Reflection Shield is an invaluable tool to ensure your lineup can survive an onslaught of Reflect damage types... but when should we use it?
Good Rulesets to use Reflection Shield
Briar Patch
As discussed in my last blog Thorns is an effective deterrent to Melee damage and can even be Amplified to increase its damage further.
Blast
Blast is a strong ability that can ensure that damage spreads to adjacent monsters. Often associated with Yodin Zaku, one of the most meta summoners of recent times. This can be extremely difficult to combat unless you are prepared.
Magic Reflect
In my last blog discussing Briar Patch, I utilised a Pelacor Conjurer who utilises Magic Reflect to good effect. It is a strong ability that can severly hamper magic opponents as they tend to have low health in general compared to melee counterparts.
Return Fire
Similar to Magic Reflect, this ability returns a portion of damage back to the opponent and it does not miss when it occurs.
By using Reflection Shield during the above rulesets, we can mitigate their opportunity to do additional damage against the monster carrying this ability. But are there times when not to use Reflection Shield...
No not really. It is a great ability and its best use is defensively to counteract the opponent.
Tide Biter
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 0.24 | $ 2.30 | 10 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 279 | 2,662 |
A really strong card for a second position. With the Reach ability, it will always target the first position on the opposing side which helps to back up the main tank of the lineup. In addition, the Reflection Shield prevents any Thorns damage or Blast damage from doing significant damage to this monster ensuring longevity. 3 mana and 2 damage with 4 speed and 4 health at 3rd level is awesome value in my book. I am surprised I have yet to upgrade mine so I'll be looking to prioritise this card when my summoners level up again. Overall a must buy card and second only to my favourite card on this list.
Revealer
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 0.217 | $ 9.98 | 46 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 263 | 11,562 |
A really strong candidate for my favourite Death card behind Kain Hace. The stun ability is awesome and can really hinder an opponent while the addition of Reflection Shield makes this a very interesting card indeed. 4 mana cost for 2 damage, 2 speed and 5 health is good value. A very interesting card in the lower levels before it achieves Reflection Shield so I can only assume it continues at the higher levels after that.
Ash Mirage
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 0.383 | $ 38.348 | 100 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 399 | 44,426 |
7 mana for 3 attack, 5 speed and 6 health is a nightmare for an opponent. Combined with A Jacek, this card could be doing some serious damage to any part of a lineup and the ability to reduce Ranged damage is awesome. Reflection Shield is an excellent added bonus to defend against the Reflected damage options mentioned at the top of this blog as well. A really strong card choice and one most people ought to have.
Water Caller
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 0.505 | $ 20.188 | 40 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 548 | 23,388 |
The Water Caller is very similar to the Revealer in the Death deck. With 5 mana it costs a little more but offers more or less the same stats with the exception of a slower speed and a higher health. A pretty decent offering but at a higher mana cost than that of the Revealer. The higher health makes this card a bit tankier so with the Reflection Shield in place, it would certainly be a better card to place in Second or Third position in the lineup. Overall, not the best card in this lineup but certainly has its place in the Water lineup.
Runic Skyclaw
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 0.825 | $ 33.018 | 40 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 919 | 38,251 |
This is a pretty powerful card at 5th level. 4 attack, 6 speed, 3 armour and 6 health. This is an excellent value 9 mana card all with Snipe and Flying thrown in as well. I think this card is a big win for sure especially combined with a Quix The Devious to reduce the opponent's speed. A good card for sure!
Corsair Bosun
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 1.00 | $ 1.00 | 1 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 1,241 | 1,241 |
This is my highest priority card right now. A fantastic card that can really cause some serious problems for a number of lineups. 4 damage from the second position due to reach and 5 armour, this card is built like a tank (costs like one too!). For 10 mana this is an expensive but solid card. The number of times I have come up against this card lost against it is more than I'd like to admit. Do yourself a favour and grab this excellent card. Well worth it for the single BCX.
Venator Kinjo
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 3.021 | $ 3.021 | 1 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 3,500 | 3,500 |
This is an excellent cheap option to plug the gap behind the main tank and absorb that Blast Damage. With only 2 mana and Reflection Shield this card does little damage and takes little damage but is very effective at stopping Blast damage from tearing apart your line up. Worth having at least 1 BCX of this card. At the current prices it is probably worth picking up a higher level of this too.
Ancient Redwood
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 13.99 | $ 41.998 | 3 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 16,169 | 48,699 |
A big tanky hitter. With True Strike this card does not miss. In a Reverse Speed ruleset this card could be deadly. 5 ranged attack is huge along with 10 health. Worth the 11 mana? Yes. It is very situational in my opinion. A good card to call upon for sure especially in a Return Fire ruleset as well.
(This may be the solution for those pesky Return Fire and Arrow only rulesets I get in Brawls almost every week...?)
Kain Hace
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 15.444 | $ 15.444 | 1 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 17,909 | 17,909 |
One of my favourite card designs of the newer cards. A glass cannon and with Blast it deals a hefty amount of harm to opposing monsters. Reflection Shield is essential at second level for this card to keep it healthy. Watch out for that opportunity attack though as it won't last long when it is targetted by an opponent. 3 damage with blast is well worth the 8 mana. 2 speed is decent for a magic card but that 2 health is somewhat limiting and requires careful forethought as to which rulesets it should be utilised in.
Oshuur Constantia
| Cost Per BCX | Reflection Shield Level Cost | Total BCX Required |
|---|---|---|
| $ 37.78 | $ 113.33 | 3 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost | |
| 43,298 | 131,416 |
This enters the list as the most expensive single BCX card. This is one card I have come across a few times and it has many merits. The Resurrect ability is great to have and offers something within Modern Dragon lineups that is not already available. The 2 magic damage is great and alongside 2 speed and 6 health it is pretty decent value for 7 mana. At second level it gains the Reflection Shield ability which is excellent but is Reflection Shield worth spending so much on this card? Having not had the chance to use it, I cannot for certain say either way. But what I will say is, if you find yourself using Oshuur alot then it would be worth it. I am aiming to pick one BCX up and will decide for myself from there onward.
Reflection Shield is a very power ability capable of nullifying some of the more potent attacking abilities in Splinterlands but is there a must have card for you?
If you had the funds for just one of these cards and could pick only one, which would it be and why?
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