Splinterlands Mystery Card Challenge #5

Unfortunately, no one successfully guessed last week's Mystery Card Challenge.

I initially thought it would be easier than the cryptogram puzzle types that I've used in the first three challenges, but that wasn't the case. 😅 There were many who came close to guessing it, but nobody named the exact card I was hinting at. So, I'm bringing up the challenge from last week in this post together with a new puzzle. There will be more clues this time since the last challenge may have been too confusing.

Head to the end of the post to try your luck. The middle part doesn't relate to the riddle, nor does it offer any additional hints. Today's post is a two-in-one challenge, so lots more card prizes are up for grabs!

Good luck!

New Card Acquisition: Lv 4 Vernari Spellsmith

I've kept talking about wanting to get more Chaos Legion cards as they are just as strong or even more than its predecessors. And yet they are so cheap to own or rent. I already got a Level 2 Chaos Dragon and Earth's Queen Mycelia was my next top pick. But it was a pricier $14 card, so I got swayed by the $7 card, Djinn Muirat.

A level 2 Mycelia is still reigning on my wishlist. Its Protect and Amplify skills are pretty OP, especially considering it only costs four mana. However, my funds are still short to get a Level 2 Mycelia. So I looked for a different monster that's not too far from Mycelia's specs.

Enter Venari Spellsmith.





Its basic stats are pitifully low for a four-mana card, but, I guess, it's something players would ignore in favor of its abilities. The level 1 skill, Dispel, can be pretty handy in certain situations but a bit hard to use. You'd need good instincts and analytical skills to predict whether Dispel may be useful in an upcoming battle since its effectiveness heavily relies on the enemy's team composition.

That is why I find the unlockable Amplify a much more attractive skill. Players can build a solid strategy around Amplify by combining it with Magic Reflect or Thorn abilities. Of course, you'd still need to guess your opponent's lineup to make your Amplify strategy work to the fullest. But its usefulness is a lot less of a variable than with Dispel.

Level 4 Venari Spellsmith looks good on paper with the two somewhat niche skills. However, it's far from a meta card. At this point, I'm still thinking about how to maximize its potential. And frankly, I think I'm far from getting the answer still.

But I'm weirdly fond of the card since it makes quirky battles like the battle below possible.

Upcoming Battle: What to Do if Direct Attacks Won't Work?

I was smart enough to predict that the opponent would go magic-heavy with a Level 4 Obsidian. Yes, it's one of the few times I deduced my opponent's play correctly. But despite knowing the potential enemy lineup, I'm still struggling with how to counter it.

My foe has the incredible level 2 Queen Mycelia paired up with a level 2 Failed Summoner. A frightful combo that blasts back magic attacks. I would automatically go to a melee or ranged-focus team to avoid getting reflect damage, but Mycelia's armor buff would nullify those physical damage. The battle's got Divine Shield ruleset to boot, so attack nullification through the roof.

So magic, melee, and ranged attacks are all no-go.

So something indirect, then?

Maybe Poison?

....

Or what if I give my enemy a taste of their medicine?

Summoner	1st	2nd	3rd
	4th	5th	6th

[Summoner] Lyanna Natura. Only because I got no other moderately-leveled Earth summoner. Dragon's Quix would have been an okay alternative, but the mana cap is only 19, so I opted to use a cheaper summoner.

[1st Position] Rusty Android. I often forget that I have this card, lmao. It's got decent stats and skill but there several other tanks better than Android. Since I'm fighting fire with fire, I'm taking out all my Magic Reflect monsters.

[2nd Position] Failed Summoner is my secondary tank. And it's one of my key players because of Magic Reflect.

[3rd Position] Furious Chicken is there to fill a spot. Nothing else.

[4th Position] Creeping Ooze is a universally good one-cost monster because it has Slow. But everyone, don't be like me who uses Slow on a Reverse Speed ruleset. I completely missed it. 😱

[5th Position] Venari Spellsmith is my most valuable monster on the team. I'll pit its Amplify skill against the legendary Queen Mycelia. I wonder who'll come out as the victor.

[6th Position] Swamp Thing is an epic-type low-cost monster that's quite handy. It has Weaken that slashes a point in all enemy monsters' health. It would synchronize well with my Amplify-Reflect strategy.

Share Your Battle: Reflect Vs Reflect

I honestly wasn't expecting much from my lineup since it felt like I was only trolling and not trying to win. 🤣 I wanted to win, but the enemy was undeniably strong, so I didn't hope for much.

But here goes nothing. I present you a Reflect Verus Reflect Battle. Which side would reflect magic damage the best?

Inspecting the faceoff after applying the buffs and debuffs, I realize I'm not in a terrible spot. Wood Nymph is down to two health, so it only takes one clean reflect damage to knock it out of the game. I only need to get rid of the pesky Divine Shield. And that's what mostly happens in Round 1 --- just canceling out shields.

By Round 2, I finally got that amplified reflect hit! Wood Nymph, as anticipated, bowed out of the game. But Queen Mycelia is still hanging with one life point.

But not for long. In the next round, Mycelia succumbs after a bloody red, reflect damage. However, she takes out my Rusty Android along with it.




Round 3 continues with these remaining monsters in the field. At this point, it's not hard to guess who will win. The enemies' armor is all gone. They only got four health points across three monsters, and I still got five on my team with a fourteen-health-point sum.

The battle ended in Round 7 with our 🥳 Victory 🥳!

What I'd do differently is not use Slow in a Reverse Speed ruleset. I wish I could commit to that but it's an honest and easy mistake that I kept on doing. 😅

As for the strategy, it's not really something I could recommend. Only use it when you are cornered and got nothing else left on your arsenal. YOLO. 🤟

The Mystery Card Giveaway Challenge

Basic rules:
Only active players of Splinterlands may join.
One or multiple answers per comment.
Maximum of five answers per player.

The Challenge:
Figure out the secret Splinterlands Card hinted by these images. Note there are two prize cards to guess this round. You can guess one or both, but only five guesses are allowed between these two.

CARD #1	CARD #2

Hint #1: I'm looking for the name of a specific Splinterlands card.
Hint #2: The card stats do not relate to the mystery card.
Hint #3: The card on the left is the same prize card from last week but with slightly different hints. I hope that will give you guys some extra insights.

_{Previous Challenges:
Mystery Card Challenge #1 - Answer: Lava Launch(er); Prize: Lava Launcher
Mystery Card Challenge #2 - Answer: Venari; Prize: Venaris Bonesmith, Wavesmith & Crystalsmith
Mystery Card Challenge #3 - Answer: Dracula; Prize: 2 Vampires
Mystery Card Challenge #4 - Answer: Unsolved 😢}

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