I am usually very punctual in posting my SPLINTERLANDS related posts whether it is to share the season rewards or the new Battle Mage Secret. This time I am delayed as the theme this time is “Going the Distance”, which means you can only use Archers and that is not really a strong area of my collection. I have been meticulously building my Melee warrior tanks, Magic attack legendary monsters, Dragons which are the pride of my collection. Archers are the weakest spot in my arsenal and that is why I mentally get prepared for a loss the moment I see the Going the Distance ruleset.
This explains why I got delayed with this post because I kept losing all the battles with this condition. Today probably was a lucky day as the first itself had this condition and somehow my team combination clicked and I actually won. It was not like I was placed against a total noob as the opponent had a decent team as well but somehow I cam out tops.
Battle Conditions!
As soon as I saw the ruleset of Going the Distance appear my heart sank a little. For other conditions I am quite prepared about which summoner I will use and which monsters I will line up but the moment I have to choose only archers I start fumbling. I know that archers won’t work in the first place and I don’t have many with the Close Range ability which enables archers to fire from the first position.
I don’t have many legendary archers and usually the best traits are with the legendaries which are too expensive to buy from the market now.
Sam’s Secret Sauce Strategy- Despite my track record being pathetic with archers I think I am slowly developing a strategy which has enabled me to slowly start winning some battles with Going the Distance ruleset. The first part is to place an archer with Martyr trait in the first place so when he dies a quick death the next archer gets his traits pumped up. I place an archer with high speed so he is able to dodge some blows before his eventual death so the archers at the back get some shots at the enemy.
Keepin this strategy in mind I placed Venari Marksrat in the first position so when he gets martyred the next monster will get stronger. The next in line was Gem Meteor as he already has a high speed and will get even more elusive to hit once the martyr in front of him dies. Next in line was Ajax Lightfoot who is a gladiator with Bloodlust power. Last was Pelacor Arbalest who shoots twice every round. My summoner General Sloan who was boosting the attack of all my archers.
Opponent Teams are Lined up!
As the battle began I saw my opponent’s team and it was clear that he was not a noob. He had placed Gargoya Devil who had Close Range trait so he will be shooting from the first place. Next was Hunter Jarx who was strong enough to Destry my flank. My only hope was that he gets killed before he creates mayhem. At the end he had Gem Meteor. Good pick but he placed him at the end so will not get much from his dodging abilities.
My opponent has done 2 big mistakes- First he used a summoner that boosts magic attack in a fight that does not allow magic. Second mistake was he did not use a gladiator warrior which was allowed in the ruleset.
I clearly have a starting advantage because of these factors.
Round 1 - Opponent’s Tank takes heavy Beating
Before round 1 gets over it’s clear for me that I have the upper hand. My martyr has died and speed of my Gem Meteor is pumped to 6 and he has evaded an attack. My only concern now is his Hunter Jarx who can take out my Gladiator with a single shot. That will be pretty much game over for me. I realised that his monsters are really levelled up. Now I realise he chose a summoner that did not support archers coz his players were so levelled up that he thought he will still manage to win without summoners boost. I think he is about to be proved wrong.
Round 2 - Opponent’s Front line gets Massacred
As soon as Round 2 starts his Gargoya Devil with Close Range advantage dies. The sniper attack of Jarx is useless now as he is in the first position and can’t attack. I can smell victory and know that this fight won’t last long.
Round 3 - Game Over
Before round 3 gets over his last monster has fallen. This fight was really encouraging for me as now I feel I can win with my archers too.
I take a note to buy some legendary archers if I get a good deal on the market as it s really important to build a balanced team.
If you liked my strategies and would like to see the entire game then you can see it here - https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_c8345b98d6e4e8ced4e1d32535550b49&ref=sambtc
If you have still not discovered the magical world of Splinterlands and would like to get started, then feel free to use my referral link- https://splinterlands.com?ref=sambtc
