Splinterlands | Last Stand Ability | An Ability I Was Unaware Of

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AbunEnt

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3 years ago

In community: Random Articles(a45d)

Topics: Crypto games, Splinterlands, Gaming, Games, Blockchain games

Introduction

We’ve seen few cards of the Splinterlands world in my previous articles, and today, we will take a look at one of the abilities. The ability in discussion is the “Last Stand”. Now, I have never come across this ability in any of my cards. The thing was that the lower level cards did not exhibit this ability, and none of my leveled up cards had the last-stand ability yet. As such, it was just a coincidence that I never got to experience the last stand. That is, until now.

A month back, new reward cards were unveiled, and the Efreet Elder was introduced. The Elder was a fire monster with magic attack, and as you would have guessed, it had last-stand as an ability from level one.

It was quite exciting to see the last-stand in action, and I am sure all those who have not seen it yet would love it too. We will look at it in a moment, but before that, how about knowing a bit more about Splinterlands?

Sure, let’s do it. 😊

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game relatively late, I should have had gotten going early in hindsight. Anyway, no need to despair. There are so many opportunities no matter when you start.

*Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments or guilds that you can join.*

*Just to give you an idea of a few of the uber-expensive cards, take a look at this recent purchase of Prince Julian at USD 3500.*

Card Purchase Contract: Gold Foil Prince Julian

Did you go to the link and see for yourself? I hope you did. And I hope that gives an overview of the game. I just love the game, and those interested can go to Splinterlands’ site and join. If you want a link to join, I will leave one at the end of the article, which you can use.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Efreet Elder | Proponent of the Last Stand

The Efreet Elder is one of the newest reward cards, and I was lucky enough to get it with my first quest itself. I had considered it just like any magic monster without knowing its ability. My Fire Splinter collection does not have much of magic monsters, so the Efreet Elder always found its way into my lineup.

So without taking any more time, let’s see the eye-opening battle that I witnessed.

Efreet Elder In Battle

The rule in play was “melee monsters can attack from any position”. However, the mana cap was only twenty-five. So, I decided to go with my normal lineup instead of all melee attackers. It was a gamble, but with a twenty-five mana cap, there weren’t too many choices.

Needless to say, I went with the Fire Splinter. The choice of monsters included the Efreet Elder as the only magic one.

So, let’s get into the battle.

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The Face-Off

One look at the lineup, and I was sure that I would lose the battle. The opponent had chosen the dragon summoner, which gave one additional armor to the monsters. Besides, I rued myself for putting my Living Lava in the first position while the opponent had put the Furious Chicken in the first spot. Bad choice. But then the battle had to go on. 😊

I had chosen the Fire Splinter for the additional attack value that my melee monsters would get. The Living Lava was in the first position, and my lineup was appearing weak compared to the opponent. The only other melee attacker, the Serpentine Spy, was in the third spot. The Efreet Elder in the fourth spot was followed by the Pyromancer in the fifth spot.

The opponent’s lineup looked strong due to two counts. One, he/she had six monsters against my five, two, the monsters' health appeared better than mine, and lastly, each monster would get armor. The armor alone was an outcome tilter; of course, tilting towards the opponent.

The Nectar Queen was his/her tank in the second position, followed by two magic attackers, one ranged attacker and one melee attacker in the last spot. I was worried about the Screeching Vulture going for my Serpentine Spy. Anyway, it wouldn’t matter if I was going to lose.

In hindsight, could you believe that I won this battle? Let’s see how.

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The Battle Begins

My Living Lava was hurtling towards non-living with all the attacks from the opposing monsters. By the end of round one, all that my monsters could achieve was shake away the opponent monsters’ shields.

By the second round, it was amply clear that I wasn’t going to put any fight. The Living Lava had exposed my lineup, and the opponent still had all attack monsters alive. The only loss was the Furious Chicken. But the next round sealed the deal for the opponent.

At this stage, for me, it was just the Efreet and the Pyromancer. The opponent was still sitting cool with all of his monsters still alive. I hit “skip to result” at this point since the outcome was certain. And….

That’s when I was confused. You see, I won the battle, and I had no clue how. I had to hit “replay” to check, and here’s what happened.

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The Battle Races to Conclusion

You notice in the previous screen the Pyromancer’s attack about to land on the Nectar Queen? Well, it lands and takes out the Nectar Queen. Since the Pyromancer is a blast monster, it takes out the next-in-line magic monster too. For the first time, the opponent has just three monsters against two of mine.

Two more rounds of attacks and counter-attacks later, this was the status of the battle. You see, the Screeching Vulture’s relentless attack on the Pyromancer took it out while the opponent still had the ranged attacker and the Vulture standing and *here’s where the last stand was activated.*

You see, as the name suggests if the monster with the ability is the last-standing one, it gains health and attack value. And that was the deal changer for me.

The Efreet gained four health and got an additional attack strength. That was it. Since the ranged attacker wasn’t attacking anymore, it was to the Vulture. However, the vulture would need six attacks to take out the Efreet, while the Efreet would need just three to take out both the monsters.

And with that, my Efreet stood strong and won me the battle. *All hail the last-stand!!*

My Opinion About the Last-Stand

I am in love with this ability, and it was fun seeing it for the first time. The impact was that the ability won me a game that I was sure to lose. So, I had to come back and check.

I can’t find any reasons not to love the ability. Do you?

😊