Splinterlands Weekly Challenge – Pirate Captain

Hi everyone, it has been a while since I wrote a battle challenge as I like to write on the cards that I play with regularly and hopefully add some tips on how I use them. And this week’s challenge is definitely one of my favourite cards.

What? The Pirate Captain is one of your favourites? For Water Splinter? You must be loco! This would be one of the first few reactions if you play the Water Splinter as many people focus on the strong Magic aspect of the Water Splinter. And it’s true, Water Splinter = Magic Damage, but that also means they are super expensive to rent/own. Being a cheap fella, I try to look for value, that’s where the Pirate Captain comes into play.

As you can see, the Pirate Captain is a 3 Mana ranged card whose claim to fame is his Snipe ability, until of course he gets to Lvl 6, which is where he starts to shine. At Lvl 6, he gets the Inspire ability which is a +1 to Melee and at Lvl 8, he gets 3 ranged damage & 5 speed, so he will be one of the first few to attack. The only downside is he would get one-shot from another snipe card. In the battle below, you will be able to see how the Pirate Captain synergises with the rest of the Water Deck.

The Battle
Ruleset : Taking Sides
The Taking Sides Ruleset does not allow for Neutral cards and this did not have a major impact of the battle, but what was significant about the battle was that it was only 15 mana, so it played into the hands of a lightweight deck as you can get more cards out. The Pirate Captain also works really well with the ruleset that you can only use 4 Mana or less cards.

Comparatively, my opponent has chosen to use a heavy melee tank with a reach & stun card compared to my deck of low mana melee cards. I kid you not, Sabre Shark, Pelacor Bandit & Pirate Captain are best friends. All are high speed, high damage & paper thin, so we need the battle to go quickly. I also added a non-melee card to absorb any snipers so that the Pirate Captain can continue to boost his two buddies.

At the start of round 2, my “tank” has only lose one HP, while the shields are down for both my opponent’s cards. Looking good if I can just dodge the Living Lava again….

Guess not, but it didn’t matter in the end as my speed overcame my opponents, and it was a comfortable win. If you are keen to watch, the battle can be found here.

Final thoughts
Here is another example of the varied dynamics of Splinterlands. A card that maybe not be so useful in the Bronze & Silver leagues, but shines in the Gold Leagues. Depending on your play style, the Pirate Captain is invaluable due to the versatility of being low mana, common, speed and melee boost.