The MELEE MATES: These MATES know MELEE - Strategy ideas and sharing my learnings.

Today, I think we need to talk about DRAGONS - and to do so with a bit of honesty. I'll start with my first confession: my dragon team is weak. I don't even own a dragon summoner! However, I know how to use the rental system!

The thing I wanted to focus on then, was how dragons could combine in an absolute smack-down kind of melee attack. I do this similar strategy in the WATER splinter, but it occurred to me that the Dragons are a powerful force, so why not do some experimenting.

This is what I found:

The DJINN CHWALA is basically the most epic tank. This is largely because his melee attack is HUGE, but also because he has the THORNS skillset, damaging opponents to the tune of +2 per hit. It makes him incredibly, incredibly lethal. And, when you look at his +5 Armour and +9 Health - this little guy ain't so little, in fact, he's freaking awesome! In a melee battle, he is putting up a strong +3 open. I actually do own this card at Level 5, but of course I am limited to what level he can play as a consequence of my summoner, in this case, it allowed him to play Level 2.

And then there is the mighty DESERT DRAGON. This guy is particularly powerful because he has an AMAZING +5 Melee damage, but more than that, he has the TRAMPLE ability which will allow him to attack again if he makes a kill. More significant, however, is his PIERCING ability, which will mean he will take the opponent's armour, and if he has any additional melee left, he will also take their health! It's an incredible asset to be able to play this SKILL because it has the potential to destroy an opponent's longevity. I own this card Level 2 - and the truth is, I don't get to use him often, largely because he is a pretty ordinary tank - and really needs to be in a situation with an OPPORTUNITY or SNEAK skillset to maximise his power.

And then there is the mighty CARNAGE TITAN. I rented him for the first time today, when I became tired of losing to opponent's playing him. This meant I got to experiment a bit to see just how talented he would be in my line-up. I lost a bit playing him, largely because his MANA total is so high, and I kept trying to put him into the wrong rulesets. That said, he's a pretty significant card - as he has the DOUBLE STRIKE skill, which means he will attack twice each round. Pair this with one of my favourite skills, REACH, and he's a great card. But you know what makes him even better? His high health and armour, it means when he is promoted to the TANK position, he will typically be more 'TANKY' than the actual 'TANK'.

But of course, these guys need a friend - and for me, I could look no further than the BYZANTINE KITTY. This summoner is a LEGENDARY and his strength is that he has super speed which he gives to all my cards at +2. He also heals my tank each round too, which is so awesome because it will absolutely lead to longevity on the battlefield. This guy is expensive at 7 mana, but he is an absolute game changer!

Now, the truth is, playing those four mates is particularly strong. They all work together to be able to absolutely dominate an opposing team, seeking to crush the enemy with a melee attack which any combination in the game, regardless of the splinter, would find difficult to defend against - particularly since the +2 speed will likely mean I'll be taking all the early hits and gaining that early advantage.

But it occurred to me, that I could make this team far more dangerous with just one additional ingredient - And that ingredient is the skill INSPIRE. For me then, when I picked a splinter to join my dragons, I went down the LIFE pathway.

And this is the way to do it. With the SILVERSHIELD KNIGHT!! This card, on the surface, looks a bit underpowered, however, that INSPIRE ability is an absolute weapon. It means that for the CARNAGE TITAN, instead of hitting for +2 and +2, he now hits for +3. My DESERT DRAGON becomes a +6 weapon, while the DJINN CHWALA moves to +4. Basically - this card is the support card with more than a little bit of bite, he's fantastic!

But like many things, it all comes down to the ruleset. As I said before, I lost a lot of battles playing my dragons - because I didn't pick the right ruleset. This one, however, was made for this team. It had a high mana count, and without magic being able to be used - my high health and armour meant I was likely to be untouchable. The SNEAK skillset also meant my melee cards could attack from any position. This let me play my mate the DESERT DRAGON with the intention that he would be dominant.

Here's how the battle opened:

Looking at that opening, I know that I am ready to really make an absolute SMASH SMACK-DOWN. How do I know this? Well, I can count. My melee attack totals 24 melee per round. That's HUGE!! My opponent's attack totals 10 Arrows and 7 Melee, for a total of 17 attack per round. Right from the start, I have a significant advantage - and you can see how the INSPIRE skill starts to make my MELEE MATES all the more strong.

Right from the start I am thumping my opponent, in fact, I took his TANK out with my first four attackers, which all went first. By the end of Round 2 - the smacking was smashing through my opponent's back row, and this is how Round 3 begins. As you can see, my opponent's WORM will die on my first attack in Round 3, and his EYE, despite having health, is an absolute sitting duck. This was an astonishingly massive victory - and, it shows the power of the MELEE MATES.

Evaluation:

• I don't often play the DRAGON splinter, but I'm coming to realise that it is a powerful group of card with significant synergies. I am understanding that I need to put more attention on this splinter, because the right rule sets come up often enough, that I believe my win rate would increase by engaging with this splinter more.
• I love melee attack, it's my favourite way to engage with a battle. I love MELEE SMASHING - and this battle felt great! Better than great! I will be intending on doing this again - because, the rentals I needed were incredibly cheap. The KITTY cost me 9.2 DEC and the CARNAGE TITAN only 3 DEC for 1 day. I won 6 DEC from this battle, and paid for about half of their rental costs. That is most certainly amazing!

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