In Bronze, don't underestimate two attack for four mana from the backline. Kulu Swimhunter proves the point. In the following 12 battles from accounts automated by Archmage and submitted by our users, we behold the Kulu Swimhunter in action, doing the work and getting the wins.
Overall Impressions
Monsters with no abilities are underrated. Kulu Swimhunter falls into that category. First off, they are the superior choice in Back to Basics rules, not feeling the penalty at all.
They also get full value for their levels into their stats. So if you are going for a strategy that optimises stat points, the Kulu Swimhunter makes an excellent base.
Finally, and this might seem a strange aspect of the card to consider to be positive, but it has no Armor. It is also good, therefore, in Unprotected rules. All its stats are in Ranged Attack, Life and Speed. Very concentrated in its intent and purpose.
Level 3 Kelya Frendul versus Level 2 - a mirror match. A close one too. Even though the lower summoner has shiny gold cards, the extra points of Speed and Life are too much on team belonging to the Level 3. Swimhunter in second position. Let's see if that's a theme.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_8271a2c9ffaa2c8ee3604ed95611745f&ref=archmage.app
Level 3 Kelya versus level 2 General Sloan. The gold foil Level 4 Swimhunter does some work, pounding away on the enemy, who has chosen quantity of monsters over quality. Diemonshark is quite fun to watch in this battle, getting off a Trample even after its attack has been halved.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_29653ef9bcee3878b33a008098952bb5&ref=archmage.app
Kelya mirror. One is Level 2 though, unlocking Level 3 GF Commons. Swimhunter, with the extra Life and Speed, is on the tail end here and delivers many hits.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_a39af62e35cfc8233a9580524d3082b0&ref=archmage.app
Level 2 Kelya versus Level 1 Thaddius Brood. Diemonshark in combination with the Swimhunter again here. Not a single monster falls on the Blue team. It's just a pity we don't get to see any Trample hits. They are fun.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_95b426a65abe07497bf9fa40531a9557&ref=archmage.app
Level 1 Kelya. Level 1 Tarsa. Melee hates Armor. It hates crucial misses against Flying monsters even more. The way the Chaos Legion summoners counter each other is interesting. Kelya Frendul and Kulu Swimhunter win.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_5d8fcfc08dedb7f21b4b1acc7843d016&ref=archmage.app
Level 3 Kelya mirror match. Interesting. The actual hero here is Torrent Fiend, soaking hits and changing the attack order to create an imbalance between otherwise identical teams. Everyone should have a set of fiends.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_6cf8d75c37e4da02889d14216f343624&ref=archmage.app
Level 3 Kelya versus Level 1 Khala. I think we can all guess which way this one is going to go. A white magic team really doesn't like the Deeplurker, with the Swimhunter in front in fact, doing some potential tank duty. White also dislikes here a Djinn Oshannus that keeps getting healed by a Merdaali Guardian.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_fc4f8c49482878f611448f4eeed4c8e9&ref=archmage.app
Kelya again, a Level 3, versus a Daria Dragonscale Level 2. Back to Basics and Spreading Fury. Strange ruleset. Nerissa Tridawn looks good here. Also the summoner buff on the Blue summoner does more work, especially with the monsters silenced.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_3eeb09dc7c6e4fbe9fa7a8bcb9558813&ref=archmage.app
Level 4 Kelya versus level 2 Sloan under Explosive Weaponry and Even Stevens. Wave Brood and Baakjira are the stars, but the Swimhunter puts in some extra duty with the added blast from the rules.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_0d028719de3ea246e8ff0cf5fcf02349&ref=archmage.app
A Level 4 Kelya beats up Level 1 Kelya - what a bully. Target Practice, where all monsters get Snipe, and Lost Magic. The Angelic Mandarin is important here and the Swimhunter, both of which have some added levels on one team, making the attack order difference and securing the victory.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_b26041d7581576058ec84f6e1a2ab341&ref=archmage.app
Gladiators Guild mirror match! I hope it doesn't cause any grudges. Kelya versus Thaddius. Pelacor Bandit so good. Gets in the hits, and moves around for the misses. Also a fiend again soaking the hits on the tail end. Blue too good.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_96080298e30800869cfb14d5c2948250&ref=archmage.app
More Gladiators. Kelya and Swimhunter go up against Sloan. But the Sloan this time has friends: Uriel the Purifier and Adelade Brightwing. Oops. White wins. Goodbye Swimhunter on this one.
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_227d239a40103e5ddf620eeec61d2b94&ref=archmage.app
Massive thanks again to the following people for submitting battles:
@larinda, @alaniand, @vasupilami, @iviaxpow3r, @yodin.zaku, @sindah, @kebaan
Each week the Splinterlands Weekly Battle Challenge is shared in the Archmage Discord. Submit your battles which feature their highlighted card in our #battleground channel. The first person to share a relevant battle each week wins a spot prize.
Archmage Courier: Issue #17
