Splinterlands Share Your Battle Challenge: STONE GOLEM
This week we will focus on... wait a minute... do you hear that? Is it just me or is the ground rumbling? What is that sound? It must be something very large, something very powerful, something EXTREMELY heavy... AH YES, it is, indeed, the STONE GOLEM! What a terrifying sight to all who stand before him. The sound of the ground rumbling, the ripples in the water of the lake as this massive beast approaches is equal to no other! What resilience! What weight! And what a vital function this tank fulfills in the team that represents the Earth itself!
Let's have a look at the card art!
I mean, how do you even hurt this guy?
My opinion on the card design: Not that my opinion matters, but I think that this is a nice design. I like the way that the leaves create something of a leafy, grassy environment, out from which this massive creature emerges. I can sense the motion, the impetus, the drive forwards from the drawing, the way that the arms are swinging with those absolutely MASSIVE shoulders. There's a sense of urgency and determinations, not the least of which is given away by the fact that the one visible fist is clenched. As for the eyes? Well, not much to be said here. The eyebrows would indicate that he is clearly not happy with whatever is going on, that's for sure!
My History with this card: This card was made available to me as a starter card when I began playing this game. Initially, I used it quite frequently, for the clear benefits is offers as a front-line tank against physical damage-dealing units on the opposing side.
Official Lore: "The Stone Golems that reside around the Crags of Maglar are quite terrifying to any stranger who wanders into their domain. In spite of the sheer power and weight of them, these Golems are surprisingly gentle and peaceful. A good day for a Stone Golem is one in which he did a lot of heavy lifting." -Splinterlands.com
Unofficial Lore: Golems originate from Jewish folklore. They are massive creatures, used as tools, which the wielder utilizes for purposes of... well, let's just say, resolving disputes. In more recent culture, Golems have been found anywhere from video games (Mabinogi's alchemy skillset has a Summon Golem ability) to anime (Full Metal Alchemist, as well as Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood- which, by the way, I like better). The premise remains that they are summoned, artificial creatures created not by birth but by mystical processes and alchemy. Either way, they're always big, always heavy, and always useful.
Stats from Splinterlands:
Looking at these stats, ...
Let's look at the level-ups and note any important milestones:
Base level Stats as seen on the card
An increase of 1 speed.
An increase of 1 attack and 1 armor ~ the additional 1 attack is very important to put pressure on the opposing enemy's frontline unit.
An increase of 1 health
The addition of STUN skill ~ Important milestone here. Stun is a very useful skill, which can completely disable the opponent, which also means it will stop them from healing, cleansing, and attacking. It completely shuts down the opposing card - unless that is dispelled by some means by the other team.
An increase of 1 health
An increase of 1 attack ~ the final attack is a welcome addition
An increase of 1 health
Recommended level:
Taking these milestones into account, a minimum of level 3 of this card is STRONGLY recommended, since keeping pressure on the opposing frontline in a consistent matter is important, especially against healing units. Level 5 is ideal of the addition of Stun.
The battle! Click here for the BATTLE!
Setting: Ranked match in Silver 1, month of November, 2021
Opponent: ABENJIERS, with a very expensive summoner who is rarely seen these days! Good on him!
Ruleset was the following....
- Total Mana Cost Allowed: 18
- Splinters Allowed: Fire, Life, Earth
- Special Conditions: Aim True, Rise of the Commons
Rise of the commons means that only Common and Rare monsters may be used in the battle. Aim true means that attacks will never miss. Being that the Stone Golem is actually a Rare card, it is a perfect opportunity to wield this tank and try to impress my opponent with this stony majesty.
Battle Plan
I considered several factors, but the most important here was that there are only three factions that can be chosen. The most dangerous fire and life teams rely heavily on Epic and Legendary monster cards. Furthermore, the deadly combination of Scarred Llama Mage with Kron can be immediately ruled out, since Kron is a legendary card. Based on this, I realized that, for this battle, as well as the overall low Mana cost, I would be requiring only a low amount of damage output. Since I expected smaller HP cards, and cards with less abilities, I decided to use Mylor Crowling, to make up for the fact that my Base Level Stone Golem has only 1 attack. This way, every time it got hit, it would not only receive less damage, but also return some damage itself. I wanted to reinforce the resilience of the Stone Golem's tankiness with a Healer, so I opted for that, and chose another ranged unit to do some extra damage to help out.
View of the Battlefield
Battle Lineup
Summoner: Mylor Crowling. This is my go-to summoner for earth, and especially so when I'm not fielding much damage to begin with. The added benefit of thorns is also given to my "filler" units: Furious Chicken and Creeping Ooze, whose main purposes are to protect the healer and the dps.
Position 1: Stone Golem! The tank himself, here for his moment in the spotlight
Position 2: Creeping Ooze: a 1 mana filler choice, creating a buffer before the healer is exposed, as well as luring Opportunity and Snipe attacks from the enemy
Position 3: Wood Nymph: My go-to healer for Earth faction. Low mana cost and low speed, which, for a healer, is actually a benefit! You want your healer to get its turn after the unit it is healing has already taken damage, for maximum efficiency.
Position 4: Venari Seedmsmith: one of the CL reward cards, a respectable 2 damage for a low mana cost, as well as the Vulture ability, which is likely to make use of the swift deaths of the Furious Chicken and Creeping Ooze (look, my opponent brought some too!)
Position 5: Furious Chicken: the 0 mana filler is, in this case, here to provide protection from behind for the main DPS, by stopping Sneak attacks)
Did it Work?
I'd call this quite a great success! It seems that I was out-leveled and greatly out-matched when it came to value of cards (the opponent's combination is easily worth $1k in current market value). I was using only level 1 units and a level 1 Mylor Crowling, and made the best of the situation by utilizing the Stone Golem. I feel that it was very important to add the Venari Seedsmith, since without that extra damage coming it, the opponent's very capable Cerberus would have been able to out-heal the incoming damage and emerge victorious.
What did our Weekly Unit do?
Honestly? Everything! He took a massive amount of hits, barely took any damage, and was able to easily retaliate thanks to the Thorns ability provided by Mylor. I believe very firmly that this was a great way to use our weekly champion, the Stone Golem.
Based on this information, let's have a quick look at the current market value of this card in our COST ANALYSIS for a Level 1 Stone Golem:
Beta Version:
Current Low price (1card): $6.740
Current Best price (per BCX): $3.770
Current High Bid: $5.581
Current Market Value: $3.770
Alpha Version:
Current Low price (1card): $26.90
Current Best price (per BCX): $14.06
Current High Bid: $11.351
Current Market Value: $14.063
Recommended Usage
Summoner(s): Mylor Crowling. A unit with this kind of tanking ability is able to take more hits than another, which simply gives it more usage of the Thorns ability that Mylor Crowling bestows upon the monsters her summons.
Rulesets: No Magic. Magic is a big problem, since its resistance is useless against magic, and this can lead to it getting shot down very quickly.
League: I would recommend this card more for Bronze league than for higher leagues, unless leveled up significantly.
Not Recommended when...
Overall, there are a few scenarios that come to mind in which I would not use particularly recommend using this card. First of all, in high mana games you can expect the opponent to become very difficult to kill, and in that scenario the low damage output of this card is not ideal. Any game in which you expect magic usage from the enemy, it is not an ideal choice.
Conclusions
I was neither surprised nor disappointed by the performance of my first weekly fight with the Stone Golem. I believe he really carried his weight (HA-HA) and was a key factor in this particular match.
Personal Opinion
I would use this unit in specific scenarios only, because the Earth faction has an abundance of very strong choices for the tanking position: Unicorn, Flesh Golem, etc.
Be sure to join Splinterlands if you enjoy a TCG that allows for a myriad of battle tactics. If you're interested, I invite you to utilize my referral link:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=letsjam