Ruleset Focus

This week's Battle Mage Secrets challenge unveils the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset, which is tailor-made for players who haven't heavily invested in acquiring the most potent, often costly Monsters cards in the game! Under the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset, Monsters with the Epic and Legendary rarity are off-limits for battle selection. However, players are still free to deploy Rare Monsters, not just the Commons. Legendary Summoners, on the other hand, remain permissible ✌️

Unlike other rulesets, there isn't a specific strategy to employ in RISE OF THE COMMONS battles, except for assembling the best available setup, which also depends on other rulesets, Splinter availability, and mana restrictions. Players will be engaging in battles with a slightly reduced power level, featuring fewer of those awe-inspiring, high-rarity monsters that typically dominate the battlefield 😤

The Battle

In my alt account, jimbei, I was able to engage in a battle that involves the RISE OF THE COMMONS 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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To begin, let's take a closer look at the ruleset in place for this battle. Firstly, there's the Healed Out ruleset, which eliminates all Healing abilities from both Monsters and Summoners. Following that, there is the Cripple ruleset, where all Monsters are granted the Cripple ability at the outset of the battle. Lastly, the primary focus of this week's challenge is the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset, which we've already dived into extensively in the above section. Additionally, this battle imposes a mana restriction of 34 and prohibits the use of Earth and Dragon Splinters.

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Summoner, Kelya Frendul

In this battle, which is governed by the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset, despite having a wide range of Splinters to choose from, opting for the Water Splinters was a straightforward decision for me. The Water Splinter offers a diverse lineup of Common and Rare units that, in my opinion, have the potential to outperform the other available Splinters in this particular battle. I chose Kelya Frendul as my Summoner, as the Summoner provides the team with a valuable +1 Speed and +1 Armor buffs! 😄

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First Position, Diemonshark

Diemonshark emerges as a stellar pick for the role of tank in the Water Splinter, particularly in the context of the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset. Priced at 8 mana, it presents a well-rounded set of statistics, featuring impressive stats in Health, Speed, Armor, and Damage. An especially advantageous feature is its Retaliate ability, which provides Diemonshark with the opportunity to launch a counter-attack when subjected to a Melee attack, enabling it to strike back at its assailant 💪

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Second Position, Flying Squid

I strategically placed the Flying Squid in the second position to make the most of its Reach ability, granting it the capability to attack effectively from that spot. In the event that the Diemonshark were to be defeated, the Flying Squid could advance to the first position and assume the role of a reliable tank. Additionally, its Backfire ability deals 2 damage to foes who fail to hit the Flying Squid when attacking it, and the Blind ability enhances the probability of all enemies missing their intended targets 😝

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Third Position, Deeplurker

Incorporating the Deeplurker into my lineup when utilizing the Water Splinter seems like an obvious choice, especially in the context of the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset. Its Opportunity ability makes it adept at swiftly dispatching the opponent's most vulnerable target. Furthermore, the Deeplurker can inflict Poison on its target, adding another layer to its formidable offensive capabilities. In addition to these strengths, it also wields the Demoralize ability, which imposes a -1 Melee attack debuff on the opposing team 😎

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Fourth Position, Pelacor Bandit

The Pelacor Bandit stands out as an excellent budget-friendly choice in the game, particularly in the RISE OF THE COMMONS ruleset. Priced at just 3 mana, it boasts impressive stats, including 4 Melee attack, 6 Speed, and 5 Health. Its Flying ability enhances its evasion against both Melee and Ranged attackers. Additionally, the Sneak ability it possesses becomes an invaluable asset within team compositions, allowing it to quickly eliminate vulnerable enemy backline units! 😛

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Fifth Position, Angelic Mandarin

The Angelic Mandarin assumes a crucial role as the rearguard tank, ready to soak up damage from Sneaking opponents and shield my primary damage dealers. Nevertheless, in the context of the Healed Out ruleset, one of the Angelic Mandarin's most valuable abilities, Triage, had to be made invalid due to its Healing properties. Considering I've chosen Diemonshark, who is susceptible to Magic attacks, as my frontline tank, incorporating the Angelic Mandarin with its Silence ability becomes advantageous as it can reduce the magic attacks from opposing Magic monsters by 1! 😁

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Last Position, Scavo Hireling

Normally, when comparing the Merdaali Guardian and the Scavo Hireling, one would tend to favor the Merdaali Guardian, especially considering their identical mana cost of 3. However, in light of the Healed Out ruleset, which nullifies the Healing capabilities of the Merdaali Guardian, opting for the Scavo Hireling proves to be a superior choice for this battle. The Scavo Hireling not only provides ongoing Armor Repair support throughout the battle but also remains concealed in the rear lines thanks to its Camouflage ability. Additionally, the Scavo Hireling boasts the Slow ability, which inflicts a -1 Speed debuff on the enemy's team! 😉

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The Analysis

This battle took an intriguing twist as I found myself pitted against a fellow scholar under the Balthazar's banner! For those who've been following my journey, you might be aware that I also manage a scholarship account with Balthazar, bearing the in-game name: bltzr-wizard-729 🤗

Despite the wide array of Splinters at our disposal in this battle, it wasn't particularly surprising to find myself facing off against the Water Splinter, the same choice my fellow scholar had made. What did surprised me was the almost identical team lineup we both fielded! The only notable difference lay in our placement of the Scavo Hireling, which could explain why the game didn't immediately result in a "Draw" upon commencement 😅

Despite the differing positions of our Scavo Hireling, the battle's attack sequence remained relatively unchanged, thanks to its Camouflage ability, rendering it "non-targetable" during the battle unless situated in the first slot. The battle was fiercely contested, and my victory ultimately hinged on superior RNG, as my fellow scholar suffered some crucial misses, probably due to the Blind ability from my Flying Squid! 🤙

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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Are you interested in reading some of my future writings? Don't forget to follow me! In the meantime, here are some of my most recent blogs if you'd like to view them:

UNVEILING THE ODDLY (PUN INTENDED) IDENTICAL LINEUP!	A TRIUMPHANT RIFTWING IN A CHAOTIC BATTLE!
A TACTICAL SHOWDOWN IN A BATTLE OF REVERSE SPEED!	BATTLE OF THE SCHOLARS: A DUEL OF WITS WITH ASTRAL ENTITY! (Latest Blog)

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.