In case you missed it, the stats for the 13th airdrop card, Astral Entity, from the Chaos Legion set were released last week, and on top of that, we've also had all of the upcoming reward card stats released. You can check out all of the new reward card stats in my original post Soul Bound Reward Cards: First Look!!, but also make sure to check out my follow up post UPDATE: Soul Bound Reward Card Nerfs that covers the 13 changes that have been implemented.
Lore
From the shadows and the ether comes an eldritch entity known only as the Astral Entity. It is a celestial being that drifts through rifts in reality, searching for new planes and realms. There are almost no recordings of the Astral Entity in the athenaeums of the Splinterlands, but if one was to search through forgotten scrolls in the cobwebbed corners of ancient libraries, they would find the briefest mentions of this being. Snippets from across the centuries mention a humanoid shape made of cosmic energy. No one knows where it came from or what it wants, but it has only been recorded doing one thing: observing.
In spite of this, death always seems to follow the Astral Entity’s arrival. Clans and nations go to war. Crops wither, livestock become ill or infertile, and famine ravages the land. Droughts, plagues of locusts, and violent storms bring empires to their knees. And when it’s over, the Astral Entity vanishes without a trace.
When the Chaos Legion invaded the Splinterlands, the rift they opened echoed across realities. This drew the attention of the Astral Entity. It was able to slip through the rift undetected and explore this new world.
It witnessed a world rich in mana, with diverse people and dramatic landscapes. It also witnessed a world crushed by the grip of the powerful Chaos Legion and their leader, Silus of the Rift. The Astral Entity observed the battles, the people suffering, and all the death, but it did nothing to intervene. What it did do was learn. It learned the strengths and weaknesses of not only the Splinterlands, but of the Chaos Legion, as well.
The time may come when the Astral Entity chooses a side. Whatever choice it makes will be purely for its own gain and based on all it has learned from its eons of passing through the rifts.
Astral Entity
Astral Entity looks like it's going to fit in with the Death Splinter extremely well. -2 Armor, Dodge, and Resurrect are just what Death has needed for quite a while.
Stats
-2 Armor
There's SO much Armor floating around now in every Splinter that it makes using Death a lot more situational than it used to be. I would've liked to see Death gain some Armor here, but this is just as good and it'll also keep people on their toes a bit more. Also, now that we have the new Protect monster coming for Death in the new batch of Reward Cards, having -2 Armor on the Summoner makes that card even more awesome!
Dodge
Dodge gives each monster a 25% chance at dodging Melee and Ranged attacks. Coupled high speed and Flying, this can lead to some extremely frustrating battles for your opponent. You'll still be vulnerable to Magic attacks, but if you're using any monsters with Phase, you'll be giving them a run for their money as well!
It's important to note that Dodge is being applied as an ability (we can tell by the green ring around it), so for all of you counting on Dispel to even things back out, you're out of luck.
Resurrect
Resurrect applies to the first monster on your team that is eliminated and brings them back to life with 1 HP. This might not seem like much, and to be honest it isn't, but there's a trick to make that less of a problem.
The last thing you want is for Resurrect to trigger on your Corpse Fiend or something like Carrion Shade, so using a Taunt monster or keeping an eye out for certain rulesets to use other monsters is crucial.
It can be a tricky ability to use effectively, but once you get the hang of it, it's extremely powerful and can drive your opponent mad.
Taunt Monsters
Dark Ha'on
While Dark Ha'on may not have a ton of speed, it has Flying starting at level 1 so you'll still have a 50% chance at dodging Melee and Ranged attacks. Starting at level 2, you'll have the Scavenge ability so that will help keep things going. Void, at level 3, will help tame some of those Magic attacks. Level 4 unlocks the highly revered Magic Reflect to help put those Magic spammers in their place.
Night Ghoul
Night Ghoul starts off pretty slow, but that can be a huge bonus in the Reverse Speed ruleset. Starting at level 6, you'll gain the Forcefield ability. Forcefield is nice for shutting down things like high damage Fire Melee lineups, Inspire boosted lineups, and even high damage Neutral monsters like Sandworm. Other than that, Night Ghoul isn't super impressive but at least you won't have to worry about resurrecting Corpse Fiend or something along those lines.
Coerul Lurker
I know what you're thinking... But Coerul Lurker already has Dodge! You'd be correct in that statement, but it's still an option for Taunt and starting at level 2, it also has Phase. Aside from unlocking Thorns at level 4, the real advantage here is giving your lower HP monsters a chance to do some damage and preventing Resurrect from triggering on something unintentional.
Rulesets
Aim True
This is a terrible ruleset for this Summoner because it's basically a True Strike ruleset so Dodge isn't going do you any favors here.
Armored Up
This is a great ruleset for this Summoner. Thinking you're getting +2 Armor only to have it taken away by your opponent's Summoner can really throw a wrench in your plans.
Fog of War
Without having to worry about Sneak, Snipe, or Opportunity, a Taunt monster isn't exactly necessary in this ruleset because, unless your opponent is using Scattershot, all of their attacks will be directed at your monster in the first position. Make sure you put something there worth resurrecting!
Lost Magic
You don't necessarily have to avoid this ruleset. Just know that Phase isn't going to do you any favors here. In this case, I'd likely avoid Coerul Lurker and use one of the other Taunt monsters.
Reverse Speed
Death has a couple absolutely nasty 1 Speed monsters with Flying that will really shine in this ruleset. Keep reading to find out more about them below!
Silenced Summoners
You're wasting mana by using this Summoner in this ruleset. Do yourself a favor and stick to something with lower mana. The lower the better. If you're feeling frisky, give Kretch Tallevor a try and bring some Dragons into the mix!
Super Sneak
As you'll most likely be facing attacks at both ends of your lineup, you'll definitely want to have one of those Taunt monsters in play to prevent an unintentional resurrection.
Unprotected
This is another ruleset you don't necessarily have to avoid, but your opponent's Armor will already gone. That doesn't mean you can't still use this Summoner for the Dodge and Resurrect abilities though.
Up Close & Personal
There's nothing really special going on with this ruleset, but at least you don't have to worry about any high powered Magic spams eating through your Taunt monsters. Also, if you're using Coerul Lurker here, don't forget that unless you're using it for Thorns, the Summoner already applies Dodge and Phase isn't going to be anything to help you.
Weak Magic
Not only are you hitting your opponent with -2 Armor and opening them up to some Magic attacks, but with up to 6 Armor, Night Ghoul is going to be your friend here.
Other Notable Monsters
New Reward Cards
Possessed Puppet
This card starts off with low HP, but at least Death gets some Double Strike. I wouldn't use this a main tank, but the Melee Mayhem, Equal Opportunity, and Super Sneak rulesets would be good for this one.
Wily Coyotian
This card starts off pretty weak, but once you get a few levels into it, you get quite a bit for 2 mana. By the time you hit level 6, you get Phase and that can be pretty strong against a lot of the slower Magic monsters. This is also going to be a great card in the Little League rulesets.
Ravenwood Warden
Ravenwood Warden starts off with pretty low HP, and while not absolutely necessary, I highly recommend using a Taunt monster if you have enough mana for it. Protect is such a great ability and the Death splinter has needed it for a while. Once you hit level 5, you'll unlock Inspire, which will help give those Taunt monsters a little extra oomph.
Will-O-Wisp
With this card you get Flying at level 1 with good Speed, and a ton of HP. Dodge is going to make sure this card stays in the fight for a while so make sure to pair it with Weapons Training for maximum effect! I also like that once you hit level 4, we get another option for Silence.
Usut
This is going to be a Reverse Speed MONSTER! Bloodlust is a ton of fun, but remember that Dispel can now remove the buff. Oppress, coming in at level 2, should be a good ability for all the new no-attack monsters. Finally, Heal is unlocked at level 3 and will go far to making sure Usut can inflict as much damage as possible.
Old Rewards & Promos
Nightmare
This card is one of the fastest cards in the Death Splinter. Not only that, but it starts off with Blast at level 1 and then you get Phase starting at level 6! You might run into some trouble against the ever popular Cursed Windeku tank, but pairing it with Ravenwood Warden and its Protect ability will give you a better chance of making it through alive.
Phantasm
Phantasm is another speedy card. It also starts off with Flying so we're talking a 50% chance of dodging Melee and Ranged attacks at level 1. Add in the Speed calculation and this thing is going to be hard to hit! Starting at level 5, you unlock Return Fire so you're opponent is going to be in for some pain if they even manage to land a hit. Retaliate is unlocked starting at level 9 so there's a chance for little something something in store for those attacking Melee monsters that also happen to get lucky.
Vampire
7 Speed and Flying at max level? Add in Dodge and this card is like a mini Phantom of the Abyss. Life Leech is sure to pack on some extra HP by the time anything actually hits this guy. Good luck hitting this one!
Fallen Specter
Fallen Specter is another fast card from the get go. It starts out with 6 Speed and Flying and instead of it getting faster as it's leveled, it progressively adds in Demoralize, Headwinds, and Blind. Unfortunately, we're not getting any help here in the HP department so watch out for Magic attacks.
Corrupted Pegasus
The only Tank Heal monster in the entire Death splinter. Unfortunately for the levels, that ability isn't available until you reach level 3. That doesn't mean this isn't a good card at lower levels though. At level 2 you unlock Strengthen. It may not be heal but an HP boost is still pretty effective. Not only that, this card comes with Flying from the beginning so you'll still enjoy the 50% chance at dodging Melee and Ranged attacks.
Chaos Legion & Rift Watchers
Riftwing
I've always been of Riftwing and with Astral Entity, it gets even cooler. High speed and Flying triggers Backfire fairly often and adding Dodge to the mix is going to make this card even more deadly.
Silent Sha-vi
One of the best Sneak cards in the Chaos Legion set just got even better. Not only is Dodge is going to make it even harder to hit, but -2 Armor is going to help you pick through your opponents backline faster than ever!
Djinn Muirat
Void Armor is such a great ability to have for Resurrect, but keep in mind that can be a risky move with here without Taunt. The way around that is the Fog of War ruleset. In Fog of War, it's a safer bet that all of your opponents attacks will be focused on your main tank. I say safer because they could still get lucky with some Scattershot and take out a monster you didn't want Resurrected. You can avoid this by running a lineup that's full of monsters with decent HP and avoiding low HP monsters like Corpse Fiend, Carrion Shade, etc. This card works quite well behind Legionnaire in those situations.
Legionnaire Alvar
If Resurrect is your plan and you're in Fog of War, this the tank of all tanks. Mana permitting, pair it up with Djinn Muirat behind it and go to town. Hopefully your opponent used a 10+ mana tank because hitting someone with double Giant Killer is a lot of fun. If you're playing Silver league or above, you can throw in a level 3, or higher, Cabalist and hit them with TRIPLE Giant Killer. Now that's a party!
Untamed & Dice
The Gorlodon
Gorlodon is a double-edged sword. First off, in the Reverse Speed ruleset, this thing is going to be pretty tough to hit. Second, True Strike comes into play at level 3 which also make it a great card against any card with the Dodge ability.
Soulstorm
Here's another heavy hitting, high speed, Flying monster that's going to make life difficult for your opponent. At level 2, you gain the Snare ability which should help to reign in some of those Flying monsters you're attacks are always missing.
Cthulu
Cthulu's long been a favorite of mine, especially once Stun is unlocked at level 2. In Reverse Speed, coupled with Flying from level 1, this card is going to be a beast! Weaken becomes available at level 3 and Last Stand at level 4. Keep in mind that Last Stand also increases Speed.
Tortisian Chief
This card is pretty clutch and not just for the Death Splinter. Aside from the Healed Out ruleset, a neutral card with Tank Heal is extremely useful anywhere you can fit it in. For Death, with the exception of a high level Dark Ha'on, the currently available Taunt monsters lack any kind of protection from Magic attacks, so this card will allow them to stay in the fight longer.
Alphas & Betas
Skeleton Assassin
Skeleton Assassin has so much speed going on that adding Dodge is going to make it a hard target. My favorite thing about this card, aside from the Speed, is that starting at level 6, you get everyone's favorite ability: Poison.
Dark Enchantress
Dark Enchantress starts out with moderate Speed, but not only does she get faster as she's leveled, she starts out with Flying. We're talking about a 50% chance of evading Melee and Ranged attacks before we even add in Speed calculations. Yes, please!
Spineback Wolf
Spineback Wolf is another little Speed demon. You also unlock the Thorns ability at level 5 so if by some chance your opponent does land a Melee attack, they're going to be rewarded with some Thorn damage for all their trouble.
Final Thoughts
I think Astral Entity is a great addition to the Chaos Legion set. Even though it may not have the abilities a lot of people were hoping for, the ones it received definitely even the playing field and make the Death splinter a much more viable option in a lot of situations.
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