Hello, fellow Summoners of Splinterlands!
How’s it going today? I hope you’re all fired up to keep battling, especially with so many new strategies popping up lately. For this week’s social media challenge, I want to share a battle experience under the Up Close & Personal ruleset—which turned out to be trickier than I expected.
The Initial Strategy
So in this ruleset, only melee monsters are allowed. But lucky for me, a few of my monsters have dual attack types (melee + magic), and I figured that would give me an edge. Since the mana cap was generous enough, I decided to bring both of them into the fight.
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My dual attackers:
- Great Bear Druid
- Olivia of the Brook
They both deal magic damage, and I thought this would help me chip away enemy HP quickly—especially since magic bypasses armor and can strike from any position.
My full lineup looked like this:
- Halfling Refugee holding the front line
- Kanaaq Miner to sneak attack the backline
- Olivia of the Brook placed in the center
- Vengeful Monk with Opportunity
- And Great Bear Druid at the rear
On paper, this looked solid. But in practice… well, let’s get to the juicy part.
When Things Don’t Go as Planned
My opponent had a much more well-rounded formation. They brought:
- Dread Tafarian as the main tank, complete with Heal
- Halfling Refugee
- Halaran Huntress, able to attack from anywhere
- Thanalorian Blade with Opportunity
- And a Vengeful Monk too
In the first round, I hoped Olivia and Great Bear Druid’s magic would immediately crack their front line. But instead, Olivia targeted a lower-HP monster—not their main tank. That allowed Dread Tafarian to stay strong up front, as his Heal nullified every bit of damage I threw at him.
To make matters worse, Halaran Huntress had the Flying ability. Two of my melee attacks missed—painful to watch my win chance vanish because of RNG! Meanwhile, my opponent just calmly and consistently focused fire, taking down my team one by one.
For the full battle replay, you can watch it here:
Poor Tactics, Valuable Lessons
After losing in the fifth round, I really had to reflect. Turns out, just relying on dual-attack monsters isn’t enough. You need solid coordination between monsters:
- Focused attacks
- A tank that can actually endure
- And most importantly, understanding the ruleset and anticipating your opponent’s abilities
Using Dread Tafarian as a tank was honestly brilliant. He seems ordinary, but that constant healing made him an unbreakable wall. My team, on the other hand, had scattered attacks and no real focus.
So here’s the big takeaway for me—and maybe for you too: if your opponent runs a monster with heal, your damage has to be strong enough to outpace that regeneration. If not? Well, you’ll just be throwing punches into a sponge.
This battle reminded me that victory isn't just about card strength, but about placement, synergy, and rule comprehension.
Quick Tip from Today’s Defeat
Never underestimate the ruleset. And always make sure you fully understand both your monsters and your enemy’s. Sometimes, a single skill like Heal or Flying can decide the whole match.
Thanks for reading my defeat story today. Losing is normal—but what matters most: learn the lesson and be better in the next battle. 🛡️⚔️
See you on the battlefield!
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