Before, the Flying ability was quite troublesome in many battles due to its chance to evade both ranged and melee attacks, especially in rule sets like Earthquake where Flying units truly shine. Previously, the only reliable counter to Flying was the Snare ability, which could disable a monster’s Flying advantage. Today, I’ll be sharing another strategic idea focused on utilizing the Wingbreak ability. Wingbreak was only introduced this year, so integrating it into battle strategies is still evolving, and both players and I are learning how to use it effectively. I often incorporate Wingbreak when I anticipate that the opponent will heavily rely on Flying units, particularly in battles restricted to the Dragon splinter or in Earthquake rule sets where Flying is almost guaranteed to appear.
Currently, the only monster card that possesses the Wingbreak ability is Night Reaper, an Epic card from the Rebellion set under the Dragon splinter. Night Reaper comes equipped with a powerful combination of abilities: Flying, Wingbreak, Deflect, and Last Stand, alongside impressive stats featuring 4 magic attacks, 4 speed, 10 health, and 2 armor. Given its strong abilities and solid stats, Night Reaper is easily comparable to a Legendary card in terms of value and effectiveness, and when used strategically within certain battle rule sets, it can perform even better than many higher-rarity monsters.
I've been using this card many battles because of its incredible versatility and ability to disrupt common strategies. Its Wingbreak ability is especially valuable against teams relying on Flying monsters, instantly lowering their evasion advantage by reducing their chance to dodge melee and ranged attacks. In addition, Deflect protects Night Reaper from ranged attacks by reflecting them back, adding a layer of defense. Its Last Stand ability is crucial during clutch moments — when it's the last monster standing, it gets a massive boost to its stats, allowing it to turn the tide of a battle as this card is the MVP or the carrier of your team strategy. Now I will share and show you how I utilize this card in certain rule sets.
Into the battle: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_514bd64f368dacf7a914d3789bc662f2
In this battle, the rule sets are Ferocity, Stampede, and Close Range with a 46 mana cap, and only Life and Dragon splinters are active. Since both Dragon and Life splinters often have many units with the Flying ability, I assumed my opponent would deploy a flying-heavy team. Based on that prediction, I built a strategy centered around Night Reaper. I selected Quix the Devious as my summoner to reduce the opponent’s speed and ranged damage, then deployed Vruz in the first position to act as a Martyr bait, aiming to boost my Void Dragon tank. My Void Dragon served as the frontline tank with strong evasion, Night Reaper as the specialized killer of Flying units, Chaos Dragon as my main magic scattershot dealer, Supply Runner for ranged support and speed boost, and Doctor Blight to apply debuffs like Poison and Affliction. Rather than stacking pure melee power, I chose a range-magic hybrid attack, capitalizing on speed differences and evasion potential. Setting up Vruz upfront was key, as his death empowered Void Dragon to become even more durable and evasive.
The opponent also chose the Dragon splinter, using Lily Shieldpaw as a summoner and deploying Grimbardun Smith, Night Reaper, Oshuur Constantia, Adelade Brightwing, Venari Crystal Smith, and Doctor Blight. The opponent strategy was impressive, especially the synergy between Grimbardun Smith and Lily Shieldpaw, creating a very resilient frontline backed by healing and armor repair. This setup can be overwhelming if all attacks focus on Grimbardun Smith alone. However, my advantage was my Chaos Dragon's Scattershot ability, randomly targeting backline units even if Camouflaged, and my Night Reaper, which specifically countered Flying monsters like the opponent’s Night Reaper and Adelade Brightwing. The random targeting of Chaos Dragon and the precise targeting of Night Reaper helped dismantle the opponent’s support system, weakening their overall defense. In the end, it became a question of whose strategy setup and ability utilization would overcome the opponent’s durable sustain comp, or my faster, anti-flying strike team (Zactian).
As the battle progressed, my team performed exactly as planned, successfully taking down the opponent’s flying units while Chaos Dragon’s random Scattershot attacks created constant pressure on their backline. Thanks to the speed advantage I built into my lineup, my Void Dragon, further empowered by Vruz’s Martyr boost, was able to dodge most of the opponent’s attacks with ease. This speed dominance made it incredibly difficult for the opponent to land effective hits, allowing my team to maintain control and steadily overwhelm their forces throughout the match.
The battle I've shared, clearly demonstrated how effective Night Reaper can be in countering flying units. Without this card, I would have struggled significantly — and even with Chaos Dragon’s Scattershot ability, it might not have been enough to overcome the opponent’s strategy. I hope this approach inspires you to make the most out of Night Reaper in your own battles, especially when you anticipate that your opponent will rely heavily on flying units.
Shoutout to @saydie the opposing team😉🤙
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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Edited the Design photo Splinterlands Modern League using PicsArt
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