Catotune's Top Battles Rundown: Diamond league, Wild format - Jan 17, 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 Diamond league (wild format) battles from Saturday, January 17, 2026:

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

Monsters with highest win rate

1. Uloth Dhampir - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [4/4]
   

   
   
   Uloth Dhampir is a Rare monster card from the Riftwatchers edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, the card at level 8 achieved the most success, being a member of the victorious team for 3 games.
   • You could watch @northtribe's battle history to see how they pulled off a win with Uloth Dhampir ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Uloth Dhampir card is $0.05 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Blazebeard Merc - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Blazebeard Merc is an Epic monster card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   The card at level 6 was most successful in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, being a member of the victorious team for all 3 games in which Blazebeard Merc appeared.
   • Blazebeard Merc did best when positioned in the team's last spot, where it saw 2 wins.
   • You could watch @killians-wrath's battle history to see how they achieved victory with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Blazebeard Merc card is $0.65 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Vicious Giraffe - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Vicious Giraffe is a Common monster card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, the card at level 10 was most successful, being a member of the victorious team for all 3 games in which Vicious Giraffe appeared.
   • Vicious Giraffe performed ideally when placed in the team's second spot, where it saw 3 wins.
   • It could be enlightening to take a look at @tubicook's battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Vicious Giraffe card is $0.04 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. Venka the Vile - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 92.86% [13/14]
   

   
   
   Venka the Vile is a Legendary monster card from the Rebellion edition.
   The card at level 4 achieved the most success in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, being a member of the winning team for 12 games.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, take a moment to watch @gnfdgssfa's battle history, where they won 3 games using Venka the Vile ^{[1, 2, 3]}.
   • When used in combination with the Tis but Scratches ruleset, Venka the Vile won 3 times.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Venka the Vile card is $15.48 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Mantaroth - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 70.00% [14/20]
   

   
   
   Mantaroth is a Legendary monster card from the Promo edition.
   The card at level 4 achieved the most success in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, finding itself on the winning team for 11 games.
   • Mantaroth performed ideally when positioned as the team's tank (first spot), where it saw 7 wins.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, watch @gnfdgssfa's battle history, where they beat their opponent 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When used in combination with the Broken Arrows ruleset, Mantaroth won 3 times.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Mantaroth card is $25.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Grimbardun Smith - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 69.23% [9/13]
   

   
   
   Grimbardun Smith is a Rare monster card from the Promo edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, the card at level 8 achieved the most success, being a member of the victorious team for 7 games.
   • Grimbardun Smith did best when positioned as the team's tank (first slot), where it saw 8 wins.
   • You may want to observe @mikk2021's battles to see how they achieved 2 wins with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Grimbardun Smith card is $1.98 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.
   In today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, the card at level 4 was most successful, winning all 2 games in which Scarred Llama Mage appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, study @tubicook's battle history, where they won with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Scarred Llama Mage card is $24.00 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Daria Dragonscale - 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.

   Daria Dragonscale is an Epic summoner card from the Reward edition.
   The card at level 6 was used in a single battle by @hatoto, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Reward edition Daria Dragonscale card is $2.86 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Fithe Bladestone - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [1/1]
   

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

   Fithe Bladestone is a Rare summoner card from the Conclave Arcana edition.
   The card at level 8 was used in a single match by @asdfghjkiraaa, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Conclave Arcana edition Fithe Bladestone card is $1.21 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. Eternal Tofu - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 63.64% [14/22]
   

   
   
   Eternal Tofu is a Legendary summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   The card at level 4 achieved the most success in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, winning 12 games.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, watch @cradle2game's battle history, where they won 2 games using Eternal Tofu ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When used in combination with the Might Makes Right ruleset, Eternal Tofu won 3 times.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Eternal Tofu card is $58.50 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Byzantine Kitty - Dragon splinter
   Win rate: 63.64% [7/11]
   

   
   
   Byzantine Kitty is a Legendary summoner card from the Untamed edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles, winning all 7 games where Byzantine Kitty triumphed.
   • It could be educational to watch @qprfdb's battle history, where they won with this card ^[1].
   • When paired with the Earthquake ruleset, Byzantine Kitty won twice.
   • The lowest price for an Untamed edition Byzantine Kitty card is $49.99 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Kelya Frendul - Water splinter
   Win rate: 54.55% [6/11]
   

   
   
   Kelya Frendul is a Rare summoner card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 8 had the most success during the top Diamond league (wild) battles today, winning all 6 games where Kelya Frendul won.
   • You may want to watch @torhilo's battle history to learn how they produced a win using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Kelya Frendul card is $0.10 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Splinters with highest win rate

1. Fire
   Win rate: 65.00% [13/20]
   

   
   
   Fire splinter had the most success against Dragon, besting that element 4 times in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles.

   • This splinter matched well with the Back to Basics ruleset, where Fire won 2 times.

   • Fire splinter did well in battles with mana caps higher than 56, winning 7 of those matches.
     
     

2. Life
   Win rate: 63.64% [7/11]
   

   
   
   Life splinter had the most success against Earth, beating that element 2 times in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles.
   • This splinter was useful in battles with mana caps higher than 56, winning 3 of those matchups.
     
     

3. Earth
   Win rate: 50.91% [28/55]
   

   
   
   Earth splinter had the most success against Earth, beating its own element 14 times in today's top Diamond league (wild) battles.

   • This splinter was effective with the Back to Basics ruleset, where Earth prevailed 3 times.

   • Earth splinter held its own in high mana cap battles (greater than 56 mana), defeating the enemy in 8 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