Introduction

When I started playing Splinterlands, there weren’t many monsters that I could take into battle and win in the Water Splinter. It took me a while to learn about the Sea Monster and the others that came as Starter cards. But in the case of medium to high mana battle, the attacks of few monsters wouldn’t work, and we would need more arsenal at our disposal. I was still getting to know the abilities at that time, and “reach” was one of the earliest abilities that I learned.

Having learned the ability, I realized that the Electric Eels were one of the best cards in the Water Splinter at the second position. Remember, I am talking about the time I was just about starting with Splinterlands, and I did not have many dependable cards. The Electric Eels and the Sea Monster soon became my dependable cards in the Water Splinter. And it was hardly ever that I was disappointed.

But it was not just the ability that attracted me to the card but also a few of its stats. For example, a beginner has only a few cards with higher health for the monster's mana cost, and the Electric Eel is one of them. For a mana cost of four, it has a health of five. That was a big thing when playing in the small leagues.

Well, it did have its misses, but it was too small to bother me. What were the misses, you ask? Well, when put against opponent’s tanks like the Living Lava, which takes reduced damage from the melee attacker, the Electric Eels don't match up. The base card with an attack value of one has zero impact on the Living Lava. Like I said, such scenarios were few and far.

So, let’s get to know the Electric Eels a bit more. But before that, how about we get to know Splinterlands first. After all, we’ve got to know where to find the Electric Eels. 😊

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game relatively late, I should have had gotten going early in hindsight. Anyway, no need to despair. There are so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments that you can play or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of how lucky you can get in Splinterlands - read my story of getting cards worth $327 for buying few packs worth $20 only.

Got Cards Worth $327 for $20

And this is just a small number. I have witnessed people getting uber-expensive cards in their pack and selling it for as high as $6500. This means the game has interested buyers for your cards too. In fact, there is a whole Splinterlands marketplace.

Now, if all that interests you and you want to try out the game, then I am leaving a link below for you to join.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Electric Eels | Effective Second Position Monster

There are more reasons to take the Eels to battle. Their higher health means that it can be positioned in the second spot and effectively take attacks from Snipe monsters. That is one of the issues with Snipe monsters. They usually go for the second spot, and with the Eels defending that spot, we are good, at least for few rounds. The higher health helps.

One of the main reasons for me liking the card was its effectiveness in battle. It was a sure thing that I would win if the Eels were on my side. That said, I’ve got to admit that I didn’t have many choices at the beginning. And now, when I have choices, I am using the Eels that much lesser. But nothing takes away the fact that it was one of my trusted generals once upon a time. 😊

Let’s get in a battle to see how the Eels perform.

The Electric Eels in Battle

As I mentioned before, I haven’t been using the Eels too often in the recent past and so am a bit rusty in their use. Here is one battle where I chose to use the card.

Taking the Eels into a blast battle could be counterproductive. Why? Because if the enemy’s attack on the tank is unrelenting, then the Eels would be gone even before they got to attack. But anyway, let’s test them and see how they hold up.

The other factor for choosing the Eels for this battle is that the rule prohibits Legendary and Epic monsters. This means the heavy gunners won’t be there, and thereby it would be a decent battle to test the Eels.

The Face-Off

At the face-off screen, my heart sank. Remember me telling how the Eel would be ineffective against the Living Lava. Well, we have the Living Lava in the opponent’s lineup. But still, let’s see how things would go. Anyway, there are no prizes for guessing that I had used the Water Splinter while the opponent chose the Fire Splinter. We will get a better understanding as we take a closer look at both the lineups. So, let’s go.

We will start with the opponent’s lineup.

Summoner: Malric Inferno | Fire Splinter | Increases the melee attack value of all friendly monsters by one

Monsters:

Position 1: Living Lava | A melee attacker with an attack value of three. It also has the ability to take reduced damage from the opponent’s melee and ranged attackers.

Position 2: Fineas Rage | A melee attacker with an attack value of two. It has the reach ability.

Position 3: Fire Elemental | Ranged Attacker with an attack value of two. It has the blast ability, which in this battle is irrelevant as all the monsters get blast ability.

Position 4: Ettin Spearman | Ranged attacker with an attack value of three. It also has the piercing ability.

Position 5: Mantoid | Ranged attacker with an attack value of two.

Position 6: Efreet Elder | Magic Attacker with an attack value of one. It comes with a last-stand ability.

That’s a formidable lineup considering the current rules. Anyway, let’s look at my lineup.

Let’s look at my team.

Summoner: Alric Inferno | Water Splinter | Increases the magic attack value of friendly monsters by one.

Monsters:

Position 1: Sea Monster | Melee attacker with an attack value of four. It also has self-healing ability.

Position 2: Electric Eels | Our champion melee attackers with an attack value of one.

Position 3: Demented Shark | Melee attack monster with an attack value of one. It also increases all friendly melee attack monsters’ attack value by one.

Position 4: Prismatic Energy | Magic attack monsters with an attack value of one. It also has the reflect-ability, reflecting magic attacks from opponents.

Position 5: Sea Genie | Magic attack monster with an attack value of two.

Position 6: Captain’s Ghost | Magic attack monster with an attack value of two. It also has the affliction ability.

I’ve got to admit that the opponent’s lineup looks stronger just by the fact that they have faster monsters as compared to mine. Meaning they would wreak more damage before I could even counterattack. Anyway, let’s see.

On to the battle.

The Battle Gets Intense

Well, my fears about the opponent’s monsters’ speed came true.

There was an unabated attack on the Sea Monster, and the Eels were taking the brunt too. Only because of my magic attackers was there hope that I could pull back things.

But I was wrong. While the Magic attackers did take out the Living Lava, it was not enough to save my Sea Monster and Electric Eels. They both perished at the same time. So, our champion could not see us through. Now it was to see if I stood a chance to win the battle.

The Battle Races to Conclusion

Well, any hopes of winning the battle were fading faster than my hope. The remaining monsters on my side weren’t high on health, while the opponent still had monsters in full strength. Agreed all of them were ranged attackers, but their attack value was too strong for my monsters to survive. Not to mention the Efreet Elder with the last-stand ability still alive. ☹

The going wasn’t too good after that. In another round, both my monsters were done and dusted off, and I lost the battle.

While the battle does not quite bring out what the Electric Eels could do, but at least it gives us an idea. To stand there for half a round of blast attack is no easy stuff. Imagine the game without the blast attack. The outcome could have been very different.

Do I Use the Electric Eels Often?

At one point, there were hardly any Water Splinter battles without the Electric Eels. The fact that they cost just four mana made them useful for the mini-monster battles too. I mean, the battles where monsters above four mana cost weren’t allowed. So, the Eels were quite versatile and fit in quite well.

But as I got to play more and more in the game, I got stronger cards that I could use in battle. Besides, with Alric as the summoner, I preferred to take magic monsters into battle than melee ones. That, too, changed the way I battled with the Water Splinter. That is the only reason not to use the Electric Eels.

Even today, if there are battles where no magic monsters are allowed and if I have to use the Water Splinter, I go for the Eels.

Where Else Do The Electric Eels Fit In?

One of the natural battles where the Eels fit in is the mini-monster rule. They fit in quite easily and are one of the best health ones. Besides, the Health Equalizer rule is another one where they play quite well. Imagine a game with minimal mana cap, and you can take the Eels into such battles with a health increase. How would that be? Cool, I am sure.

Besides, rules like opportunity, sneak, and others also help the Eels to perform more than its traditional ability to attack only from the second position. There are many more scenarios where the Eel could fit in, especially if it is clubbed with the Demented Shark. The Demented Shark enhances the Eels attack value, and that is good. 😊

How Do the Electric Eels Level Up?

The leveling up makes the Electric Eels quite a potent force.

The impressive thing is that from level five onwards, the Electric Eels get the blast ability. That would be quite impressive for the Eels. There aren’t many monsters in the Water Splinter having the blast ability. So, this one is welcome.

Also, the Eel’s speed increases to six, health improves to seven, and its attack value goes up to three. Remember, all this for a mana cost of four. So, the Eel packs quite a punch as it levels up. Such a leveled-up card would be unbeatable in the mini-monster rule.

How would a leveled-up Electric Eel work out along with the Demented Shark? It would be mind-boggling for sure. 😊

The Electric Eels | Dependable But In Limited Scenarios

This is only my opinion when I say that the Electric Eels have limited use. They have limited use for me, but I have seen battles where I face the Eels, and they win. The leveled-up Eel would be a terrible thing to face. In fact, in such battles, we would have hoped that the Eels could have fought from our side. 😊

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands