The Swiss Guards on Leave

I've always considered the neutral cards in Splinterlands as the mercenaries of this imaginary realm, akin to the Swiss Guards of the real world. Even the Holy See has been maintaining such a mercenary unit since ever, from which I assume that even God could rely on them. Just like those historical sellswords, the neutrals in Splinterlands are ready to join any side as long as the price is right. Unlike the Papal Swiss Guard, the Neutrals in Splinterlands may find themselves on leave due to a ruleset modification called Taking Sides. In this battle, only minors could participate, thanks to the Little League Modification, and all those minors got Armored Up. And it was Life and Death crossing swords. Have I piqued your interest?

The mana cap was set at 25, which wasn't a limitation this time since you cannot exceed 24 mana points with a Little League deck. So, I had the freedom to select my most potent cards, and I chose Lorna Shine to lead them into battle. Her Holy Protection buff seemed like the perfect fit.

I anticipated that the battle would be decided by magic strikers, given how long it would take to break through all that extra armor on Little League monsters any other way. To counter this, I devised a cunning strategy using Pelacor Conjurer as an unconventional tank since it reflects magical damage.

In a battle involving low HP monsters, speed is of the essence, so drafting the Time Mage was a must. He not only packs a magical damage but also speeds up his fellows.

I didn't have particularly high hopes for Stitch Leech this time. While this sneaky monster is usually a force to be reckoned with, this ruleset weakened it. I mainly included it for its reasonable HP stats.

The primary damage dealer in my lineup was the Light Elemental, positioned strategically in the middle. A flying monster with 2 magic damage for only 4 mana points is a gem in many sets, including this one.

Surprisingly, the chaos in my opponent's deck was mostly caused by an inconspicuous guy named Dax Paragon. One might dismiss him as a low-mana card with moderate stats, but he played a crucial role. Dax Paragon amplified Pelacor Conjurer's Magic Reflection and contributed to eliminating the two cards my opponent relied on the most.

Missing a healer when playing for the Life side would make little sense, so I opted for Venari Crystalsmith, who kept my tank alive.

The Battle

It was an utterly decisive, flawless victory. Why? Well, look at the lineups; my opponent fielded higher-level cards, whereas I stuck with my trusty golden pack cards. However, my strategy leaned heavily on smart defense. My flying tank buffed to a blistering speed of 5, easily dodged my opponent's ranged attacks, and reflected magical damage to their magic strikers. Besides, it got the summoner's Holly Protection and healing throughout the battle.

In stark contrast, my opponent's slow tank crumbled under the assaults of my magic strikers and got eliminated in the very first round. None of their magic strikers managed to endure past the second round; Revealer even killed himself only from the magic reflections. The two ranged monsters and the Cursed Slimeball stood no chance against my army then. Even the Slimeball's Redemption ability posed no significant threat to my pack. I only lost a single armor point on my tank; everyone else emerged unscathed. What a massacre, wouldn't you say?

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