The Ultimate Combo for Magic Counterplay

Hello everyone splinterlands community! Today, I’ll share an intriguing battle where I used Xenith Monk and Venator Kinjo to counter magic attacks by taking advantage of their defensive abilities and Magic Reflect. I’ll play on my main account with a limited card selection this time. Magic attacks are powerful because they bypass armor and target health directly, making them challenging to counter. However, abilities like Void, which reduces incoming magic damage by 50% (and negates damage from attackers with only 1 magic power), Silence, which lowers the opposing team’s magic damage by 1, and Phase, which introduces a 25% chance to evade magic attacks, are crucial for defense. Additionally, Magic Reflect returns 50% of received magic damage to the attacker. When paired with Amplify, it increases the reflected damage by 1—even against units with Void—making it a potent combination.

Xenith Monk is an excellent choice for a tank in low mana cap rule set battles due to its low cost of only 4 mana and has solid survivability with decent health and the Heal ability, which allows it to restore its health per round, increasing its longevity in battle with Void and Magic Reflect that are also excellent counters to magic attacks creating both defense and retaliation of magic.

Into the battle: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_2ae40f184307aae232d83e36116c159f

This battle features the rule sets Broken Arrows and Reverse Speed with a 20-mana cap, and the active elements are Fire, Earth, and Dragon. While Xenith Monk and Venator Kinjo may not seem ideal for Reverse Speed due to Xenith Monk's 4-speed stat and Venator Kinjo's Slow ability (which further lowers the opponent's speed), they can still be strategically effective. In Reverse Speed, slower units gain the advantage of attacking first and have a higher chance to evade incoming attacks, making speed management important in this setup. I chose Xenith Monk and Venator Kinjo for this low mana cap and Reverse Speed battle because I suspect the opponent would likely use the Earth element, prioritizing magic attacks. The Broken Arrows rule set, which disables ranged attackers, further supported my prediction that the opponent would focus on magic or melee strategies, giving me a better opportunity to counter effectively.

My lineup consisted of Xenith Monk, Venator Kinjo, Uraeus, Fungus Fiend, Doctor Blight, and Djinn Biljka, led by the summoner Obsidian. The opposing team lineup is Hill Giant, Fungus Fiend, Spirit Hoarder, Queen Mycelia, and Goblin Psychic, also using Obsidian as their summoner. While the opponent had the upper hand in speed, I dominated in damage output, as predicted, with their strategy focusing on magic attacks and low-speed units in the Reverse Speed rule set.

Despite my Xenith Monk being overwhelmed by Hill Giant's melee attacks, it effectively reflected magic damage to Spirit Hoarder and Queen Mycelia. Meanwhile, Uraeus inflicted poison on Goblin Psychic, steadily weakening their support. This combination of strategy and counterplay led me to secure victory in this battle.

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