This is the first time that I've looked critically at the artwork for Kulu Swimhunter. It looks like the head is tilted wayy back, and I think that's a butt just to the right of it. It's very interesting.
Here's a link for this week's challenge
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_4f318961715f85cd04eb1e09b94cb37d&ref=jingo-submo
I'm pretty sure these just come from some sort of randomizer because there's no reason to have a mana cap over 28 in Little League.
Lineup:
Summoner: Kelya Frendul
The armor that Kelya provides is a big help in soaking up extra hits during little league when it becomes very important to take adequate hits. I don't think there's anything with health over 6 for 4 mana at level 1.
I expected that my opponent might use Kelya too. If I had gone for Tarsa then each of my opponent's monsters would soak up an extra hit with the armor from Kelya even though my melee monsters would each get a buff.
Tank: Xenith Monk
This is one of the first monsters I'd like to level up when I get to that point. Self heal for a tank with 6 life in little league would be awesome.
There are some excellent little league tank options in the Beta set. Spineback turtle for the water splinter would be an upgrade here that I wouldn't need a leveled up summoner for.
1st position: River Nymph
1 magic damage under my opponent's armor from Kelya, 3 life to soak up probably 3 little league hits. Alric and Obsidian are also great for the Little League ruleset.
2nd position: Elven Mystic
Ditto for what I said about River Nymph
3rd position: Uraeus
A sneak attacker to potentially pick off a monster from my opponent's back line.
4th position: Feasting Seaweed
Again this is the first time I've looked at the seaweed's artwork critically. It looks like the hand isn't part of the seaweed.
This is an opportunity monster to potentially pick off a monster from my opponent's back line. Also, 2 damage is hard to come by in little league.
Final position (rear tank): Kulu Swimhunter
4 health is pretty good in little league. I think that's why my opponent put their Swimhunter further up in the lineup. I used mine as a rear tank in case my opponent had one or multiple sneak attackers, also as soon as this moves into the tank position the premium 2 damage ranged attack is gone.
Did my strategy work?
Yes, I got the W. You can see a lot of similarities in the lineup and planning that my opponent and I put into this match. I think that my monster positioning was one of the biggest differences.
What will I try differently next time?
I get excited about the 1 armor on Uraeus, but it's the second armor with Kelya as my summoner. I think the Parasitic Growth may have synergized better with my Feasting Seaweed as they both have opportunity.
Do I like Kulu Swimhunter?
Yes, Kulu Swimhunter has some strong raw stats especially with those 2 damage at level 1.
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