Introduction

Hello welcome to Ace's Earth starting guide for the upcoming Modern Formats
You'd think that the ones who writes guides would know a lot about what they are writing but actually while that is true, it seems that I refresh my memory and create more strategies / ideas to try out!

That for me is the Earth Splinter as the past generation differ quite a bit, back in Untamed, players plays Scarred Llama Mage and Mylor Crowling a lot which was the meta, but now with Obsidian, it makes it even more interesting bringing more varieties in your games.
What's fun about the Earth Splinter is that there are multiple great Tank options which can be confusing for your opponents if you diversify your card choices! 😉

My past few Splinter Guides are really Back / Out dated ever since the team is gonna implement the new MODERN FORMAT which is why I have decided to post an updated one every week for each Splinter, hoping to shine some light upon the new players! 😁

As I have mentioned in my previous Modern Fire Splinter Guide, an updated blog is really necessary to help new players understand, learn and prepare for the new battle formats that would be coming relatively soon! (You can check my blog for my previous guides and posts Here).

In my guides, I'll pretty much be covering basic card info and recommendations for Novice, Bronze and Silver leagues since I do not have the summoners up to level for Gold myself.

The new MODERN FORMAT pretty much removes all the old cards from Alpha, Beta as well as their respective Reward Counterparts from play while the WILD FORMAT is pretty much what we are currently playing!

The team is planning to change how the you can earn by playing such as Phantom cards earning way less than people who owns / rents cards and boosting the DEC earning bonus cards %.
They will also be removing the daily quests in the future and change it to Focus Points which increases your rewards the more you play.
This will definitely incentivize people to own / rent cards in order to maximise their gameplay as well as earning so its best to start preparing now!

I am planning to make a blog for each splinter in order to help everyone, this is just a part of it!
You can always follow me to see my posts at @qxacexp or if you are still new feel free to use my referral code: qxACExp.
|| Your comments, follows and upvotes are very much appreciated ||

The Summoners

• Wizard of Eastwood: A 3 mana Summoner that removes 2 Armor from your opponent's monsters, this debuff is pretty good when you are playing a more Melee & Range aggressive team, but could also be useless if the opponent does not play any monsters with Armor to begin with. You can also play this summoner in the Armored Up Rule-Set in order to counteract the 2 Armor given to everyone in the game.

• Obsidian: One of the top 3 Chaos Legion summoners in my opinion, the Magic Damage buff reminds me of Alric Stormbringer which is my all time favourite summoner to play. This could be my go to summoner for the new Modern Format after I built my Earth Magic Monsters up to Gold League Standard.

The Monsters

1. Tanks

• Unicorn Mustang: An all rounder tank with a whooping 10 health, 3 melee attack and 4 speed! His stats are insanely and balanced throughout along with the "Void" ability that reduces Magic Damage received by 50%. 8 Mana
• Mycelic Slipspawn: A really unique monster with an ability which can either really help you or fail you. His ability "Taunt" makes every attack target him if possible, such would be Snipes, Opportunity and Sneak Attacks, this means that you can use this tank to its fullest potential by protecting the weaker backrows. The Mycelic Slipspawn covers the Shieldbearer's weakness of not being able to attack by being the front monster but in exchange of losing some survivability. 9 Mana
• Mycelic Infantry: The Living Lava of the Chaos Legion Earth Splinter Edition with more slightly more damage in exchange for 1 mana extra. Its "Shield" Ability makes it so that Melee & Range Damage received are reduced by 50%, making it harder to kill. It is however still vulnerable to Magic Attacks and his 3 Armor will not be able to help when it comes to it. 8 Mana
• Hill Giant: A really cheap tank to play with good health, I would totally play this card in low mana games in hopes of it lasting long enough while investing more mana on the backrow to sweep. 3 Mana
• Venari Knifer: A more aggressive "Tank" in a sense. I would not really call this card a tank as its not really meant to last but to be placed at the front to deal damage and punish any melee attackers with its "Thorn" ability which deals 2 damage upon contact. Its incredible speed allows him to strike really fast, and he has pretty decent health which should allow it to last 2 rounds before going down. 6 Mana

2. Key Players

• Goblin Thief: One of my favourite phantom card to play in the Earth Splinter! It is a very balanced card that can take 1 to 2 hits before striking with its "Sneak" Ability that allows you to strikes the backrow monster from any position even if your attack type is melee. 4 Mana
• Orc Sergeant: You can definitely use this as a secondary tank making use of its "Reach" Ability, his Health is pretty decent and will provide extra protection to the backrow. 5 Mana
• Goblin Psychic: One of my favourite cards to play in the Earth Splinter was the Wood Nymph thanks to its "Tank Heal" ability, but now we get an more affordable card to replace it (Price wise). At their base levels, the Goblin Psychic costs 2 mana more to play while adding more magic damage to the equation, however, once you level them, the Wood Nymph starts to gain more speed while the Goblin Psychic gains more health and the "Affliction" Ability that stops the opposing monster from healing. 6 Mana
• Goblin Tower: A really cool card to play as your last monster in order to tank the Sneak attacks with its 3 Armor. The "Blast" Ability is always a fun ability to have as it affects one other monster then the monster it hits which will be awesome in the Holy Protection Rule-Set, removing Divine Shields quickly. 7 Mana
• Regal Peryton: An insane monster to play with its insane speed and "Flying" Ability, it makes it really hard to kill, plus it has pretty good health as well! I would generally place this card at the back in order to dodge Sneak attacks. 5 Mana

3. Gap fillers

• Failed Summoner: This will be a very interesting card to play as a Sub Tank for Snipe Attacks while making use of its "Reflect Magic" Ability that reflects 1/2 of the damage received by Magic Attacks. This is a really powerful card to use against Magic Teams as well as in the Target Practice Rule-Set. 2 mana
• Vernari Scout: Not the strongest monster, but a very good card to play and fill up the small mana gap. This card has the "Opportunity" Ability which will be very helpful at picking the weaker monsters. 3 Mana
• Child Of The Forest: The same as the Venari Scout but this time with the attempt of completing the Snipe Quest. 3 mana
• Khmer Princess: A really cheap cards that gives you more Magic damage, when paired with Obsidian, you would be able to make full use of the Magic Buff. 2 mana

Upgrading Your Deck

Here I am going to recommend you different cards you could rent / buy depending on your budget! (Moving from the cheapest options to the more expensive ones).

I would avoid recommending the really expensive ones like Kron The Undying and Scarred Llama mage as I want to really recommend cheap card that complements really well with one another especially in certain Rule-Sets! (Although the 2 cards when played together is exceptionally strong!)

Earth Cards	Reasoning	Combo
Pelacor Mercenary	A very good tank to have especially if you ever find yourself needing "Flying" monsters for the Earthquake Rule-Sets. You can also just play the game and farm it from the rewards, but getting this upgraded first could potentially win you more matches and farm much more efficiently at the get go.	Can be played with ANY of the Starter Summoners as it does not really need their buffs or debuffs. This card would be used as a huge wall for its backrow and with its "Flying" Ability, it is likely that he will be able to evade some Melee / Range attacks. If you want to play it at its fullest potential, Mylor Crowling would be an insane summoner to pick (But its really expensive).
Hill Giant	In Splinterlands, the game rules and limits everyone's options which is why its very important to not only have leveled up cards upon all card splinters, abilities and mana cost. The Hill Giant is a really cheap tank you would want to have in your roster collection!	The Hill Giant does not have any good Attack nor Speed stat but focuses more on its health as compared to other low mana tanks in his Splinter. What this means is that it is less vulnerable to Magic attacks and will benefit from any "Tank Heal" monsters like Goblin Psychic or Khmer Princess (When leveled). You can also make full use of its low mana cost to invest in stronger back row monsters. (Note that its low speed will also help in Reverse Speed Rule-Set).
Venari Knifer	A card that I use to play very aggressively, which can be good but bad at the same time. To be played in Melee Mayhem (Any position, can be at the front for the Thorn Damage), Super Sneak (At the Back to punish Melee Attackers) or Equal Opportunity (Make full use of its speed to blitz through the opponent's monsters before they can strike, its lower health makes it a target making it possible to punish melee attackers).	A card that would only work best with the Wizard of Eastwood Summoner as you want the "Thorn" damage to affect the opponent's health directly (You do not want to hit their Armor with its Melee either).
Venari Scout	Monsters with the "Opportunity" Ability are my favourite as every attack they do will always hit where it hurts. Plus, the Venari Scout is a pretty cheap card which means its not only easy to add into your team, but also a good way to play around mana costs while contributing a lot into the battle.	You can consider playing it with the Wizard of Eastwood so as to remove 2 Armor and strike directly to the enemy's Health.
Mycelic Infantry	A really strong tank that makes Melee & Range Attacks insignificant with its "Shield" Ability.	Can be used with the Wizard of Eastwood to make full use of the 3 Melee Attack it has (Would do really well in the Reverse Speed Rule-Set so it can strike first). Otherwise, you can use it as a general tank with the summoner Obsidian boosting any Magic Monsters at the back.
Goblin Psychic	The Earth Splinter has many tank options with high health, which makes any monsters with the "Tank Heal" Ability really good to play along. Plus, this card deals 2 Magic Damage and when leveled, it gains the "Affliction" Ability which would stop the opposing monster from healing.	Would be a very good card to play with the Obsidian Summoner and Unicorn Mustang as the Tank. Making full use of the Magic Damage Buff and healing as much Health of your tank as possible every single round.
Regal Peryton	An absolute beast of a card, with its insane speed and "Flying" Ability it is a really hard to put down as it would be evading a lot of attacks. It can however be countered in Aim True Rule-Sets or Magic attacks in general.	To be played with the Obsidian Summoner, to boost its magic attack since it is the only stat that is low. You can place this monster at the back or in front of your other Range / Magic monsters to deal with Sneak / Snipe attacks.
Mycelic Slipspawn	In battles, you generally can't control who or what your opponent's monster will attack, but with the "Taunt" Ability that Mycelic Slipspawn has, it makes any monsters that strikes the backrow monsters (Opportunity, Sneak, Snipes) strike it instead.	To be played with the Obsidian Summoner to boost its Magic Attack. When placed at the front, you can have Goblin Psychic at the back to heal its health or at the second position with Spirit Hoarder's "Triage" Ability to heal.
Orc Sergeant	A pretty good card to have in your roster as a secondary tank, using its "Reach" Ability it can strike even as a secondary monster.	To be played with the Wizard of Eastwood summoner in order to strike the opponent's health directly but you can also use it with any other summoner with the sole purpose of being a secondary tank.
Goblin Thief	A pretty strong card that packs quite a punch! It has pretty decent health as well so it should be able to get one attack in per battle. This is a pretty good card to upgrade as you would be playing it quite a bit in order to complete Sneak Quests as well.	Pretty cheap to play in general at just 4 mana, so it can be played however you like and still play a major part in the battle. You can consider playing it with the Wizard of Eastwood so as to make remove 2 Armor from the back row monsters for a better chance to kill.
Child Forest	One of the only few monsters in the Earth Splinter to have the "Snipe" Ability, which would be very helpful in your Snipe Quests.	Cheap card to play at 3 mana, just add it in your team and protect it with any Magic / Range monster in front against Snipe attacks for your quests.
Failed Summoner	A really useful and versatile card to play as a Snipe Tank and also to Punish Magic Heavy Teams thanks to its "Magic Reflect" Ability.	Can be played with any summoner as its main purpose is just to be a Tank. You can however use it to protect your other Magic / Range monsters from the back by soaking Snipe Damage when you are building a more Magic / Range Heavy deck using Obsidian as the summoner.
Centauri Mage	An upgrade to the Failed Summoner in terms of Health, Speed and Attack, but would cost 5 more mana. This is also a card you would use to punish Snipe attacks but more towards Range Attackers thanks to the "Return Fire" Ability.	To be played with the Obsidian Summoner to boost its Magic Attacks. A really strong card to play in the Target Practice or maybe even Keep Your Distance Rule-Sets to bait out the Range Snipe Attacks.
Grund	A really strong but expensive card to play at 10 Mana, but with its stats, its totally worth the play! It has the "Double Strike" ability so its like the card is a 2 in 1, 5 mana card which you can play as a tank in regular battles. You can play it in Melee Mayhem, Super Sneak or Equal Opportunity (Make full use of its speed and Ability to blitz through the opponent's monsters before they can strike).	This card would pair really well with the Wizard of Eastwood Summoner, tearing through the health of its prey.
Khmer Princess	A really cheap 2 mana Magic Monster that gains the "Tank Heal" Ability when leveled, need I say more?	Would be a really good support and addition to any Magic Team using the Obsidian Summoner.
Mitica Headhunter	One of the hardest if not the hardest range hitter in the game, it would not matter if you boost your Magic Earth Splinter Team with Obsidian as this card would still strike harder, with the only downfall is that it can be stopped with Armor. Hot Tip: Play this card in Earthquake Rule-Set to make any "Flying" monsters vulnerable to Earthquake damage thanks to its "Snare" Ability which grounds "Flying" monsters.	A great pair with the Wizard of Eastwood, aiming to Blitz through the opponent's team while removing their Armor for full damage potential.
Unicorn Mustang	My personal favourite tank to play when I see my opponent plays a lot of magic teams like water or earth splinter as I can counter it using this card's "Void" Ability reducing Magic damage by 50%.	Can be played with either the Wizard of Eastwood to make full use of this monster's damage output or any other summoner and just use the Unicorn Mustang as a Tank.
Queen Mycelia	The "protect" ability is one of the strongest ability in the game as it provides 2 Armor to all its allies till the supporter dies. This means that your team would have protection against 2/3 of the damage types in the game.	To be paired with the Obsidian Summoner and use Unicorn Mustang along with the Goblin Psychic at the back to heal. This would make the Unicorn Mustang really hard to kill while still providing decent damage thanks to the Magic damage increase.

Conclusion

The Earth Splinter is pretty good in a battle of attrition thanks to their many Tank options (In terms of Health, Damage, Mana Cost or Damage Reduction Ability coverage).
When played right, your tank could survive the whole match thanks to all the survivability functions that moves around the Splinter.

While I did not cover any Neutral monsters in this guide I would like to recommend you some for this splinter:
1.Magi of Chaos
2.Spirit Hoarder
3.Uraeus

P.S Make sure you have a Brighton Bloom in your summoner option so to have an edge over other players in the "Earthquake" Rule-Sets by providing your team with the "Flying" Ability.

Please do upvote and comment your opinions! I would love to discuss strategies with you!
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Source:
1.splinterlands.com
2.splinterlands.fandom.com/wiki/Splinterlands_Wiki
3.Blendspace