I hate to BARK up the wrong tree, but I really struggled with ideas about how to use Barking Spider, prior to a couple of test battles.
A first glance, Barking Spider might seem a bit underwhelming, but I have concluded there are some unique opportunities where Mr. Barker can shine.
And let's face it! Any card you can earn by just playing Splinterlands is a pretty awesome card.
In this post, I will be presenting two battles:
- A Victory - Despite not reading the ruleset
- A Loss - In part, by overplaying ranged when I should have focused on melee.
Battle #1 - The Victory
The Rules
- Target Practice: All ranged and magic attack monsters have the snipe ability
- Little League: Only monsters and summoners that cost 4 manna or less may be used in battle.
- Manna: 14
My Line Up
#1 Biceratops | #2 Furious Chicken | #3 Earth Elemental | #4 Barking Spider |
---|---|---|---|
The Tank - the best (only) 4 and under tank in my deck | The Sacrifice - will take the first snipe attack from my | The Defender - Healing defuses snipe attack! | The Cleanup - Strong attack and speed at 4 manna |
Key Mismatches
- The Snipe ruleset leaned in my favor. With healing, my Earth Elemental was going to be able to withstand my opponent's sniping attacks.
- My opponent placed a non-attacking monster in the first position.
- I believe my Furious Chicken (non-attack) was better played as a sacrifice than my opponent's Furious Chicken was played as an attack.
The Replay
https://steemmonsters.com?p=battle&id=c46c52ada80e12677976b0678839b04f8f927681&ref=sumatranate
Battle #2 - The Loss
The Rules
- Reverse Speed: Monsters with the lowest speed attack first and have the highest chance of evading attacks.
- Melee Mayhem: Melee attack monsters can attack from any position.
- Manna: 21
My Line Up
#1 Stone Golem | #2 Furious Chicken | #3 Earth Elemental | #4 Barking Spider | #5 Cyclops |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Tank with Shield | The (POTENTIAL) Sacrifice | The Defender Still Healing! | The Star of the Show! | The Cleanup |
Key Mismatches
- My opponents First Monster Shield + armor + Healing + More armor Combo was insane.
- The only way I could have challenged this set up was with Magic. I had not Magic monsters in play. My opponent's Magic attack easily beat my first monster with shield ability.
The Replay
https://steemmonsters.com?p=battle&id=ea4a3d46310489220a2e9b271a512a3d5bf5d3b6&ref=sumatranate
Where Barking Spider Shines
Barking Spider shines in low manna battles and with rule sets that highlight ranged attacked such as Target Practice and True Aim.
However, if given a choice, I would pick Earth Elemental all day long due to its Healing ability.
Final Thoughts
Barking Spider is a great value card and increasingly frustrating for your opponent when Mr. Barker inflicts Blind at level 5 . The Barking Spider gives a lot in relation to its manna cost. Since Earth is my favorite splinter, I am pretty sure you will keep seeing Barking Spider pop up on my monster teams.
Thanks for stopping by! See you in the arena!
@SumatraNate
Thanks for sharing! - @carrieallen
Ooooh! Nice post formatting. Just something about a well-arranged post that gets me excited.
Also... THANK YOU for giving a little love to the bug. 🤣 I totally chose it this week mostly to torture people. 🤣 But I don't hate him... I just find many others do. 🤣
@carrieallen - Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I am excited that you enjoyed the formatting of the post. Your support (and your team's support) makes me want to keep producing quality content.
See you around. Keep up the great work!
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 7/21)
Thanks for TipU curation! Much appreciated!
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