Introduction
Hi Praetoria! Welcome to another edition of the Splinterlands Social Media Challenge brought to you by The Jedo! Link to the challenge HERE. This week, I will share some awesome battles I have experienced while playing in Modern Ranked! These were encountered during last season's grind and I can't wait to share these with you!
I currently play in Modern Diamond League and usually hit Champion 3 closer to the end of the season. I used to try to compete for Gold League Leaderboards back when league locks were a thing. Ever since the removal of league locks, I have been automating my account in Wild League to spend accrued energy and collect Glint. I knew SPS rewards were better in Modern and I would dedicate a few hours, usually on a weekend, to manually play my account and advance in the standings. Over time, I realized I could go toe to toe with a lot of the Diamond players and decided I should play more often than initially planned. I have yet to try competing past Champion 3 but who knows? Maybe someday you'd see me battling consistently in the Champ League!
Preface
As the title suggests, the battles that I will share with you will feature Praetoria's very own Fizbo the Fabulous!
Fizbo is a dual element support unit and is a Promo card from the Rebellion set. He can be used in conjunction with summoners from either Fire or Earth Splinters to assist you in battle, unless of course the rulesets of the match prohibit you from doing so.
I currently own a level 3 Fizbo, just enough for me to unlock the abilities I need for battles. This is also the max level I can use for Gold League Brawls which is the typical Fray I am assigned to. I initially thought about leaving him at level 2, but then convinced myself that I could use the Affliction ability. I also think it's fine leaving him at level 3 since he's primarily a support card, he doesn't need the additional magic damage.
The key ability here is Deflection Shroud (previously called Shroud of Reflection Shield) where adjacent units to Fizbo, at the start of the battle, gain Deflect (previously called Reflection Shield). If you recall, units with Deflect will not take damage from Blast, Thorns, Return Fire, or Magic Reflect. This also includes protection from Corrosive Ward.
Let's head on over to the battles!
Featured Battle 1
The first featured battle is a 23-mana match with Briar Patch, Melee Mayhem, and Target Practice as the rulesets. I fielded a low mana team consisting of Halfling Refugee, Fizbo, Venka, Fungus Flinger, Elanor Bravefoot, and Naga Assassin with Quix the Devious as my summoner.
My Strategy: Protect Venka from Thorns! I expected to see a bunch of low mana cards somewhat similar to my lineup and thought Venka can just Trample over these units due to their low health.
I was a little surprised to see Rage on the other end of the battlefield, granting adjacent units to him magical damage due to his Weapons Training ability.
Let's see how this battle went...
Shortly after Naga Assassin dealt the first attack of the match (sniped the enemy Chaos Agent), Venka had the chance to eliminate two opposing units with consecutive attacks! (triggered by Trample) Both of these melee attacks should have caused Thorns damage to Venka but due to the Deflect ability granted by Fizbo, Venka was left unharmed.
Fizbo quickly suffered elimination after performing a Snipe attack to the enemy Daigendark Surveyor only for it to be reflected. The enemy unit quickly shot back a magic attack, ensuring Fizbo is out of the match. The Deflect abilities stayed with the units, though, so Fizbo's sacrifice was not for naught!
Refugee and Venka avenged Fizbo's death by relentlessly attacking Rage while my ranged backline team kept adding pressure to the enemy team by focus firing on Daigendark Surveyor.
What did you think of this battle?
Battle 1 link HERE
Featured Battle 2
The second featured battle doesn't really highlight Fizbo's support abilities. Why I included this battle on this list, you will find out soon enough!
33-mana match with High Five, Wands Out, and Tis but Scratches as the rulesets. I wanted to play a similar lineup that has been used against me before - a tank with Void and a support crew with Silence and Heal abilities. I also needed Immunity so that my units' health do not diminish with every successful hit from the Cripple ability.
My Strategy: Deny enemy magic damage by giving my whole team Void from Immortalis. Backline Silence abilities to further hinder my opponent's chances to deal significant damage. Bonus Immunity to avoid crippling effects.
Blackmoor Nymph is perfect for this matchup: low mana unit with decent health plus Immunity, plus Void from my summoner. Her supporting cast consisted of Nalara Geinek, Goblin Psychic, Fizbo, and Dr. Blight. I placed Fizbo between Goblin Psychic and Dr. Blight to protect them from Magic Reflect in case the enemy team has it. Similar to Fizbo, I do not own a maxed level Nymph. I only have her at level 6 which I believe is enough for her to be usable and serve her purpose.
If you have been reading my other articles, you would understand how much fun it is using dodge tanks with high chances of evasion. There might be nothing more satisfying than witnessing enemy attacks miss over and over and over. Or is there...
Units that can literally tank incoming enemy attacks, enduring minimal damage or in this case, NO DAMAGE AT ALL, feels more enjoyable to watch. I guess I didn't need my healing units after all! Blackmoor Nymph just stood there waiting for something to happen while the rest of my units mobbed my opponent's Mycelic Slipspawn. The Slipspawn's max health started decreasing with every hit it received. Affliction was also applied to the unit making it unable to be healed. Shortly after it was eliminated, my units set their eyes on the next victim - the Void Dragon.
Slowly but surely, my team's continuous attacks wiped out enemy units. The highlight of this match? Fizbo, the support unit, dealing the last bit of magic damage to finish off the battle.
Who would have thought Fizbo would be the one delivering the killing blow?
Battle 2 link HERE
Featured Battle 3
The third and last featured battle is somewhat similar to the previous battle except Magic Reflect was a guarantee.
28-mana match with Wands Out, Unprotected, and Counterspell as the rulesets. Since the battle is limited to monsters with magic attacks only, I figured I can use Fizbo's services again. I can provide Deflect to two of my units, but what about the others I will play?
My Strategy: Same as the previous one.
Deny enemy magic damage by giving my whole team Void from Immortalis. Backline Silence abilities to further hinder my opponent's chances to deal significant damage. Bonus Immunity to avoid crippling effects.
I also acknowledged that Triage will be needed to sustain the rest of my team.
I called upon Blackmoor Nymph to be an affordable tank, yet again. I supported her with 2 healing units in Fizbo and Goblin Psychic. Fizbo was strategically placed behind the Nymph to grant the Nymph better survivability odds with Deflect. I thought about placing Dr. Blight next to Fizbo but ultimately decided I'd rather have the Psychic survive longer and keep providing debuffs to enemies with his Affliction, Silence, and Dispel abilities.
The last spot in my lineup was given to Thunderhoof Nomad, a 3-mana reward card that not only has the Triage ability that I needed, but also has Deflect that makes her take ZERO reflected magic damage. This card, I already had at maxed level.
An enemy Fizbo appeared on the opposing end of the battlefield! Both my opponent and I had the same idea: utilize Deflect as protection from Magic Reflect. Except I came more prepared in this battle.
My Psychic afflicted Nalara Geinek, making the enemy tank unhealable. The opposing Psychic tried the same but fortunately for me, my Nymph had Immunity. Affliction and even Silence did not affect her one bit.
Thunderhoof Nomad ensured my backline was healed from reflected magic damage while Dr. Blight added pressure to the enemy lineup by applying Poison, expediting the demise of my opponent.
Now how about this Fiz-Mortalis team? Any alternative lineups to use for this particular mana cap and ruleset?
Battle 3 link HERE
Summary
So there you have it, folks! Three battles featuring fabulous strategies involving Fizbo!
Fizbo can be very useful in certain matches. I have seen Tofu lineups with Fizbo ensuring that units get protection from the enemy Tofu's claws! Fizbo can also be used as the Fire Splinter's only support unit with Heal!
Plenty of different ways in utilizing this card. Whether you have him maxed or just to level 3 like the one I have, I am sure in the right situations, Fizbo can be of service to you, assisting you in victories you can be proud of!
Final Thoughts
Hindsight analysis of battles that we have already played improves our future decision-making. This is how I get to understand why some of my chosen lineups work and why some don't. This is also a way to track which experimentations yielded favorable results and which counter lineups would be applicable to certain rulesets.
I would like to keep writing articles like this and I hope you guys enjoyed this one! If you have questions, comments, or feedback for me, please let me know! Let's all learn and grow together and set each other up for success! Vonak! Together We Thrive, Kapamilya!
