Ruleset Focus

This week in Battle Mage Secrets, we shall dive into the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY ruleset. This ruleset provides all Monsters with the BLAST ability, enabling them to inflict extra damage to Monsters adjacent to the target. A useful strategy to keep in mind is assembling a team of high Speed Monsters to quickly eliminate opponents before they can capitalize on BLAST damage! 😁

Abilities Focus

These abilities empower you to harness the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONARY ruleset to its fullest extent, enabling you to either unleash a barrage of consecutive attacks to increase the BLAST damages, randomly targeting the enemy's backline to maximize the BLAST damages
or set up protective defenses against the BLAST damages.

Double Strike - Monster attacks twice each round.

Scattershot - This Monster's attacks hit a random enemy target

Reflection Shield - This Monster is immune to all indirect, or reflected damage.
That means that it will not take damage from BLAST, Thorns, Return Fire, or Magic Reflect

The Battle

While fulfilling my responsibilities in the Splinterlands scholarship account I have with Balthazar, bltzr-wizard-729, I was able to engage in a battle that involves the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONARY ruleset. To get right into the action, the battle link can be found here. Otherwise, do read on as I go into more detail regarding the lineup and fight.

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Let's begin by examining the ruleset implemented for this encounter. First off, we have the main highlight of today's challenge: the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY ruleset, which we have already discussed in the previous section. Following that, we have the Stampede ruleset, which enhances the Trample ability to activate multiple times per attack if the trampled Monster is defeated. Lastly, there is the Melee Mayhem ruleset, permitting Melee attacking Monsters to strike from any position. The battle imposes a mana capacity of 22, and players are restricted to employing only the Fire and Life Splinters.

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Summoner, Grandmaster Rathe

Aside from the Unprotected ruleset, including Grandmaster Rathe in my lineup notably boosts my team's durability during battles. The synergy between his abilities, +1 Armor and Void Armor, effectively reinforces the team's defensive prowess, granting a considerable defensive edge. Furthermore, having the Life Splinter is essential in my gameplay especially when the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY and Melee Mayhem rulesets are in play! 😏

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First Position, Pelacor Conjuror

The Pelacor Conjurer emerges as a superb selection for a cost-effective tank in this battle. Priced at just 2 mana, it showcases remarkable Speed and Health attributes. Bolstered by skills such as Magic Reflect, Phase, and Divine Shield, the Pelacor Conjurer transforms into a formidable adversary against a range of enemy monsters. The synergy between the Pelacor Conjurer's Magic Reflect ability and Grandmaster Rathe's Amplify ability amplifies its effectiveness, particularly when facing Magic Monsters in the opponent's lineup! 😁

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Second Position, Venator Kinjo

In a battle featuring the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY ruleset, having the Reflection Shield ability in your lineup is crucial. This is where the Venator Kinjo becomes essential, taking up the second position in the lineup. While this Monster may not drastically enhance the offensive power of my team in this battle, its Reflection Shield ability ensures that the backline of my team remains free from any BLAST damages caused by enemy attacks. Furthermore, Venator Kinjo's Slow ability can debuff the opponent's lineup, effectively making my team faster! 😝

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Third Position, Blinding Reflector

The Blinding Reflector serves as a cost-effective yet resilient tank, especially when paired with the Grandmaster Rathe Summoner, who offers the invaluable Void Armor and +1 Armor buffs. Priced at 3 mana, this Monster effectively possesses 12 (6+5+1) "Health" stats due to the Void Armor ability. Moreover, empowered by the Amplify ability granted by the Summoner, the Blinding Reflector can reflect any Magic damage it absorbs back to its assailants, along with an extra +1 Magic damage! 😁

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Fourth Position, Vulguine

Another impressively cost-effective Monster, priced at a mere 2 mana within the Life Splinter, delivers outstanding value, particularly within the Melee Mayhem ruleset thanks to its effective backline assaults. Vulguine's Scavenger ability facilitates the gradual accumulation of Health from fallen units throughout the battle. Additionally, Vulguine boasts the Dodge ability, granting a 25% greater chance to evade both Melee and Ranged attacks. Lastly, the Enrage ability empowers it with a 50% boost in both Attack and Speed when not at full Health, turning it into a formidable presence! 😉

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Fifth Position, Jared Scar

The choice of the Life Splinter for this battle was primarily influenced by the inclusion of Jared Scar! With its True Strike ability, Jared Scar's strikes consistently hit their mark, guaranteeing a dependable and accurate offense. Additionally, the Piercing ability enables Jared Scar to pierce through the opponent's armor, dealing damage that bypasses their defensive measures. Moreover, the Bloodlust ability further boosts Jared Scar's prowess, increasing its strength with each opponent it defeats 😤

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Last Position, Soul Fiend

Incorporating a zero-mana-cost monster into your lineup is always a good option to have. Furthermore, Soul Fiend boasts the Swiftness ability, providing a +1 Speed buff to the entire team. Positioning it in the last slot serves a potential backline tanker, as it can also absorb any Sneak attack, thereby mitigating the impact on the team's backline, although only for a single attack! 😅

The Analysis

Considering the limited array of Splinters accessible for this battle, it wasn't unexpected when the opponent also chose to employ the Life Splinter, despite their selection of Lux Vega as their Summoner. However, what truly caught my attention was their emphasis on assembling a team geared toward Magic rather than Melee attacks, despite the presence of the Melee Mayhem ruleset! 😮

What's even more surprising is the lack of defensive measures taken against the EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY ruleset and the failure to fortify defenses against BLAST damages! This oversight allowed me to swiftly dispatch their first two units through Jared Scar's Piercing ability and BLAST damages! The battle concluded rapidly as the enemy's team stood no chance against the overwhelming firepower of my lineup! 💪

Do you guys have any better recommendations for setting up the team in this particular ruleset? Do share them with me in the below comments 😜

If you made it this far, I sincerely appreciate your time and value your encouragement. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions so that we can discuss about other strategies. Thinking about giving Splinterlands a try but haven't signed up yet? Feel free to use my referral link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=ak08, and be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions!

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All banners, dividers card and battle images used in this article are open source and obtained from the Splinterlands team or made by flauwy. Do check out his link for other amazing designs.