Hello there.
Today I'll share my battle under the Fab Four ruleset. But first, I will share some of my thoughts regarding it. With this ruleset, players can only use up to four monsters in their team. It is very straightforward, but there are different strategies for it. I think a big importance is using up all the mana available. This can appear in 40+ mana battles and maximizing that can be good, since higher mana monsters usually have higher stats.
Another strategy I like is to use a taunt monster at the back to split the opponent's damage. I can also go for a sustain team [heal, tank heal, protect] since it is possible that the enemy doesn't have enough damage to beat my sustain. To counter those, I can use a team that has a lot of damage, to beat the sustain.
I believe that being flexible in battle is the ideal strategy. Check the opponent's history, check what they are most likely to use, and counter it. But always pick teams that can also counter different strategies. So, without further ado, let's get into the battle.
The Ruleset
This was a tournament battle, so it was a Bronze battle with FabFour, Blood and Sunder, and Briar Patch Rulesets. A 31 mana battle is on the normal amount, and only the Dragon element is unavailable. I can think of a lot of different strategies for each so I will try to counter as much as I can.
The ideal team for Fire might be Eternan with Tinderlock. Tarsa and melee monsters are difficult to use because of Briar Patch, and Melee gladiator cards aren't as viable because of the Corrosive Ward from the Blood and Sunder.
Water can go for Kelya and Magic monsters. The armor can help block more damage. Nerissa Tridawn is a high cost monster that can work well here.
Earth magic is really powerful. They have sustain options because of the Goblin Psychic, and Taunt with the Slipspawn. Regal Peryton in front can counter Range teams.
For Life, I think Sloan isn't a good option because of the few slots. The Range monsters are too close to the front and a lot of them can't attack. I do think monsters like the Drybone Barbarian are good because of their high damage. Briar Patch can trigger its Enrage, and Venari Crystalsmith can do some healing.
Death counters the different magic teams that are probably coming. Cursed Windeku is always a good option, but its thorns is redundant with the ruleset. The two life leech monsters can be good since there are less chances of facing sneak teams.
The Lineup
For me, between the lineups I mentioned above, I'd rather go with a Katie team. Drybone Barbarian can deal a lot of damage. Katie can target the low HP monsters in the back. Spirit Hoarder is necessary to counter a Katie mirror. Venari Crystalsmith will keep my first position monster healthy.
The Battle
The Matchup
My opponent decided to go with a Quora sustain team. The problem with their team is that they used Mycelia for the protect. Quora is their main tank and damage, but its armor will be removed by the corrosive ward. I am happy that I went with a high damage team, so I think I have a good chance against their sustain.
End of Round 1
Quora hurt itself by attacking fast. Not only did it remove its armor because of the Corrosive Ward, but it also lowered its HP because of the thorns damage. This resulted in my team attack after it, and killing Quora. That is the power of the Drybone Barbarian. Since Quora died, they lack the damage, and it looks like a win this early on.
End of Round 2
Like rubbing salt over a wound, Katie killed the Goblin Psychic and got a Bloodlust stack. Once we kill Mycelia, Satha Toledo will just be a sitting duck in front.
End of the Battle
I will have to say that I was surprised with how the battle turned out. Fab Four battles can be over very quickly, but I didn't expect it to be that fast based on the team compositions. My opponent had a sustain team, while I too had some sustain. I think the Drybone Barbarian was the MVP because its high damage was able to kill Quora easily.
The Result
Conclusion
In tournaments where there are additional limitations on top of the Rulesets and banned elements, I try to make it a point to look at the possible teams and imagine them fighting against one another. I will then choose the team which I think is best. For this specific battle, my opponent used a team composition that I think was very strong. A Quora sustain team in Fab Four should win a lot of battles. I just got lucky that the team I went for countered theirs.