What are the hardest battle “rules” to master in Splinterlands? (Mana Rules)

Best regards Splinterlovers 💚

There are rules—or what are now called “Modifiers”—that are more complicated than others, and the reality is that this is indeed the case; even for the most experienced players, playing under these types of rules is mentally taxing, since the restrictions make it harder to use the combinations or strategies they usually employ, However, although new battle rules have been introduced that are very interesting, they don’t really impose restrictions as such; rather, they offer power bonuses or other benefits that make the cards much stronger. But I want to focus specifically on the other types of modifiers—the ones that are simpler and have time limits, yet are incredibly annoying.

That’s why in this post I’ll share 3 “Modifiers or Rules” that complicate gameplay and cause frustration among players. Of course, nothing I say here is set in stone, but I’ll be speaking from my own experience playing the game—and perhaps from some random battles I’ve seen other players engage in, where every time I watch them, one of the two plays poorly, or even both, and the winner is simply the one who’s luckier. Of course, I’ve grouped them into several categories so you can understand their effects and what they do, so I’ll be sharing them in order from least to most complex.

So, if you want to find out what these rules are and start planning how to play by them correctly, keep reading this post:

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Mana Rules - Equalizer

Although it may seem simple, these rules—which alter the amount of mana you can play or, in this case, the health points of all cards—are difficult to master, since the way the system works, all “Monsters” on the field gain the same number of health points as the card with the highest health points at the start of battle. This is how the effect works: it’s very easy to understand and perhaps even to play, but our opponent might play just as well or even much better, and it’s hard to predict, since we don’t know what kind of units they might use to counter us—it’s basically playing without any information.

Another important aspect of this ability is that when it’s active on the battlefield, many of the “Archons” lose their significance, since some grant shield and health bonuses, but with this rule, it doesn’t make much of a difference because everyone will be on equal footing. plus it’s a recurring cycle: players are very focused on protecting the battle “Tank,” but this becomes irrelevant, forcing them to rethink their entire strategy.

Now that we know how it works and why a battle can get complicated, we need to know how to play it well so we don't run into so many problems:

How can we play it well?

• Passive Damage Abilities: While we should focus on dealing damage to the enemy—since all their cards will have high health—the abilities we choose to play should provide guaranteed passive damage that doesn’t rely heavily on probability, or at least not on low probabilities. These abilities can include Poison or Affliction, as well as any other ability that can chip away at the opponent’s health without requiring high offensive power or relying on brute force.

• Offensive Damage Abilities: Other abilities that can work very well are those that provide as much guaranteed physical damage as possible. For example, abilities like “Sneak” or “Reach” fit perfectly here, as they allow our cards to attack from the second position or, failing that, the opponent’s back row. This usually works well because the cards lined up at the back of the field don’t typically have high attack points, and their only defense is the health bonus from “Equalizer.”

• Avoid this mistake with this rule: When you have a modifier like this, it’s natural to think about placing the large, sturdy unit in the first position as if everything were the same, but this is irrelevant, since the priority in these circumstances is to focus on “Defense”—specifically, your team’s speed and evasion.

Mana Rules – Odd Ones Out/Even Stevens

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These two rules seem harmless, but I’m grouping them together because they actually have the same effect on the field. Besides, those familiar with their effect will say it’s not that serious and is easy to play around. However, let’s go step by step because, to understand why I’m including them here, we first need to understand the effect of each one and how they work:

• Odd Ones Out: The effect of this rule is quite simple: basically, from the moment we know it’s one of the rules we have to build our deck, it takes effect, and we can only use cards with an “odd” mana cost. This means we can only play cards with a mana cost of 1, 3, 5, and so on.

• Even Stevens: The effect of this modifier is the exact opposite of the previous one: it means we can only use cards with a mana cost that is an “even” number. In other words, we can only use cards with mana costs of 2, 4, 6, and so on.

Okay, knowing this, what’s really complicated about these rules isn’t their effect—because it’s actually very easy to understand—but the problem is that when one of them is active, it completely eliminates 50% of the power your deck could have. For example, if we have limited resources and our most powerful tank has 7 mana points and we have “Even Stevens,” that means we won’t be able to use it, It can also affect our choice of “Archon,” severely limiting our options.

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How can we adapt to these rules?

• Get to know your own deck: This is essential for knowing how to respond even when you can't play your most powerful cards—this would be your Plan B.

• Don't focus on a single card: Even if your 7-mana tank is the most powerful, focus on balancing your deck for these kinds of situations—you need to already be thinking about how to play when you run into them.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know in the comments if you also find these rules complicated. Plus, these aren't the only ones—I'll be posting a series of articles to help us understand how these complicated rules work. Also, as I mentioned, I've broken it down into categories, so Part 2 is coming soon.