The Ultimate Stratytorial Part 2 - A guide through the Steem Monsters rulesets!

Around two weeks ago I published the first part of my "Ultimate Stratytorial" for the trading card game SteemMonsters which has been fascinating people on the STEEM blockchain since it's launch back in May 2018.

EDIT: Meanwhile, part three has been published as well: The Ultimate Stratytorial Part 3 - A guide through the remaining rulesets!

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Since the launch of the automated tournaments the game has really taken of - over 10.000$ in prizes have been given out so far. Last time I introduced you to some general strategic principles, now it is time to take it one step further and have a detailed look at the fifteen rulesets of the game. The first seven modes will be covered in this post, the other eight will follow tomorrow.

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1. Aim True

One of the most honest game modes in terms of the least luck involved (due to the absence of the annoying misses) is "Aim True". While this mode is especially interesting for the tactic thinkers around us, it is very bad for people who try to rely on the escapes of their "Cocatrice" most of the time, since this card is probably the biggest looser of this ruleset.

Since there are no misses, it is especially important to focus on one attack vector as described in the first article. Speed also gets a boost in importance, as this game mode is in general faster than others.

Success in "Aim True" is often found by using a combination of two monsters with "Sneak", making the "Life" splinter really strong in this mode, especially since it has free armor when using the more expensive summoners. In low mana settings, this game mode is pretty much only about who sneaks the fastest and overrolls the enemy from behind the fastest.

With the available mana rising, double "Snipe" tactics gain value, as well as a massive attack on the front of an opponent.

Splinterwise "Fire" and "Death" have big troubles in the higher leagues, since they lack the ability to protect themselves with armor or install double heal mechanisms due to the lack of "Tank Heal" monsters. In lower leagues and low mana settings though, the cheap "Sneak" monster "Kobold Miner" and the strong sniper "Twisted Jester" can be interesting to experiment with.

Looking at defense, it makes sense to put amonster in the last position that can withstand some "Sneak" damage while eventually even dealing out damage to the sneakers with the ability "Thorns" - the white "Crystal Werewolf" would be a nice example here. It can also be a nice idea to involve the neutral "Creeping Ooze" somewhere in the back, as it will give you a speed boost while beeing a very cost-effective meatshield with additional armor.

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2. Back to Basics

This might look like one of the most boring rulesets, as all monsters loose their cool abilities. But looking at it from a tactical side, this is one of the most interesting settings - one small error in your team and you will loose.

The most promising strategy is to protect yourself with the "Peaceful Giant" (the biggest winner of this format) in the front while massing up "Ranged" and especially "Magic" attack monsters behind the giant. Therefore the "Water" splinter with it's great "Magic" monsters and the "Earth" Splinter with it's cheap high health "Ranged" monsters in combination with the fast "Magic" monsters are by far the best splinters in this format. If one of those two is banned, use the other. If both are allowed, use the one where you have the higher cards. If both are banned.. - well, I don't have much experience here. But i would guess "Life" with the free armor and the cheap "Magic" monsters or powerful "Ranged" monsters is a good pick.

"Magic" monsters have two big advantages in this format that you should take into consideration:

• unlinked "Ranged" monsters, they can attack from the first row
• when both have the same speed, "Magic" will attack before "Ranged" does

Both the legendary summoners "Rennyn" and "Valnamor" are really powerful in this ruleset and necessary for success at the top level - the first one is better in low mana settings, the second in high mana settings. I would say that generally applies to the behavior of the two superior splinters of this ruleset.

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3. Broken Arrows

In this format, all "Ranged" monsters are banned from use. This has three huge effects on the game:

• the often used summoner "Selenia Sky" has a useless bonus now and therefor gets pretty useless itsself
• there are no "Snipe" monsters available
• with the absence of "Crustean King" and "Spirit of the Forest", water and earth loose their posiibilty to get armor for their monsters

The last sentence is the reason why "Life" is so strong in this format once again - It is the only splinter with armor for everybody now.

Since there is no "Snipe" in this ruleset, the possible attack vectors get reduced to the front and the back of the teams, making a protection of those sides even more important. I personally like to secure the front with the legendary "Lord Arianthus" (who will also be great agains "Magic" attacks) and a "Tank Heal" monster like "Divine Healer" while attacking with a double "Sneak" combination myself.

Especially in lower leagues a big attack on the front might be promising as well, combining a powerful "Melee" tank with some "Magic" support from the back. Using a second "Melee" monster with "Reach" might also be an viable option - the "Dragon" summoner "Daria" plus the "Manticore" get interesting then.

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4. Melee Mayhem

In this mode all "Melee" monsters can attack from any position on the field, making those tanky beasts a lot more powerful than in most of the other rulesets. Especially in the lower leagues, "Fire" benefits a lot by this, as this splinter has a lot of strong "Melee" monsters and a nice boost by the summoners.

Monsters who normally play little to know role in the game suddenly get interesting in this mode, thinking of the risky "Exploding Dwarf" or the monsters who can attack twice in one turn, "Hobgoblin" and "Undead Minotaur".

If you wanna trick your opponent and don't do a tank war, you can also go for "Magic" instead - the blue "Water" splinter becomes the most interesting splinter for you then. If doing so, you should either protect your front with a "Lord Arianthus" (obviously also the perfect counter against Magic attacks) or try to get a few lucky misses with a "Cocatrice".

Since a lot of "Retalitate" and "Thorns" Monsters are running around in this ruleset, the weak "Sneak" monsters are not the best choice for your army most of the time, since they just die too fast against the heavy tanks. "Snipe" also is a little weaker, since your opponent most likely will not have too many "Ranged" units (unless you try to counter a "Magic" strategy of course).

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5. Lost Legendaries

In this mode, all legenardy monsters have a break (CAVE: This DOES NOT AFFECT SUMMONERS!). Especially for low mana settings, the differences to "Standard" are very little to nothing, since those expensive legendary monsters are not used then anyways.

With more mana available, "Earth" probably takes the biggest hit by loosing one of available Snipers plus the monster which could give armor when "Spirit of the Forest" is banned. The splinter with the smalles loss is probably "Death", since the "Lord of Darkness" is not really useable in modes other than "Melee Mayhem" and "Up, Close & Personal".

But there really is not too much to say about this mode, just stick to standard strategy! You might want to take a special look at a "Magic" strategy, as the most universal counter part, the "Lord Arianthus", won't be stopping you here ;)

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6. Reverse Speed

Right after "Back to Basics", this is probably the weirdest ruleset out there, as the whole speed scale is completly reverted - the lower the speed, the faster the monsters attack.

This leads to the consequences that the normally powerful "Sneak" and "Snipe" tactics loose most of their potenital, since they are now slow and miss often. The winners of this format obviously are those monsters who normaly are too slow, like for example the neutral "Cyclops", who is one of the best cards in "Reverse Speed", especially once he has the "Stun" ability added.

"Magic" strategies work pretty well on this mode, since those monsters usually aren't the fastest one anyways. "Water" also benefits from their small "Ranged" monsters with low speed, who become really fast here ;)

Attention: The abilities "Slow" and "Fasten", who normally work in your favour, are against you in this mode! However, some cards with those abilities like the "Frost Giant" still might be a great pick in this game mode.

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7. Rise of the Commons

A ruleset similar to "Lost Legendaries", however all epic monsters have a break now as well. Please don't forget that SUMMONERS ARE NOT RESTRICTED due to the special rules - Due to the lack of expensive legendary and epic monsters, the expensive legendary summoners become even more powerful in this ruleset.

The biggest loss goes to "Earth" in my eyes, as loosing the "Spirit of the Forest" (Sniper, gives armor) and the powerful "Swamp Thing" + "Brownie" really hurts. On the other side the strong "Flesh Golem" is still allowed and a heavy tank. The "Dragon" splinter obviously gets completely killed, as all strong monsters of this splinter are not available in this game mode.

My tip would to go either for double "Sneak" or "Snipe", favoring the "Water" and "Life" splinter.

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I hope those further tips will help you to become a better Steem Monsters fighter on the virtual battlefield and secure your share of the prizes that are given out in the daily tournaments.

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We have had some nice cosmetic changes in the game published yesterday, now I think we should be heading towards a great mobile app to take this to the next level. New cards would also spice things up a little - but fortunately I have already heard some interesting rumours there ;)

Greets,
Martin