AiM True with FLORRE

The first time Florre encountered the Chaos Legion was on her homeworld, Folia, in the Forest of Flames. The forest was a beautiful yet dangerous place. Its fire-scorched trees were burned and blackened. Their leaves smoldered with glowing embers. Pools of bubbling magma and mud pots could be lethal to any who stumbled into them or ventured too close.

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RuneMancr Florre is not only one of the most beautiful cards, but a must-have-OP-Earth card in my opinion and I’ve been a Splinterlander since 2018. If I could have used her back in the Beta days it would’ve been constant victories. There are a lot of OP cards these days, but when the rules only allow archers or 🏹Aim-True🏹 like in my battle I’m sharing with you below where ranged attacks always hit their mark, RuneMancr Florre can not only make for a great tank or rear shield, she’ll most likely be the MVP of the battle. I’m glad to have opened her in one of my Riftwatchers packs because she can be a bit expensive. Since she doesn’t have any abilities I’ve been happy with her at level 1 for a long time now without thinking about combining the other copies I’ve opened preferring to rent them out for the season instead.sbt.gif

I’m glad we’ve moved to season rentals which can’t be canceled and are charging a DEC per rental, but it means any card not worth about $2 or more isn’t worth renting out because they’ll only earn just over the 1 DEC fee during the season so I sold all of those cheap rentals and got some SBT tokens from HiVe-EnGiNE and was happy to see that they reward SBT token holders with a little bit of DEC and VOUCHERS every day. I am staking about one million SBT tokens on hive engine and receive almost 7 DEC a day. I don’t think it earns as much as the SplinterRents service bot did, but that’s not an option anymore, and staking SBT is easier than using the bot because you don’t have to do anything other than stake SBT.gift.png

If you join the SBT Discord you can enter daily raffles. I’ve only been a holder for a few days, but I won a summoner card because there aren’t many people in the legendary chat yet. All you have to do is react to the daily Discord raffle bot in the chat and wait for the random spinner. There are very few people participating at the moment so your chances are good.

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I was a bit worried when I saw my enemy selected URIEL THE PURIFIER as their tank because he can be hard to kill sometimes, but I was able to take him out in the first round. I lost my tank too, but at least he did some damage to URIEL THE PURIFIER in his shiny armor with his thorns.

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They had a good strategy of healing both the front and rear of the line, but my ranged and sneak attacks were coming faster than they could heal.

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My enemy would run out of hearts by the end of the third round. It only took a hit or two to take them out while my cards could’ve lasted another round or two.

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Rewards will be changing to a simpler system than this current percentage system. I’m tired of arguing with my wife about why she shouldn’t drop my rate below 80% so I welcome the change to having an easy-to-understand daily power or gas limit. I love this game, but I doubt I ever play more than 30 battles a day. What about you? What’s your favorite ranged strategy?

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Check out my battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_2f71eafc67b545b8c9163c13077e7e32&ref=jeremiahcustis

SPLINTERLANDS BATTLE MAGE SECRETS Weekly Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/battlemagesecrets-aimtrue-3-8-2023

Splinterlands Art Contest Week 232:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/splinterlands-art-contest-week-232

Smashing ’em with my Dragons

The Twilight Basilisk is one of the fiercest predators that live in the sands surrounding the Draykh-Nahka city of Centrum. They are considered reptiles in the snake family, although some older residents of the Dragon Splinter think of them as Dragon relatives. Basilisks are the largest type of snake in the Splinterlands, but it only takes a small amount of their venom to kill a bronk.

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Sometimes there is a weekly Splinterlands Battle Challenge that I feel will be difficult to share because it’s with a card that isn’t great or one that I don’t know how to use, but not this week because this week it’s all about the 🐉. I love the Twilight Basilisk because it uses only 4 mana and works as a great secondary tank because it has both the reach and stun abilities. It may not have that big of a bite or much life, but often times it doesn’t need it because if it can stun a stronger opponent it won’t be able to attack you. This is one of the few cards I was able to max out for free simply by playing the game.

This was a little league match where only cards with 4 mana or less were allowed so I wasn’t able to choose a strong tank. My enemy put out the 🌳Hill Giant🌳 which wasn’t a bad choice, but couldn’t do much when it was getting stunned every round by my 🐉Twilight Basilisk🐉. They also made the mistake of choosing mostly slow cards while I arranged my cards by fastest first when choosing my lineup. Getting in the first strike is an important factor in most fights both in the Splinterlands and in real life.

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Even though my first card didn’t have any attacks, it had plenty of life and reflected magic attacks back to the enemy. It was clear I was going to smash this enemy by the second round.

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I took out their entire lineup by the third round without losing a single card. This battle is a great example of why 🐉dragons🐉 are my strongest and favorite splinter.

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Quix the Devious is the only summoner I’ve managed to max out because 🐉dragon🐉 summoners can be used with any splinter. I like him even more than Lux Vega because he often beats her. Nerfing the enemy’s speed and range attacks is why he’s such a winner. I believe this is going to be a highly desired card after the Chaos Legion cards go out of print. It will also be a card that people dread to see when they see he’s in the lineup. Who is your favorite summoner?

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The Dhampir Infiltrator is another must-have 🐉dragon🐉 card that seems to win a lot because she 🔪sneak🔪 attacks the back twice with her double strike ability. If you don’t have this card then go to the market and pick her up now while she’s only a few cents and if you’re thinking of competing in the 🏆Gold🏆 or 💎Diamond💎 leagues, then you’ll need to max her out to survive.

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Thanks for reading about my smashin’ 🐉dragon🐉 victory today. Now that the annoying ❌bots🤖 seem to have been shut down, I’m having a lot more fun in the Splinterlands. What about you? Have you noticed a better gaming experience recently too?

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Check out my 🐉dragon🐉 battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_ce3775412cc2f5aa71199a4e0dba2f85&ref=jeremiahcustis

This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-dragons-february-23-2023

SPLINTERLANDS Art Contest Week 229:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/splinterlands-art-contest-week-229

Defeating GRUND for the weekly SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge

Grund has spent his entire life in the lowlands of Praetoria and has grown to love the land and its people. First introduced to the lore of battle as a hatchling, he has studied it ever since with enthusiasm. When he became a juvenile his hands found steel, an old rusting sword abandoned and forgotten in the swamp by some intrepid explorer. Before long it became an extension of himself as he applied all he had learnt, quickly mastering blade work. From then on, he became obsessed with the art of armed combat and he practised with any weapons he could get his hands on. Grund is well loved amongst the people of Praetoria and he is a staunch defender of them, his strong ideals of honor and justice infused within in from a young age. When he heard of the Chaos Legion invasion, Grund took up his hammers in anger and sought them out immediately.

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I don’t participate in the weekly Splinterlands Art Contest often, but I created my own Earth character I called, Croc Archer, which was inspired by Grund a few months ago. I lost my job during the pandemic because I refused to get the jab so I took the Veteran’s Affairs up on their offer of getting job retraining and chose an online Photoshop course. My goal was to become an NFT artist. I’ve put some of my art up at OpenSea, but I’ve yet to get any offers. I hate using the ETH blockchain so I didn’t list anything and just hoped someone would come along with an offer. Maybe the market is flooded or maybe my art just sucks, but at least I gave it a shot. I like the idea of always getting a percentage of future sales so I will sell my art for one cent if anyone offers that. I put the resale percentage at 7% because it seemed like a healthy number without being too greedy. Maybe I’d do better using the Hive NFT marketplace. I always use any HBD I earn for getting more cards so I haven’t saved up enough BEE tokens to get verified yet, but I’ll give it a try soon. Can I put the same art on Hive that I minted on OpenSea? It’s my art so I don’t see why not, but maybe it’s against the rules.

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Grund is a powerful melee card because it has the double strike ability, but he’s definitely a niche card. I only use him when melee can attack from any position or in high-mana matches with a taunt card. I couldn’t win with Grund to save my life in the past couple of days so I chose to show a battle where I defeated him instead. This battle shows why he’s not the best choice for a tank card because I was able to take him and most of my enemy’s cards out by the second round. Life was the strongest splinter back in the day and has become the weakest in modern matches, but it still has its moments.

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Thanks for reading about my Grund battle. What do you think about Grund?line.png
Check out my 🐊GRUND🐊 battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_da0ab3062ef75e140a6bf7ed4e658320&ref=jeremiahcustis
This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Art Contest:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/splinterlands-art-contest-week-227
This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-grund

Nerissa -vs- Nerissa

Nerissa is a proud warrior of the water. Armed with her enchanted trident, she defends the seas, the rivers, and the lakes. She is well known across coastal villages, and they often call on her for help. She has slain great sea beasts that would otherwise kill everyone in their path. She has rescued sailors from hurricanes and even warned villages of incoming tsunamis to save lives. Her bravery and brilliance in battle have led to her being called Nerissa the Hurricane.

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When the Chaos Legion was released I spent a lot looking to get every Legendary card and maxing all the cheap common cards, but I should have paid more attention to the Epic cards like Nerissa Tridawn because they tend to be the winners. Nerissa Tridawn is my wife’s favorite card, but I only use her when I’m magic-spamming high mana matches. She doesn’t have any special abilities, but she has a strong magic attack and a decent amount of heart life. I would love to MAX her, but I think it would be better to spend money on leveling up more common, rare, or summoner cards. I’ll try to get her to at least level 4 before the prices go up too much. We had a nice long bear market where we could pick up cards for cheap, but it seems like the bear is about to leave the cave and turn into a bull. I would be happy with another year of the bear, but that would be bad for everyone.

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My enemy and I both chose Nerissa Tridawn, but I put the whale out front and chose a healer while my enemy went for a more ranged attack strategy. I rarely go into battle without a healer. There are times when you should go full-on attack mode, but I’ve found that the healer is usually the most important card. I love the water healer because she also repairs armor.

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I would have lost this battle if it weren’t for a few lucky misses. It seems like I never get lucky when it comes to getting misses, but I was today. I’m going to really miss using my self-healing eye monster once Untamed gets phased out of the Modern ranked battles, but I’m sure something better will come along.

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How is your Riftwatchers collection going? I prefer to buy individual cards rather than opening packs, but sometimes you get lucky plus you get more chances for airdrops if you purchase packs from the shop, so I’ve been buying about a pack a week. I would’ve bought more if I could’ve used Paypal instead of only SPS. Now that staked SPS will be needed to get into higher leagues and will help to get more promo cards I’m not willing to spend it. I did get lucky today and opened two Gold Foil cards.

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Thanks for reading about my Nerissa Tridawn -vs- Nerissa Tridawn battle today. She’s a great card even at level one.

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Check out my battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_b91735d8a0dab60739b024cb50a4b989&ref=jeremiahcustis

This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-nerissatridawn

LeGionNAiRE ALvaR

The Chaos Legionnaires are ruthless warriors and the Chaos Legion’s elite fighting force. Alvar Veralyn was conscripted into their ranks at a young age after his family was slain and his world conquered by the Chaos Legion. The harsh conditioning that all conscripts receive nearly broke the child, but in the end, his old, easy way of life was subsumed by the desire for battle and conquest. Alvar dedicated himself to his training, intent on reshaping his mind and his body until he had no equal on the battlefield. Eventually, he rose to the rank of General and now stands as leader of the Chaos Legionnaires. Alvar is a most imposing sight on the battlefield. His armor is imbued to withstand the strongest of magical attacks, and even the mightiest of foes is no match for his massive, two-handed sword, which some say was forged in the Realm of Nightmare. He lives for battle, wading through his enemies and striking them down as he seeks out the strongest among them to engage in single combat. He enjoys nothing more than watching the life fade from his opponent’s eyes. His conquests are legendary even among the Legionnaires, and he earned the title of Godkiller after the Battle of Dargnilat, during which he single-handedly defeated one of the Old Gods.

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The 🤖 LeGionNAiRE ALvaR 🤖 is a card that I bought right when the Chaos Legion came out and can count on one hand the times I’ve used it. I don’t think it’s a bad card, I just have many other tanks that I’d rather use. I’ve only purchased a single card putting mine at level one, but even at the first level it comes with an impressive shield. Giant Killer is an ability I’ve yet to fully understand, but I love how Demoralize weakens an enemy’s melee attacks.

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My enemy and I both chose strong water cards, but different legendary neutral tanks. To be honest I just chose the CoEuRL LuRKeR because it’s new and it looks cool. I also thought that I could taunt the attacks its way and deal zero blast damage because the Tide Biter doesn’t get hurt by that. It was a fun battle that I was happy to lose because I finally got to see how to use the
LeGionNAiRE ALvaR effectively.

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The new reward cards look super dope. I can’t wait until they’re a few years old and almost impossible to get and they are a sign of true OG Splintergaming. I’m still getting used to the current rulesets, but now there are three rules, and three new rules. Awesome! I’m loving it. These are the kind of changes that just make the game more fun for us real human players and will screw up the bots for a while as well. I just love the animation style. It looks like something from my 90s comic book childhood memories. I really loved the comic, Spawn, and hope the IP joins us. I feel that we’ve all had plenty of time to MAX the current reward cards and need some new meta to the mix.

Check out my exciting LeGionNAiRE ALvaR battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_447caefe081f5edd7489d48f2f9ed199&ref=jeremiahcustis

This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challange:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-legionnairealvar

Announcing the New Chaos Legion Reward Cards:
https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/announcing-the-new-chaos-legion-reward-cards

Djinn Inferni for the Diamond Win

Djinn Inferni is the eldest of the ancient wardens of fire, spirits of flame that dwell in the deepest rivers of stone. Second only to Lord Janai himself, he is prideful and cunning, but fiercely loyal to his master. With the opening of the rift and the betrayal of Djinn Muriat he has taken up a blood oath of vengeance against the chaos exercitus, rising to the surface to lay waste to the enemies of stone and fire.

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The Djinn Inferni is one of the game’s cover models, so you know it’s a powerful card. This is one of the few cards I still have lingering at level one, but even at its lowest level, it is a powerful card that can kill giants or anyone with 10 or more mana because it does double damage against them. I would love to MAX this guy out, but it’s a bit too pricey for me. I’ve MAXed my Dragon summoner and the key cheap cards, but all of my other summoners are at level 6 which is good enough to coast through the Gold League and attempt to swim to the deep end of the Diamond League. I used to have a favorite splinter and would have one maxed and one completely neglected, but I’ve found spreading everything out evenly is best.

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My battle was the last one to earn 5 diamond chests before the time ran out. It had the thorn and fury ability for the ruleset so I wanted to rely on mostly magic attacks. Still, I love putting those Exploding Rats out front because they can soften up the tank, do some damage to the secondary with the blast, and hurt every enemy by one health point when it dies when it uses the redemption ability. It was a pretty unfair match because my enemy had all level-one cards. The only splinter available was Fire so this must be the splinter they neglected. I think it’s OK to neglect one or two splinters, but you’ll be sorry when you end up having to use them. I was quite surprised to see someone with all level-one cards in the Diamond League.

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I didn’t get anything good, but one chest had over 2,000 merits inside which I was happy to see because that’s just enough to open a Gladius pack. I wonder how many players are stacking up those merits but can’t use them because they haven’t joined a guild with a level 2 store. If you are not already in or own a guild then I highly recommend it because it gives the game a sense of community and teamwork. I want to do as best I can in every brawl battle because my whole team will get more rewards if we all do well. Don’t sign up for a brawl and then not show up because that will make everyone in your team angry. If you are interested in joining my guild then look for the Mandalorians. We have about 5 slots open and are in real need of some Gold foil players.

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It seems like I earn enough merits every other brawl to open Gladius packs. I think it’s really cool that the only way to open these cards is from gameplay. It doesn’t matter how much cash you have, you can only earn merits and Gladius cards if you actually play the game. I haven’t maxed out any Gladius cards yet, but I doubt very many people have. Thanks for reading about my battle today. Are you looking forward to earning the new soul-bound reward cards?

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Check out my battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_985d49b1c28ecaa0eed1dc84112c5c20&ref=jeremiahcustis

This week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-djinninferni

TwiLighT BASiLiSK

The Twilight Basilisk is one of the fiercest predators in the sands surrounding the Draykh-Nahka city of Centrum. They are considered reptiles in the snake family, although some older residents of the Dragon Splinter think of them as Dragon relatives. Basilisks are the largest type of snake in the Splinterlands, but it only takes a small amount of venom to kill a bronk.

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The Twilight Basilisk is probably one of the cards you’ve MAXed out just from gameplay rewards. It may not seem that strong but the Twilight Basilisk can take out more powerful enemies with its reach and stun ability. I don’t have the money to max out all of my summoners so only my dragon cards are maxed out and I use this card as part of my meta. It also has a pretty good attack speed and life for the mana it uses.

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My enemy chose the typical life summoner lineup. They thought they could get me with ranged and magic attacks but my sneak attacks were too much for them. My tank was about as twice as good as theirs too.

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Most of the enemy’s cards were taken out in the second round. I put up a meat shield to protect my healer, but my enemy didn’t attack the rear.

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Once you take out the enemy’s tank you will usually win the battle. You can smash through your enemy in the front or the middle or the rear. I prefer using the sneak ability and taking out my enemy one by one from the back. A lot of people forget to protect their backs in this game.

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The Twilight Basilisk works as a pretty good secondary tank just in case you lose your primary tank. The enemy tank could be two or three times more powerful than your Twilight Basilisk but if it gets stunned every time it will never get the opportunity to attack you.

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Kron the Undying is the only card I can think of that could take this. What other cards can survive alone in this situation?

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Thanks for reading about my dragon battle today. Twilight Basilisk is one of my favorite cards. If you haven’t maxed it out already, you can do so pretty cheaply. I like using my dragon cards because you can choose any splinter that is available. I’m happy to have many maxed-out dragon splinter cards, but I don’t know what splinter to upgrade next. All of my other splinters are currently at level 6. Right now I’m leaning toward maxing out the Death splinter. Which do you think is best?

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Check out my 🐉 Dragon battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_28c7ecab155b08b4a77a34a14ba9b643&ref=jeremiahcustis

Splinterlands Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-dragons-january-4-2023

Why she chose the CuRSED WiNDEkU

CuRSED WiNDEkU are nightmarish creatures that live in the deepest and darkest woods. They hunt at night, stalking their prey before attacking with their claws, while their thorn-like horns and natural healing ability provide an excellent defense. They exude a pungent pheromone that reduces the reaction time of their victims, often allowing the WiNDEkU to begin devouring them before they are dead. While these lifeless creatures may appear animalistic, they are highly intelligent. They have heeded the call put forth by the Lord of Darkness. Their thirst for blood is now focused on the Chaos Legion.

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The CuRSED WiNDEkU is an excellent Death card because it doesn’t eat up much mana, can heal, and hurt anyone with its thorns who dare attack it with melee. I’d love to have a MAX copy because it can make the enemy slower.

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ชอบที่CuRSED WiNDEkUเต็มชีวิตตัวเองได้และเวลาคนอื่นทำลายมันเขาโดนเจ็บ2คะแนนเขาจะทำให้คนอื่นช้าลงถ้ามันMAX

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Death is my favorite splinter other than Dragon because it weakens the enemy’s magic and life by one.

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ฉันเลือกDeathเพราะว่าเขาทำให้เวทมนต์ของข้าศึกน้อยลง1คะแนนและชีวิตของเขา1คะแนนด้วยข้าศึกเลือกเทวดาที่มีหนวดเต็มชีวิตตัวเองได้เขาลบเก่งเขาไม่เคยโดนยาผิดเขา

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The cobra snake is one of the best low-level cards because it has venom and can sneak. It was really hard to kill this enemy’s tank because it seemed like he dodged most of my attacks and never got the snake’s venom. Thanks for reading about my wife’s battle today.

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Check out her battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_b8c3e2f8991104cc9ded52d32f6734a2&ref=jeremiahcustis

This week’s challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-cursedwindeku

Having a blasting X-mas with the Prismologist

Prismologists are experts at illusory and light-based magic using prisms. Armed with their custom-built prism, they bring them to the battlefield to manipulate magic around themselves. Light dances around them in a rainbow of colors as they lay waste on a bloody battleground.

It took me a day and a half to win using the Prismologist here for this post so I guess I need to learn how to use her better. Blast used to be the go-to ability back in the Beta days of Splinterlands, but I don’t use it much anymore unless I’m using my Chaos Dragon. I doubt I’ll be maxing the Prismologist out, but I’ll at least get her up to level four where she’ll have the Forcefield, and attacks at five or more will only sting one point.

My enemy seemed to make good use of both Chaos Legion and Riftwathers cards, but they would have done better spamming magic attacks. I went with the Life splinter and my Legendary tank which can self-heal and a bunch of ranged and magic attack cards.

My tank took a lot of damage from the first round, but most of my ranged and magic attack cards were unharmed. The battle still could have gone either way at this point.

The god of war favored me by the third round. From here on the enemy’s cards fell one by one.

It’s not true for every Splinterlands battle, but it seems that if you can knock down your enemy’s tank then the rest will fall down like dominoes. Thank you for reading about my Splinterlands battle this Christmas. It may seem like this run of cards has been going on forever, but they will seem old in no time and we’ll regret not maxing out more of them when we had the chance.

I know this is the tenth time I’ve suggested making a bonus for a flawless victory where you defeat your enemy without losing a single card, but I’ve just gone to https://support.splinterlands.com to request it so maybe it’ll happen. I doubt it gets noticed here or there, but it’s a good idea that could add a bit of fun to the gameplay.

Where’s your LAND?

I bought three plots of land when they were first available for sale for $10 back in 2019. They may have even been cheaper than that in a presale if I remember correctly. I, unfortunately, had to sell two plots back in July or I would have gone to jail, been deported, and blacklisted from my favorite country for overstaying my visa for almost two years. It may be better to have just one plot per account and focus on leveling up just that spot, but we’ll see. I held on to a few old summoners I haven’t needed in a long time just in case I need them for working my LAND. I hope you get a castle or something legendary when it’s revealed and that next year will be better than this one!

Check out my PRISMOLOGIST battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_6437c22c7fd6671702d4a93bd221d924&ref=jeremiahcustis

Check out this week’s SPLINTERLANDS Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-prismologist

My wife’s MyCelic inFANTRY battle and The BEAR

Mycelic Infantry are lumbering behemoth fungus. They are the least intelligent of the Mycelia and are put on the front lines as a strong defense. They are incredibly tough but slow.”

I only have level six Chaos Legion summoners so I should get my MyCelic Infantry to at least level six the same, but I’ve done fine with my level 3 so far. Max this guy out and it will come in handy when the slow go first and you’re up against giants.

This was a simple low mana battle where we could afford about three cards each with tanks and secondary attackers and meat shields.

I was able to MAX a few Djinns for free from just gameplay rewards. It sure came in handy today. They couldn’t kill it because they couldn’t see it unless it was in the front position because it has the camouflage ability.

They took out her meatshield, but both the MyCelic inFantry and Djinn were left standing. I showed this Splinterlands Battle Challenge to my wife and asked her to let me know when she had a dramatic win with MyCelic. I’m truly happy she likes the game even more than me I just wish she wouldn’t always play my capture rate down to 50%.

Did you get the end-of-the-year common promo card, Arkemis, The Bear, yet? He will come in handy when the slow go first or when melees can attack from any position. I’ve just leveled him up to level 2 so far. Hopefully, he gets cheaper. I’d like the get him up to level 8 one day because he’d have 12 life, halving, and a force field.

Arkemis the Bear

Sunrise and sunset, the seasons, the tides, the rise and fall of nations, birth, death, war, and regret. These things will come to pass. They are inevitable. So, too, is Arkemis, known throughout the Splinterlands as “The Bear.” In some cases, many years pass before The Bear’s coming. In others, only a few. It is never predictable, but it always comes. When it does, it is unfailingly presaged by calamity. Sometimes, it is a drought that grips the land. Crops wither and die, and famine follows. Sometimes, it is a disease or pestilence that strikes without regard for station or status, scourging nobles and commoners alike. Sometimes, it is strife and conflict sown in the name of religion, liberty, justice, pride, or principle. Nations are torn asunder, cities are set ablaze by civil war, and blood is spilled in the streets as kinsfolk beset one another. Sometimes, it is all of this and more. In turn, the price of goods and services collapses. Jobs are lost, and many find themselves on the streets. When these things come to pass, The Bear follows. It lumbers through the ruin its coming has wrought: the fields of dried husks, the empty streets, the derelict buildings, the emaciated corpses. It snuffles, growls, and roars as it scavenges on the suffering and sorrow of those trying to survive. Dark times grow darker still. Neighbors turn on neighbors, nobles forsake their subjects, and vassals curse their lords for not protecting them. On occasion, the very brave or the very foolish try to kill The Bear or intimidate and frighten it off. They soon learn, though, that neither steel nor spells can hurt it, and no matter how great the inferno or how mighty the army is, it cannot be stopped. One swipe of its terrible claws, both the very brave and the very foolish wind up very dead. Expecting the worst is yet to come (and very often it is), the people of the Splinterlands hoard what they need to survive and trade what they can for next to nothing in return, for they fear that it will all be worthless in the end. Their coins they bury in the dirt or stashed in some dark corner for safekeeping. Then they bolt their doors, batten their windows, and pray they will survive. At least, that is what most do. But not all. Once upon a time, there was a wise person named Yew Yosef. When the calamities struck and the village was gripped by drought, disease, discord, and economic ruin, Yew’s friends, neighbors, and family all believed it was The Bear that caused them. Yew, however, wondered. What if it was not The Bear that brought the calamities, but the calamities that brought The Bear? Perhaps it delivered not ruin but hope and opportunity in times of ruin. Throughout the summer, the skies remained barren of rain, and crops withered and wilted. In the fall, pestilence swept through the village, and after it had taken its pound of flesh, a great war took another. Winter came, and a blanket of white covered the land. The time of Winterfest drew ever nearer, but it brought neither celebrations nor revelers. Only the massive paw prints of The Bear blemished the snowy streets of the village and the outlying farms. As before when calamity struck, the people sold their valuables and buried their coins in the dirt. They bolted their doors, battened their windows, and prepared to wait out the long, cold winter. But instead of selling the plow, the gems and trinkets, and other valuables accumulated over the years, Yew kept them. Instead of butchering the reindeer for their tender steaks, Yew fed them a meager stock of grain. Instead of burying coins in the dirt, Yew invested them in the enterprises of neighbors with the promise that, when payment could be made, it would be made with interest. One stormy evening, with a thick flurry of snow falling from the sky, a thunderous roar resounded from outside Yew’s humble farmhouse. Yew’s family begged for the doors and windows to be locked. However, Yew tugged on a pair of leather boots, shrugged on a thick fur coat, grabbed a stocking hat, and stepped out into the storm. Visibility was next to nothing, and Yew squinted into the white, whirling tempest. From out of the curtain of snow, a dark sharp emerged. It was The Bear, a hulking beast larger than any Yew had ever seen. It lumbered across the field on all fours and stopped not twenty paces away. When it rose on its hind legs, Yew saw that it wore thick fur garments, a chain necklace, and a leather belt with a bear’s skull etched into its buckle. It peered down with black eyes dark with rage, yet they were not the eyes of a beast. Their tempestuous depths also held a keen intellect, ancient wisdom, and profound compassion. Its lips peeled back to reveal teeth long and sharp, and it let out another roar. Rather than turn and flee, Yew headed toward the barn, boots crunching in the snow. The Bear watched curiously but made no move to attack. Yew opened the door to the barn and led two reindeer outside. The Bear approached them and sniffed and snuffled, yet the reindeer did not cry out or bolt away in fear. Apparently satisfied, The Bear nodded once, and when it ambled off into the storm, the two reindeer followed. Several days later, The Bear returned. Again, Yew’s family begged for the doors and windows to be locked, and again Yew tugged on the boots, coat, and hat and stepped out into the storm. This time, Yew carried a burlap sack filled with gemstones and priceless trinkets and placed it in the snow before The Bear. The great beast sniffed and snuffled. Then it hefted the sack in one mammoth paw, slung it over a shoulder, and plodded off into the storm. The Bear continued to visit Yew, and Yew continued to give it gifts: more reindeer, gems, and trinkets, as well as coins, grain, farming tools, and other valuables. Each time, The Bear accepted its gifts and disappeared with them into the snow, leaving Yew and Yew’s family and farm unharmed. Winter marched ever onward, and The Bear came less and less often until it stopped coming altogether. Meanwhile, the pestilence had run its course. The great war had ended. On the eve of Winterfest, the sun hung high in a bright blue sky. The fields of Yew’s farm were damp with melted snow, and small green shoots sprouted from the damp soil. At last, the day dawned on Winterfest. The village people celebrated in the streets, exchanging gifts as they laughed and cried and hugged one another. Yew woke early, bundled up, and went outside. A great herd of reindeer filled the fields surrounding the farm. There were several hundred of them, and each carried a pair of satchels slung across its back. When Yew opened the satchels, they were filled with countless gems and coins, a hundredfold and a hundredfold more than had been given to The Bear. So, too, had the barn been stocked with new farming tools of the highest quality, and the storehouses were overflowing with grain. Erelong, Yew’s neighbors repaid him for his investment in their enterprises… with the interest of course. The tale of Yew’s good fortune spread far and wide. Across the Splinterlands, people swore that the next time The Bear came, they would do as Yew had done. Many years passed, and eventually, calamity befell the Splinterlands once again. The Bear followed, of course. It was inevitable. Yet many feared that this time, it would never leave, and the drought, disease, discord, and economic ruin would last forever. Once again, they sold their valuables and buried their coins in the dirt. When the calamities ended and The Bear left (as it always does), they found themselves worse off than they had been before. They turned to those who, like Yew, had embraced the coming of The Bear as a symbol of hope and an opportunity, and their hearts filled with envy. Instead of blaming their own foolish decisions and shortsightedness, they cursed their rotten luck. But as you know, when it comes to The Bear, we make our own luck.

  • A Splinterlands Parable

This week’s Splinterlands Battle Challenge:
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/share-your-battle-weekly-challenge-mycelicinfantry

Check out her MyCelic inFANTRY battle:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_7360428724596a53aaa0d8375e64ddc5&ref=teachinthai