Hi guys! Its Shadow346 from the Illusions of the Grave Guild again! I am doing this week's Splinterlands battle challenge. The goal this week was to use the Animated Corpse during battle. I hope you guys enjoy the battle and learn something that will help form your own strategies.
Watch the Battle on PC Here: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_9edf5da3c17d46de89cbf130e0cf8aaa&ref=shadow346
Watch the Battle on Your Phone Here: https://m.splinterlands.io/#/battle/game/process/sl_9edf5da3c17d46de89cbf130e0cf8aaa
Battle Summary
Restrictions: Divine Shield (first damage towards a card is not counted)
Mana Battle Cost: 99
Thoughts Prior to Battle: With 99 mana, I really didn’t have any restrictions on who could be used for my team. I just knew that I needed cards that lasted longer and hit harder.
Battle Formation
1. Haunted Spirit – Wonderful healer, 7 health, 2 melee attack, 2 speed
I used the Haunted Spirit as a way to stall the enemy team from killing the rest of my team right away. The spirit normally does some decent damage as well.
2. Animated Corpse – Challenge monster, 6 health, 2 melee attack, 1 speed (very slow)
I used the Animated Corpse as another shield for the rest of my team. I did not assume that this character would survive long after it got in the first position. It has decent attack but it was also unlikely that it would get a chance to attack due to its low speed. That’s why I had more characters that I was relying on towards the back.
3. Sandworm- Heavy hitter with 5 melee attack, decent health, 1 speed (very slow)
What can I say? I love the sand worm. Its speed is horrible but that attack more than makes up for it. As long as it gets to attack once, you can normally guarantee that a character dies. Unless they have shields like you saw during this battle. The divine shield restriction didn’t help my cause either!
**4. Phantom Soldier **– 2 magic attack that bypasses shields, 3 speed, 8 health
I put the Phantom Soldier towards the middle as a way to keep it alive longer. In this particular battle- I really needed magic to bypass those enemy shields or I would have lost.
**5. Boogeyman **– Slows the enemy team, 4 health, 1 speed (very slow), 2 magic attack
Boogeyman has two uses on my team. The first use is to make up for my team’s slowness by lowering the speed of the enemy team. This made the enemy team less likely to dodge attacks from my slower characters. His magic attacks are also used in conjunction with the attacks of the Venari Bonesmith and Phantom Soldier to bypass enemy shields. Altogether they do 5 damage to the enemy front line character.
6. Venari Bonesmith – 3 health, 2 speed, 1 magic attack, extra dec per battle (due to being a gold foil)
I love this card because it gains health every time it lands an attack on an enemy. If it can stay alive, it can gain massive amounts of health. Plus it attacks with magic attack so the damage can bypass shields as well.
Unfortunately, it is really hard to say if this card will survive for very long unless there was a way to see the enemy team first. You normally can’t go wrong with this card UNLESS the enemy team has cards with opportunity. Or if you put the Bonesmith in the last position like I did- he has the chance to get annihilated by sneak characters. His low health makes him a prime target (before his ability makes his health rise). I would have most likely moved him if I thought about it before the battle.
My Thoughts on Animated Corpse
His lack of an ability in his first level does put him at a disadvantage despite his decent health. I normally do not put him as my team’s leader and honestly he rarely makes it into my team. However, there is a situation where he really does make a good front character. Whenever I am not allowed to put my normal fronts (Iron Golem or Haunted Spirit) due to restrictions, I use the Animated Corpse if I can’t find anyone better. I have won a few battles this way. The Friendly Giant works as a front in these situations, but he doesn’t have any attack and only provides defense- making the Animated Corpse a much better choice.
The Animated Corpse also makes an okay second due to his health. He can survive a few rounds of adjacent blast damage when you are against a team that has blast damage. He can also survive a few rounds of earthquake or poison assuming that he isn’t attacked whatsoever. You can use him to last longer in these situations. But he can’t attack unless he is in the first position so he’s normally not a staple in my teams.
Side note: Newbies are also welcome to use my referral code to join the game: https://splinterlands.com?ref=shadow346