Upcoming card analysis - What's important about Epona?
Why is Epona not the horse?
Let's get this straight: Epona is the girl. Anyone who has played Zelda before certainly thinks the horse is going to be Epona when they look at this card. After checking her lore, I found out who Epona really is: basically the entire Zelda franchise. You can associate her with Link, Saria, and even the Ocarina itself. So it's quite the tribute! All you The Legend of Zelda fans will marvel at her lore if you care to read through it. It's awesome.
I'm getting at least two Eponas in the next Splinterlands crypto game airdrop, because I've already purchased 400+ DICE before, so those are guaranteed from the airdrop - at least if those numbers haven't changed. In the last aidrop, I was lucky enough to get three cards instead of two, thanks to the base chance every purchase brings. All in all, DICE has blessed me with fortune. I wonder how has it been treating you, dear reader?
Epona in Bronze league
The lowest league most common tactic is spamming magic attacks, because unless the opponent has a really strong tank (or Owster Rotwell), magic will eat them alive. Barely any monsters have Void. For just one mana, Epona boosts a tank's high-health just enough to warrant a save from Tank Heal. This is because Tank Heal is based on the total health of the monster being healed. If your monster's health advances to the next "healing tier", it's healed for, say, three instead of two. Because this happens every turn, it makes for a massive difference.
What if there is no magic, though? Is the opponent sniping you out? Use Eponia in second position to block sniper attacks. If she dies too quickly, then the opponent isn't using heavy magic anyway, so that's okay. Your tank is safe. Epona is a safe pick because bronze league's total mana available each battle is generally low. Just don't choose her in an equalizer battle. Creeping Ooze is probably better in that scenario.
Epona in Silver League
She gets Divine Shield when played in Silver, but that barely changes anything. You can use her the same way as in Bronze. This new ability is meant to keep her alive for long enough. She has to survive for at least two turns in that battle to justify choosing her, otherwise other monsters would have been a better choice.
Epona in Gold League
By now, we're starting to realize Epona is a one-trick-pony... Everything she's gotten so far only helps her do her previous job on a different league. Even though she's suddenly a much better choice in poison battles, hardly anything else changes. I'd go as far as saying a player shouldn't bother picking her up in Gold League, unless you're aiming for Diamond
Epona in Diamond League
Now she's a beast. Her new repair skill makes her so much more useful. She fits into a lot of new strategies all of a sudden. Even something as simple as pairing her with the dragon summoner under Drake of Arnak's wing changes the battlefield entirely. She's also particularly useful when paired with Stone Golem in "Slow First" battles or any team Oaken Behemoth is in.
Her most important use is in "Weak Magic" and "No Magic" battles. Earth Splinter doesn't have enough armor monsters, but Tower Griffin and other neutral cards got your back. Although we won't see much of her in the lower leagues, she's quite the game changer in Diamond. A lot of new strategies arise thanks to her, while empowering those Centauri Mage had started.
Price prediction
Epona is a diamond-level card, so I expect her initial price stays around $11. It drops as soon as most of the high level players have their Epona maxed, because it isn't an interesting card to other leagues. Two-Gun Pete sees more Gold League strategies because he has Redemption, so I assume her price floats slightly above Lensmaster, since her abilities are better than his in general. Theorosa is still the superior 1-mana DICE card.
