Put on your shiniest armor, buff those helms and comb your plumes!
I really like the Rulesets in which you just get stuff. It just feels so much nicer than having stuff taken away. This is one of those Rulesets. Everybody straight up gets Armor, Oprah style.
I don't know if I have a bunch of fancy strategy tips to give you for Armored Up that aren't incredibly obvious, but let's work through it together, shall we?
Armored Up
The first thing I think when I hear everybody has more Armor is everyone is more vulnerable to Magic. As long as the second Ruleset is not Weak Magic (which puts Armor in the way of Magic attacks) or Lost Magic, you'll definitely want at least one heavy-hitting Magic attacker. If you're using more than one, I would suggest someone with Healing or Void to protect against the dreaded Magic Reflect.
The Repair and Protect abilities gain new dimensions of strategy, as do Shield and Piercing. It is also important to think about Speed; if you can control the order in which your Monsters attack, then the enemy's extra Armor won't seem so daunting. Let's go through a few points one by one.
Magic
Just like in real life, Magic must always be used carefully. There are several reasons that this is true in Splinterlands. It may seem at first that Magic is the safest form of attack, especially because it's able to work from distance or the front row. I was one of the first players to use Alric Stormbringer and the Alpha Water team to attempt some kind of Magic powerhouse lineup, and I learned my lesson over and over. You cannot rely on Magic.
It may never miss, but there are far fewer cards with strong Magic attacks as Range ones. It may be free of range restrictions, but Magic attackers tend to be weaker and more vulnerable than non-Magic, especially when they find themselves in the tank position. Even in an Armored Up battle, do not assume that a team made of entirely Magic attackers will assure your victory.
To protect against the Magic attacks of your enemy, I recommend a monster with Void supported by a good Tank Healer. High Health is also extremely important for your tank when you are hoping to withstand a bunch of powerful Magic attacks. Your tank will certainly die at some point in the battle. When it dies, it should have no leftover Armor That is the easiest way to tell if you got the most out of your tank. If you didn't, try a different one the next time.
Repair and Healing
As always, Repair and Healing serve 2 completely different functions, but in Armored Up, Repair is elevated to a much more effective level. Normally the Repair ability only works on monsters that had Armor to begin with. For example, I cannot repair the Armor on my Cerberus because that card has no Armor. In Armored Up, everyone has Armor, making Repair much more versatile.
This means you can repair monsters that aren't used to being repaired. You can take advantage of that by using monsters with Dodge, Shield, Healing and more. Use your imagination. Rulesets are all about using the abilities you know in new ways to get more benefit.
Healing is still important to fend off the Magic attack damage that will certainly be coming your way in an Armored Up battle. If your tank is not healing itself, I would strongly consider double Tank Heal to be safe. You should also probably throw in a Strengthen if you can to give everyone an extra cushion Health point.
Be a True Protector
There are many ways to protect your team beyond simply using the Protect ability. While it's my favorite of all the abilities, it actually loses utility in this Ruleset, so I wouldn't recommend it. It's still very useful, but monsters with the Protect ability tend to boast it as their crowning jewel. If even a little of the ability's power is taken, it is no longer worth it.
In Armored Up, your most protective abilities are simply the ones that keep your team from dying. Heal, Tank Heal, Triage, Void, Shield... all of them are good to disperse throughout your team. It's amazing how quickly your whole team can go down once a small leak is sprung.
Piercing
This ties into the idea that your enemy will be following a lot of the same advice. Considering that they'll be repairing their Armor frequently, the only way you can be sure your damage will get through is Piercing.
Even if you're swinging for 6 with a non-Piercing monster, a single Armor point is all it takes to stop your attack dead. Ad if the Armor is just going to be repaired, you've basically missed your chance. Even worse, the enemy has completely negated your attack.
Set, Spike
I don't often try to plan on the level of the order of attack in terms of Speed, but Armored Up presents a pretty good reason to think about it. I like to make sure that I've got speedy attacks coming in hot with just enough force necessary to take out the tank's Armor.
If I can make sure that when my tank lands its first attack it's hitting the Health instead of the Armor, then I'll probably win the battle. You can also assume they'll be repairing, so it helps to quickly take out the Armor at the beginning of each round, allowing you to gradually whittle down their Health.
Some Cards I Like
Here are some cards I like to play in the Armored Up Ruleset. Some of them are examples of some of the advice above while others are just cards I like to play. If you have some great recommendations of your own, drop them in the comments.
Exploding Dwarf
The Exploding Dwarf is always a risk, and the Armored Up Ruleset is no exception. It's also always fun. It's kind of a test to see if your enemy is deploying good strategy. If they are, then they have probably considered the danger, so they will use a quick monster with Piercing and make sure they get the first attack. If they haven't considered any of that, your Exploding Dwarf will mop the floor with them.
Naga Warrior
She's one of those warriors who was never meant to have Armor because of how wildly unfair it would make the battle. In Armored Up, feel free to play the Naga Warrior in front with some good Repair and Tank Heal. Then just sit back and watch the carnage unfold.
Mushroom Seer
Never underestimate the Silence ability, especially in a Ruleset like this one. Even at level 1, the Mushroom Seer comes with the Silence ability, which will be crippling to your enemy's straight-to-Health Magic attacks. The Seer is also a pretty solid Magic attacker itself with a fairly cheap Mana cost.
Lone Boatman
Use the Boatman because he has Repair at level 5. Max him out because of the Shatter ability that he gains at level 10. When he's maxed, he's kind of the ultimate sniper in Armored Up.
Death Elemental
This little demon is pretty useful is Armored Up, especially the lower Mana battles in which Death always thrives. I wouldn't bother if the Death Elemental is below level 4. This is when it gains the crucial Silence ability, one of the best debuffs to use in this Ruleset. At max level, it gets the bonus of Weaken, reducing the Health of all enemy monsters.
Furious Chicken
The Chicken, when used wisely, can be one of the most annoying cards to face, or one of the most valuable to play. Look for opportunities to power up the chicken. If you can raise its Health and Armor to the point at which it stays alive for the first few rounds, you probably did enough to win the battle. If there is room for the Chicken, you should always be using the Chicken.
I hope this strategy guide has been helpful to you in some little way. Now get that Armor on and hit the battlefield! The season ends soon!
List of Rulesets
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
- Up Close and Personal
- Lost magic
- Unprotected
- Target Practice
- Fog of War
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