Catotune's Top Battles Rundown: Champion league, Modern format - Jan 8, 2026

In this series, I analyze the top battles of the day to reveal which summoners and monsters are most successful for a given league and format. What better way to improve our Splinterlands skills than to study what the best players are doing?

For those of us who buy, rent, or rent out cards, I'm also hoping that this series can inform us of which cards to acquire for maximum effectivenes.

Stay tuned for a new report to be published daily, each covering the top battles for a different league and format!

For simplicity I threw out matches ending in draws and surrender - all data is compiled from wins and losses. Here are the results from 124 of the top Champion league (modern format) battles from Thursday, January 8, 2026:

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Thanks for hearing me out, and now back to our regularly scheduled program:

Monsters with highest win rate

1. Runi - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [5/5]
   

   
   
   Runi is a Legendary monster card from the Promo edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 was most successful, being a member of the winning team for all 5 games in which Runi appeared.
   • You could watch @hanv's previous battles to learn how they beat their opponents 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When used in combination with the Up Close & Personal ruleset, Runi won twice.
     
     

2. Desolation - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [4/4]
   

   
   
   Desolation is a Legendary monster card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 was most successful, finding itself on the winning team for all 4 games in which Desolation appeared.
   • Desolation did best when placed at the rear of the team, where it saw 4 wins.
   • You could observe @xawi's battle to learn how they produced a win with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Desolation card is $2.25 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Palifala Weslinath - Life splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [4/4]
   

   
   
   Palifala Weslinath is a Legendary monster card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   The card at level 4 was most successful in today's top Champion league (modern) battles, being a member of the winning team for all 4 games in which Palifala Weslinath appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, take a moment to watch @xsuilx's battle history, where they defeated their opponent using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Palifala Weslinath card is $3.79 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Most winning monsters with at least 10 battles

(Excluding any monsters already featured in the "highest win rate" section above)

1. Elanor Bravefoot - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 68.00% [17/25]
   

   
   
   Elanor Bravefoot is a Legendary monster card from the Promo edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success during the top Champion league (modern) battles today, finding itself on the victorious team for all 17 games where Elanor Bravefoot triumphed.
   • Elanor Bravefoot performed ideally when positioned in the team's rear, where it saw 9 wins.
   • You could observe @xawi's battles to see how they defeated their foes 4 times with this card ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}.
   • When paired with the Brute Force ruleset, Elanor Bravefoot saw 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Elanor Bravefoot card is $35.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Inept Healer - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 66.67% [8/12]
   

   
   
   Inept Healer is a Legendary monster card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success during the top Champion league (modern) battles today, finding itself on the winning team for all 8 games where Inept Healer triumphed.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, watch @xsuilx's battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Inept Healer card is $6.50 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Baron Fyatt - Death splinter
   Win rate: 66.67% [8/12]
   

   
   
   Baron Fyatt is a Legendary monster card from the Promo edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success in today's top Champion league (modern) battles, being a member of the victorious team for all 8 games where Baron Fyatt won.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, take a moment to view @lorkus's previous battles, where they beat their opponent 2 times using this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When used in combination with the Holy Protection ruleset, Baron Fyatt saw 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Baron Fyatt card is $3.75 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Summoners with highest win rate

1. Kavor Skarn - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Kavor Skarn is a Rare summoner card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 8 was most successful, winning all 2 games in which Kavor Skarn appeared.
   • You may find it educational to watch @xawi's battle history, where they beat their opponent 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Kavor Skarn card is $0.80 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Avina of the Wolf - Life splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Avina of the Wolf is a Rare summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful during the top Champion league (modern) battles today, winning all 2 games in which Avina of the Wolf appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, watch @sildren's previous battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Avina of the Wolf card is $0.80 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Loving the Moo - Water splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [1/1]
   

   
   
   
   Note that while this card has a 100% win rate, it is based on only 1 match.

   Loving the Moo is a Legendary summoner card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 was used in a single match by @jerwin2022, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Loving the Moo card is $10.73 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Most winning summoners with at least 10 battles

(Excluding any summoners already featured in the "highest win rate" section above)

1. Risqruel Drath - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 60.00% [12/20]
   

   
   
   Risqruel Drath is a Legendary summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, winning all 12 games where Risqruel Drath triumphed.
   • You may want to study @lorkus's battle history to learn how they defeated their foes 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When used in combination with the No Pain, No Gain ruleset, Risqruel Drath saw 3 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Risqruel Drath card is $10.80 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Lorkus - Death splinter
   Win rate: 54.35% [25/46]
   

   
   
   Lorkus is a Legendary summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success in today's top Champion league (modern) battles, winning all 25 games where Lorkus triumphed.
   • You could watch @hanv's battles to learn how they achieved 7 wins with this card ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]}.
   • When used in combination with the Explosive Weaponry ruleset, Lorkus earned 3 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Lorkus card is $39.67 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Nidhoggr - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 54.29% [19/35]
   

   
   
   Nidhoggr is a Legendary summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   In today's top Champion league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, winning all 19 games where Nidhoggr won.
   • You may want to take a look at @hanv's battle history to see how they beat their opponents 5 times using this card ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}.
   • When paired with the Noxious Fumes ruleset, Nidhoggr earned 3 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Nidhoggr card is $19.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Splinters with highest win rate

1. Death
   Win rate: 53.33% [32/60]
   

   
   
   Death splinter had the most success against Death, beating its own element 16 times in today's top Champion league (modern) battles.

   • This splinter was effective with the Healed Out ruleset, where Death won 3 times.

   • Death splinter did well in battles with mana caps higher than 56, winning 9 of those matchups.
     
     

2. Dragon
   Win rate: 52.38% [22/42]
   

   
   
   Dragon splinter had the most success against Dragon, defeating its identical element 14 times in today's top Champion league (modern) battles.

   • This splinter matched well with the Noxious Fumes ruleset, where Dragon emerged victorious 3 times.

   • Dragon splinter did well in high mana cap battles (greater than 56 mana), winning 9 of those matches.
     
     

3. Earth
   Win rate: 50.00% [27/54]
   

   
   
   Earth splinter had the most success against Earth, beating its own element 12 times in today's top Champion league (modern) battles.

   • This splinter matched well with the Up Close & Personal ruleset, where Earth prevailed 3 times.

   • Earth splinter was useful in battles with mana caps higher than 56, winning 10 of those matchups.
     
     

Final thoughts

Please feel free to leave me feedback in the comments. If you are new to Splinterlands, then please consider using my referral link to get started! It is a ton of fun to play, and you can earn SPS and win NFT cards every day!

If you want to know where to buy or rent any of the cards listed in this report, I personally like Monster Market (not a referral link), a 3rd party marketplace that has a great user interface and pays you DEC back on purchases.

- Catotune