Introduction

Hello welcome to Ace's fire starting guide!
The main goal of this post is to teach / explain how one should play this very popular splinter among lower leagues as the phantom cards in this set are pretty much glass cannons (High DPS, Low Health)

I am planning to make a blog for each splinter in order to help everyone, this is just a part of it!
You can always follow me to see my posts at @qxacexp if you're interested!
If you're a new player, feel free to use my referral code: qxACExp.
|| Your comments, follows and upvotes are very much appreciated ||

The Summoners

• Malric Inferno: You should always try to play this if you have at least a Furious Chicken or Creeping Ooze! This summoner will make it easier for you to get by most tanks in game which would prove to be beneficial!

• Pyre: The increase of speed is a very big advantage, allowing glass cannons to Blitz through most of the opposing back row.

The Monsters

1. Tanks

• Living Lava: One of the best tanks in game, basically due to it's high dps and "Shield" ability (50% less). 7 Mana
• Cerberus: Use him at Low mana battles, not only is he fast, he hits hard and and has the "Heal" ability (Self heal at his turn) 4 Mana

2. Glass Cannons

• Serpentine Spy: Combo with Malric for Big DPS tank killer or Combo with Pyre to Blitz their Backrows using the "Opportunity" ability (Strikes the monster with the lowest health). 3 Mana
• Fire Elemental: High Speed, and decent ranged attack, with the Blast ability, he will always deal 1 dmg to the adjacent monster! 5 mana
• Spark Pixies: Similar to the Fire Elemental, but with insane speed and "flying" ability (+25% evasion rate) which makes him very hard to hit (play when you feel your luck is good). 4 Mana

3. Gap fillers

• Goblin Shaman: The ability "Weaken" make it easier for Pyre x Serpentine Spy to blitz through the back line as it reduces all opposing cards' health by 1. 3 Mana
• Giant Roc: You can definitely use this as a secondary tank as he is pretty decent in health. (To be played on 2nd position as he has "Reach"). 5 mana
• Fire Beetle: Very nice health and "snipe" is a useful ability that strikes the first monster who has range or magic atk (Note this for your Daily Missions). 3 Mana
• Kobold Miner: Decent health and low mana! He has "Sneak" so it will strike the monster on the last row (Note this for your Daily Missions) 2 Mana

Upgrading Your Deck

Here I am going to recommend you different cards you should rent / buy depending on your budget!
I'll split them into 2 categories like Essentials & To Consider

1. Essentials (Cheaper)

• Fineas Rage: Absolutely devastating as a second position monster with his Reach ability. He is a Jack of All Trades in terms of stats but he does cost 7 mana to play, just 1 above Living Lava (Would be an exceptional upgrade compared to the Giant Roc). 7 Mana
• Pyromancer: This is a very similar card to the Fire Elemental, I would not say that it is a MUST have but more of a good to have in your collection as a secondary "Blast" user (especially when the rule-set is "Keep Your Distance"). 6 Mana
• Flamesmith: Although expensive with 7 mana, this card is actually pretty strong in terms of his Damage, ability and survivability. (His "Shatter" destroys the enemy's armour upon impact). 7 Mana
• Efreet Elder: His stats may seem underwhelming for a 6 mana card as he doesn't deal much damage but he has "Last Stand" (If he is the last monster standing his stats will be 1.5x which makes him very viable in "Fog of War"). 6 Mana
• Ettin Spearman: A card with impressive DPS, he may be slow but his high health makes him very usable at the backrow to block "Sneak" monsters. He gains "Piercing" at level 3 (excess damage from the shield will be dealt directly the the opposing health). 8 Mana

2. To Consider (Expensive)

• Yodin Zaku: A summoner that buffs range damage and health by 1 and gives all monsters the "Blast" ability. One of the most sought out and popular summoner, we all know why... 7 Mana
• Magnor: An All Rounder monster (literally monstrous in terms of mana cost, health, speed and melee attack) with the "Taunt" ability protecting all backrows by tanking all hits. 10 Mana

Basic Lane-Ups Examples

|| Remember that Furious Chicken and Creeping Ooze are generally are must have in your deck. ||
These are just some line-ups I think are most effective, you should play it according to your mana cap, if my line up is too expensive, you should consider removing certain rows from the middle / back according to your own preference (playstyle)

Update: It seems that some players would rather play Spark Pixies at the back in order to survive longer and dodge "Sneak" which is a very good point! The reason why I do so is because I know at beginner levels there are a lot of "Snipes" and "Opportunity" monsters. 😀
Hope you will think about this before placing your teams!

Pyre (Basic 26 - 30 Mana)	Pyre (Essentials 23 - 41 mana)
Living Lava / Cerberus	Living Lava / Cerberus
Giant Roc	Fineas Rage
Serpentine Spy	Flamesmith / Spark Pixie / Furious Chicken
Spark Pixies	Serpentine Spy
Fire Elemental	Fire Elemental / Pyromancer
Kobold Miner / Fire Beetle	Ettin Spearman / Creeping Ooze

Malric (Basic 27 to 29 Mana)	Malric (Essentials 20 to 25)
Living Lava / Cerberus	Living Lava/ Cerberus
Giant Roc	Fineas Rage
Serpentine Spy	Furious Chicken
Parasitic Growth	Serpentine Spy
Fire Elemental	Kobold Miner / Parasitic Growth
Kobold Miner	Creeping Ooze

Yodin Zaku (To Consider 46 mana)	My favourite low mana battle (pyre / Malric)
Magnor	Cerberus
Fineas Rage	Furious Chicken
Flamesmith	Serpentine Spy
Fire Beetle	Kobold Miner / Creeping Ooze
Spark Pixie	Creeping Ooze / Kobold Miner
Ettin Spearman	N/A

Please do upvote and comment your opinions! I would love to discuss strategies with you!
As you have seen I have yet, talked about most other Neutral/Dragon cards which will go well with fire. That's because I want to do a post just for it!
Follow me for more guides and updates😄

Source:
splinterlands.com
splinterlands.fandom.com/wiki/Splinterlands_Wiki