I would assume that sneakers would be even sneakier in a thick fog... but what do I know?
Today we're talking about that Ruleset that makes every battle a little slower and a lot more straightforward. In this Ruleset you don't have to worry for the safety of your puny little Range attacker in the rear; your mages and bowmen will be safe... or will they?
Fog of War
Protect the Tank
The most important thing to remember in Fog of War is that your tank needs more protection. It will be pummelled by every enemy monster except for those with Opportunity. You can accomplish this through several different ways, including healing, debuffs, Shield and Repair. The vast majority of the enemy's attack power will always be concentrated on your tank in Fog of War, and if you play your cards right, you can stop them there.
Opportunity = Loophole
Remember that monsters with Sneak and Snipe are still playable in the Fog of War Ruleset; they just won't have their signature abilities, making them basically useless. It's easy to make the mistake of grabbing a reliable Sneak monster out of sheer habit. The ability you should be looking for is Opportunity.
Opportunity is brilliant. Monsters with this ability always target the weakest (Health wise) monster on the enemy team. In Fog of War, this usually means that you can kill some of the enemy's most powerful Magic and Range attacks before they manage an attack.
So why wasn't Opportunity included in the restrictions of the Fog of War Ruleset? Simple. It wasn't created yet. Did someone say loophole? Fair warning: Only use the Opportunity ability in the Fog of War Ruleset if you like to win.
The Ol' Reach and Blast
Reach and Blast are two abilities that I always like to use in Fog of War. Monsters with Reach still accomplish their normal purpose of attacking from the second row and it's always a good idea to include one. My favorite is the Horny Toad, a Neutral reacher with Poison that is always playable.
Assuming your enemy will also be employing the Reach ability, Blast is your friend. If you can fit two monsters with Blast into your lineup you'll take out any enemy reacher before they're able to do any significant damage. Blast is just another excellent way to extend your damage beyond the front row, a technique which is crucial to victory in Fog of War.
Attack First if you Can
Since most of your attack power will be concentrated on the enemy tank, you will have a great advantage if you can attack first. There are tons of speed buffs (Swiftness) and debuffs (Slow) to choose from; use them wisely and tear the other team apart. Create a situation in which every monster on your team attacks before any monster on the enemy's team. You'll also find that because of the drastic difference in Speed, you'll be missed a lot. I call this the Exploding Dwarf strategy, because it's all about getting the Dwarf to attack once before it is killed.
Get Missed
There are a few ways to increase your percentage chance of being missed that you should be maximizing in the Fog of War Ruleset. The Blind ability doubles the miss chances of every monster on your team. Of course you cannot be missed by Magic attacks, but that's only one type out of three. The Dodge ability usually belongs to monsters who are already quite speedy. My favorite dodgers are the Twisted Jester, the Javelin Thrower and the Fire Spitter. Flying monsters also always have a greater chance of being missed, so assembling an air team is a good idea.
Some Cards I Like
Here are some cards I like to play in the Fog of War Ruleset. They're not the best cards, nor am I the best player. As I said, they're just some of the cards that I like to use. Give them a try and maybe you'll like them too! And if you have some favorite Fog of War cards of your own, let me know in the comments.
Exploding Dwarf
I mentioned a strategy above that I call the Exploding Dwarf strategy. It's not for everyone, but if you can pull it off, you'll have your opponent's ripping their hair out in chunks. Basically if your Dwarf pulls off an attack before he gets attacked, then you've done it. If not, congratulations. You've just wasted 5 Mana. More often than not it's fun to take the risk.
Elven Defender
This Neutral tank has really been growing on me lately, especially as I go one by one through the Rulesets and break down the strategies involved. The Defender is useful in lots of different Rulesets. There aren't many situations in which Shield combined with high Health and Armor don't help you immensely.
Tortisian Fighter
The Tortisian Fighter is a surprisingly effective 4 Mana self-Repairing tank. Like the Bone Golem from the Death Splinter, the Fighter has Shield. This makes him incredibly difficult to destroy through Melee and Range attacks. Still you'll have to make sure that he is significantly tank healed to fend of the Magic attacks.
Cave Slug
The Cave Slug employs one of my favorite combinations: Opportunity and Scavenger. It's as if the two were made for each other. In Fog of War, you can place your Scavengers clear in the back with no danger of them being Sneaked to death. By the time they reach the front line their Health will be immense, buying you a few more turns to do the crucial game-winning damage.
Twisted Jester
You may think it's strange to use a native Sniper like the Jester in a Fog of War situation, but hear me out. Without Snipe, he's merely a 4 Mana powerful Range attacker. Even at level 3 he's swinging for 3, and when that damage is focused toward the enemy's tank instead of the back row, it's a different kind of powerful.
Daria Dragonscale
I know I don't usually recommend Summoners in the strategy guides, but when I was thinking of a Dragon Splinter card to recommend, Daria kept coming to mind. The Melee buff is a very powerful one in the Fog of War Ruleset, especially if you're following my other advice (like using Opportunity attackers). If you can hit them hard and fast with a well-protected tank (and Daria doing the summoning) you'll have a great head start.
I hope this edition of the Ruleset Strategy series has done a little to help you grow as a Spliterlands player. Boy, there is a lot to this game!
List of Rulesets
Previous Editions of the RuleSet Strategy Series
- Back to Basics
- Healed Out
- Heavy Hitters
- Silenced Summoners
- Aim True
- Super Sneak
- Melee Mayhem
- Keep Your Distance
- Weak Magic
- Up Close and Personal
- Lost magic
- Unprotected
- Target Practice
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I don't think tortisian fighter is a good pick, but opportunity and blast are certainly mandatory. You should choose just one of these things to focus on, though! Otherwise the opponent can out-sustain you. In case you decide to focus the tank, stun + knockdown works wonders.
Great tip! :) Thanks!
I haven't really tried Knockout in this Ruleset. I usually save Knockout for Heavy Hitters only; I'll have to give it a try.
RE: Tortisian Fighter - I tend to use a lot of the same recommended cards across different Rulesets, so I probably just included the Fighter for some variety. In theory is seems like he would be a good fit in Fog of War :)
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