Catotune's Top Battles Rundown: Diamond league, Modern format - Oct 6, 2023

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 Diamond league (modern format) battles from Friday, October 6, 2023:

Monsters with highest win rate

1. Junker - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Junker is a Common monster card from the Riftwatchers edition.
   The card at level 10 was most successful in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, finding itself on the winning team for all 3 games in which Junker appeared.
   • Junker did best when placed in the team's second slot, where it saw 2 wins.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, study @qtpathanaqt's battle history, where they defeated their opponent with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Junker card is $0.17 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Runemancer Florre - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Runemancer Florre is a Legendary monster card from the Riftwatchers edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 achieved the most success, finding itself on the victorious team for 2 games.
   • If you want to learn from an elite player, study @rowland-eden's battle, where they won using Runemancer Florre ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Runemancer Florre card is $11.35 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Desert Dragon - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Desert Dragon is a Legendary monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 achieved the most success, being a member of the winning team for 2 games.
   • Desert Dragon performed ideally when positioned as the team's tank (first slot), where it saw 2 wins.
   • You could see @metafurico's battle history to see how they beat their foe using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Desert Dragon card is $1.53 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. Khmer Princess - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 72.73% [8/11]
   

   
   
   Khmer Princess is a Rare monster card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 8 achieved the most success in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, finding itself on the winning team for 7 games.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, study @qtpathanaqt's battles, where they won 5 games with Khmer Princess ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}.
   • When used in combination with the Aimless ruleset, Khmer Princess won twice.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Khmer Princess card is $1.78 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Merdhampir - Water splinter
   Win rate: 70.00% [7/10]
   

   
   
   Merdhampir is a Common monster card from the Reward edition.
   The card at level 10 had the most success in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, finding itself on the winning team for all 7 games where Merdhampir triumphed.
   • You could take a look at @sikninja's battle history to see how they achieved victory with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Reward edition Merdhampir card is $0.01 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Baakjira - Water splinter
   Win rate: 68.00% [17/25]
   

   
   
   Baakjira is a Legendary monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, being a member of the victorious team for all 17 games where Baakjira won.
   • Baakjira performed ideally when positioned as the team's tank (first slot), where it saw 14 wins.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, study @qtpathanaqt's battles, where they won 3 games using this card ^{[1, 2, 3]}.
   • When used in combination with the Ferocity ruleset, Baakjira earned 3 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Baakjira card is $3.97 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Summoners with highest win rate

1. Scarred Llama Mage - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Scarred Llama Mage is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 4 was most successful in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, winning all 2 games in which Scarred Llama Mage appeared.
   • You may want to take a look at @raynie's battle history to see how they accomplished a win using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Scarred Llama Mage card is $109.99 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Bortus - Water splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Bortus is a Rare summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, winning all 2 games in which Bortus appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, observe @qtpathanaqt's battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Bortus card is $1.25 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Sthispa - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [1/1]
   

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

   Sthispa is an Epic summoner card from the Riftwatchers edition.
   The card at level 6 was used in a single battle by @lotnik, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Sthispa card is $1.25 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. Byzantine Kitty - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 75.00% [12/16]
   

   
   
   Byzantine Kitty is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, winning all 12 games where Byzantine Kitty triumphed.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, study @qtpathanaqt's battle history, where they defeated their opponent 5 times with this card ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}.
   • When used in combination with the Born Again ruleset, Byzantine Kitty earned 3 wins.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Byzantine Kitty card is $168.99 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Yodin Zaku - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 69.23% [9/13]
   

   
   
   Yodin Zaku is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, winning all 9 games where Yodin Zaku won.
   • It could be enlightening to watch @raynie's battle history, where they defeated their opponent 3 times with this card ^{[1, 2, 3]}.
   • When paired with the Briar Patch ruleset, Yodin Zaku saw 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Yodin Zaku card is $131.98 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Lux Vega - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 55.88% [19/34]
   

   
   
   Lux Vega is a Legendary summoner card from the Promo edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 had the most success, winning all 19 games where Lux Vega triumphed.
   • If you want to learn from an elite player, take a moment to view @qtpathanaqt's battles, where they defeated their opponent 4 times using this card ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}.
   • When used in combination with the Super Sneak ruleset, Lux Vega earned 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Lux Vega card is $679.98 USD (11 BCX) at the time of writing.
     
     

Splinters with highest win rate

1. Earth
   Win rate: 62.50% [10/16]
   

   
   
   Earth splinter had the most success against Dragon, defeating that element 3 times in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles.
   • This splinter did well in low mana cap battles (16 mana or lower), prevailing in 2 of those matchups.
     
     

2. Neutral
   Win rate: 55.88% [19/34]
   

   
   
   Neutral splinter had the most success against Water, defeating that element 5 times in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles.
   • This splinter matched well with the Super Sneak ruleset, where Neutral won 2 times.
     
     

3. Water
   Win rate: 51.35% [19/37]
   

   
   
   Water splinter had the most success against Water, besting its identical element 5 times in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles.
   • This splinter matched well with the Counterspell ruleset, where Water won 2 times.
     
     

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