Take a look at this battlefield and think about who might win. You can probably make some guesses about the ruleset based on this layout too.
Here's the ruleset
It's worth considering offensive strategies for every ruleset and defensive strategies. So many of the big defensive options have melee attacks that they usually compete for the tank position. This ruleset allowed for me to use a lot of them.
Here's a link for this battle
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_87838cbfb7023c3836f0e4ed40f6c86a&ref=jingo-submo
Let's talk about my lineup
Summoner: Camila Sungazer
Camila debuffs all of my opponent's melee attacks. When I saw my opponent's summoner come on screen I was worried because ranged attacks are what I was least prepared for.
Tank: Robo-Dragon Knight
Robo-Dragon Knight is a defensive powerhouse. Void is always powerful and the Dragon Knight also comes with 8 armor to start and divine shield to nullify my opponent's first attack.
1st position: Unicorn Mustang
Unicorn Mustang also has Void. It's usually Robo-Dragon Knight or Unicorn Mustang but with melee mayhem I get to use both.
2nd position: Mycelic Infantry
The shield ability is another great defensive play. In the earth splinter it's often Unicorn Mustang or Mycelic Infantry in the tank position, but again I get to use both in melee mayhem.
3rd position: Queen Mycelia
The protect ability is so good especially in a ruleset like this where I'm likely to see a lot of melee attacks.
4th position: Mitica Headhunter
The Headhunter hits fast and hard. I often think of the life splinter for ranged attacks because of General Sloan. Ranged attacks can miss as easily as melee attacks but the Mitica Headhunter is reliable thanks to it's speed. I used a lot of melee attacks for this ruleset but I think it's generally helpful to have some variety and Mitica Headhunter put in work for this match.
5th position (rear tank): Djinn Chwala
The vast majority of sneak attackers have melee attacks. With Chwala they're going to pay for it. I don't think that my opponent had any sneak attacks but Chwala put in some nice hits for this match and using a legendary summoner, I get to use my level 2 Chwala with a 3rd melee damage.
Did we win?
Yes. This was a great match featuring a lot of interesting choices on both sides of the battle field. I love the extra options that I get with the melee mayhem ruleset. I also appreciated having enough mana available to make those decisions.
Do I like Mitica Headhunter?
Yes. The Headhunter costs enough mana that it doesn't come out for every battle, but it's a very powerful option when I have the mana available like I did this time.
What will I try differently next time?
There were so many great options available for this ruleset. I was very happy with my choices. If I had a little more mana available then I could have used the Bear over Queen Mycelia for the protect ability. I would have loved to use Daria Dragonscale and/or Grund for an extra punch on offense, but there are only so many spaces available for me to fill.
I frequently use Goblin Psychic in my earth splinter lineups but that was nullified with the ruleset. I also thought about using a couple of the earth splinter summoners like Mylor or Immortalis. Immortalis wouldn't have worked great for me in this matchup, but Mylor would have been great. You may have noticed in my previous battle challenge posts that I like to use the resurrect ability and I would have also love to squeeze Oshuur in somewhere.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game.