Hello everyone! Today I'm gonna talk about the cards in Conclave Arcana that I like the most, in the Life splinter. I already made posts for Fire, Water, and Earth. Life is my favorite splinter in the set, with many interesting synergies and combinations. I'll be using this as my first entry for this week's Splinterlands Social Media Challenge.
Bella Ratajowlski
This is the first time I've included an Archon in my favorites for Conclave Arcana. Deflect for the whole team is great. One of the reasons this was done was because Eternal Tofu, but she's much more than a Tofu counter. Speaking of Tofu, it doesn't exactly get countered by Bella, and it's a mistake to assume it does. She simply takes away part of what makes it amazing, but Tofu still has many other abilities. Meanwhile, Bella only adds one more ability - Shield - and it's just for Ulunds. These Bloodline abilities can be a trap if players force certain units to get the bonus. Let's not forget that Tofu also has access to Earth. What I like about Bella is how great she is in Explosive Weaponry and the Reflect rule sets. Obviously, these Archons get better if there are good Bloodline units. There are four in Life, one in neutral, and four in Water. Let's not forget the three neutral Shapeshifters. Some are better than others, but all Ulunds are at the very least decent cards, which helps Bella become a little better.
Moribund Arrowbait
I'll have to be honest and say that this is the biggest reason Life is my favorite splinter in the set, and it's one of the best cards in the set. She's one of the six cards that had Bloodline Tribute, but she does it better than all others. She's at least equal, or better, in all aspects when compared to the others. She has Bloodline Tribute at level 1, and only one other unit has the same. She's the cheapest mana-wise, equal to two others. She has the least amount of HP, which is great when you want your unit to die fast. She's the only one with two attack types: magic and ranged. This is extremely important. Unlike Martyr, which buffed all attack types of units next to it, Bloodline Tribute only buffs attack types that are shared. HP, speed, and armor still get buffed, but a melee Ulund won't get more attack if Moribund dies. However, I think there's one thing that is even better in Moribund - Rebirth. Ever since Martyr is a thing, it has been a great ability. Quickly, people started using those cards in the Born Again rule set and with Resurrect units to get the most value. You don't need any of that for Moribund Arrowbait. You can certainly use Resurrect to get the buffs for a third time, but you're already getting the effect twice. On top of all of this, among all Bloodlines with Bloodline Tribute, Ulund has the most units, at least in Conclave Arcana, and by far the most units sharing attack types.
Thunderous Herald
I never expected to like this card so much. 6 mana for just 2 magic attack isn't that good. Execute, Relentless Strike, and Enfeeble are nice, but I still don't think they are enough to push the card from niche. It turns out the Ulund Bloodline is worth a lot. Yes, all of these Ulunds are much better because of the Moribund, but that's the beauty of this game. When I was looking at all the cards, before the set came out, Owlkin Geodesist seemed to be so much better, while playing a similar role. They're both magic units in the same splinter and both have Execute and Enfeeble. Owlkin Geodesist has less HP and replaces Relentless Strike for Divine Shield, but it costs 1 less mana and has 1 more attack. But it's not a Ulund, so I have rarely used it while I use the Herald all the time.
Caravan Guard
This one's not a Ulund, but it does a lot for 3 mana. Headwinds, Triage, and Echo to use Triage twice per round is great! I use it pretty often in Tofu line-ups. It's so easy to include in most of them because of its low mana cost and pretty good effect. Sometimes I still use Triage and Scavenger from Tofu, others I can easily pick Divine Shield and Corrosive Ward if it is important, without losing access to Triage. It's also amazing in ranged-only battles.
Calabash Sage
This is another unit that doesn't look very impressive, at first glance. It's 10 mana for a slow Tank Healer. Meriput Magician does the same for half the mana! Both have Shield, so they are more protected from Sneak attacks. But True Strike plus 5 damage has been very valuable. Facing teams with Dodge, Blind, etc., is a common occurrence, and having that certain attack can be the difference between winning and losing. The Ulund tag is still nice. Getting to 7 or 8 damage from Bloodline Tributes is good, but not as valuable as it is for the lower attack units. It already has Shield, so it doesn't need Bella for that.
There are a few more that I like, but I would be repeating myself talking about Mystic Mudbinder. Leolin Sifu is amazing, but I haven't been able to use it to its full potential because I don't own a max-level Elias Max Pruitt. There are a few cards I expected a bit more from, but I haven't used them much: Happy Quokka, Silverleaf Ranger, and Palifala Weslinath. That is everything for Life. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I'll bring another splinter soon!
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