if you got 2 spare mana... - my reason to play Dax Paragon in Splinterlands

So here we are in another busy week in which I am a bit of late for entering Splinterlands' share-your-battle challenge!

How are you doing with the new reward cards, lately? For me it was like I had a really great start but afterwards my success has cooled down a bit. However whenever I look at Twitter, anyone (except me) is only pulling Legendaries!

But let us get back to Dax Paragon! -I already had this card in my collection, bought it from secondary market - so he cannot be that bad, is he? ;)

Let us talk about the stats of Dax which is an Epic card of Life Splinter:
first thought (+): I really love this 2 point mana units because they are so flexible and often provide a real advantage if you got some mana points left.
second thought (+): Dax is not only cheap, but also has magic attack which makes him look even better to me.
third thought (+): 3 health is nice, as well!
fourth thought: I do not see any real flaws for this unit so far... but let's come back to this aspect, later!

What do I think about leveling up Dax Paragon?
Regarding his stats development: One by one he gets a little bit more of health, but the really nice effect of 2 magic damage only comes at level 6... :(
Regarding his ability development: Dax gets 'Amplify' ability which only makes me think of him as a purely "nice-to-have"-unit. 'Affliction' is a bit nicer, though - but only comes at (late) level 5.

Instead let us have a look at one of my battles including Dax:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_fda9dab0f8b9f5a3ff7bad8bea80935f&ref=jdike

Hard facts: Modern format, 20 Mana Cap, Additional rules: 'Wands Out' & 'Weak Magic'

Looking at the enemy setup there was either a lack of cards or he ran out of time choosing his lineup as his 20 mana points were not completely used.
I however tried to implement as many cards as possible to take advantage of my summoner's bonus. Further I put the highest health unit in front.
This is already a point where Dax's low mana cost is advantageous because although only 20 mana could be spent I was able to lineup 4 units!

Here you see Dax right in action ... and a bit of his weakness.
My Time Mage took away opponent's shield stat and now it was Dax's turn. He reduced River Nymph's health by one, but simple and plain that was all of it.

hmm... I think it was clear right from the start who would win this battle and this screenshot only emphasizes what had been obvious. ;)

I think the role Dax played in my fight above will be the role he will play in most matches. -And that is why I think this he has some weakness.
Don't get me wrong I think he is a real nice filler unit if you got some mana to spare. But he will not give you a real tactical advantage in most fights, I think.
I can only speak for Modern Format but here Dax lacks some sommonner that could further increase his magic damage!
However at level 6 he might get some relevance to me because he gets his damage doubled and already got 'Affliction' ability at level 5.

If you consider joining Splinterlands feel free to use my sign-up link:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=jdike