Documenting my Splinterlands Knowledge - Rebellion Reward Cards Review: Commons Part 2

Hello there.

In my last post I reviewed the Fire, Water, and Earth Rebellion common reward cards. For this one, I will be talking about the Life, Death, and Neutral common monsters. Common monsters are the easiest to get and level up, so their strengths and viability can be a big factor for players in the lower leagues. So for these cards I will first discuss the cards objectively, looking at the stats and abilities, and eventually on what teams it can work with. I usually play up to Silver level cards so I'll be looking at them from that perspective, but I'll also share my thoughts on their max level versions.

Nimbledook Explorer

Nimbledook Explorer is a 4 cost Life monster. It has the Protect ability at level 1, gets the Armored Strike at level 5, and Heal at max level. Having the Armored Strike makes its additional armor even more effective. Because of the Protect, this will work nicely with Rathe, and is good against Sloan and Ilthain. I was initially hesitant with its combo with Aves' Weapons Training since most magic attacks ignore armor, but I realized that it can deal both physical and magic damage to opponents, and can be very hard to kill with Rathe.

At 4 mana, it can be a really good tank in little league. Its combo with Moxian Rebel and Scavo Hireling is a no brainer. But having said that, I do think it is a bit niche at lower levels, and really becomes more usable once it gets the Armored Strike. The heal can be nice to have, but having to reach max level to get it can be difficult.

---

Luceheim Demon

Luceheim Demon is a 7 cost Life monster. It has 3 attack 1HP and Snipe in level 1, gets the Cleanse in level 3, and the Triage at max level. To continue the theme other common rebellion reward cards, the Luceheim Demon's attack doesn't increase in higher levels. It also doesn't get any more speed, which makes it really good in reverse speed rulesets. But its 1 speed makes it really bad outside of that ruleset.

What makes it slightly viable is the Cleanse and Triage. Life doesn't have a lot of cleanse monsters, and the Triage can be good with Iziar. Even without Iziar it can be a serviceable sneak or Snipe tank. It does get a good amount of armor and HP at higher levels, but the low attack and speed kind of makes it very niche and mostly for lower league.

---

Broken Earth Thug

Broken Earth Thug is a 3 cost Death monster. It has the Opportunity at level 1, gets 2 damage at level 2, the Cripple at level 4, and 3 damage at max level. For a while now, I feel like the team is really buffing Death's melee monsters and their backline access. I feel like this card is already really good at level 2 after getting the 2 damage. The Cripple at level 4 is nice to have, but doesn't really push it over the top. The 3 attack would be really nice but having to reach max level can be a tall ask. This is a very easy fill card, and together with Dark Arborist, Death is a big threat in little league matchups even against a melee fire strategy.

---

Ujurak Brave

Ujurak Brave is a 6 cost Death monster. It has the Immunity at level 1, and gets the Silence at level 4. I feel like Death has a lot of Immunity monsters, and I wonder if it is a part of their theme. Getting Silence continues to make Death a really strong counter to magic teams. Together with Thaddius and -2 magic damage can really mess with a lot of damage. Getting it at level 4 is pretty early. The good thing is that it is a melee monster, so there will still be a bit of prediction on when to use it.

Having said that, I think it is a very niche monster. It can see use in Noxious Fumes ruleset because of the Immunity, and maybe during Broken Arrows ruleset. It has ok stats, but at 6 cost, it is difficult to use it over Cursed Windeku. But if you're sure that the enemy is going to use magic monsters, then its Silence can really come clutch.

---

Tokatag Conscript

Tokatag Conscript is a 6 cost Neutral monster. It has Sneak and Thorns at level 1, gets to 2 damage at level 9, and gets the Backfire at level 10. I think this might be the worst common card among the Rebellion reward cards, and arguably the worst card overall. At level 1 it has 1 damage, 3 speed, and 2HP for 6 mana which is unplayable. From level 2-8 it only gets +1 in HP, so the Thorns only get better at higher levels. Sure it has Sneak, but at 1 damage for most of its levels, it is very weak.

Even at 2 damage, it is still very low for 6 mana. And to make matters worse, it gets Backfire at max level. At 3 speed, I don't think that backfire is going to proc in regular battles, and even at reverse speed. The only time I can think of using this is during Equalizer in lower league for the Thorns, but even then, I can find other monsters instead of using 6 mana for this monster.

---

Ujurak Elder

Ujurak Elder is a 3 cost Neutral monster. It has Camouflage at level 1, gets Divine Shield at level 3, Strengthen at level 5, and Swiftness at level 10. I think this card being a Neutral monster that costs just 3 mana, and has Strengthen and Swiftness makes it really powerful. I'm surprised it is just a common monster. Having 2 team wide buffs is really good, and having camouflage and divine shield can keep itself safe even with its low HP. I can see this being part of the meta and people trying to max it early. Since it is neutral, it can slot it to almost all teams that will benefit from the extra speed and HP. If Tokatag is the worst card for me, this might be one of if not the best common Rebellion reward card at max level.

---

Final Thoughts

I think a lot of the Life, Death, and Neutral cards need higher levels to become viable. Luceheim and Earth Thug are pretty good in lower leagues, with Ujurak having good niche uses. The Neutral monsters had the best and worst cards. Overall, since I play mostly silver level cards, I think the abilities are unlocked in early levels which is nice. The second and third abilities are usually unlocked by level 5, and the last ability is only at max level. This makes the cards really good for newer/beginner players and can help them win games early on in the lower leagues.

This wraps up my review of the common Rebellion reward cards. I will share my thoughts on the rare reward cards next time. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for improvement.

And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.

If you want to start playing Splinterlands, you can use my link:
Splinterlands Referral Link