Phoenix Rises | Splinterlands #485

I have owned Elemental Phoenix for nearly five years. It has been a staple in my Fire unit lineups since I started playing and a recent brawl battle that combined scattershot and blast is something I had overlooked for years.

The Setup That Changed My Understanding

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Aimless gives every monster scattershot and therefore its normal to think "this is going to be a random mess, with attacks going everywhere randomly." I thought that too until round 4 of this battle. My opponent deployed Tatiana Blayde as their tank with its dual melee and ranged attacks with close range and bloodlust. Tatiana is a strong monster, and dangerous if left unchecked. The rest of the oppositions line consisted of Supply Runner, Ravenhood Warden, and Meriput Slinger, which were all ranged attackers.

Battle Details

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My battle lineup consisted of Malric Inferno (summoner), Molten Ogre, Chimney Wallstop, Venari Marksrat, and Elemental Phoenix. Nothing unusual, standard Fire splinter approach. Under aimless, scattershot ignores position-based targeting rules that would normally constrain your attacks. Elemental Phoenix has flying, blast, and scattershot. Under Aimless, that combination meant:

• High evasion from flying (attacks miss more often).
• Blast damage hits multiple targets regardless of position.
• Scattershot ensures attacks can hit any target.

My opponent's ranged attackers were all positioned to maximize damage against a traditional tank strategy. But Elemental Phoenix ignored that positioning entirely. She hit their backline supports while blast damage weakened adjacent monsters.

Round-by-round summary:

• Round 1: Tatiana hit my Molten Ogre for 4 total damage. Their backline spread damage across my team.
• Round 2: Tatiana eliminated my Molten Ogre and Meriput Slinger took out Venari Marksrat. I was down two monsters, but this is where the beauty of martyr kicked in by boosting the stats of Chimney Wallstop and Elemental Phoenix.
• Round 3: Elemental Phoenix hit Ravenhood Warden with 4 magic damage. Blast triggered, hitting adjacent targets. One shot elimination. Suddenly their entire backline was destroyed with one perfectly timed hit.
• Round 4: Elemental Phoenix eliminated Tatiana Blayde and sealed the victory.

What Did I Learn?

Blast in combination with scattershot does not care about your primary target. It just hits adjacent monsters automatically. That means blast damage remains consistent even when scattershot randomizes your attacks. Elemental Phoenix with 3 magic damage and blast was effectively hitting 2-3 monsters per attack. Their ranged attackers with 2-4 damage were only hitting one monster per attack. Over multiple rounds, that damage differential compounds into decisive advantages.

That is why it is important to constantly be learning. Most players approach aimless battles thinking "everything is random, just deploy strong monsters and hope." That is wrong. Aimless rewards:

• Monsters with blast (consistent multi-target damage).
• Monsters with flying (evasion).
• Monsters with magic damage (ignores armor, which matters when you cannot target specific weaknesses).

Elemental Phoenix has all three. I have been using her for years in battles because 7 mana for 3 magic damage and blast is excellent value. But I never recognized how much stronger she becomes when targeting rules are modified.

If you are deploying Elemental Phoenix under Aimless or similar rulesets, pair her with:

• Tanks that can absorb multiple rounds of damage. Chimney Wallstop worked perfectly because repair kept regenerating armor while Phoenix eliminated threats.
• Support monsters that provide team buffs rather than targeted effects.
• Other monsters with evasion or survival abilities. The longer Phoenix stays alive, the more value blast damage provides.

Concluding Thoughts

Five years of using Elemental Phoenix and I never fully understood her value under modified targeting rulesets. I knew blast was good. I knew flying helped survival. I never connected how those abilities interact with scattershot to create compound advantages. This battle taught me to stop evaluating monsters in isolation. The same card that is decent in normal battles can become dominant when ruleset conditions favor its specific ability combination. The next time you see aimless in your battle queue, do not treat it as random chaos. Deploy monsters whose abilities remain effective regardless of targeting randomness. That is where victories come from.

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