Shatter and Smash

One of my favourite combinations is something I have been tinkering with recently and I am thoroughly enjoying opportunities to use it on opposing line ups.

Here is my new favourite strategy in a battle that I quite enjoyed watching back a few times now.

The strategy is simple:

• Shatter armour early
• Smash the opposing monster
• Repeat Step 2

Ruleset

My strategy here is going to be pure speed. I'll use some ranged damage and abilities but overall the plan is to hit them hard and fast from the front. For this, I think water is the way forward. With 47 mana that gives me plenty of big mana cards to work with and some good sustained ranged damage with the lack of Opportunity and Sneak abilities in the battle.

My Line Up

Kelya Frendul

Rented out at 4th level in Gold Foil for moments like this. Kelya Frendul provides speed and armour for my line up and at 4 mana is a great cost for the job in hand. Overall, I think this is the best choice available to me.

Coastal Sentry

With 4 speed and attack, I am hoping to have Coastal Sentry Double Striking hard and fast. Magic goes before Melee so with this in mind, I will utilise a magic water monster to complement the smash provided by Coastal Sentry. Double strike takes the damage to 8 per turn and with Kelya Frendul as the summoner, Coastal Sentry has 5 speed. Overall, a great card which I am delighted to have in Gold Foil.

Flying Squid

This is the only card I am using which I do not own a bcx of, therefore my overall glint will bee reduced. I do not not regularly use the Flying Squid but there are occasions such as this where it is excellent. At the right price I'll grab it in Gold Foil. 2 attack, Reach and 8 health make this a great card.

Clockwork Aide

What is not to love? More speed through Swiftness. With the ruleset here, I know that the Clockwork Aide cannot be targetted so I have placed it before my ranged damage cards to buy them some more... time (sorry!) With 1 health and no attack this is a pure utility card.

Riverboat Captain

I have used the Riverboat Captain here to apply additional damage to the opposing lineup behind the tank. This is to begin the process of removing any support unit that may be healing their tank. With two damage, Affliction and Blast for 6 mana I think this is a great choice of magic damage to complement my next magic monster. 5 health is not the strongest and at 2 speed the extra speed buff from Kelya Frendul and the Clockwork Aide will be very helpful.

Musa Saline

I love Musa Saline. It was not until second level that Musa becomes really useful in battles due to the Shatter ability and with some pretty decent speed, Musa Saline is able to remove opposing armour before Coastal Sentry strikes or at least this is the theory here. For three mana we have a Legendary with Scavenger and Shatter, 4 speed alongside 3 health and 1 magic damage.

Swamp Spitter

With such a focus on melee, it is important to retain my armour and what better way than through the Swamp Spitter which I was fortunate to receive in Gold foil. 3 damage and speed alongside 4 health make this a great card but even better is the Repair ability which will make my lineup a bit stronger from the front line.7 mana is expensive but this is a great choice for the strategy in play here.

Opposing Line Up

Eternan Brune

A solid choice of summoner and I would therefore expect to see a Gladius card as a result of this choice. Reducing my armour by two means the effect of Keyla Frendul is voided so I am hoping to retain my speed advantage going forward. There are plenty of strong melee units particularly in the Gladius set so it will be interestin to see where the opponent goes here next.

Halfling Refugee

This is a really strong card for 1 mana. It comes at a cost though with its ability Weary, which has a percentage change of this card not taking a turn beginning at 10% in the first round. For a single mana point it is worth the risk but not one to be relied on. Excellent stats at second level.

Gorth

Gorth is a sold choice for a melee battle and at level 2 it has 5 damage and thirteen health. Alongside Bloodlust which adds 1 to each stat as the card executes an opponent. 2 speed means it will go late in the turn so I am hoping to throw as much damage at it as possible and avoid the big hitting damage.

Lava Launcher

Great armour and Close Range means this card is a threat in the backline or at the front. 6 armour and health at second level make this 3 damage and speed monster a force on the battlefield. 9 mana is expensive but definitely worth it and quite hardy at that.

Drybone Megladon

A newer reward card and one I am not too familar with yet. It does cost 8 mana and comes with the Flank ability which gives the opponent behind it the ability to attack, which is nice but I am yet to use that effectively myself. With 3 damage and armour as well as 6 health and 2 speed the drybone Megalodon is a strong melee choice in a battle such as this but not one I would have picked unless I had to.

Ferox Defender

With the Protect ability, Ferox Defender will increase opposing armour by 2 points. With 2 damage and 2 speed alongside 5 armour and 7 health, this is a strong card and a good choice for 8 mana. Certainly a card that gets better the higher its level as it will gain Repair at 6th level which is a fantastic ability for a Protect card.

Disintegrator

A classic Chaos Legion melee card here with Demoralise which will reduce opposing melee damage by 1 point. A great 7 mana choice with 2 damage and 1 speed - it is slow but a great card to lock down the rear guard of the lineup. With 3 armour and 6 health it can also operate a bit of a tank as needed too.

The Battle

Battle Link

Round 1

Straight out of the gate, Coastal Sentry and Musa Saline combine to remove the armour of armour of Halfing Refugee and by the end of the their first turn, Gorth steps up to the front. The remainder of the Water team have their hastened turns and then Gorth takes a swing. Gorth misses with a speed of 2 against the 6 speed of Coastal Sentry.

Rounds 2 & 3

Swamp Spitter takes the final blow against Gorth and the remainder of the opposing lineup. As hoped, Musa Saline continues to contribute with Shatter allowing the melee damage to accrue on the Lava Launcher and Gorth.

Final Rounds

The final rounds are more of a formality at this stage with the same pattern of Musa Saline shattering and Swamp Spitter dealing the lethal blow.

Victory!

Thoughts and Conclusions

• Having a high speed shatter at the start of the turn made quite light work of the opposition, especially when the damage was spread over the turn ensuring the last remaining monster finished the job.
• Should I have replaced the Riverboat Captain or someone else more lethal? - Possibly yes.

Following from this battle, I have now purchased a Gold Foil Flying Squid:

Join Splinterlands:

https://splinterlands.com/register?ref=holdeck2

---

Join Splex

...and rent out your cards for some juicy DEC rental fees. Save yourself the hassle of listing and relisting and let the Rental Golem take over for you:
https://splex.gg/?ref=3s5haoqkjteadpf8

How to invest without FIAT in a bear market? : https://peakd.com/hive-167922/@holdeck/how-i-am-investing-for-after-the-bear-market

Setting and redefining goals in a bear market: https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@holdeck/setting-and-redefining-goals-in-a-bear-market

Splinterlands Fire divider by freeztag
Splinterlands Icon Divider made by holdeck and available here
All card, icons, Splinter images and stats courtesy of Splinterlands
Ability and Ruleset blurbs taken from Splintercards
Splinter Element Icons taken from Splinterlands
I have reformatted them into PNG files which you are welcome to use here

(Please note that all prices were accurate at the time of writing, sourced from Peakmonsters.com).