Fallen First, Won Later: Mar Toren’s Tactics in Going the Distance

Good day, everyone and Splinterlands community. Today, I will sharing another battle experience and this time focusing on how I used Mar Toren Trader in a Going the Distance ruleset match. This ruleset only allows ranged unit, so choosing the right abilities is quite important for survival and damage output stats. I’ll agree that I usually struggle in this ruleset because my range lineup isn’t the strongest. However, when things come together, I can develop a solid strategy using the abilities and stats I have. In this match, I took full advantage of Mar Toren Trader’s strengths. I built a lineup around the abilities that are most important in a distance-only battle and worked to get as much value as I could from the cards available to me.

Mar Toren Trader proved to be surprisingly helpful in the Going the Distance ruleset because he provides exactly what I usually struggle with in ranged-only battles staying power, this unit Heal ability prevents my frontline from collapsing too quickly. This is important when I can’t rely on melee or magic units to take hits. Additionally, his Headwinds ability lowers the enemy’s damage just enough to give my team some breathing room. This combination of healing and damage reduction makes tough fights feel more manageable It’s not just this ruleset in any match where ranged attackers hit hard or where support is limited, he often does more work than expected. This unit may seem like a support card at first but in the right situations, he feels like the one holding the team together.

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Into the battle: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_510932939bd368b6cb65b4342a259593

In this match, the rules were Four’s a Crowd, Going the Distance, and Lost Legendaries, with a 54-mana cap and Earth, Life, and Death as the available elements. Thankfully, Dragon was active too, which really helped since most of my stronger cards are on that side. I barely have anything leveled for Fire or Water. I chose Akane Archon for the Ambush boost and paired her with Kazira Vaelstrik and Razorhound, both of which hit hard enough to matter in a ranged-only fight. My lineup included Mar Toren Trader up front, Tokatag Conscript in second, and then Kazira and Razorhound in the back. I felt that placing Mar Toren Trader in the first slot was the safest choice. His Heal allows him to stall early damage, and Tokatag Conscript serves as a sturdy fallback tank if things get messy. The rest of the team’s goal was simple that is stay alive long enough to keep up the pressure with the cards I had, the plan was to rely on the abilities that mattered most in this ruleset and place each unit where it could actually contribute.

My opponent chose Brewmaster Abraxas Archon and deployed units are Tokatag Conscript, Dalthin Ironhood, Swiftbear Stout, and Khazi Conjurer. Their lineup relied heavily on big ranged numbers, which can snowball quickly if you can’t keep up. Khazi Conjurer added even more danger with Burning that slowly eating away health every round and spreads it to nearby units. It was a risky setup but clearly designed to knock me out before the burn mechanic became too punishing. The opponent positioning was solid too and durable tanks upfront and their strongest attackers protected in the back, ready to strike as soon as the battle began.

As the battle moved into round two it became clear that my Mar Toren Trader was easily defeated. It struggled against the opponent's ranged damage units, and the Heal ability didn't even trigger that round. I expected to lose this match, as their units attacked first and caused significant damage. Let’s see in the following rounds if my other units can hold up.

In round four, we noticed that the opponent faced backlash from the Burn Effect. The burn spread to Dalthin Ironhood, giving my units a chance to attack and survive most of the high damage hits.

Even though the opponent managed to outscore me in damage, it wasn’t enough to defeat my team, I had solid armor and health stats. Plus the opponent took a risk using Kazhi Conjurer which relied on the burn effect. Without that burn, I might have lost this match.

Best Rule Sets for Mar Toren Trader

1. Going the Distance

Since only ranged attackers are allowed, Mar Toren becomes a sturdy frontline option because many ranged attackers have low health. His Heal helps him tank long enough for your own ranged units to take over the fight.

2. Four’s a Crowd

With only four monster slots, every unit must have a purpose. Mar Toren serves as the steady anchor of the lineup, giving your limited backline space more turns to deal meaningful damage.

3. Super Sneak / Target Practice
This unit shines as a second-position tank here. His Heal allows him to endure when the enemy fires off on the backline, giving your lineup stability.

4. Equalizer
A perfect rule set for him. With more starting health, Mar Toren can become surprisingly hard to take down because his Heal scales well with higher HP.

5. Broken Arrows

No ranged attackers means melee- and magic-based pressure. His Heal helps him hold against melee chip damage if you pair him with reach attackers or reflection tanks.

6. Lost Legendaries

When legendary tanks are banned, Mar Toren becomes a strong alternative frontline option because many players are forced into weaker or off-meta tanks.

Where this might unit Struggles

Source

Heavy Burst Damage (big magic or large melee crits)

Affliction teams that totally shut down healing

Noxious Fumes, Earthquake, and Global Warming, since his Heal can’t keep up alone

A Big Thanks! For supporting me, being here, and coming this far. I hope this strategy assists you with some of your battles with these rule sets in modern format conclave and rebellion sets.

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Credits:

Thumbnail is Generated using Leonardo and,
Edited the Design photo Splinterlands Modern League using PicsArt
Screenshot In-game splinterlands