Hello Splinterlands Summoners! Since the Conclave Arcana set began, the Earth team and the elf bloodline have been my favorites. Kaylia Silverleaf’s bloodline dominion ability, Execute, is my favorite and I often build my strategies around it. Because of this, I’ve been collecting more elf cards for my lineup. For this reason, Grove Doomblade is one of my sought after cards in the new reward set.
Lore
Grove Doomblade's real name is Maevira Thornweald and she wields the big sword, Doomblade. That's probably how she got her name. It's weird for a sneak attacker to be carrying a big ass sword though. Maybe a dagger would have been a better choice of a weapon.
The decidite sentinels of Sylvaras taught Maevira Thornweald patience. How to stand quiet as old stone. How to listen until the forest chose the moment to act.
Then they taught her to swing a very big sword.
Mahkah Hemlig tears trees from soil and sets the land against itself. Maevira took up Doomblade, a sword nearly as long as she is tall, and joined the fellowship of the Silverleaf to stop her.
While Mahkah's geomancy rips the earth and the fellowship strains against the tide, Maevira works the edges. A shadow in the brush. She slips past sentries and watchfires and strikes from behind. Once her blade commits, it falls like a redwood trunk, impossible to turn.
Stats and Abilities
Grove Doomblade is a pure damage dealer that can be used with Fire, Earth and Dragon splinters. She deals seven melee damage but very slow with only one speed. She has three armor and eight health. She is a sneak attacker and will be a nightmare for those who like using Taunt due to her Fury ability. To complement her damage potential, she also has Stun and Ambush abilities to further wreck the enemy units. With Kaylia as the archon, she will get the Execute ability, making her more deadly in battles. Her disadvantage is her one speed stat, giving the enemy higher odds of dodging her attacks.
Role in Battle
Her role in battle is a pure damage dealer, hitting the enemy team from behind with her Sneak attacks. In some situations, she can also play tank due to her high defensive stats. Her one speed stat can be an asset in Reverse Speed ruleset where her damage potential can be unleashed with full speed.
Featured Battles
I like using Grove Doomblade with the Earth splinter. She's great with fellow elves that will have the Execute ability given by the archon. In the following battle, she teamed up with my elf card I recently bought, Silverleaf Mage to take down the enemy.
In Reverse Speed ruleset is where Grove Doomblade really shines. She can decimate unarmored enemy units with one hit because of her high damage stats. In the next battle, I used her with the Fire splinter against the enemy's Dragon/Water team. In Reverse Speed, she wrecks the enemy backline.
My team was composed of Drybone Megalodon and Molten Elemental. This is my tank combo in the Fire team in high mana battles. With Drybone Megalodon's Flank ability, I can take advantage of Molten Elemental's dual attack in second position. In third, I had Grove Doomblade and in fourth was Emberguard, dealing two magic damage while decreasing the enemy's melee attack with Demoralize ability. In contrast, I had Portly Cannoneer buff my team's melee attack by one with Inspire. Finally I had a unit with Taunt ability, Swiftbeard Stout to draw enemy attacks.
My enemy had a Dragon/Water team led by a gold foil Commonader Slade followed by damage dealers. The enemy's strategy is anchored on the strength of his tank while his damage dealers in the back do their job. However, my strategy was to hit him from behind with Grove Doomblade.
My tank combo was able to eliminate the enemy's Commander Slade though he slipped and dodged some attacks. The Reverse Ruleset worked in my favor since Commander Slade has five speed which was a liability in this ruleset. Meanwhile Grove Doomblade was decimating the enemy backline with Sneak attacks. My team was hitting from both sides fast and soon the enemy team was defeated.
Final Thoughts
The new reward cards brings fresh combos and strategies. I decided to prioritize rare cards since they can easily buff my deck, giving me more choices in battle. Grove Doomblade was one of the cards I went after since I saw her stats. She's an elf with high damage stats that I can use in three splinters. There are more new combos out there with the new reward cards and I can't wait to build my new deck and try them in battles.