Since there was a lot of good feedback on my first Battle Focus featuring EMP, I decided to keep going, with this next one focusing on @bulldog1205's Risqruel Drath, aka "Darth Squirrel". This article strictly looks at battles in Champion and has a particular emphasis on battles that show the squirrel defeating some of the tougher summoners like Tofu (3 wins against Tofu in the list below). Here we go.
1. Stomping Tofu In Equalizer
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_8a3984fef5d75ca896c5a57964558892
In this battle, I combine Fizbo and Drath's Taunt to supercharge Rik. I put the Nymph in front as I needed a strong sustain card that I could keep healing with my two back-line healers (I wanted Immunity to protect against potential afflictions). Rik gets Reflection Shield from Fizbo and gets boosted once the Flinger dies, and the rest is history.
2. Thought I'd See Tofu, Got Immortalis Instead
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_28d80712bf016a9ebd310fb09e3802a5
In this battle, I thought I was going to go up against Tofu, but saw Immortalis come up. At first I was surprised and wondered if the lineup would work, but it turned out perfectly thanks to the Drybone Raider. Using True Strike on the Raider ensured he made quick work of everyone on the opposing team. This battle showcase some of Drath's versatility.
3. Legionary Goes Off
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_42d249773ba46b03a8d430553c558aca
Here's a fun Drath vs. Drath, where the Quilliun Legionary goes off, finishing the battle with 9 ranged damage. It's not the absolute best showcase of Drath's skills, but it was a battle where Drath was the clear pick.
4. Delya Shot First
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_f6f10ec3fbb320c9a5ba4a09f531ebf4
I was extremely proud of this battle. It's a close-range ruleset, so I stuck the very situational but interesting Chaos Battle Mage in the front. He's got Divine Shield and Redemption, which makes him perfect up there. I didn't put taunt on the Marksrat because that would give Venka the opportunity to kill Delya. In the end it came down to a beautiful 1 on 1 where Delya shot first.
5. Melee Only??
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_2f94885b8e89981793f5abac3f24c3d9
Who said the squirrel can't do melee-only? He has a sword, right? In this battle, he faces off against Jacek (me) in melee-only in Wild. @rusbow brings the sturdy Living Lava to protect the front and gets a clutch dodge from the Flying Tenyii Striker in the back line to take the win.
6. Hello Lorkus My Old Friend
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sm_wa1KP0Sqr7QPgHXiX7Wz
Admittedly with Super Sneak and Magic Reflect rulesets, I really expected to face off against Tofu in this one. However I got Lorkus with a Living Lava in the back, so Fizbo's Shroud of Reflection paid off as well. I gave Rik True Strike to ensure he couldn't miss, and he and Mantaroth did their work. I'm fairly confident this lineup would've defeated many Tofu lineups as well.
7. Fog Of War Against Jacek
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_2be96fa8e7f5e403897d848dadd61be8
Jacek's great in Fog Of War as he can attack the back-line unpredictably, and he's also great in ranged-only rulesets. However Drath was able to quickly pick him off, and the True Strike helped ensure that even with Jacek's speed boost my key cards couldn't miss.
8. Hello-ise!
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_0e86c9e9a9852ed2e0926ac40ecd0ede
In this battle against @josieb, who has Heloise #67 and sported her along with a Tofu, I used Drath and Fizbo to get the edge. But the real kicker was using Taunt on Delya. This enabled my attackers to kill her off before dealing with Heloise. Also, putting Slipspawn in the front took some of the pressure off the back-line. In the end, all the big cards died and the Slipspawn was left dealing with scraps.
9. Overpowered Range
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_1f4160c00d4db35a997dc712edee9be4
In this battle I faced @khazrakh's Lily, and I had a decision to make at the Tactics stage. I toyed with the idea of using Taunt in the back line, e.g. on the Psychic (which may have won as well), but doing the quick math I realized that the ranged damage would overpower the Grim Smith, so I put True Strike on my Goblin Tower and Legionary (the slowest of the gang) and let the ranged onslaught win the battle.
10. Bit O' Luck vs Nidhoggr (Expected Tofu!)
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_b0bd60f5795bc867ccf5a0ee799bd308
This one's funny because I expected (read "wanted") to go up against Tofu. I hoped to see something like Tofu with Slipspawn, Rik, Venka, and Grim or something like that. Interestingly I came up against Nidhoggr, and Nid almost defeated my lineup with the help of a very pesky Chaos Dragon! However, Fizbo's Shroud of Reflection Shield paid off, giving the Drybone Raider the final shot on the Chaos Dragon.
11. KRASH > KRASH!
Battle Link: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_b98823a67bb2b28c20efce6c1a8b1125
I maintain that Krash is one of the best Gladiators in the game (definitely in the top 3). In this battle @jedielf agreed and brought Krash with Lorkus, which can be a deadly pairing if Krash goes off with that Life Leech. However, a nice little Taunt on his Krash made sure that never happened. Thanks to the Ferocity Ruleset, my Krash crashed into his Krash in stupendous fashion...
This ensured his Krash never had a chance to go off, while mine did :)
Drath is a lot of fun to play, and with friends like Fizbo he can be a great option against Tofu. Here's my win rate with Risqruel Drath over the last couple of weeks:
Bonus: More MJ Images of Risqruel Drath
