This week's Splinterlands Challenge of the Week is to showcase the exploding dwarf.
Well I've failed to find a suitable opportunity to do this, as the Dwarf is just too specialist - you need equaliser or a pro-melee rule set and I just haven't been getting either of those recently.
Moreover I don't play the Fire Splinter - I did try a few battles on my alt account @self-track, but lower down the leagues where he is you only get standard rules, which makes the Dwarf unplayable with the decks I've got (no armour option).
So I've instead decided to [share a battle]https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=ff02bff3463819a732ef56f9c916c36e9e4ef70e) where I wipe out a superior opponent playing with Fire.....
He plays one card with the Blast ability, and another two with piercing and retaliate, so you've basically got the Dwarf here, just without the insanely low health penalty!
In the battle below I'm going to take the perspective of my opponent....
The rule set and line up
- mana - 44 - nice high mana!
- Healed out - so favouring high health or shield monsters
- only commons
- Summoner - + 1 classic fire dude
- Molton Ogre - high damage, high health and stampede.
- Phineus rage - reach and oppress - everyone plays LORD A right?!?
- Armour guy and shatter - shields expected in no healing, also high damage
- Spark Pixies - low health but high damage and blast
- Pyro - just high damage and fast
- Etin Spearman - mega damage and some good health defence against sneak.
My comments - not knowing too much about the Fire splinter this seems like a pretty decent choice for the rule set - high health up front with a clear strategy to take out my first monster rapid and then blast the second with stampede.
And he's got stun in there to go with the Etin's knock out.
However, it didn't work out so well...
The battle
- round 1 - I lose my Sea Monster but he also loses his Molton Ogre, before it can attack, which wastes 5 damage, and potential 10 if it had stampeded.
- round 2 - I lost my Prismatic Energy, but he also loses his Phineus.
- round 3 - I lose both my Captain's Ghost and Medusa - ouch, he loses his flamesmith. Now he's losing one attack per round with ranged in front.
- Round 4 - a crucial miss on my Genie! And he loses his Spark Pixies.
- Round 5 - the Genie soaks up one attack from the Etin, but he loses his Pyro, and now it's all over - I just have to finish his Etin which no longer does damage as its in the front!
Analysis
My opponent selected a sound team and strategy, but I just happened to have a legendary summoner to counter this with.
It was the additional speed provided by Valnamor that won me this battle - and a bit of luck with being able to take out his Molton Ogre first.
My magic attacks also were crucial, being more effective than my opponent's ranged attacks, which were made far less effective by my shields - which were crucial to my victory.
Also my playing three high health monsters in the front were crucial too.
And at the end... that crucial miss from the Etin, that's his low speed plys the flying of the Genie, and buffed speed!
My opponent's weakness was too much reliance on ranged attacks, with no ranged buff from the summoner, and the low health of the middle three monsters which allowed me to just plough right through them at the end of the battle!
If you don't yet play Splinterlands, why not give it a go?
Anyone using my referral link will receive a free rare card!