Catotune's Top Battles Rundown: Diamond league, Modern format - Jan 26, 2025

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 118 of the top Diamond league (modern format) battles from Sunday, January 26, 2025:

But first, announcing my new game!

I created a new play-to-earn HIVE game, DemoniCore! Battle demons in fun, simple turn-based RNG combat, and earn DCORE for slaying them. Please give it a try, and let me know what you think!

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

Monsters with highest win rate

1. Mana Warden - Fire splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Mana Warden is a Common monster card from the Promo edition.
   The card at level 10 achieved success in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, being a member of the victorious team for 1 game.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, take a look at @thejedo's battle, where they won with this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a Promo edition Mana Warden card is $0.15 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Scavo Technomancer - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [3/3]
   

   
   
   Scavo Technomancer is a Rare monster card from the Riftwatchers edition.
   The card at level 8 was most successful in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, being a member of the winning team for all 3 games in which Scavo Technomancer appeared.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, study @redshia's battles, where they defeated their opponent 2 times using this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Scavo Technomancer card is $0.12 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Commander Slade - Water splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [2/2]
   

   
   
   Commander Slade is a Rare monster card from the 13 edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 6 achieved success, finding itself on the winning team for 1 game.
   • Commander Slade did best when placed in the team's number two slot, where it saw 2 wins.
   • If you want to learn from one of the best, take a look at @tooeasy's previous battle, where they won using this card ^[1].
   • The lowest price for a 13 edition Commander Slade card is $0.42 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. Dax Paragon - Life splinter
   Win rate: 80.00% [8/10]
   

   
   
   Dax Paragon is an Epic monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 6 had the most success during the top Diamond league (modern) battles today, finding itself on the victorious team for all 8 games where Dax Paragon won.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, study @sinistro85's battle history, where they defeated their opponent 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Dax Paragon card is $0.10 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Celestial Harpy - Life splinter
   Win rate: 76.92% [10/13]
   

   
   
   Celestial Harpy is a Rare monster card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 8 had the most success, being a member of the victorious team for all 10 games where Celestial Harpy won.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, study @mori-no-giant's battles, where they won 2 games with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Earthquake ruleset, Celestial Harpy saw 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Celestial Harpy card is $0.03 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Moxian Rebel - Neutral splinter
   Win rate: 72.73% [8/11]
   

   
   
   Moxian Rebel is a Rare monster card from the Rebellion edition.
   The card at level 7 achieved the most success during the top Diamond league (modern) battles today, finding itself on the winning team for 7 games.
   • Moxian Rebel did best when placed in the team's number two spot, where it saw 4 wins.
   • You may want to take a look at @redshia's previous battles to learn how they defeated their opponents 3 times using this card ^{[1, 2, 3]}.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Moxian Rebel card is $1.78 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Summoners with highest win rate

1. Nidhoggr - 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.

   Nidhoggr is a Legendary summoner card from the Rebellion edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 4 was used in one battle by @samji, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Nidhoggr card is $16.47 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Franz Ruffmane - Life splinter
   Win rate: 100.00% [1/1]
   

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

   Franz Ruffmane is a Rare summoner card from the Soulbound Rewards edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 8 was used in a single match by @rycords87, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Soulbound Rewards edition Franz Ruffmane card is $0.34 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 match by @dstampede, which it won.

   • The lowest price for a Riftwatchers edition Sthispa card is $0.58 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: 75.00% [12/16]
   

   
   
   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 (modern) battles, winning 11 games.
   • To understand the strategy of an expert player, watch @penass's battles, where they beat their opponent 2 times with Eternal Tofu ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Up Close & Personal ruleset, Eternal Tofu earned 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Rebellion edition Eternal Tofu card is $54.75 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

2. Immortalis - Earth splinter
   Win rate: 63.64% [7/11]
   

   
   
   Immortalis is a Legendary summoner card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   The card at level 4 had the most success in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, winning all 7 games where Immortalis triumphed.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, take a look at @samji's previous battles, where they beat their opponent 2 times with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Immortalis card is $2.71 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

3. Kelya Frendul - Water splinter
   Win rate: 47.22% [17/36]
   

   
   
   Kelya Frendul is a Rare summoner card from the Chaos Legion edition.
   In today's top Diamond league (modern) battles, the card at level 8 had the most success, winning all 17 games where Kelya Frendul triumphed.
   • To understand the strategy of a top player, see @samji's previous battles, where they won 2 games with this card ^{[1, 2]}.
   • When paired with the Stampede ruleset, Kelya Frendul earned 2 wins.
   • The lowest price for a Chaos Legion edition Kelya Frendul card is $0.21 USD (Level 1) at the time of writing.
     
     

Splinters with highest win rate

1. Earth
   Win rate: 64.71% [22/34]
   

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

2. Death
   Win rate: 52.38% [11/21]
   

   
   
   Death splinter had the most success against Dragon, beating that element 3 times in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles.
   
   

3. Water
   Win rate: 50.94% [27/53]
   

   
   
   Water splinter had the most success against Water, besting its identical element 13 times in today's top Diamond league (modern) battles.
   • This splinter performed well with the Fog of War ruleset, where Water won 3 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