This week’s battle mage secrets focuses on the Taking Sides Ruleset.

Ruleset Details

The Taking Sides ruleset negates the use of Neutral unit cards in battles and typically, Neutral unit cards are valued for their utility and versatility in splinterlands. So immediately, players who rely on Neutral unit monsters like Lord Arianthus (I know I do), Gelatinous Cube, Legionnaire Alvar etc., will be required to adapt default strategies and tactics. On the other side, if you lean into this ruleset, it can be advantageous, however, it does require you to have a decent-sized splinterlands collection. One approach is to look at your collection, analyze which Neutral unit cards you rely on and then find alternatives within the relevant Splinters. This will serve many purposes – opening you up to new strategies by understanding the strength of each Splinter within your collection. Also, gives you a chance to take stock of your collection and see which areas of your collection are strong and which areas require work or probable future investment.

Battle – Full Battle History

Battle Details

• Mana Cap: 42
• Ruleset(s): Armored Up, Wands Out, Taking Sides

Line-up Details

• Alric Stormbringer (summoner): +1 magic damage to all friendly monsters.
• Medusa + Captains Ghost: front line protection + support magic damage.
• Sea Genie + Musa Seline: backline protection + team buffs.
• Ruler of the Seas + Riverboat Captain: primary magic damage due to dual Blast damage + team buffs.

Did your strategy work? What will you try differently next time?

The combination of the rulesets and the summoners provided no advantages to any side in the battle. The strategy for the battle was to utilize some of the older overpowered cards in the Water splinter and find those synergistic combos to take out the opposition's backline. Therefore, the strategy was to pack the front line with monsters that could protect either via buffs or high health, the Ruler of the Seas, and Riverboat Captain so they could proc dual Blast damage and serve as the main source of firepower in the line-up. This strategy worked out quite well and even though the opposition has some very tanky monsters, having dual Blast damage every round was just too much for the opposition to deal with.

Do You Like the Taking Sides Ruleset? Why or Why Not?

I have previously voiced my frustrations at rulesets that negate the use of certain cards and therefore on the surface I am inclined to dislike this ruleset. However, while writing and researching for this post the Taking Sides ruleset does tap into the theory crafting and deck-building aspect of splinterlands. What do I mean by this? Well, if you know there are Neutral unit monsters that you heavily rely on (e.g., Lord Arianthus), and if you know that every so often you will be presented with the Taking Sides ruleset or another ruleset like Lost Legendaries where you are unable to use these monsters, it does raise a question that needs to be answered – what monsters will you play in its place? It requires rethinking default strategies and tactics and requires having a balanced collection where you have multiple options to tackle battles.

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