Battle Mage Secrets - The Monk Eats Blast For Breakfast

The theme for the current "Battle Mage Secret" challenge is Even Stevens ruleset this time! This means all units gain the Blast ability. It's not always easy to get the specific ruleset, but if you play hard enough, you definitely can find one! This time I was lucky enough to have one - woohoo!

So here's the interesting battle that I encountered.

Anyway, I thought it would be still be interesting to introduce some useful cards and show how their strengths can be maximised especially with a particular ruleset. In this post, the featured card is a Legendary Neutral card, Venator Kinjo!

Venator Kinjo is one of the most have cards to deal with Blast battles. He has Reflection Shield and when paired with a card with Taunt ability, the Blast damage is neutralised. That said, he is not very useful for most other battles so it's a very specialised card.

As usual, here's the lore for Venator Kinjo for your reading interest:

Few have heard about the secret mission of the pious order, The Bloody Envoy. These devout monks spend their young lives living within the Hidden Cloister, a monastery that is said to be somewhere within Abbots Marsh on Praetoria, and beholden to no other. Taken at an early age, these children are the unfortunate offspring of women that have been used for entertainment by vampires at their lavish parties. After being brought into their new family, the children spend their time studying and praying, learning to live with the dhampir affliction that has taken their bodies. They are taught that to drink the blood of a human is the ultimate sin, and they sustain themselves upon the livestock they keep.

They are drilled daily in the art of unarmed combat, though violence is always a last resort. Instead, they are taught many different skills in ways to hide from or avoid attack, often using these skills to augment those around them who will do the damage in their stead. When they come of age, they will often stalk vampires and follow them to their homes, where the Bloody Envoy will then organize the foul creature's demise.

The plain and simple robes of these monks are regularly seen upon the road, and people will greet them with open arms, knowing them to be fair and considerate. The monks will often help local communities in their hour of need, whether that be with healing, coin, protection, or holy blessings. But all the time they are vigilant to the foul taint of vampires. Their single, most important mission and the highest order of their vows: to rid the world of this vile disease.

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Battle Type & Team Lineup

With two of my favourite elements not usable in this battle, I had to fall back to my Life Magic lineup. Franz Ruffmane is the preferred choice because I do have a Legendary Gladius card to use.

Iziar is one of the strongest cards when used at the right rulesets. With Blast in the ruleset, it's important to use a card with Taunt ability to concentrate all the hits in one place. And it's an added bonus when Iziar has Void.

The battle is half won when a Taunt card is used together with Venator Kinjo, who has Reflection Shield, and can protect the entire backline.

With a lot of collateral damage flying around, speed can be important because it matters who hits first. Creeping Ooze comes in to slow opponents down.

Sola Ranjell is a very powerful Legendary Gladius, because of the Tank Heal ability. With Rebirth also in the ruleset, it's advantageous to use Gladius cards to accumulate those Bloodlust.

The strategy is complete with the second healer coming on board. Together with Sola Ranjell, the duo will heal Iziar a total of 8 HP per round.

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• Pre Battle: Both teams came in with their own strategy. My opponent came in with a Earth Magic lineup, and made full use of the Rebirth ruleset by packing 2 cards with Martyr abilities. Let's go!
  

• Round 1: It wasn't easy fighting this Level 1 team because of the double Martyr boosts that their adjacent cards were receiving. Their Hill Giant is dealing 3 damage and their Regal Peryton is dealing 4 damage. Fortunately, Venator Kinjo shielded the hits for my team.
  

• Round 2: Both teams huffed and puffed but both teams were equally strong defensive. It was stalemate in this round and my Iziar looked more and more in danger despite having Void and a heal of 8 HP per round.
  

• Round 3: A little breakthrough in this round as I took down one more card and reduced their damage output. This allowed my two healers some breathing space and the healing is back on track to restore Iziar.
  

• Round 4: I couldn't celebrate because my opponent still had the second Martyr card coming up and the adjacent cards are Goblin Psychic and Regal Peryton!
  

• Round 5: Just as the battle was about to get nervy, Sola Ranjell delivered a double blow and earned two Bloodlust thanks to Blast! 6 Magic damage now!
  

• Round 6: And we were done! My lineup was still as fresh as ever!
  

If you are interested to watch the battle, you can find it here.

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Post Battle

Did my strategy work? This wasn't easy but Venator Kinjo made it very easy for my trio of Iziar/Sola Ranjell/Venari Crystalsmith to execute their strategy. Sola Ranjell getting the Bloodlusts were a bonus and helps to increase the pace to end of the battle.

What's the Battle Mage Secret? If you haven't guessed it (the answer is in the lore!), Venator Kinjo is the monk that eats Blast for breakfast! Hehe!

So that's all I have! What are your takeaways from this battle? Feel free to comment below, as I am always keen to learn and improve!

As always, thanks for reading and have a pleasant day ahead!

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