The stats for the last summoner airdrop are out! Welcome Nidhoggr to the Splinterlands. Since we now have the stats, I wanted to do a quick gut-check on who I think are the biggest beneficiaries of the arrival of Nidhoggr. With Blast and Deathblow on one side and +2 Speed and Execute on the other, and the fact that this is a Dragon summoner which enables use with any Splinter, there are some really fun combinations that are possible. Just note the debilitation ("Force Reduction") which reduces your own team size by 1.
I'm focusing on Modern here, as otherwise there are just too many cards for me to look at.
Let's dive in...
FIRE
In the Fire splinter, I found 3 cards that I think are the biggest beneficiaries.
Rush Townsend benefits a lot. With Ambush, very high speed, and 5 damage, he'll be a great beneficiary of Blast. The blast damage will be 3, and Rush will likely get to shoot twice before many other cards go. And, depending on the enemy lineup, you could consider going for execute.
Djinn Inferni is a good play given his 5 magic damage, causing a very deadly blast.
Baron Fyatt mainly benefits due to having Ambush.
WATER
The Water splinter has lots of cards that will benefit from Nidhoggr.
With 5 damage and opportunity, Deep Lurker is certainly a beneficiary.
Coastal Nymph will be incredible with the 5 damage + Scattershot.
Coastal Sentry also gets the 3 blast damage from her 5 base, and with Double Strike is a big fan of Nidhoggr. Could be a target for Execute as well.
I like Argarux Magus with Blast to get higher chances to trigger the Bloodlust.
Captain Fellblade's double attack makes her great with Blast or Execute.
Kulu Mastermind will be incredible with Blast, particularly after he gets Enraged! 8 damage will cause 5 (FIVE!) Blast damage.
EARTH
Earth has 5 cards I find interesting.
Suidae Shaman could be interesting with Blast due to the massive damage every other round.
I like Grund thanks to Double Strike. Another target that could go with either tactic. The extra speed on Grund would be nice too.
Acid Shooter, already a staple in the Modern era, gets another boost with the scattershot blast.
Runemancer Florre's double attack with Blast could be deadly, and is another interesting choice for Execute.
Finally Ancient Redwood is an interesting choice for Blast with his massive damage, Piercing, and True Strike, and he's also a good counter in mirror matches with Reflection Shield.
DEATH
The Death splinter has a lot of interesting combinations with Nidhoggr.
Starting off with possibly the biggest gainer we have Raa, whose combination of Double Strike and Scattershot, along with 4 damage, will be absolutely deadly. The low speed will be a problem though, so it may not always be viable.
Next we have Chaos Jailer, who I put in this list because he had Ambush and Opportunity.
Magi Necrosi is interesting for his Snipe, and 3 base damage means 2 blast damage.
Lire the Dark is a good pick as she has opportunity and 4 damage. She also speeds up the whole team, so can be a good complement for Raa.
Next we have Usut, who I put on here because Blast can increase his chances of getting a Bloodlust.
Finally, Barashkukor can be interesting due to his 5 damage, which will blast for 3.
LIFE
In the Life splinter there are a few interesting cards to look at with Nidhoggr.
Corsair Bosun is nice with his 6 base damage, blasting for 3, and is a good counter to opposing Nidhoggrs due to his Reflection Shield.
Anacrhon Bolter is on the list as he has dual attacks.
Olivia of the Brook is a big beneficiary (did she really need to??) as she has double attacks, opportunity, AND Reflection Shield to boot which means she'll be good in mirror matches. Note that she can also mimic enemy blast when avoiding it with her Reflection Shield. Bonkers.
Jared Scar could be a great beneficiary as that 7 damage will blast for 4, and the piercing will apply all the way through. In fact Jared may be one of the top beneficiaries.
Finally I put Bera Dallin in here because her massive shield and Armored Strike means a hell of a lot of potential blast damage.
DRAGON
There are lots of very cool combos with Dragon cards themselves.
Runic Skyclaw is a go-to with 5 damage, Snipe, and Reflection Shield for mirror matches.
Kei might get some new life due to her good damage output and Ambush.
Agor Longtail could be interesting with his dual attacks.
There's Rage of course, whose 5 damage means 3 blast damage. Not too shabby.
Then I put in Dhampir Infiltrator and Carnage Titan, who both have Double Strike that will benefit from Blast and, to a lesser degree, from Execute.
Desert Dragon is in there due to his high damage combined with Piercing and Trample.
Lastly I stuck Night Reaper in there. The Windbreak ability means it may attack a backline unit (if the first Flying one in the enemy lineup is in the backline) exposing more units to blast damage. Reflection Shield is good for mirror matches. And finally, if it gets to Last Stand, it'll be dealing a whole lot more damage.
NEUTRAL
In the neutral camp, there are 6 cards I identified.
Venka is an obvious beneficiary. The Charge, 7 damage, Piercing, and Trample will be absolutely deadly.
Another one is Drybone Raider whose quadruple hits will benefit from Blast and, to a certain extent, from Execute. He could also be a beneficiary of the +2 speed.
Runi will like Nidhoggr as an opportunity card with Reflection Shield.
Maybe Gobson Bomber will get some action with that massive shot every other round.
And Gem Meteor and Drybone Bowdog will both like this new summoner, each dealing 2 blast damage around their Scattershot targets. Drybone Bowdog gets the bonus attack in the Ambush round, making it an even better pick in my opinion.
GLADIATORS
Lastly for this post I've included a few Gladiator cards, which of course will only be playable under specific rulesets as well as in Brawls.
Quora, who seems to benefit from everything, will love Nidhoggr, both for Execute (great for Bloodlust) and of course Blast.
Then we have Captain Katie, whose 5 damage and Snipe are great options for Blast damage.
Krash could be an absolute monster - think about pairing him with 2 weapons trainers, such as Rage + Dalthin, giving him 3 magic and 3 ranged damage, which each Blast for 2. If he gets going, he may become unstoppable.
And lastly I put Isgald Vorst in the list. Already one of the game's best Gladiators, Isgald at max level has 5 damage, and paired with his Opportunity and Piercing this will make him absolutely deadly with Blast.
That's it for my very early analysis of Nidhoggr beneficiaries. What do you think? Did I miss anyone essential? What do you think of Nidhoggr? Let me know in the comments!