The Ever-Hungry Skull And A Splinterlands Challenge From Twitter
Splinterlands is the play2earn strategic auto-battler multiplayer digital-collectible trading card game on the Hive blockchain. Lots of fancy words but the game is simple! You create the most optimal deck to fight against opponents, using the cards you own and according to battle rules and available mana.
Each battle will count towards to end of season rewards, where the players are rewarded with potions, cards, SPS tokens, merits and even packs. There are two weekly challenges that invites content creators to share their Splinterlands experience but also random community events and challenges.
I was browsing Twitter for the latest news and I seen Blaze's battle with the Ever-Hungry Skull as a tank, and an invite for others to win a game with this monster in the first position. The first one to complete the challenge will grab 1000 $SPS, or 2x bonus if completed in less than 3 hours. I was unlucky to see this in the morning, about 6 hours after was posted, but lucky enough that no one won a game!
The Ever-Hungry Skull is one of those units you will gladly use in battles with the Equalizer rule, as this bloodthirsty card has only one health point. The skulls of slain vampires sometimes become re-animated with necromancy, allowing the spirit of the former vampire to possess it once again. This is used for dark rituals, for gathering intel, and even by necromancers with a macabre sense of humor.
According to the lore, the bounded souls are not happy with their situation, but often seek to turn the tide in their favor. They will go along with what their captor asks in hopes of returning to a full body.
This 5-mana card starts with 7 armor but can go as high as 11 armor points, with melee damage raising to 3 points once it reaches level 4. This was my goal, as I swiped the floor and upgraded my main Ever-Hungry Skull to level four.
This monster is ruthless and foul-tempered, having no empathy but very cunning in their strategies and words. The necromantic power flowing through the skull left a mark and each one is protected by a nearly imperceptible magic shield, this is why they will earn Thorns when upgraded. When harmed by any weapon, the skull lashes out with the magic used to create it to harm the attacker, hence the Return Fire ability gained at level 10.
I said the Ever-Hungry Skull is one of those cards designed for Equalizer battles... end this battle-rule came after only few tries. Heavy Hitters was added in the mix, and 31 mana gave a bit of freedom when selecting my team. Went for a sneaky team that will hit those fragile units at the back, including a deadly Magi Necrosi with Snipe!
Thaddius Brood: -1 Magic Damage & -1 Health to all enemies
Ever-Hungry Skull: Melee with Flying
Arachne Thug: Melee with Reach
Silent Sha-vi: Melee with Sneak
Weirding Warrior: Ranged with Shatter
Uraeus: Melee with Sneak
Magi Necrosi: Caster with Camouflage and Snipe
I had to face a team with some armor, extra speed and a Djinn Oshannus that had Phase! The Venari Wavesmith added two armor points on top of Kelya Frendul summoner boost, but hopefully my Weirding Warrior will take care of this issue.
As the battle started, I realized that the armor will be a bigger issue than expected.... as the Scavo Hireling will keep repairing! I was hoping to scatter the damage across the opponents and make the armor repair pointless, while Magi Necrosi slowly taking down the source.
Two rounds and not much damage, as both teams did well to counter each-other. Djinn Oshannus was affected by Thaddius magic reduction, but I didn't take full advantage as the Ever-Hungry Skull kept missing the attacks.
The fall of the Venari Wavesmith was a turning point, as the Scavo repair was suddenly less efficient. I lost Uraeus soon after, and this battle was far from over.
Djinn Oshannus was still getting healed and repaired, and now it was the Arachne Thug's turn to miss both attacks on the mighty djinn. The Weirding Warrior missed as well, and this looked like a battle that will be settled by the gods of random.
No more repairs, as the Scavo Hireling joined the fallen army! The collateral damage was claimed after two rounds of dampened attacks, when the Weirding Warrior run out of health. He has done his shattering job, but fully deserves his demise for missing his attacks on Djinn Oshannus.
No more heals either, as Magi Necrosi took care of the healer! However, no more Ever-Hungry Skull for the rest of the battle. The bloodthirsty monster had all that armor intact, but couldn't handle the magic!
It felt like an eternity, but midway through round nine I managed to get rid of the die hard djinn. Both snakes flexed their fangs and muscles, but one was stronger than the other. It took 12 rounds to settle the battle, and more grey hair after all those missed attacks. See the full battle here!
Posted the link after the battle and the prize was sent quickly! Won 1000 $SPS for winning a battle, ten times more than my monthly farming. But what are the $SPS tokens and what is their utility?
The Splintershards (also known as $SPS) are the official governance tokens that will allow holders to decide the directions where the game will go, giving certain levels of decision-making ability and control over the new developments. The holders will have their say in the future of the game, will gain access to promotions and will receive extra rewards.
I had the 1000 $SPS in my account, which reminded me to claim my monthly rewards and restake. I farmed 38 tokens as staking rewards and 100 throughout September, from battles, chests and brawls. The reward from brawls was the biggest, with 60 SPS earned this month.
All the rewards were claimed, including 3.1 Vouchers, and the SPS tokens were added in the pot. The 15% APR for single staking is good, and I can use my holdings to vote on proposal that will improve the game. The Vouchers will be added for sale, hopefully getting some $HIVE in exchange! New target for SPS set at 4000 tokens by the end of the year!
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