Yes, spiders, i hate them. Especially the larger specimens and made from lava, but for this weeks share your battle i will make an exception and add the Lava Spider to my line up, and see how it holds against his enemies.

Lava Spider

Few explorers dare to go deep within the volcanoes of the world. Tales are told of great spiders that weave threads of fire and trap their enemies in webs of flame. An inescapable and painful death.
When the Chaos Legion entered the Splinterlands through the great volcano in the center of Praetoria, they saw the lava spiders and used them to their advantage. Transporting these spiders into areas that need defense is a win-win for both groups. For the Chaos Legion, it is an easy barrier to ward off unwanted visitors. And for the lava spiders, they get free meals from the curious, the foolish, and the unwary adventurers that seek to strike at the Chaos Legion.

When i use the Fire splinter, i always try to squeeze in a range attack monster at the back like the Spark Pixies or when playing lower mana games, the Lava Spider. The Lava Spider is the better choice against magic based teams because of his snipe ability.

Pro's

Low mana cost, Snipe, Snare (@ level 6), Poison (@ level 10)

Con's

Only 1 attack

I like to use this card against death or earth splinter teams, because they are the 'new' magic splinters after Alric Stormbringer left the base set.

The Battle

Link to the battle: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_3d9bac813ee90c32b15c2c9822b1deb1&ref=wazza84

Teams And Ruleset

The ruleset of this battle:

• Mana Cap: 22

• Splinters: All

• Normal Ruleset

My Team

• Splinter: Fire

• Summoner: Tarsa, Buff: +1 Health, +1 Attack

• Tank: Antoid Platoon, Shield

• 2nd Line: Chaos Agent

• 3rd Line: Serpentine Spy, Oppurtunity

• 4th Line: Goblin Fireballer

• 5th Line: Lava Spider, Snipe

• 6th Line: Tenyii StrikerSneak

Opponent's Team

• Splinter: Death

• Summoner: Thaddius Brood, Buff: -1 Magic, -1 Health

• Tank: Cursed Windeku, Thorn

• 2nd Line: Carrion Shade

• 3rd Line: Life Sapper, Life leech

• 4th Line: Death Elemental, Snipe

• 5th Line: Silent Sha-vi, Sneak

Tactics

Because of the lower mana, and that wanted as much monster as possible, my choice for the tank went to the Antoid Platoon over the Living Lava. It has less power and health, but makes up for only needing half the mana.

As second line of defense i always try to put some bait to lure opportunity attacks away from the Serpentine Spy.

The Serpentine Spy needs to be in a fire team, period. This because of its high speed and high attack, but you will need a distraction in 90% of the times, otherwise it wont even survive the first round.

In the back i wanted ranged monsters, so i picked Goblin Fireballer because there was only 2 mana left, and a melee attacker wouldn't make sense. After the Goblin Fireballer comes the Lava Spider, ready to snipe.

As a closer i believe the Tenyii Striker is on of the best picks, because of it's 'higher' health, good speed and attack, and of course the sneak ability.

Round 1

In the first round, the Death Elemental was the first to strike. And the hit was on the Chaos Agent as planned, leaving the Serpentine spy ready to life for its attack. After getting some damage on my Tenyii Striker, the Serpentine Spy took out the Carrion Shade.

Round 2

In the second round, after taking some damage on the Goblin Fireballer and Antoid Platoon, my Serpentine Spy took out the Life Sapper. This meant one threat less.
After the Tenyii Striker took damage by Silent Sha-vi, the tables were turned and the Tenyii Striker killed the Silent Sha-vi. The Tenyii Striker really is one of the best closers available to users of only the standard deck.
My tank unfortunately killed itself due to the Thorn ability of the Cursed Windeku. This is, in my opinion, one of the best tank abilities out there.

Round 3

Entering the second to last round, my Goblin Fireballer was the first to fall, with the Serpentine spy going second.
Now the Tenyii Striker was able to take down the Death Elemental.

Round 4

In the final round, the Lava Spider had enough health left to with stand one final attack of the Cursed Windeku. Now the Tenyii Striker could finish the game by performing one last kamikaze attack taking the Windeku, and leaving the Lava Spider as the sole survivor and winner of this game.

Conclusion

The tactic with the Chaos Agent as canon fodder, and the Lava Spider in the back for attacking magic monsters worked great. For higher mana games you can swap the Goblin Fireballer for Spark Pixies, or Fire Elemental. Or Living Lava if you prefer a better Tank.

I hope you enjoyed my entry for this weeks battle, and hope to see you in the next!

If you want to give splinterlands a try, you are welcome to use my referral link