The SPS airdrop is the hottest thing happening right now on Splinterlands, and the best thing about it ... will last a whole year. It's no better time to join the fun. The SPS total supply is 200,000,000 and will be shared in 365 days. There are multiple ways to earn it and a complex points system that will affect the distribution. The tokens can be staked for extra rewards and the whole event boosted the DEC value and the cards price.
Completed the weekly battle challenge and had fun battling with some weird duel mechanics. The value of my deck grew very nicely and the SPT on Hive surged 10x since the airdrop started.
Battle Challenge 1 : The Chaang Strikes Back (Retaliate)
We are heading quick towards the best days of the summer. Here in the UK, the weather will always retaliate with days of heavy rain and gloomy vibes. My Splinterlands journey took me to mysterious lands and I am still the underdog in most battles, but I will always retaliate and give my opponent a fair challenge. You probably notice the excessive use of "Retaliate" as an introduction to this week's battle challenge. This ability gives the monster a 50% chance to strike back his attacker when hit with a melee attack.
There are 15 monsters with the Retaliate ability and some are top of the crop! All Splinterlands players are aware of how a top card can be a real gamechanger and how cool will be to have an upgraded Kraken or Cerberus. The best use of Retaliate will be with Close and Personal rules, as casters and ranged monsters cannot be used. I hope that one day I will level Fineas Rage or the Nectar Queen, and my journey beyond Silver III will be boosted.
I don't own so many or the ones I own are not leveled to have the Retaliate ability. My choice was limited to the Stonesplinter Orc, Naga Warrior or the War Chaang. The War Chaang was by choice as he is more versatile, and can be used in any position with his Ranged skill. The War Chaang is an expensive epic neutral monster that costs 8 Mana. He has 8 Health Points, 3 Speed, 2 Melee Damage and 1 Ranged Damage. Will gain Trample ability at level 4 and I like this one as it can be used as tank, secondary tank or even at the back of the team.
Battle 1 - Easy win: I used the Death splinter for the 1st fight, but the War Chaang didn't had any impact in the game outcome so I decided to have another try. The first battle had 99 mana cap and "Healed Out" ruleset. It was an easy win as my team was clearly superior to my opponent's selection. See the full battle here!
Battle 2 : details and line-up - The second fight gave the War Chaang the chance to shine and stay in the spotlights. This battle had 22 mana cap and no ruleset. I choose Contessa L'Ament as summoner, considering that her ability to reduce 1 Ranged Damage will be helpful and it did reduced the ranged attack of the Ettin Spearman. The tactic was clear ... down the Goblin Mech and the battle is done!
Death Splinter line up:
Undead Rexx - Main Tank/Ultra DPS
War Chaang - Off-Tank/Ranged with Retaliate
Death Elemental - Caster with Snipe
Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy
I was expecting a longer fight, with victims on both sides but it turned up to be a walk in the park. Goblin Mech and Ettin down in 3 rounds. See the full battle here!
Battle 3: details and line-up
Still not happy with the War Chaang involvment ... the show must go on! The 3rd battle had 23 mana cap and Reverse Speed ruleset. Monsters with the lowest speed will attack first and I changed my tank to Bone Golem
I choose Contessa L'Ament again and what a great choice as my opponent had three ranged monsters in the team.
Death Splinter line up:
Bone Golem - Main Tank with 1 Speed
War Chaang - Off-Tank/Ranged with Retaliate
Dark Astronomer - Ranged with 1 Speed
Undead Priest - Weakened ability
Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy
This Death v Death battle looked promising from the beginning! The Haunted Spirit feel quick even if he had Heal. Once the barrier between my monsters and the ranged monsters was broken, my opponent had no chance. See the full battle here!
Battle 4: details and line-up
The battle had a 30 mana cap with Healed Out ruleset, meaning that all healing abilities are removed from monsters and summoners.
I changed the splinter to Water and choose Bortus as summoner. My opponent choose Water splinter as well and Bortus -1 spell damage was neutralized by his summoner +1 spell damage.
Serpent of Eld - Main Tank with Dodge
Wave Runner - Off-Tank with Reach
War Chaang -Ranged/Melee with Retaliate
Creeping Ooze - Slow ability
Axemaster - Ranged with Double Strike
Furious Chicken - Defender / Decoy
My Serpent fell at the end of round one and the opponent Serpent was down at the start of round two. Grinding and scattered damage followed and my Wave Runner was defeated by the casters. It was the War Chaang who took a last stand. He was the last defender of the ranged monsters and had to survive. The Axemaster did his part and created carnage! The War Chaang high HP contributed to the win, as the enemies were taken down by throwing axes. Bortus spell power reduction, the three melee tank set-up and the speed reduction were the factors that influenced the battle. See the full battle here!
Battle Challenge 2 : Muad'Dib and the Sand Worm
After two ability challenges, Scavenger and Retaliate, is time for a monster to enter in the arena! The Sand Worm is one of my favorite cards and I probably play it 8 out of 10 games.
Sand Worm you said? Big badass worms that can swallow everything? Hey mister Frank Herbert, some of the sandworms escaped Arrakis and are terrorizing the Splinterlands! Well ... it doesn't matter as I am Muad'Dib, I am the Emperor of the Dune and I riding the Sand Worm to battle!
The Sand Worm is a neutral common card found in reward chests. With 5 Melee Damage, 5 Heath Points and 1 Speed, the mana price is matches the good stats. The Worm has Sneak ability and will earn Snare at level 6 and Piercing at level 10.
Battle details and line-up!
The battle mana cap was 24 and the game ruleset was Equal Opportunity, where every monster will hit the enemy with the lowest health.
Malric Inferno (Summoner) +1 melee damage to all melee monsters
Cerberus : Main Tank with Heal
Fineas Rage: Off-Tank with Reach
Sand Worm: Over-Power Damage with Sneak
Flame Monkey: Cheap Target
Furious Chicken: Free Target
The enemy Life Splinter team focused on extra HP and Armor, with a mix of Melee and Ranged monsters. I chose the Flame Monkey and the Chicken as decoys, while my heavy hitters will take the low health monsters down. With 4 monsters down after two rounds, it looked like this fight is done. The opponents monsters were able to absorb one attack due to the added armor. The Cerberus healing and some lucky missed attacks kept me in the game. At the start of round 5, the game was even, as only the Feral Spirit was standing between me and the ranged monsters.
Cerberus didn't heal fast enough but luck was still with me. Fineas tamed the cat and it's game over! The enemy tactics was better than my ones, as I was using brute force to end the fight quick. He was unlucky to miss so much and I feel that I won the game against the odds. The Sand Worm did his part and made enough damage to keep me in the game. See the full battle here!
Battle Challenge 3: The Efreet Elder with Heroes 3 vibes
It's so hot outside that this weekly challenge is so appropriated. I am sitting in the garden, drinking a BUD light and battling random dudes on Splinterlands. The sun is scorching and feels like the Efreet Elder sits to close to me, burning my skin with his immolation aura.
Just wondering... how hot is in Hell? I assume it's beyond human conditions to live in there. Have you played Heroes of Might and Magic? Inferno was one of my favorite races, with the over-powered Arch-Devils, the useless imps and the mighty Efreet Sultans!
Well ... today we'll talk about those fire genies. Many years ago, in my childhood, they were often my last stand. I remember that 20-25 Efreet Sultans would easily nuke a black dragon. I grew older, while the Efreet has become an Elder of his race. The Efreet Elder is a rare reward card from the Fire Splinter. It has spell damage and Last Stand ability from level 1, increasing his stats when is the last allied monster alive. Has 8 Health points, 3 Speed and 1 Spell Damage, all for only 6 Mana. The Efreet Elder will gain Phase at level 6.
Battle rules and line-up: Mana cap 13 for this fight with Super Sneak ruleset. All melee monsters targeting the last opponent. I don't want a furious chicken in this battle.
Malric Inferno +1 melee damage for the team
Cerberus - Main tank with Heal
Efreet Elder - Spellcaster with Last Stand
The enemy team had a similar set-up, with Malric as a summoner and Cerberus in the 1st position. His hell hound went down in round two, followed shortly by my Efreet Elder. The duel between the Serpentine Warrior and my Cerberus was won by the hell dog, as his heal was greater than the damage received. But wait ... where was the Last Stand? See the full battle here!
Battle rules and line-up: Mana cap 23 with Earthquake ruleset, meaning that non-flying monsters will take 2 damage at the end of each round
Malric Inferno: +1 Melee damage to the team
Charlok Minotaur: Main tank with True Strike
Efreet Elder: Caster with Last Stand
Furious Chicken: It's free ....
Mantoid: Ranged with Snipe
My opponent went for damage beyond armor but I have no armor! No flying monsters and the Mantoid? Why? Let me explain the tactics in details Snipe quest so the Mantoid was the only high HP monster with this ability. Every non flying monster will take 2 damage at the end of the turn, leaving the Efreet alone after few rounds. As planned ... the earthquake was making victims! Earthquake after round two and an Efreet in Last Stand mode with only the Goblin Mech as a threat! Game on!
I must say that 9 HP Efreet looks amazing, and hopefully in this life time I will upgrade it. Back to the battle where the Goblin Mech was burned by Efreet Magic and the last monster was burried by the earthquake. Game over! See the full battle here!
Battle Challenge 4 : Electric Traditional Jellied Eels
Splinterlands keeps the challenges up to high standards, mixing monsters and abilities tasks. This time is the Electric Eels, a card that I never ever used before.
The first thing I can think when hearing "eels" is the disgusting Jellied Eels dish that is somehow popular in England. Chopped eels are boiled in spicy stock and forming a jelly when cold. This was a cheap food source for Londoners, as they could catch them with nets from the river Thames. I bought a pot once just to try it but I wasn't impressed! Eels are for fighting not for eating!
The Electric Eels are a rare promo card from the Water Splinter. It has Reach at level one and gains Blast at level five. I never used this card because I didn't had it in my deck. The solution came from WAX, where I found it cheaper than on the Splinterlands market.
The Electric Eels are best to be used as melee damage from behind a strong tank. The card cost is 4 Mana and has 5 Health Points, 3 Speed and 1 Melee Damage. The Reach ability allows the Eels to attack from the second position, and at level 5 will do additional damage to monsters adjacent to the target thanks to the Blast ability
Battle Details and team line-up: Mana cap 27 with no ruleset made it easy to select a competitive team.
Bortus (Summoner): -1 magic damage to all enemies
Sea Monster: Main Tank with Heal
Electric Eels: Off-Tank/Melee Damage with Reach
Sand Worm: OP Melee Damage
Crustacean King: Healing support
Furious Chicken: Strategical wildcard
The enemy Life Splinter team was focusing on high Health and ranged attacks from behind the ShieldBearer The start of the battle was competitive and at the end of Round 2 both the Sea Monster and the ShieldBearer were down! The Crustacean King did well to keep the Sea Monster alive so much, enough for the Sand Worm to prepare the one shot-one kill mode!
The issue with having so many ranged monsters behind a strong tank is that once the tank is down, the rest of the fight is a massacre! The Electric Eels are still up and fighting. It was a home run once the rangers had nobody to protect them. Eels and worms great team work in delivering killing blow after killing blow! See the full battle here!
For only one Mana more, the Wave Runner offers one more melee damage and one extra speed point, even if it has only 4 Health Points. Comparing it with the Electric Eels, the shark fits better in my team. However, I will still consider the Eels for battles when I don't have 5 mana left to use the Wave Runner.
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