This week's battle challenge is calling on the Dragons! Dragon summoners have the special ability of being able to pair them with ANY other Splinter. This opens up a wider range of potential lineups you can use and also encounter.
I usually focus on a specific Dragon Summoners for these posts but today I will be showcasing the new(ish) reward card, the Dhampir Infiltrator!
Dhampir Infiltrator Highlights
The Dhampir Infiltrator is an amazing card. Not only does it have Sneak from Level 1 but it also has Double Strike!
| Icon | Ability Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Sneak | Targets the last Monster on the enemy Team instead of the first Monster |
 | Double Strike | Monster attacks twice each round |
 | Cripple | Each time an enemy is hit by a Monster with Cripple it loses one max health |
 | Affliction | When a Monster with Affliction hits a target, it has a chance of applying Affliction on the target causing it to be unable to be healed (50% chance of applying Affliction on the target) |
At Bronze league, the Dhampir Infiltrator is just okay. It isn't really a card that I would regularly use except in some niche case (Holy Protection ruleset maybe?). The damage output just isn't there unless you can get a +1 Melee buff with Daria Dragonscale, Demented Shark, or Silvershield Knight.
In Silver, however, the extra damage at Level 4 is VERY nice. Two damage is enough to take out Armor from Protect abilities (or Kelya) and still send one more attack to the backline.
In Gold, you get the Cripple ability which can really reduce the enemy health to make killing blows that much easier. At Max level, it gains Affliction which can get rid of those pesky self-healers that park themselves in the back (I'm looking at your Kron).
So when do I use the Dhampir Infriltrator?
- Sneak can be used nearly anytime. It's best to have 2 Sneak attackers if possible because a backline unit with Armor will take a few turns to get through. Multiple "bait" monsters can be placed in the back to thwart a single Sneak attacker so the Dhampir Infiltrator has a huge advantage in those cases
- Rulesets that encourage other types of attacks can be overridden by Sneak. You can be "sneaky" and attack the opponent where they aren't expecting it.
- When you suspect that the enemy will be bolstering their frontline with a ton of support monsters.
- As I mentioned earlier, Holy Protection rulesets can be good for the Dhampir Infiltrator since it attacks twice, removing the Divine Shield
This Week's Featured Battle
In this week's featured battle, we have Kretch versus Kelya in a Silenced Summoners battle!
Battle Ruleset
 | Silenced Summoners | Summoners do not give any stat buffs or debuffs or grant/use any abilities |
|---|---|---|
 | 34 Mana | This is considered a medium mana battle |
 | Active Splinters | All splinters are available |
- Silenced Summoners
- Use a low mana Dragon Summoner if available
- Otherwise, use your lowest mana summoner of your chosen Splinter
- 34 Mana
- This is a medium Mana battle so expect to see a full lineup of monsters
With Silenced Summoners, Kretch/Prince Julian are must have summoners. Not only do you save 1 mana compared to most summoners, you also get to pair Dragon monsters with any other Splinter.
A couple things I keep in mind are that Magic buffs from Obsidian make Earth difficult to play. Earth magic monsters are generally on the slower side with less life so that's something to keep in mind.
Monsters with Protect are nice to have (Queen Mycelia, Venari Wavesmith, etc..). Try to use monsters with Inspire if you're looking to go Melee. Monster abilities are extremely important in this ruleset so don't let them go to waste!
The Lineup
| Position | Card Image | Card Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summoner |  | Kretch Tallevor | Epic Dragon summoner that grants no buff or debuff |
| Pos 1 (tank) |  | Djinn Oshannus | Excellent tank due to the Void, Phase, and Forcefield ability. The high speed is also a plus |
| Pos 2 (support/attacker) |  | Venari Wavesmith | Excellent Chaos Legion reward card with the Protect ability |
| Pos 3 (attacker/support) |  | River Hellondale | The Inspire ability will be HUGE for my "weaker" Sneak monsters. Resurrect will also help absorb a few hits |
| Pos 4 (attacker) |  | Dhampir Infiltrator | Sneak and Double Strike along with Inspire will make quick work of the backline |
| Pos 5 (attacker) |  | Uraeus | Another Sneak attacker with the added bonus of having Poison |
| Pos 6 (attacker) |  | Pelacor Bandit | Great backline Sneak deterrent with it's high speed and flying ability. It also has the Sneak ability |
Let's Battle!
- Forcefield was HUGE for me here. Once I enraged his Diemonshark, it dealt 5 damage which gets reduced down to 1 when attacking my Djinn Oshannus
- Inspire allowed me to make quick work of the beefy Wave Brood
- As you can see, Double Strike helped me dish out some major damage
- Since my opponent didn't use any Magic, my Armor protected my monsters with a lot of damage
- An interesting note, when my Venari Wavesmith was Resurrected, the Protect ability triggered again, giving my Djinn Oshannus a fresh new set of Armor
- I definitely had an advantage in the attacks, with 7 attacks going off each round from 6 monsters
Did it work?
Yes! I was able to do way more damage than my opponent with the help of Inspire and Double Strike
I analyzed the battle with Splintertools and was given a 100% chance of winning the battle. That is always great to see!
Final Thoughts
The Dhampir Infiltrator is an awesome card to have in your arsenal. Make sure you get it leveled up and pair it with Inspire if possible! At only $0.03/BCX, it is a great card to buy many many multiples of.
Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it!
Referral link : https://splinterlands.com?ref=at.bui89
If you decide to use my referral link, I'll happily send you a few cards to help you get started!
Thanks for sharing! - @mango-juice
really liked your overall presentation.