Close combat can be really exciting as it could be a test of both strength and toughness if you can survive the difficulties on a battlefield. When this type of Ruleset Up Close and Personal is active in a battle, automatically melee monsters are the ones available in such kinds of battles. We may know that a melee monster is capable of handling tremendous damage coming from its counterpart as well as inflicting massive damage to it as well. This is surely a test of might as many already know and the more the monster has tough statistics and abilities, it will surely survive the battle even though it could be really difficult as we can imagine.
A player should analyze well to which of possible melee monsters should be selected in such kind of ruleset but it seems a little tricky as double attack monsters can be included in it as well. With that, you should pay attention to what prospect of combination you should assemble and if it can really be effective enough to handle the stress and the hardship it will obtain as it faces the fury of the other monsters. But I think that melee units are built for such kind of scenario whatever we may think of it, as long as a proper synergy is implemented within the team and every team member should have their own function effectivity and efficiently so that there won't be a waste of resources or mana when you selected them.
Some of the players might choose Thorns as counters to attacking melee units so that they could gain extra attack from that effect. Even in the defensive form, a retaliation attack is possible with Thorn and it could help decrease the health points of enemy monsters. Whenever thorns are in effect, I am sure that the other side of the team will be able to feel the pain as it inflicts some extra damage towards its units. That way I am thinking that another skill like Demoralized could counter such kind of pain as well.
If there would be a mixture of both Thorns and Demoralized in this kind of ruleset in your active team plus you have a good level of monsters and summoner which could deliver you to a higher percentage of winning the battle. But still, we can't guarantee yet as there are so many monsters of melee type that you could mix from and that a combination of such kinds of monsters could drastically change the outcome of the game. So, a perfect percentage of winning in the battle is still impossible, which is why players are mostly relying on luck even how powerful their selected monsters will able perform in the battle.
If you think of a competitive way, then I am sure that players of your the same experience and quality of play are most likely to confront on the battlefield. We say that you have strong monsters in your possible selection, I am sure that in your counterpart as well, they are also possible in its selection. The game has so much competition happening that you need to be more aggressive especially when selecting all melee units.
Now let's go to my battle report and present how much hardship I have experienced in such a ruleset.
RULESET
| Name | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Water, Earth, Life, Death |  |
| Mana Cap | 22 |  |
| Up Close and Personal | Only Monsters with Melee attack may be used in battles |  |
| Little League | Only Monsters and Summoners that cost 4 mana or less may be used in battles |  |
| Explosive Weaponry | All Monsters have the Blast ability |  |
Based on the additional ruleset that we see, you have the ability to select most of the elements except for Fire and Dragon elements. With such kind of possible choices, I am sure that players will think of which of those elements that they do have powerful melee units on their assets. I am sure that each element has its own powerhouse melee units and that the right combination should be well implemented in order to fulfill your own interest in it.
Another thing is that the mana cap is not that high enough and that most monsters on that mana cap are quite less as I can see since most powerful melee units do have high-cost mana and monsters with less mana will have less armor, health or attack in it. So it's up to the player to which type of play should be created in order to win the battle. Strategies and tactics are surely being applied in such kind of inefficient mana at your disposal, to think that possible small melee units are usually selected in such kind of scenario.
Looking at the Little League as an additional rule in the battle, it is quite a check mark as I can see it, since the mana cap is not that large enough to max out your member composition. I think adding Little League into the ruleset will not change big since most players are choosing less cost mana if the mana applicable is also less than we expect it. We can see so many big melee units in battles facing tremendous damage towards each other, I think a way to change the cycle is that small monsters should given their chance to step up themselves in their area of excellence. I think this is the time for such small monsters to prove their worth as they would play an important role in such cases.
Now with the added Explosive Weaponry effect on their basic attacks, this is really a combat to which most monsters will suffer attacks even if they are not in the frontline. With such blast damage, I think high-damage melee could inflict a tremendous damage deal toward its opponent and that this could serve as a big plus for its advantage. I think melees with opportunity or sneak could do well in this case in which they are possibly eliminating those weak monsters' area with the effect of the blast skill. I think it is very efficient to work on that kind of trick but we just make sure that we take the most attack speed in order to attack first rather than be attacked first by our counterpart.
In our head-to-head, there is quite a big difference in our Summoner's level, and this gives my counterpart the advantage of using monsters that are much higher level than I can use. With such a difference in level, it can be a disadvantage part for me but I am still taking my chances towards facing the difficulties. Sometimes, you need to overcome those trials in order for you to gain experience and learn from them to generate a more formidable team.
Sometimes even high-level summoners and monsters are still beatable in any way. The only very important thing is to consider the possible weakness of the opponent, but once you successfully set those disadvantageous parts towards the opponent, I am sure that you will possibly get some luck in winning such a difficult battle. It would be a taste of success if you successfully defeated the enemy and it could generate a fruitful victory on your side.
Since we are both using the same element, I am sure that there would be cases in which we both have the same monster. By that, he could gain an advantage from it since it does give you the benefit of unlocking its abilities while increasing its basic statistics like attack, speed, and health.
| Summoner | Active Skill in Battle | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Kelya Frendul | +1 Speed, +1 Armor |  |
| Monster | Active Skill in Battle | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Cruel Sethropod |  | |
| Xenith Monk | Heal |  |
| Creeping Ooze | Slow |  |
| Parasitic Growth | Opportunity |  |
| Pelacor Bandit | Sneak , Flying |  |
| Uraeus | Sneak |  |
Based on my lineup I am using Kelya Frendul since it is all melee and both speed and armor could be an asset in winning the battle. For my first position, I use Cruel Sethropod because it has well-equipped armor as well as health, which is a very good tank position for small melee units. It has also good speed and attack which can definitely retaliate in the first round as it can sustain those damages dealt to him if this monster cannot perform the first initiative to attack. But anyway, there is no magic or range available so I am confident that this monster could do its thing on proving its worth on the battlefield wherein I rely on the safety of most of my monsters under him.
On the second position, I choose Xenith Monk since I think that he has a good stand to work as the second defensive position if my Cruel Sethropod is not able to perform its duty anymore. With its healing ability and decent health, I think he has the capability of showing the importance of standing in the ground as it is one way of delaying tactics which has been really rampant in many games. Wherein players choose a member of the team to take charge of holding the position for quite a long time while the other monsters at the back are the ones doing the job.
In my third position, I played Creeping Ooze just to make sure that it was well protected from both front and back-attacking enemies. With its slow ability, I am sure that attack speed decreases which is mostly a good initiative to attack first if ever the opponent is not using that monster as well. Even though its statistics are 1, I think it is still well deserved based on its functionality for the team as he handles on try to slow down those enemies that have more killer instinct which can be really disappointing if it goes all out. One way of suppressing could be the use of any slow skill, and I think Creeping Ooze is the best pick for this since the battle has only limited mana cap.
Now I put Parasitic Growth to that next position since it has both low speed and health but has better skills like Opportunity. Better to keep this monster safe in the battle by putting it at most nearly in the middle so that it can perform its task, eliminating wounded monsters on the battlefield. I like how this monster took the responsibility very seriously because it can be a game-changer especially when opponents start to struggle with its monster's health points.
On the second to the last position is Pelacor Bandit which I think has a good placing since it has a much faster attack speed and has a sneak attack which has the opportunity to attack from the back. Also, most weaker enemies are placed at the back but not all, but it could take some monsters with him before it will be eliminated in battle, that's why choosing this monster is one good option.
Last but not least Uraeus holds the last spot because it has attached armor which later be boosted more by my summoner. With its sneak attack the same as Pelacor Bandit, I think a good combination with the two could deliver a good outcome as they will be attacking one at a time at the back position of my opponent.
| Summoner | Active Skill in Battle | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Kelya Frendul | +1 Speed, +1 Armor | |
| Monster | Active Skill in Battle | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Cruel Sethpod | | |
| Tide Biter | Reach |  |
| Xenith Monk | Heal, Void | |
| Creeping Ooze | Slow | |
| Uraeus | Sneak, Poison | |
| Pelacor Bandit | Sneak, Flying | |
On my opponent's lineup, he is using Kelya Frendul as a summoner which means we are the same. The difference is just our level and that he has the edge over me in unlocking more advanced abilities from monsters which can be an advantage on his part and at the same time, he also has the chance to use a higher level of monsters in line with its summoner's level.
In his first position, I can see that he is using Cruel Sethropod which is the same as mine, and that using this kind of monster as a frontline is surely very effective. I guess we have the same in mind as to who will be responsible for protecting its comrades from a volume of attacks from the frontline.
On the second position, it seems that he is using Tide Biter which can also be effective since it can attack from behind with its reachability. It seems also that it is well protected with Refection Shield which is also a plus since the Blast effect is applicable in this battle and when this monster is unaffected with such kind of extra damage then I am a bit behind in damages which is very clear that I am in the spot of disadvantage.
The third position is Xenith Monk which I think will be effective as well even if it has no attack within its reach. But with its healing aspect, this monster is well protected with the blast effect as well, and whenever it reaches its turn in the frontline, just in case the two monsters in front of him will be eliminated, still this monster has full health points and that it can take head on towards my remaining monsters as well. I sense a threat to this monster since he has placed it in a very effective position which I see can benefit him late game.
Next to that is Creeping Ooze which has the task of slowing down enemy attacks. I think he is protecting this very well by putting it in the middle position which is really beyond my reach. But still, I am grabbing my faith towards my Uraeus if it could manage to seek him and destroy so that I would get a much advantage in attack speed, if not then I'm at a disadvantage position in this battle.
Second to the last position is Uraeus which has sneak ability and can be really crucial for my back monsters as well. But his Uraeus has a poison skill in it which can be a really double effect as I can see it. It does slow damage to my monsters and with low health, I am sure that it can be easily slain by his Uraeus.
Lastly, Pelacor Bandit can be a good monster to put at the back since it can damage, and his monster has an attack speed speed of 6 which is very fast enough to initiate. I can sense that his Pelacor Bandit could be doing swift attacks on my monsters at the back since we cannot deny that this monster will deliver a fast blow toward my monsters.
In our battle it is very clear that we have almost the same lineup but with only one difference of monster. I am looking for the opportunity to secure targeting lesser life points which is why I choose Parasitic Growth, I see that he is using Tide Biter since he focuses on attacking as well as a secondary tank.
In the first round, both our summoners initiate their purpose in battle by boosting their comrades with speed and armor. After that, his Pelacor Bandit makes the move and targets my Uraeus which eliminates its armor while removing the armor of my Pelacor Bandit as well. I sense that the attack is so much for me to take but I think I need to go through with this. And still, his monsters doing most of the attacks which I am only defending.
My Cruel Sethropod takes the attack by its Tide Biter and blocks it by the armor which is down to 2 now. After that beautiful attack, his Uraeus never wastes any moment but advances towards its counterpart and is eliminated with a poison in it, which I sense has been overkill.
The blast damage really has been biting back towards my monsters but after my opponent's monsters take the first charge, I then take my chance to retaliate towards the corresponding targets. Before the end of round 1, I managed to remove almost all the monster's free armor given by the summoner. But I think that it is still not enough as the real damage is not yet being inflicted on it.
Now at round 2, we can see that most of my monsters having a hard time and have their health points much lower than ever. With just a blink of an eye, his Pelacor Bandit charged my Pelacor Bandit which was an instant kill. I now sense how powerful this kind of monster has become if positioned in a better location for the team.
After that, his Uraeus attacks my Parasitic Growth which is now down to 1 health plus given that poison inflicted, I see that surviving is never an option for this monster. Blast effects all over my monsters which has been very struggle in my position as attacks coming from every front and my monsters feel that they have inferior capabilities compared to their counterparts.
At the start of round 3, the poison effect takes down my Parasitic Growth which now gives my opponent's Pelacor Bandit a clear sight of my Creeping Ooze, and with that, no time is wasted as it quickly eliminates it which then results in removable of slow effect towards my opponent. And now that all the slow effect has been removed there will be no more stopping from attacks before round 3 ended all of my monsters got eliminated which resulted in my loss.
ANALYSIS
Based on the battle report that I have submitted, it is very clear that level gap between you and your opponents makes a clear advantage, in which higher level monsters have stronger statistics benefits and also advance skills are unlocked and usable in battle. With such kind of benefits, I am far behind the time of our exchanging blows and that all of his monsters takes the first change wherein my monsters are just like sitting ducks waiting to be slain in battle.
In the time of retaliation, my team started to get crippled and almost gave up as they are facing a more mightier enemy in front of them. At the end of our match, all of his monsters are still standing and almost nothing happened after our battle. Now, thinking the way the output of such kind of battle, leveling up your summoners would be the very first step of building up your teams, and then monster leveling will follow because summoners are the ones holding the fate of your team especially when a ferocious enemy is waiting to deal with them.
FULL BATTLE
Full Battle can be seen here: https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_f7ee6a530e32cad6f568b962a77fb512
CREDITS
- Images are taken from Splinterlands / Steemmonsters
- Some of this images are being edited in Photoshop
- Thank you Splinterlands for letting us use images for our post and other promotions for the game.