Good day everyone, and splinterlands community. Using the highlighted battle as guidance, I'll show you how to analyse rule sets, choose the best summoner, predict your opponent's lineup, and assemble a winning team in Frontier Format today. I will give you as clear as possible, well-organized explanations for every step, and of course, provide an in-game screenshot battle experience in my recent battle in frontier format. The following guide was put together as an activity of the Splinterlands Community Engagement Challenge: Teach & Triumph!
Frontier Format: What is it? Since only Foundation Set cards can be used, deck building is made easier and more accessible for both beginners and pros.
Because there are only three leagues in Rank Structure, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, progression is simpler and competition is more equitable.
Since most details about the game mechanics are already discussed, if you’re new, you can check the “How To Play” section, which provides complete information to help you understand the gameplay before jumping into real battles. Also, know your cards' abilities and stats as this will be part of your combination line-up strategy to win the game
Into the batte: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_ef3406041277abcb8cb19a157ccfbf00
As an example, the rules for this battle are Ferocity and Healed Out, which has a 31 mana cap. Only fire and life are inactive. Given the Ferocity ruleset, I will not be using a unit with taunt abilities in this scenario. Likewise given that magic domination is excellent at dealing more damage, I anticipate that it will be used extensively in this level of combat.
For extended battles against resilient tanks, Thalgrimore offers a passive debuff that depletes all enemy units' health from the beginning. Given that Foundation cards frequently have lower base stats in Frontier, this works particularly well to it. I also intended to employ a strategy that would allow me to swiftly outscore my opponent in terms of health disparity.
Attacks that rely heavily on magic may not be successful because the Nimguard Captain (Void) will significantly reduce magic damage.
Thorns Spellmongers are made to lure and punish melee attackers. Steer clear of sending forward high-impact melee killers.
Thalgrimore's effect is amplified by Sorrow Harvester, another health reducer.
Little Sister, this will be a gatherer health since each hit will boost health thanks to the life leach ability on this unit. For endurance and survivability, the healthier you are, the better.
You can proactively build to counter them by being aware of them.
Frontline Tank: To prevent thorns of the opposing team, use a sturdy unit that can absorb hits, ideally range or ranged-immune forms.
Midline Support: Units that can outlast Void debuffs by healing, retaining armour, or dealing indirect damage (such as blast, magic attacks, or sneak/oppotunity attacks).
Backline Damage Dealers: To avoid opportunity traps and thorns, use magic and ranged weapons instead of melee.
Healing or Armor Boosters: Use units that can sustain themselves by passively reducing damage or healing over rounds if you want to boost your armour or healing.
Of particular note, the majority of battles are based on the opponent's past battles, so it's important to quickly review their distinctive strategies and units that can be spammed to counter and win. However, most of the time, these are RNG, so choose the best possible line-up strategy.
The opponent chose to go with a lineup of Sorrow Harvester, Spellmonger, Vengeful Monk, and Nimguard Captain in addition to the Thalgrimore summoner. The Vengeful Monk's Opportunity melee attack made my Spellmonger the obvious target, which was ideal for my strategy because it successfully countered and destroyed the Vengeful Monk with its Thorns ability. The Vengeful Monk and Sorrow Harvester were the opponent's primary sources of damage, so eliminating the Monk early significantly diminished their offensive threat. When their primary attacker was eliminated, their strategy left them exposed, which allowed me to carry out my presumptions and win the battle as intended, in contrast to my strategy, which was purposefully designed to bait the Vengeful Monk and concentrate on sustained magic damage.
I'll just leave the summary here with reference of my battle experience in Frontier Format:
| Step | Focus | Example Insight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Know Frontier rules | Only Foundation cards, three leagues |
| 2 | Analyze rule set effects | Thalgrimore's -1 health debuff |
| 3 | Choose summoner to complement rules | Use summoner with passive weakening like Thalgrimore |
| 4 | Predict opponent’s threats | Void reduces magic, Thorns punishes melee |
| 5 | Build lineup accordingly | Prefer ranged, passive sustain, avoid expected traps |
| 6 | Execute patiently | Let debuffs weaken opponents before striking |
| 7 | Triumph through synergy | Rule set + summoner + unit synergy = win |
A Big Thanks! For supporting me, being here, and coming this far. I hope this strategy assists you with some of your battles with these rule sets in modern format conclave and rebellion sets.
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