In Splinterlands, rule sets are unique conditions for that battle randomly applied to matches. They change the way cards behave and force players to adapt their strategy depending on the said rule set. Each battle can have one, two, or sometimes even three rule sets combined. On Diamond and Champion league, there's a myth that sometimes, you can even get four at a time. It might be true, it might be not but all I know is I never encountered one yet.
A rule set might:
- Change abilities (ex. What Doesn't Kill You - all monsters get “Enrage”).
- Change card limits (ex. Odd Ones Out - only odd-cost mana cards are allowed).
- Change attack targeting and stats (ex. Melee Mayhem - melee can attack from anywhere).
- Add positive or negative status (ex. Noxious Fumes - monsters are poisoned at the start of battle).
- Or directly damage the monsters (ex. Earthquake - all monsters take 2 physical damage at the start of every round)
These rule sets make battles unpredictable and add replayability. You can’t just use the same lineup and strategy every time. Instead, you need to build core teams and adjust based on which rule sets appear in each battle.
Battle 1: Maneuvers
All monsters on the board gains the Reach ability that allows melee monsters to attack from the 2nd position
The Maneuvers rule set is one of those underrated rule sets in Splinterlands that doesn’t get as much attention as the more chaotic rule sets but it actually opens up so many options for melee teams. Since all monsters gain Reach ability. You’re no longer limited to having your melee monsters locked into the 1st postion. This makes the lineup much more flexible because you can place a monster that’s normally only useful in the 1st position into the 2nd position and still get value. I personally like using monsters that can double as both tank and damage dealer in that 2nd position such as Great Bear Druid. It allows them to stay safer while still contributing high damage and become a tank as well when needed. Another fun twist is putting a monsters like Bera Dallin in the 2nd position, especially if you don’t have a Tank Heal available. Since she benefits from Triage when in 2nd position, you can keep her going longer while letting her deal reliable damage from a safer spot. This reduces the damage she would get, split with the monster in 1st position allowing you to have better control of the health recovery.
I tested this approach in this battle replay: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_d58931cd2fe07056d2b0cb28c8b947c0?ref=konaqua122
In this battle, I my Great Bear Druid was able to use his melee attack while in 2nd position which means there is not a loss in value by placing him there. Both of the attacks were able to be used increasing the value of Great Bear Druid the longer the game goes.
For newer players, my biggest advice is to look closely at your melee monsters and ask yourself which one truly belongs as the main one and which one could thrive as a secondary tank. Some monsters shine better when they’re the main tank taking the melee damage from the enemy tank, while others survive longer and deal more value when they’re tucked behind with Reach. Don’t overlook combinations where a mix of healing like Tank Heal + Triage can keep your lineup alive longer because that can flip the battle in your favor.
Maneuvers rule set may not look flashy at first glance but once you start experimenting with different monsters, it becomes a fun and surprisingly good strategy that can give you an edge against players who underestimate the value of Reach ability.
Battle 2: Target Practice
All monsters on the board gains the Snipe ability that changes the targetting mechanics of monsters with Range and Magic damage to "Non-melee opponent's monsters that is not on first position."
The Target Practice rule set is an interesting one. You can manipulate it in multiple ways. The easy way is to use a monster with Taunt ability like New Beluroc Aegis. Taunt redirects all targets to itself as long as it's:
- Not a melee monster on the 1st position;
- Not a melee monster on the 2nd position with Reach ability;
- The attacking monster do not have Scattershot ability making the attack random.
The other way is what my opponent and I did in this battle:
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_93d98fe9480dd665f58da34edb8840be?ref=konaqua122
While you will not have any benefit of the Snipe from the Target Practice rule set since only magic and range attacks can only do that, but your opponent also won't get any advantage from it. By using all melee monsters (or almost all melee in this case), the attacks will go from the front as if Snipe from Target Practice rule set does not exist.
Battle 3: Back to Basics
During this battle, all monster's abilities are disabled
The Back to Basics rule set is both a blessing and a curse. Without any abilities for you and your opponent's monsters, it's just a battle of stats. However, what if I tell you that it isn't that easy as you think?
While there's no abilities for any monsters in this battle, there's still a lot of things you can manipulate in order to get an advantage.
That battle will be this one:
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_d821e61b2253af67f486731841b94c1a?ref=konaqua122
Back to Basics rule set is both easy to do but hard to master. When you have no abilities to rely on, what leaves you is your tactics and your team's stats. That's why I always suggest, especially to the new players, to have multiple tanks in your front. Tanks are monsters that soak up damage. The higher the health, the better. Also, they don't need to attack. If they can, better, but more importantly, their roles is simply to buy time for your other monsters to deal damage. That's why in this battle, you can see monsters like Spitting Camel being on 2nd position instead of Great Bear Druid. Why? Because Great Bear Druid has 2 magic damage (with the help of Marlai Singariel) while Spitting Camel only has 1 range damage. Both my opponent and I have three tanks but I have a superior firepower in general. Let me ask you a question. Who do you think won in this battle?
Community Question: The Hardest Rule Set for Me
Little League
During this battle, only monsters with 4 or less mana are allowed.
The hardest rule set for me is Little League. In this rule set, you can only use monsters and summoners with 4 mana cost or below. This limits a lot of options for me and most of the time, I don't even use 4 or less mana cost units except as a filler. I really don't have a build for a full Little League battle which makes every battle with that rule set, an improv battle.
Fortunately, I don't encounter that in Frontier Mode since the summoners and monsters are usually 6 mana and above but it doesn't mean I don't need to keep that in mind. When I play Modern Ranked Format from time to time, I need to be prepared for it. From the renting stage where I carefully select cards I don't have and rent from the marketplace, to the final details of picking them on the battle screen, I feel like I always need to save some of everything for when that rule set comes up so I don't auto surrender without a fight.
- This post is an entry for Splinterlands Social Media Contest.
- Animated Banners and Dividers are edited in Canva Pro.
- Other sources that I do not own are cited under their respective photos.
- Some of the fonts used are from instafonts.io
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