The battle challenge ruleset this week is Taking Sides. In this ruleset, players have fewer cards to make use of because no neutral monsters may be used.
The battle I chose to showcase is a 16 mana match with the Taking Sides and Rebirth rulesets. The Death splinter is the only one available to play. So card choices will be quite limited in this match.
Here is a link to the battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_acf7685457ec2540c5954c9f3c81105a&ref=ninjamike
Rebirth is an interesting ruleset that has many implications. For example, when a poisoned monster is reborn they are cured of the poison and when monsters with armor are reborn they have full armor.
The scavenge ability pairs amazingly well with a Rebirth ruleset. This is because all monsters die twice before being fully defeated. And each time they die, a monster with the scavenge ability gains one health. So monsters with the Scavenge ability have the potential to become major beasts in this ruleset. Luckily, the Death splinter has one of the better Scavenge monsters in the game.
For my summoner, I chose the Chaos Legion Rare summoner which takes away one magic attack and one health away from opponents. In this small mana match, I chose a zero mana monster as my first. In second position, I placed my scavenge monster. Next I placed a small magic monster with the Leech ability. Finally, I rounded out my lineup with a strong Melee sneak attacker. Hopefully this monster can pick off low health monsters at the end of my opponents backline. With the Rebirth ruleset this could substantially add to my scavenger monsters health.
Start of Battle / Round 1
My opponent started their lineup with a mini tank with the Shield ability. After this they went with a couple magic monsters and a ranged monster which will attack my monster in first position. They rounded out their lineup with a zero mana card.
Round 2
During the first round, my first monster was defeated and I did not defeat any of my opponents’ monsters. But my scavenge monster is net up one in health.
Round 3
In the second round, I defeated my opponents zero mana card in last position. My scavenge monster in first position is holding strong at five health though it did get poisoned. Hopefully it can still last long enough for me to win this battle.
Round 4
During the third round, I defeated my opponents’ monsters in first and last position. My scavenge monster in first position is holding on at three health. It is running out of monsters to scavenge from and is still dealing with the poison.
Round 5
At the end of the fourth round, my scavenge monster was killed and reborn at one health and of course unpoisoned.
Round 6
During the fifth round, my opponents monster in second position was killed and so my scavenge monster gained one health before taking damage of one. So it still has one health to start the sixth round.
Round 7
My scavenge monster still has one health to start the seventh round. My opponent only has one monster remaining. Things are looking good for me.
Overall my strategy for this match worked. My Scavenge monster bought me enough time to defeat my opponent with just two attack monsters in my backfield. Matches involving a Rebirth ruleset can last many rounds and it is in your favor to have a Scavenge monster on your side which my opponent did not have.
The Taking Sides ruleset affects some matches more than others. For example, there are many low mana neutral cards that I like to use. So a Little League ruleset combined with Taking Sides affects me greatly. Other times there are more than enough desirable cards to choose from. For example, when the Dragon splinter is available to play.
