I DO Recommend buying a Gold Foil of this card, mostly because it is a 2 Mana Neutral you can throw in to gain +10% DEC, and it adds a solid amount of CP at 500.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 1 for upgrading in the Core set, It's arguably the least important to upgrade until you start getting into Gold League and above, and well, since this is mostly for newer players looking to build Bronze and Silver, I put my score here. For Silver players, there's a slight benefit to getting him to Level 4, where he gains +1 Melee, this is particularly powerful for Daria and Tarsa.
Supports | Healers | Repair
Neutral has one of the oddest supports for Modern: A level 1 Repair Support with no attack and virtually no health: despite this he's REALLY good, and he only gets better as he upgrades!
Keep in mind that these Supports ONLY use their ability on Position 1.
Scavo Hireling | Little League Repair
He pairs excellently with armored tanks, such as Diemonshark, Elven Defender, Forgotten One, and Grum
Scavo Hireling is a great alternative healer for Earthquake and No Heals and is also very effective in Armored, Equalizer, and Little League
Avoid using this card in Unprotected, Opportunity, and Poison where he lacks the health to survive long enough, or cannot utilize his ability: Don't waste your mana, Unprotected means no Armor can be added, even from Summoners.
Recommendation: Get a Gold Foil of this Card ASAP for 10% Bonus DEC in most battles.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.11/BCX and $2/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 25% more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. This is a card you should get Gold Foil: He's low mana, he's usable in so many teams, he's a great support, and that 10% DEC Bonus from a GF Neutral at 3 Mana is massive. This becomes even more exponential when you reach Silver, Gold, and Diamond, where that starts netting you 2, 5, 10, 25 extra DEC per win from a single card
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 10 for upgrading in the Core set, it needs the health to make other cards better at Opportunity Blocking for it, and the extra speed means that sometimes it'll survive a few crucial hits that would've one-shot it before.
Ranged Attackers
Neutral gives some pretty decent, but basic, ranged attackers, these cards are actually some of the more powerful Neutral cards, and ramp up very quickly, especially Goblin Chariot, Supply Runner, and Mantoid, who each become very different roles of ranged attacker.
Ranged Attackers, unless they have Close Range, can NOT attack in Position 1.
Supply Runner | A (somewhat) Fast Range Attacker
Paired with Sloan, Supply Runner is a fast, hard hitting ranged attacker that attacks the frontline, and this can be more effective than Mantoid in a few situations.
Use Supply Runner in Close Range, but in most other situations, Supply Runner is just not very useful. He can also be used in Equalizer. No Abilities is one of the few times Supply Runner is a solid ranged choice.
I don't think Supply Runner is a very useful card at Level 1, and should not be used especially in Reverse Speed, Poison, Earthquake
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.15/BCX and $3/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 30% more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I think this card is a great card to go for a GF, but you have to commit to getting a Level 5 GF if you're going to go this route, in other words: It may be better to start with a Level 5 Normal Foil and slowly build up to a GF if you're a smaller budget player.
Swiftness is a huge boost, in Silver league, this card is a solid 8 or 9, but in Bronze, I would rank it around a 3 or 4 on upgrading: You really don't need much of those stat boosts and you won't be using Supply Runner much in Bronze (and even if you could: Mantoid)
Mantoid | Mid Mana Ranged Sniper
Mantoid is a hard hitting Sniper who can take out the magic attackers, which are often in spots other than Position 1. Because of its ranged damage, it is, of course, very good with General Sloan
Mantoid is good to use in Close Range, High Mana, No Melee, and Reverse Speed where it can attack effectively. It's also very good in Unprotected, where it can bypass armor.
Like many other Ranged attackers with lower health, Mantoid does not tend to work very well in Earthquake/Poison. Another ruleset where Mantoid is not very useful is during Snipe rulesets, where Supply Runner might actually be a better option due to its higher speed (and gaining snipe!) Also do not use him in Fog of War and No Abilities
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.90/BCX and $9.50/Gold BCX, this makes his GF actually cheaper than a normal foil Level 3. For this reason, I do actually recommend a Gold Foil.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 5 for upgrading in the Core set, and when you hit Silver league, it becomes more of a 6, as the +1 Range is a huge boost for this sniper card. However, generally, Mantoid suffers from the same issue as Supply Runner: Not enough mana in Bronze for what he brings to the table.
Goblin Chariot | Mid Mana Ranged Attacker
Goblin Chariot pairs best with General Sloan for the range boost.
Goblin Chariot is good to use in Close Range, Mid Mana, No Melee, where it can attack effectively. It's also very good in Unprotected, where it can bypass armor. Generally speaking, you want Goblin Chariot in a position where it is not susceptible to Opportunity or Sneak. He's also an option in No Abilities
Like many other Ranged attackers with lower health, Chariot does not tend to work very well in Earthquake/Poison and No Abilities. It's also not a grea tidea to use a Chariot in Reverse Speed.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $1.18/BCX and $36/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 5x more expensive than a normal foil Level 2. Like many Rares, I DON'T actually recommend his GF, as the cost ratios are usually bad, and he really only starts to ramp up at Level 3.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 2 for upgrading in the Core set, it might actually be the worst card to upgrade in Bronze, but it becomes more of a 4 or 5 in Silver League, getting it to level 3 for a 5 Mana, 3/3/3 Neutral.
Tower Griffin | Low Mana Ranged Attacker
Tower Griffin is good to use in Close Range, Low Mana, No Melee, and Little where it can attack effectively and is in an area where other cards don't immediately outclass it. Because of Flying, he's a good choice in Earthquake, and one of the few Earthquake friendly cards in the Water starter set.
I do NOT recommend him in Poison, Snipe, and No Abilities.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $3.80/BCX and $38.90/Gold BCX, this makes his GF like 2.5x more than a normal foil Level 2. Personally, I DO NOT Recommend this card for anybody playing in anywhere but Gold League and above, and with how awful the cost ratio is on Rares, I would skip this card for a new player entirely.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 1 for upgrading in the Core set, its only saving grave is that Sloan might be able to use it in his comps, but until Tower Griffin gets Protect I really can't recommend the card.
Xenith Archer | An Ultra-Low Mana Ranged Attacker
Xenith Archer is a solid card in Low Mana, Reverse Speed, No Abilities, and Close Ranged, you can also use her in Armored or Equalizer as a way to have more tanking capabilities.
Xenith Archer is not a good option in Poison, Earthquake, Snipe and Opportunity where it does not have the health to survive any major hits. I also don't recommend Xenith Archer in High Mana, unless there's only a small amount of mana left.
Recommendation: Get a Gold Foil of this Card ASAP for 10% Bonus DEC in most battles.
Financial Stuff:
She costs $0.16/BCX and $3.57/Gold BCX, this makes her GF about 30% more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I DO Recommend buying a Gold Foil of this card, not for the stats, but for the 2 Mana 10% DEC Bonus in a Neutral card: This was actually one of my most exciting early pulls, because it meant I could pretty consistently work in a GF into most comps, especially low mana ones.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 1 for upgrading in the Core set, you get 1 Health, and it really doesn't make much of a difference. Likewise, in Silver, she gets some Speed, and that makes it a bit more worthwhile at a 2.
Melee Attackers
Neutral is incredibly lacking in melee attackers, with only 1 Opportunity attacker, no Sneak (in the Starter set), and just 1, poor, Reach Attacker. As such, Neutral Attackers are more auxiliary cards that can expanded on a role, such as doubling up on Opportunity.
Opportunity and Sneak Attackers can Attack from Any Position, and target certain enemies.
Parasitic Growth | Little League Opportunity Attacker
Like Feasting Seaweed, Parasitic Growth is a very slow one, which makes him extremely powerful in Reverse Speed. He's also a good choice in Melee Only, Equalizer, No Heals where he can survive longer and adds the most value to the team. As a 4 mana monster, he's also good in Little League. You can also play him in Fog of War which does not remove Opportunity
I do NOT recommend him in No Abilities, where he is a very weak card, I also do not recommend him in High Mana, and in Melee Attacks from Anywhere, Super Sneak, and Opportunity. He's also not a good choice in Earthquake or Poison due to his low Health.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $1.60/BCX and $14/Gold BCX, this makes his GF cheaper than a normal foil Level 3. Personally, I DO Recommend buying a Gold Foil of this card, as it gains +1 Melee, and it's a low mana Gold Foil Neutral, it'll put in work in Reverse Speed and with Tarsa and Daria especially. As usual, Neutrals have a GF Premium: You can use them with any Splinter, so you're getting an easy +10% DEC in multiple battles and rulesets. I would argue that, after Summoners, actually, possibly even before Summoners, Neutrals are your most important Gold Foil investments.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 7 for upgrading in the Core set, as it gains +1 Melee and becomes a somewhat menacing pair to your other Opportunity Attackers and lets you run double Opportunity comps in most Splinters.
Magic Attackers
Magic Attackers can attack from any position, and are one of the more powerful attackers. These Neutral magic attackers give some magic variety to Splinters who are sorely lacking, don't worry though: They ramp up once leveled and will become key cards in the future; for now, Neutral magic is intended to subtitute magic in teams that lack it.
Venari Spellsmith | Little League Dispel Magic Attacker
This card is very good in Reverse Speed, Little League, No Melee, and Equalizer Rulesets, it also fairs pretty well in No Abilities
I would avoid using this card in Poison, Earthquake, Snipe, and Opportunity Where he is not very good at surviving.
Recommendation: Get a Gold Foil of this Card ASAP for 10% Bonus DEC in most battles, this will primarily be for later when he gains Amplify and can be used with any Splinter to amplify your Magic Reflect, Thorns, and Return Fire!
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.24/BCX and $5/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 5x more expensive than a normal foil Level 2. For some reason, Rares always have horrid cost ratios for GF:Normal, so unfortunately, even if this one is a great GF in the future, I don't think it's a good move in Bronze/Silver, and would only recommend for people with a lot more of a budget.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 2 for upgrading in the Core set, this is mostly because, in Bronze, you're not getting anything valuable. If you're planning to upgrade to max Silver however, you get Amplify and that raises this card to a 8 or 9 (Mostly because it'll mean you don't need 4-5 other upgraded Amplify cards, this is your budget option)
Elven Mystic | Little League Magic Attacker
This card is very good in Reverse Speed, Little League, No Melee, and Equalizer Rulesets, it also fairs pretty well in No Abilities.
I would avoid using this card in Poison, Earthquake, Snipe, and Opportunity Where he is not very good at surviving.
Don't worry if you like this card: He will quickly become an extremely important card once you start using higher level cards.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $7/BCX and $55/Gold BCX, this makes his GF just under 2x more expensive than a normal foil Level 2. This guy is expensive and that affects my judgement here: Don't get a GF, possibly even skip him entirely, especially if you're a budget player.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 1 for upgrading in the Core set for Bronze, in Silver, he becomes a solid 9 or 10 thanks to his Silence, BUT: He's so expensive that, unless you have a high budget, I do NOT recommend upgrading him at ALL. This might be a card you rent.
Miscellaneous
These Miscellaneous monsters are leftovers with roles that aren't quite like the others, functioning as non-attacking secondary or tertiary tanks and the like. Many of these cards gain interesting abilities later on. Fortunately, there's only one in the Starter set for Neutrals, and that makes it easiest to remember:
Chaos Agent | 1 Mana Dodge
Each Splinter has a 1 Melee 1 Mana monster, which can sometimes take the place of Chaos Agent: But Chaos Agent is often used in tandem with them, and is absolutely wonderful at pulling away Sniper monsters from your allies.
He's a solid card to use as an additional Opportunity/Snipe bait, allowing your team slightly longer to freely attack your opponenent. He's also solid in very Low Mana.
I would avoid using this card in Earthquake/Poison rounds where he lacks the health to survive.
Recommendation: Get a GF of this card ASAP, as it will help you greatly in gaining a bonus 10% DEC from battles, and becomes very useful later on when leveled.
Financial Stuff:
He costs $0.12/BCX and $2/Gold BCX, this makes his GF about 25% more expensive than a normal foil Level 3. This is 100% a card to buy in Gold Foil: Why do you not have one if you're reading this? Seriously, a 1 Mana Gold Foil you can use on any team with Evasion, plus +10% DEC Bonus? Are you still reading? Go buy one.
I think on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this about a 10 for upgrading in the Core set, its level 2 is one of the best level 2 upgrades for a Common in the game, Evasion is huge, and later on it gains Phase and other abilities!
Let's go a Giveaway!
Thanks for taking the time to read this; I think you guys deserve a giveaway, so I'll be giving away 1 Chaos Agent in this post to a random commenter, all you have to do is comment! Upvotes, Follows, and Tips are NOT required, but greatly appreciated and help me do what I do: Give stuff away to you guys in nearly every post I make!
Other Ongoing Giveaways
Splinterlands: Wanna win a Kulu Swimhunter?
Splinterlands: Maybe you'd lava a Lava Spider instead
Splinterlands: Or some Harvested Flying Squid?
Rising Star: Buster or Bust?
dCrops: Wanna Piece of these Peas?
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕌𝕡 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨!
Wanna collect these and MANY more Neutral cards? if you use my link, here:
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I'll send you 100 DEC when you sign up and get a spellbook, (as long as you show up as referred) which should help you get started via renting! Also, feel free to message me, I can answer any questions, give tips, et