I love epic battles, where you’re not limited by a low mana cap and, instead of agonizing over every point twice—or even three times—you can unleash the best monsters of your Splinter, the cream of the cream, and let them march onto the battlefield in all their glamour (or, in most cases, their shattering ugliness), like an army of semi-gods. The only thing to remember in such battles from the Golden League upward is the ruleset: some can make the game quite spicy, while others can kill the vibe. This battle, however, is a solid example of top-tier Water Splinter brute force. The Counterspell modification made the match unsuitable for magic strikers, but Melee Mayhem combined with Explosive Weaponry ensured a thrilling battle. My Water Splinter army smashed the opponent’s lineup like… well, like a tsunami!
Battles under the Explosive Weaponry modification are tailored for Gladiators, so choosing Pembrook Nymph to lead my pack was a no-brainer.
Commander Slade is an excellent tank when you’re sure no magic strikers are involved. Not only does it have a chance to evade enemy blows, but this nasty monster also reduces its foes’ melee damage—both abilities being invaluable under this ruleset.
Since I didn’t have a suitable monster with Reflection Shield, Giant Alpine Skink was the best choice for the second position. With no magic strikers around, I was sure Skink would endure, thanks to its Shield and Slade’s Evasion.
And now for the power monsters. Coastal Sentry with Blast can eliminate an entire army of weak monsters and wreak havoc among the powerful ones. She certainly did her job here.
Isgald Vorst may appear less threatening than the rest of my pack, but don’t judge a book by its cover. Opportunity, Blast, and Bloodlust combined make him a formidable force.
All monsters with Opportunity are built for such battles, which applies to Kulu Mastermind either. Besides its high stats, Kulu also weapon-trained my rear tank. What a mastermind!
Believe it or not, I couldn’t imagine playing this battle without Noa the Just. Once weapon-trained, it becomes a lethal threat to all slower foes, i.e. almost every monster. More importantly, Noa debuffs the opponent’s armor, which is priceless under this ruleset.
The Battle
It seems my opponent was chasing the gold rush; they didn’t pick the most suitable monsters for this ruleset and instead opted for a golden foil pack—leaving many powerful Water monsters aside. The initial trio of monsters fits the ruleset, though: Diemonshark, followed by Flying Squid, form a reasonably good duo for the first two positions, and Deeplurker ranks among the best opportunists in the game (especially when it becomes poisonous at higher levels). However, saving a spot for Merdaali Guardian, with only 3 HP and no attacking abilities, was a critical mistake—you can expect it to perish in the first round, perhaps even before it gets a chance to heal the tank. The two ranged monsters in the rear positions are generally weak; they would be better suited to a mid-mana cap game where drafting top-tier monsters isn’t feasible.
Since my opponent didn’t thoroughly consider the ruleset and simply drafted a universal Water pack they likely use as a default for this splinter, the battle turned into a slaughter rather than a fair duel between two armies of equal powers. My front two monsters withstood the few blows my opponent’s pack could muster, and the power creatures of my pack rolled over their army like a tsunami, leaving no one alive to witness my victory. Fast, efficient, and straightforward, I must say.
See the full battle here!
Posted Using INLEO
