Waka Spiritblade, a summoner recently arrived in splinterlands but is he as good as they say? In this post I will talk about it and its uses and what impact it has brought to battles in Splinterlands.
If you still don't know this card it's because you don't usually follow the news so know that it's a promotional letter made to celebrate the partnership between Splinterlands and American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. It is a Promo edition card but it offers the same amount of power as a chaos legion card and this may seem strange since the other Promo edition cards offer much more power, but I particularly consider it fair because even though it is from this edition it it was recently released just like chaos legion so it would be unfair just because it is a Promo card for it to offer more power and it would also be unfair to those who bought Promo cards before since the amount of power also influences purchases, so I think it was a great choice of the team to have done it that way.
But so far I've only talked about the card externally and it doesn't influence battles in splinterlands, what really influences is what this card does in battles and that's what I'll talk about next.
Waka Spiritblade is a legendary summoner of the death deck and it even matches this deck since the ability it grants to its allies is Poison, but you might be kind of disappointed since it seemed like an incredibly strong card but the only thing it grants is an ability? and that could be true but don't forget that he is a summoner with 3 mana cost and with that cost it's normal to have only one skill and it's not a simple skill because it's amazing and can make all the difference in a battle.
The Poison ability will be applied to all your allied cards and when they attack they will have a 50% chance to apply this effect and deal 2 damage to the card hit at the end of the turn, so think of it as if Waka Spiritblade grants + 2 attack of any type as it doesn't matter if it's melee, ranged or magic attack and even better because Poison deals damage directly to enemy health, so shields and damage-reducing abilities are useless to her and that makes her even more incredible.
An important thing is also that if you want to maximize the damage that Poison does then it's good to always have some cards with the Sneak, Snipe or Opportunity skill because if all your cards on the field attack only 1 card on the field that would be the first one. position then it would practically be taken for granted that this card would receive Poison, but on the other hand it would probably be defeated before the effect dealt damage and the next card (from second position) would receive fewer attacks and have a chance to have the effect. applied reduced, so in the end maybe no cards would take Poison damage. That's why having cards with abilities that attack the back line like Sneak or attack ranged cards and magics like Snipe are important because you will attack several cards in the turn and thus cause more damage with Poison.
You must already be starting to change your mind about Waka Spiritblade being amazing or not, but so far I've only talked about the positive points of this card and it also has its weaknesses, to be more exact 2 and it's the Cleanse and immunity abilities that I will go speak below.
First I will talk about the Cleanse skill that is very little used and also underestimated in splinterlands, but it will play a very important role here since this skill removes all negative effects of the card in the first position and this card will be the most hit by the Poison so having the Cleasen is important and as I said before the Poison effect is only caused at the end of the turn and not directly after the attack so there will be time for the card with the Cleanse ability to apply this effect and remove the Poison from the card on the first position. And before you get confused Cleanse doesn't clear summoner debuffs but poison is given to cards and not applied directly in rounds by summoner so Cleanse works against Waka Spiritblade.
The second skill I will talk about is Immunity and it will be the big problem for Waka Spiritblade because this skill makes the card that has it immune to all negative effects and that includes Poison, so even if the card has it 50% chance to apply to Poison this will be useless against Immunity so it would be like having 0% chance to apply and it's like a normal attack.
These 2 skills are the negative points of Waka Spiritblade but even so he is still an amazing summoner and these 2 skills are not used as much so they won't be a big problem all the time.
Now let's talk about values to play with Waka Spiritblade.
There are 2 ways you can play with Waka Spiritblade which is by buying it and if you choose that way then it will cost you $1920.00 in the amount this post was written and this is a bit high but you should take into account that Waka Spiritblade already comes at maximum level so this already justifies its high value a little, in addition it also has another utility outside of splinterlands which is as an NFT augmented reality effect on Snapchat and this also increases its value and besides that it is a partnership letter with a famous rapper and this will attract other people outside splinterlands to want to have her, so even if the value today is high i believe she has good potential to rise in price in the future and other than that there is still the fact of it being very useful in battles and also only having 1000 of them in total (960 regular cards and 40 gold cards).
The second way to get it is by renting it and it will cost you around 100 dec and I'm kind of disappointed with this value because I think it's low considering its usefulness and also the fact that it's a level 4 legendary summoner, but it's still good for both parties because it's more accessible for people to use it and also as a passive income for those who put it up for rent as they probably won't sell it anytime soon.
There is also another way that would be for someone to delegate the letter to you, but I didn't consider that option because it depends on you knowing someone who has it and that person does it for you.
And those were my opinions about the Waka Spiritblade and I believe it has a lot of potential financially speaking for the future and is also an excellent card for you to use in your battles in splinterlands.
Now to finish, how about you know the history of the letter? I would also put the rapper's story but this post would get gigantic so I think it's easier for you to research about it or maybe stay for a next post? for now you just keep the story of the card.
LORE
Waka is from a rare tribe of magical people known as Malphurs. They decorate their bodies with intricate tattoos and the bones of creatures they hunted in the swamps and forests as children. The greatest and most powerful Malphurs from each family have earned the right to wear the skull of their ancestor. This great honor further enhances their magical strength, imbuing the wearer with devastating abilities.
Waka was known throughout Praetoria as one of the greatest summoners the world had ever seen. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the arenas to see this battle mage compete and he never failed to entertain them. He became so adept at his art that he was able to stun the crowds into silence with his theatrics, drawing out battles longer than necessary, and even making it appear that he might lose, only for him to turn the tides and come back with a resounding victory. The people loved him for it, and he would often move amongst them when he was done, handing over his winnings to the poor and needy. And then, one summer’s day, he suddenly vanished, leaving it all behind. There was much talk and speculation as to where he had gone and why, but always his name remained at the forefront of the people’s minds.
It was only many decades later, when the Chaos Legion had invaded, that Waka was seen again, coming down from the Feral Mountains in the Wild Northeast, by a small group of refugees fleeing the fighting. He was wearing a simple robe and walked with a tall staff. He beckoned the group to follow him back into the hills and led them to a hidden canyon. Walking through a narrow pass and onto a small plateau, the people beheld a great farmstead in the lush lands below. There were fields and terraced wetlands embedded within the slopes, all irrigated from the small river than ran through the canyon, and there were long huts, enough to house many villages worth of people. It was almost as though Waka knew the day would come that the people would need to be saved.
Overtime, the community grew, and Waka gathered any lost souls he could find, bringing them to the sanctuary of hope he had created. But deep down he knew it wasn’t enough and that one day he would have to take up his old mantle and face the threat of the Chaos Legion head on, before they destroyed his entire world.
Waka made his way to the small hamlet, nestled between the Fanged Lakes. He pulled a cart along behind him, full of a variety of fruits and vegetables. When the children saw him coming, they called out and whooped with joy, running towards him and dancing around his legs as he entered the homestead. He left them to empty the wares as he sought the village elder, determined to convince him that the people should accompany Waka back into the hills and to safety. The elder was adamant, though, that his people would stay in the homes of their ancestors and continue to fish the lakes, regardless of the danger.
Waka feasted with them that night, sharing some of his food and speaking of the old days. When he had finished, he bid them goodnight and moved into the darkness to meditate. The chill wind whipped about him, catching his robe with its icy fingers. He could hear the villagers still talking by the fire, telling tales of his battles in the arenas to the children that were sat upon their parent’s laps. Each tale the old folk told, brought hushed gasps or excited squeals from the children, until sleep finally took them. Waka remained impassive, waiting in the frigid cold of night, searching for the curious presence that lurked just beyond the reach of where his quiet contemplations had taken him. Whatever it was, it teased at his curiosity but managed to remain elusive, however far he pushed his mind in search of it. Eventually, he conceded to the mystery of it all and made a bed beneath the cover of his cart. His stomach was full and his heart glad to have shared the evening with friends, that was all that truly mattered.
It was morning when he awoke, a piercing scream shattering the comfort of his dreams as he rolled out from beneath the cart. His golden medallion shifted as he moved, the twin skulls leering up at him, caught in their petrified rictus. He could feel it pulsating on his chest, heat emanating from within. Chaos Legion soldiers were standing nearby, their weapons drawn. A strange creature in a dark cloak, with half its face ghostly pale, was standing over the elder. It seemed to tug at loose wisps of energy that cavorted between them, as though it was pulling the life force from the elder’s body. The elder lay helpless upon the ground, his arms flailing weakly at the air, whilst his breath gurgled and body shuddered in pain.
Waka slowly found his feet, not taking his eyes from the wide array of weaponry that bristled about him. He felt a familiar spark glimmer inside, an old friend flickering back to life. Raw energy radiated from within, coursing through his body and prickling along his arms like pins and needles.
“Leave him alone!” he called out.
The soldiers turned at the sound of his voice and the strange creature croaked a single word, releasing the elder from the hold it had taken. It continued to whisper in a foreign tongue as it moved, the syllables dry and hoarse. Waka felt some of his power being drawn away from him, trickling from the mouths of his twin skulls, inexorably sucked toward this evil, cloaked monster. He smiled. If the creature wanted to take the power from his medallion, who was he to refuse? After all, he had become known as ‘The Provider’ amongst his people. Lifting his arms to the morning sun, Waka flicked his fingers, casting a simple spell and releasing his hold on the energy within, letting it fill the monster.
The creature convulsed violently, falling to its knees where its struggles became even more intense, clawing at its face and mewling in pain.
“What are you doing to him?!” a soldier cried. “Stop it, or you’re a dead man!”
Waka moved his arms through a concentric pattern and let go of the final barrier, casting the magic from him like a cascading waterfall. The creature went rigid, as though it had been struck by a bolt of lightning. A long screech ripped through the tranquility of the dawn and frightened a group of birds into the sky from a nearby tree. The skin on the creature’s arms bubbled and hissed, the caustic overdose of mana burning it from the inside like a poison.
“Kill him!” the soldier frantically ordered. The other warriors edged towards Waka, the uncertainty slowing their advance as fear flashed across their eyes.
Silver wisps of magic snaked about Waka’s arms. Tinged with blue, the magic manifested itself into two lethal spirit blades; swords of mana that whispered at the air as they moved. Waka dropped into a fighting stance and thrust his arms through a series of well-practiced forms, cutting devastating fractures through the fabric of life before him. Soldiers fell like wheat before the scythe. Some clutched at real wounds, blood spraying from the mortal strikes, while others writhed in agony as their bodies corroded from the touch of corrupt mana, like a contagion eating at their souls. And as he moved, more of the deadly mana flowed from the mouths of the twin skulls in his medallion, adding to the mayhem he wrought.
When he was finished, Waka surveyed the desolation. The soldiers were all dead, leaving only the remaining villagers he’d managed to save.
“Now you will come with me,” he spoke softly. “And when I have taken you to safety, it is time that the Chaos Legion answer for their transgressions. Every life they have taken will be repaid, tenfold. And when I’m done with them, they will be clambering over the bodies of their comrades to reach the rift home.”