Good day everyone, splinterlands community, today I will be sharing another interesting battle which utilizes the use of Thorns, because of Melee only battle. On this battle I will be sharing is Up Close & Personal rule set given, which only melee units will be deployed in the battle. It's well combo for this rule set is the use of Thorns and Amplify. I'll be using my scholar account on this battle utilizing this strategy Thorns ability in Melee only battle.
Astral Entity is an ideal summoner for the Death element, especially in melee-only battles, because of its Resurrect and Dodge abilities, with a debuffing opponent's armor by 2. These buffs have a high chance of improving the survivability for Death units and most of these element units have the most Thorns ability, making this splinter(element) ideal choice for this rule set, Up Close & Personal.
Its synergy with Ever-Hungry Skull and Cursed Windeku is particularly effective, as both benefit from Amplify and Thorns and increasing their chances of evading melee attacks. Meanwhile, Dumacke Orc and Venator Kinjo provide excellent Thorns synergy, punishing melee attackers with reflected damage. The Resurrect ability from Astral Entity ensures that one of these useful units can return to battle, especially if you assume most attacker attacks in the front, then Dumacke Orc would be a good choice for this position, extending their impact and making it even harder for the opponent to break through the lineup.
This combination of evasion, Thorns damage, and resurrection makes Astral Entity a powerful summoner for sustaining a melee-only fight while dealing consistent counter-damage with thorns.
Summoner Cost: The market value of this legendary card for regular is $1.800 and for gold foil is $18.100
Eternal Tofu is an excellent summoner for the Earth element in Melee-only battles, especially when utilizing Thorns. Its abilities provide both defensive and offensive advantages, making it a strong choice for this strategy. By enhancing survivability and countering enemy attacks, it helps create a well-balanced and resilient team.
The Eternal Tofu’s main abilities are Snare, which removes the Flying ability from enemies, ensuring they lose their evasion and become easier to hit. Additionally, Strengthen increases the health of all friendly units by +2, significantly improving their durability in melee combat, where sustained survivability is crucial.
Another advantage of this summoner is its customizable buffs, offering two unique options depending on the battle situation. The first option grants Corrosive and Divine Shield to three units, allowing them to strip enemy armor while temporarily avoiding damage. The second option provides Triage and Scavenger to one unit, ensuring continuous healing and health growth, making that unit harder to eliminate over time.
Summoner Cost: The market value of this legendary card for regular is $42.608 and for gold foil is $36.000. Well, I didn't expect that the gold foil is a bit cheaper than the Regular card. Maybe because of the demand card, especially now the presence of Survival Mode.
Into the battle: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_1166990e174dedc90c0234588b6ea81c
This battle focuses on the Armored Up, Explosive Weaponry, and Up Close & Personal rule sets with a 45 mana cap, while Life and Dragon elements are inactive. For my strategy, I chose Astral Entity as my summoner in the Death element, focusing on utilizing Thorns due to the presence of Ever-Hunger Skull and Cursed Windeku, which synergize well with both the summoner and my selected units. My lineup consists of Dumacke Orc, Ever-Hunger Skull, Harklaw, Drybone Raider, Venator Kinjo, and Cursed Windeku, positioned strategically to maximize Thorns retaliation damage. Additionally, I included Drybone Raider as my ranged attacker to provide extra firepower and adaptability in the match.
The opponent deployed Eternal Tofu as their summoner, assembling a powerful melee-focused lineup consisting of Mantaroth, Pallus, Thanallorian Blade, Venka Vile, Venator Kinjo, and Halaran Huntress. The opponent strategy heavily focused on melee dominance power, particularly with the involvement of Venka Vile and Mantaroth, both of which are exceptionally strong cards. This strategy of the opponent is to maximize raw physical damage output while leveraging the summoner’s buffs to enhance survivability and sustain throughout the battle since it chooses Triage and Scavenger to Venator Kinjo.
I’m counting on my Dumacke Orc to perform effectively as a tank, take advantage of its resurrection, and maximize the Thorns ability, especially against the opponent’s Venka the Vile. As the battle unfolds, I’m eager to see if my low-cost strategy utilizing Thorns in a melee-only showdown can hold its ground against the opponent’s Eternal Tofu, which boasts overwhelming melee power. Let’s find out how this clash plays out and who performs well.
As the battle progressed, Dumacke Orc proved its effectiveness, successfully taking down Mantaroth, Venka the Vile, Pallus, and Thanallorian Blade. It was further supported by my Drybone Raider, which played an important role as my ranged attacker, utilizing its Shatter ability to break through the opponent’s armor with every hit.
With that, I secured the victory. My strategy, built for durability and counterplay, effectively utilized Thorns in the Up Close & Personal rule set. Notice my "cheap tricks" approach proved more effective than the opponent’s high-cost lineup. However, if the opponent had deployed Drybone Raider, the outcome might have been different, as my Dumacke Orc relies heavily on armor and has only 1 health, making it vulnerable to Shatter.
A Big Thanks! for supporting me, being here, and coming this far. I hope this strategy assists you with some of your battles with these rule sets.
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Credits:
Edited the Design photo Splinterlands Modern League using PicsArt
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