Battle Focus: Risqruel Drath | Splinterlands

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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?ref=bravetofu

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

---

Looking to join @Splinterlands and get a great onboarding experience? Use my referral link (https://splinterlands.com/register?ref=bravetofu) and enjoy a ton of additional benefits, detailed here: https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@bravetofu/bravetofu-splinterlands-ambassador-incentives-v2.