Introduction

Hello welcome to Ace's Death starting guide!
This is not a personal favorite for me as the phantom cards are really lacking. Plus, the summoners do not provide buffs but rather debuffs, which is not something I really enjoy due to the fact that we are playing on an uncertainty if it will come into play.

One important thing to note however is that the Death Splinter is known to be good at low mana battles, so you should consider it.

I am planning to make a blog for each splinter in order to help everyone, this is just a part of it!
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The Summoners

• Zintar Mortalis: A summoner that reduces the Melee attack of each opposing monsters by 1. This is a summoner I would only use for "Up Close and Personal", "Melee Mayhem" and "Super Sneak" Rule-Sets.

• Contessa L'Ament: A summoner that reduces the Range attack of each opposing monsters by 1. Would be a summoner that I use in most games but with the new Magic meta the opponent might not have any range monsters. Please do not play this summoner for "Broken Arrows" Rule-Set. 😂

The Monsters

1. Tanks

• Bone Golem: A pretty impressive tank to play, especially when you're confident that the opponent is doing to play a Magic Deck (Like water perhaps) as it has "Void" (Receives 50% less damage from magic attacks). Do note that this card may miss often due to its slow speed which is something you need to consider unless it is the "Reverse Speed" Rule-Set. 7 Mana
• Animated Corpse: Use him at Low mana battles, it has quite a fair amount of health and attack for its mana cost. Do note that this card may miss often due to its slow speed which is something you need to consider unless it is the "Reverse Speed" Rule-Set. 4 Mana
• Haunted Spirit: The Death Splinter version of the Fire Cerberus, with more health but lower speed. it has "Heal" (Heals 1/3 of its own health, minimum 2 at his move). Would recommend playing this tank more than the rest especially during the "Toxic Fumes" Rule-Set. 5 Mana

2. Key Players

• Haunted Spider: The cheapest card to play for the sweet 2 range damage, it is however pretty slow and fragile so you'll need to position it right in order to protect it. It would normally go first in "Reverse Speed" Rule-sets unless there's a speed tie. 3 Mana
• Twisted Jester: For its mana cost this is a very good card. it has pretty good speed along with range damage output. Not to mention with its 4 health it can take quite a few hits! This card has the "Snipe", a useful ability that strikes the first monster who has range or magic atk. (Note this for your Daily Missions) 5 mana
• Dark Astronomer: A slight downgrade to the Twisted Jester with 1 Speed instead. That does not mean you should not use it as you really need as much DPS as you can at beginner leagues. PS. This card would be really helpful in the "Reverse Speed" Rule-Set as well. 4 Mana

3. Gap fillers

• Goblin Shaman: The ability "Weaken" make it easier for Twisted Jester and Death Elemental to pick off the back row as this ability will reduce the opposing monster's health by 1 each. 2 Mana
• Death Elemental: If you read my previous blogs, you'd know that I really love to play magic cards. This is a pretty decent magic monster you can play as not many of them has the "Snipe" Ability. This card would be so good in "Explosive Weaponry" Rule-set as generally the blast damage will hit 2 monsters instead of one and it deals damage directly to their health without concern of their armour unless the "Weak Magic" Rule-Set is in place. (Note this for your Daily Missions) 3 mana
• Undead Badger: A slight downgrade to the famous Kobold Miner, but with more speed so even if it is fragile, it should be able to land a hit at least! He has "Sneak" so it will strike the monster on the last row (Note this for your Daily Missions) 2 Mana
• Skeleton Assassin: The small upgrade of Undead Badger with 1 more speed and health but would cost 1 mana more. It also has the "Sneak" Ability. (Note this for your Daily Missions). 3 Mana

Upgrading Your Deck

Here I am going to recommend you different cards you should rent / buy depending on your budget!
I'll split them into 2 categories like Essentials & To Consider

1. Essentials (Cheaper)

• Grim Reaper: What is the most annoying monster to deal with? That would be monsters with "Heal". This monster is a direct counter to them with the "Affliction" ability (50% to land Affliction, making the opponent affected unable to heal or be healed). Plus, with its 3 range damage it does give new players a better edge in the battlefield. 6 Mana
• Boogeyman: Think of this card as a Temple Priest combined with a Creeping Ooze, saving you one slot for maybe your Furious Chicken! it has the "Slow" ability which reduces all opposing monster speed by 1. 6 Mana
• Shadowy Presence: A 1 mana meat-shield that has 4 health. Do I need to say more? Pretty much a tankier Furious Chicken for cheap! 1 Mana
• Owster Rowell: This summoner is pretty good honestly! Just a different version of Mylor Crowling, which instead of giving "Thorns" to its monster it give "Magic Reflect". With Magic being an overpowered archetype, this is an incredible counter! 3 Mana
• The Gorlodon: A massive tank of destruction for your second position. It not only has incredible health but also great damage output but with however only 1 speed so it might miss a lot in regular games but do well in "Reverse-Speed" Rule-sets 9 Mana
• Octopider: Although expensive it is a very well rounded card. It has pretty good health range damage and speed, so it a very good option / selection! 8 Mana

2. To Consider (Expensive)

• Mimosa Nightshade: Not really the best summoner but an incredible counter to Llama-Kron, mainly for the "Void" protection! it is also incredible for "Keep your Distance" Rule-set as it ensures that all opposing monsters will be affected by the debuffs of range damage! 7 Mana
• Soulstorm: I love this monster quite a bit especially with its insane speed and damage! Along with its "Flying" ability, it has a very high dodge rate thanks to the 25% increase. The only downside would be its health which makes him vulnerable to "Opportunity". 5 Mana
• Vampire: Definitely not a must have but I love playing this card! Even though it has only 1 health but at higher levels this card gains so much speed that it gains health pretty quickly as rounds goes by (Life Leech Ability). I generally protect it with the Furious Chicken and some other magic / range cards which means more work but I enjoy seeing how much health it can gain. 5 Mana
• Ancient Lich: Overall a fun card to play, even with low health you do not need to worry about missing as it deals magic damage and it has "life Leech" which will get it so much health as the rounds goes! 7 Mana

Basic Lane-Ups Examples

|| Remember that Furious Chicken and Creeping Ooze are generally are must have in your deck. ||
These are just some line-ups I think are most effective, you should play it according to your mana cap, if my line up is too expensive, you should consider removing certain rows from the middle / back according to your own preference (playstyle)

Contessa (Basic 25 - 29 Mana)	Rowell(Essentials 32 - 39 mana)
Haunted Spirit / Bone Golem	Haunted Spirit / Bone Golem
Spineback Wolf / Skeleton Assassin / Undead Priest	Gorlodon / Spineback Wolf
Death Elemental	Boogeyman
Twisted Jester	Twisted jester / Huanted Spider
Haunted Spider	Grim Reaper
Dark Astronomer	Octopider

Mimosa (To Consider 44 - 47 mana)
Haunted Spirit
Gorlodon
Ancient lich
Boogeyman
Vampire
Soulstorm / Octopider

Please do upvote and comment your opinions! I would love to discuss strategies with you!
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Source:
splinterlands.com
splinterlands.fandom.com/wiki/Splinterlands_Wiki