Introduction

The Naga Warrior is a card that I wanted to try out since the Splinterlands team put it out for users’ impression. They have such character studies and impression articles/videos twice a week. I did buy the card back then. However, the card was in cool down, which extended way beyond the final date for submitting our opinion about the card. So, I could not complete the write-up.

Now that I have the card, I thought it would be fun to try out the card. Even before I could see it in battle, what was interesting was that the card belongs to the Alpha and Beta set, which means it is already out of print. Also, there are only 2,123 in circulation, which is way less, and therefore, I see the price jumping up in the future if you are still holding on to one. Talking about the price, I got a level one card at $2.85. Now, with no comparison, it looks like the cost is not much. However, when you know that there are cards available for $0.01 to $0.09 at the very bottom, this is quite a pricey card. So, even before I start, I guess, I am holding a rare card. The question is will it make me a millionaire? 😊

Whether it makes me a millionaire or otherwise, I have to admit that it does entertain in the game. I must have played about six games with the Naga Warrior and lost every one of them with flying colors. 😊

The reason is my inability to place it in the right combination. I mean, it is definitely not a tank card at the base level, so do I place it in the second position? I tried that too, but it hardly moved. I was a bit lost with the card. Anyway, let’s get to know the Warrior a bit more in detail.

But before that, like always, how about knowing Splinterlands a bit more before we proceed? I am sure it would help the gaming community as much as newbies. Here we go.

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game relatively late, I should have had gotten going early in hindsight. Anyway, no need to despair. There are so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments that you can play or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of how lucky you can get in Splinterlands - read my story of getting cards worth $327 for buying few packs worth $20 only.

Got Cards Worth $327 for $20

And this is just a small number. I have witnessed people getting uber-expensive cards in their pack and selling it for as high as $6500. This means the game has interested buyers for your cards too. In fact, there is a whole Splinterlands marketplace.

Now, if all that interests you and you want to try out the game, then I am leaving a link below for you to join.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Naga Warrior | Too Frail A Tank

I am certain that I am getting all my game plans wrong with the Naga Warrior. After all, I am used to taking the Sea Monster for low mana battles or the Kraken for medium to high mana battles as a tank. As such, coming down to the Naga Warrior is a bit difficult.

You will understand this predicament a lot better if you are playing the game yourself. Because the game plan is not just about the tank but also what other monsters best compliment the tank. Not only that, even the summoner that is best suited for the combination. If that is the case, a sudden change in the tank destroys the strategy. Or, at least, obstructs the strategy before I could play a few hundred games with the card to know the optimum setup.

Learning need not come only from me. I could also see the opponents using the card and learn from that. However, here too, I am handicapped. It appears that players use the current cards that they have than the Naga Warrior. Of course, I am assuming they have it at all. Remember, I told you that it is quite a rare card. So, it is not available with most and therefore hardly seen in the battles that I have played.

With this hindsight, you will have to pardon me for my super-quick opinion of the Naga Warrior without even having tested the card enough. But let’s head to the battlefield either way.

The Naga Warrior in Battle

Continuing from the previous section of not having tested the card enough, I am now guessing that the Naga Warrior would be best in the second position. I know it does not have the reach, sneak, or even opportunity ability, but it still has the retaliate ability. So, if a melee attacker attacked the Warrior in the second spot, it will retaliate. Wouldn’t that be a possibility? I guess it would.

Anyway, the game that I played had a 26-mana cap with the monsters-lose-all-abilities rule in play. There goes our retaliate ability. 😊 The game also allowed ranged attackers to attack from the first position.

I planned to use the Naga Warrior as a tank in this battle. It did have decent health of six, and I presumed that there would not be many heavy attack monsters in a 26-mana battle. I hope I was right.

Let’s get to the battle.

The Face-Off

One look at the face-off screen gave me the impression that neither the opponent nor I had bet too much on the tanks. It was the monsters at the back that would be expected to do much of the work. 😊

That said, the opponent went with the Death Splinter and Contessa L’ament as the summoner. That meant all my ranged attackers would have decreased attack value. The only problem was that I did not choose any ranged attackers for the battle.

A look at the lineup gave an impression that the opponent had done exactly what I would do. And what is that? The Phantasm used as a tank that could stand few rounds of attack, while the monsters at the back did most of the damage. The opponent used Shadowy Presence at the second spot to act as a second tank after the Phantasm. The real firepower was behind that. The Phantom Solider and the Spirit Miner, each with two magic attacks, would be the main destroyers of my lineup. Not that much can be done about them until they came to the front. That was all about the opponent’s lineup.

My lineup had our hero, the Naga Warrior, at the front. But my real strategy came behind her. The Furious Chicken came second while three magic attackers followed. The use of Water Splinter and Alric Stormbringer as summoner was to enhance my magic monsters. So, the Ice Pixie (with one magic attack), the Spirit Miner (with two magic attacks), and the Phantom of the Abyss (with three magic attacks) will all witness one additional magic attack enhancement.

I guess by now, both the opponent and I knew that the victory would be mine. The question was how long would the Naga Warrior last.

The Battle Begins

Since this was a battle where monsters lost all abilities, it was easy to compute how long each monster would last. My Naga Warrior had health of six, so mathematically, she would last just one round.

Melee Attack of 2 [Phantasm] + Magic Attack of 2 [Phantom Soldier] + Magic Attack of 2 [Spirit Miner] = 6 attack in one round

Since there would be no sneak or snipe or misses, these attacks would land on the Warrior, one after the other. The only consolation, if at all, was that the Naga Warrior would dent the Phantasm before departing. 😊

And that’s where the Phantasm is about to strike the Naga Warrior. The Phantasm perished soon after, and so did the Naga Warrior bringing the Shadowy Presence and my Furious Chicken to the front.

It wasn’t difficult to foresee that from here. It was a game of who has more attack power and can last how many attacks. Easy-peasy.

The Battle Races to Conclusion

With the tanks and placeholder monsters gone, it was now the real attackers coming to the front. Got to admit that the Phantom Soldier got exposed faster than my magic monsters. With the Soldier in direct line of fire, it was just a matter of how long. I could gauge that my Ice Pixie would perish sooner than later.

And that’s what happened.

After the Phantom Soldier and my Ice-Pixie, both the Spirit Miners were in the front. It was easy to see that just one attack from the Phantom of the Abyss and my Spirit Miner should be sufficient to finish off the opponent’s lineup. I don’t wish to state the obvious, but just letting you know that my Spirit Miner and Phantom were standing till the end.

Naga Warrior | Tested in Battle | But Not In Depth

We forgot that this was all about the Naga Warrior and not the magic attackers on both sides in the heat of the battle. However, given the rule, the Naga Warrior did well to stand her ground for three attacks. That was the difference between my lineup vs. the opponent’s.

Have a look again, and you will see that the Phantasm and the Shadowy Presence were gone too soon and brought the magic attackers in front. In that sense, the Naga Warrior did the job quite well.

Also, away from the battle, the card itself has some intrinsic value in the market. So, while I may not be using the Warrior too often, I am sure that I am going to hold on to it. Besides, I will try out new strategies with the card; who knows, I may hit a sweet spot and love the card for its battle abilities. Never say never! 😊

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands