With the arrival of Riftwatchers many interesting and useful cards arrived to be played in Splinterlands and although the focus of this edition is on cards with high mana, there are also great options where the mana is low like Whelp Herder from the dragon deck.

Who is Whelp Herder?

Whelp Herder is a card that recently arrived in Splinterlands through the Riftwatchers edition, it belongs to the dragon deck and its rarity is common, its main highlight is its amount of mana (3) which is low and its utility which is being a card melee capable of attacking in any position with its ability Opportunity, I'll talk more about it soon.

The Whelp Herder will be an excellent choice for your battles where the available mana is low, it will not consume a lot of mana and will be very useful because its main target will be the opposing card with the lowest health and this will make it easier for your cards to opponent are defeated faster as he will not target the front line cards that usually have a lot of health and defense. In addition to being useful in defeating low health cards, it can also be used with a wide variety of strategies because it belongs to the dragon deck and this means that it can be combined with cards from other decks.

How to get Whelp Herder?

There are three ways to get Whelp Herder, which are buying, renting or trying your luck by opening Riftwatchers packs.

If you choose to buy Whelp Herder then you can go to Splinterlands Marketplace, to find him you just need to filter by: Edition - Riftwatcher / Rarity - Common / Deck - Dragon / Role - Monsters. After finding the card you just need to click on it and go to For Sale and select the amount of cards you want to buy.

Its price is $0.33 at the time of writing this post and it is one of the most expensive common cards in the edition right now, as it is a recent card its price is very volatile so you can keep an eye out for good buying opportunities when they arise.

If you choose to rent Whelp Herder then you just need to go to the Marketplace again and follow the same steps I mentioned before but in the For Sale part you will go to the For Rent part. Its rental price is also quite variable depending on which level you want to rent it but if it is at low levels like 1~3 you will spend as little as 0.10 DEC.

If you want to try your luck and buy packs from Riftwatchers then you will need to spend 5$ + 1 Voucher per pack, as Whelp Herder is a common card so it won't be too hard to get him but the price of the pack is high so get the Whelp Herder in the pack won't be a big advantage unless you're lucky enough to get a gold foil.

These are the 3 options to get Whelp Herder, honestly buying the pack is not very advantageous if your intention is to get Whelp Herder, buying it on the marketplace can be much cheaper and you won't depend on your luck to get it.

How does Whelp Herder work in battles?

In battle Whelp Herder will function as a melee card that is able to attack in any position because of its ability Opportunity, I will talk more about it and its other abilities soon. The Whelp Herder stands out mainly in its attack and health, for a card that costs 3 mana nothing very big is expected but its life is considerably high and this will make it not easily defeated, its attack is also good and for a card that will target the opposing card as lower health then this will be a very important stat for him, lastly he has his speed which is not very high but it won't be a big problem for Whelp Herder and it can also become an advantage in the Reverse Speed ​​rule.

In addition to the ability Opportunity, it also has the abilities Snare and Dispel.

Enable Level 1 (Opportunity)

The Opportunity ability will have 2 uses for Whelp Herder, the first is that it will be able to attack in any position even if it is a melee card and the second is that its main target will be the opposing card with the lowest health, this ability is very useful for melee cards and also makes it easier for your opponents to have their cards defeated more easily/quickly.

Enable Level 5 (Snare)

The Snare ability makes Whelp Herder remove the Flying ability from the card it attacks if that card has the ability, this is a great way to remove a problematic ability that makes the opposing card dodge a lot of attacks, so removing it makes them easier be defeated.

Enable Level 10 (Dispel)

The Dispel ability makes Whelp Herder remove all positive stats from the opposing card it attacks, this ability is very useful because it decreases the advantages that opposing cards have and the less positive stats they have the better it will be for your cards.

To end the post I will give my opinion about the card and also leave her LORE in case you are curious to read it.

In my opinion this is an excellent card to have because low mana battles are very frequent in Splinterlands and Whelp Herder will be very useful in them attacking and also defending since his health is not so low, but of course this will not be his main occupation. In rules like Up Close and Personal where only melee cards are allowed, Whelp Herder will be even more useful because he will be able to attack in any position and that means you won't have to pick a card that will be inactive during the game. most of the battle, but that will also depend on which strategy you use. Having Whelp Herder will be a great choice but in the end it will depend on you and your strategy for him.

LORE

The first whelp pens were built on the Sands over a century ago—tall, fenced domes that were sturdy enough to hold a dozen of the creatures. Without exercise, however, the young dragons became unruly and sometimes violent. The Gloridax traders employed Whelp Herders, nomadic dragonborn well-practiced in dealing with young dragons, many of whom had collected their eggs from Dragon’s Roost. A skilled Whelp Herder could ensure the young whelps got the exercise they needed while keeping them safe from predators and preventing escape.

Whelp Herders carry long crooks imbued with magic that subdues the whelps, making them easier to control. If a whelp wanders too high, the crook can snare it from the sky. And when predators threaten the herd, the crooks can be a formidable weapon.
Positive Herding: My Six Top Tips

1. No Basilisk Needed to Herd Whelps. Basilisks are just as unpredictable as whelps. If you don’t fit their blinders securely, they’re liable to kill your entire flock with a glance.
2. Herd Whelps Quietly. This may seem obvious, but if you don’t have control of the flock, they are likely to run amok. Quiet is calm, and calm makes for an easier life.
3. Remove Obstacles from Whelps’ Path. “But they can fly over them,” I hear you cry. Well, like other young flying creatures, whelps are curious. If they fly into the sky, it increases their field of view. Before you know it, they’ll be off, chasing something they shouldn’t be.
4. Keep Whelps Separated. Whelps have an insatiable appetite. Combine that with their curiosity, and you have a recipe for disaster if you decide to corral them anywhere near another creature. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
5. Whelps Like a Well-lit Entryway. As with any young creature, whelps have an innate fear of the dark. So, if you don’t want them flying away or spluttering fire at the whelp pens to light them up, invest in some adequate lighting around the entryway to help guide them home.
6. Work with Whelps When It’s Warm. The best time to work with whelps is when it’s hot. I mean, smoking hot. If you try to move them when it’s cold, all you’ll get is gnashing teeth and prickly temperaments. Stressed whelps are difficult whelps.

–Extract from Whelpherds of Draykh-Nahka by Zoskrag Collie