...Because Slaughter is the Best Medicine
I have to say, Rulesets that limit or restrict your use of certain types of monsters and attackers are not always the most fun. But this one is. This one is the most fun.
Up Close and Personal
Maybe it's the little kid in me that always loved to hoard the Goblins from the red MTG decks and pile melee attack upon melee attack on my enemy until they were annoyed into defeat. Maybe it's the fact that in real life, I'm terrified of getting into fights. Whatever the reason, I have always been partial to the Melee form of attack, so this is the Ruleset for me. Maybe after you read my little guide you'll enjoy it as much as I do.
More Variety than you might Think
There is a lot going on in the world of Melee attackers. There are tanks, reachers, sneakers, snipers and opportunists. There are some monsters that heal themselves, and others that heal each other. Some repair, while others count on being missed to be effective. With all this variety, there is a single piece of advice I can boil it down to for this Ruleset:
Maximize Your Attacks.
It sounds simple and obvious, I know, but let me explain what I mean. There are two ways to think about an Up Close and Personal battle. The first (the wrong one) is to look only at the monsters in front. Once you realize that there is an entire battle happening beyond the first row (even with only Melee attackers) you'll be much better off and you'll win almost every time.
The simplest way of executing this is to never have an idle attacker. If you have a backup tank simply waiting for your first tank to die before it does anything, you've probably lost already. Your tank is likely to be killed or stunned early, and since you cannot rely on Range or Magic attackers, you'll be left with virtually no attack power.
In order to keep your tank alive, you must execute a continuous string of back attacks with the Sneak and Opportunity abilities. If you can take out the enemy's sneakers and opportunists before they get to your tank, then the battle is yours.
Every attacker in every single space should be doing something in Up Close and Personal. Following your heavily armored tank there should be a sturdy monster with Reach. Since sneakers tend to have lower Health, they are usually more effective buried in the middle of an Up Close and Personal team. In the way back, like in many other Rulesets, it is a good idea to use a Monster with Healing, Thorns or Retaliate.
Pro-Tip - Using a dual-attack monster (like the War Chaang in back) allows you to use Range attacks in Up Close and Personal. Try it out!
Hide a Scavenger
The addition of the Scavenger ability has increased the endurance strategy of certain battles, especially in Rulesets like Up Close and Personal. I would always recommend placing a monster with Scavenger or Life Leech somewhere in the middle/back of your team where they are well-protected. If you can keep them alive, chances are that when they reach the front they will then have enough Health to outlast the enemy tank.
Remember Repair
In Up Close and Personal it is imperative to think about Armor before you have used up the majority of your battle's mana. The Protect Ability is ideal, but it's often not enough by itself. If Protect is used, there should also be at least one monster with the Repair ability on your side. Remember that the only type of attack you'll be facing is Melee attack, so Armor will always stand in the way. Furthermore, not many Melee attackers have Piercing, so repairing the Armor often creates what I like to call a cycle of indestruction.
Some Cards I Like to Use
Here are some cards I like to play with in the Up Close and Personal Ruleset. Of course I'm not claiming that these are the best cards or anything outlandish like that. There are way too many different cards and possibilities in Splinterlands for there to be only one correct answer.
If you have cards that you like to play, chances are that I completely forgot about them. Let me know in the comments and tell me why you think they're awesome.
Elven Defender
He's not much worth the effort until level 5, when he gains the Shield ability. Having 8 Health and 4 Armor makes a Shielded tank nearly impossible to destroy in an Up Close and Personal battle. The Defender is especially good for a high Mana battle.
Parasitic Growth
With both Opportunity and Scavenger you can't go wrong with this disgusting little creature. At the lower levels, Opportunity is good enough with a Melee attack of 2. Once you hit level 6 with your Parasitic Growth, it begins gaining Health as enemies die, an effective tactic for Up Close and Personal.
Spineback Turtle
The Turtle is a nice classic low Mana tank that keeps it simple. If you're not repairing its Armor to make sure it does some more Thorns damage, then you can count on it dying pretty quickly. With sufficient Healing and Repair, the Turtle can survive until the end, tearing them apart with Thorns the whole way.
Living Lava
I have recently discovered how much I love the Living Lava. It may be slow, but that is hardly a concern when it can take such an extreme Melee punishment. I usually use Protect and Repair in conjunction with the Lava so it never really loses its Armor. This card is of course extra unstoppable in Reverse Speed.
Bone Golem
This is another slow monster that I enjoy using as a Death tank. The peculiar thing about the Bone Golem is its ability to Repair itself, quite unusual for a tank. If you can also throw in the tank Healing of the Corrupted Pegasus, your Bone Golem will stand victorious at the battle's end.
Armorsmith
One of my favorite cards continues to be effective in nearly every Ruleset. Not only is the Armorsmith a Repairman, but he comes with a powerful Melee attack at higher levels and he only costs 2 Mana. When using the Life Splinter, the Armorsmith and the Defender of Truth are a deadly combo, no matter who comprises the rest of the team.
I hope this strategy guide has equipped you with some of the skills to become a champion of Up Close and Personal.
Previous Editions of the RuleSet Strategy Series
- Back to Basics
- Healed Out
- Heavy Hitters
- Silenced Summoners
- Aim True
- Super Sneak
- Melee Mayhem
- Keep Your Distance
- Weak Magic
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