Lone Boatman | Strong Ranged Attacker

in OCD3 years ago

Introduction

This week we look at yet another card – the Lone Boatman. I had been a fan of ranged attackers with two or more attack value from the base level, and the Lone Boatman falls right in that mix. It was and continues to be one of the better cards in the Life Splinter and one of the few to come with a shield. How cool is that?

I am sure a ranged attacker with an attack value of two, armor, and snipe ability is not disliked. It would be one of the monsters going into battle for sure. The only concern that I had back in my early days was that we were spending a lot in mana cost, and yet the Boatman had a health value of just three. Would it be sufficient to stand an attack? That was my concern.

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Despite all my apprehensions, I would see opponent after opponent in the Bronze league bringing the Boatman into battle. The snipe ability unleashed a barrage of attacks on my monsters, and more often than not, I would lose. So, I could see people win with the Boatman, but I did not know how to use it well. ☹

Anyway, let’s look at the Boatman for all that I used it for. But before that, how about we spend a moment knowing what Splinterlands is all about? You will agree with that, won’t you?

So, let’s get going.

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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.

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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 or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of a few of the uber-expensive cards, take a look at this recent purchase of Prince Julian at USD 3500.

Card Purchase Contract: Gold Foil Prince Julian

Did you go to the link and see for yourself? I hope you did. And I hope that gives an overview of the game. I just love the game, and those interested can go to Splinterlands’ site and join. If you want a link to join, I will leave one at the end of the article, which you can use.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

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Lone Boatman | The Ranged Attacker from the Waters

As I mentioned before, Lone Boatman was a card I sought because of the efficacy of my opponents’ strikes when they used that card. I bought it and was glad that I could use it. Early on, my strategies were all wrong around the Boatman, but as I learned and improvised the use, the card did the trick.

More than once, I have noticed the Boatman dodge attacks. Now, it has no such abilities, but it seemed to do that more often. That means, at least in my case, the Boatman comes with additional phantom ability. 😉

Anyway, let’s see the man in battle.

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Lone Boatman in Battle

One of the battles that I recently played was during the Snipe Quest. It fitted at one point to go with the Life Splinter. Since I chose the Life Splinter, then the Boatman was the best choice for the Snipe ability, after all.

But there was a twist. The rule in play had sneak-and-snipe taken out. You can see the 26-mana rule along with the non-availability of legendary monsters. Anyway, I chose to go with my original choice of Life Splinter and taking the Boatman for the quest.

Let’s see how that went.

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The Face-Off

It was a complete coincidence that my opponent and I both chose the Life Splinter and the same summoner. Take a look.

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Further coincidence was the use of the Shieldbearer as the taunting card. That meant most of both our attacks would be towards the Shieldbearer. However, the opponent’s lineup looked solid than mine. Why?

The opponent added the Crystal Werewolf to the lineup, which would depress my magic monsters' attack values. Also, the Divine Healer would lead to the Shieldbearer’s health being replenished more often. That put me a bit on the backfoot. If all this was not enough, the opponent got the Truthspeaker also into the battle. So, additional armor for all his monsters. This made me wonder if I would win. Tough chance!

I had two magic monsters holding fort followed by the Lone Boatman. I was just hoping that my magic monsters would do more damage to the opponent’s Shieldbearer and win somehow. Somehow is the keyword here. 😊

Let’s see the progress.

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Lone Boatman | Unfazed by the Opponent

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After two rounds, the opponent’s Shieldbearer had more shield because of the Truthspeaker, but mine had more health. I guess my magic monsters taking health directly was helping my cause. Most other monsters remained unaffected as the taunting tank was still alive for both of us.

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But what do you know, my Shieldbearer outlasted the opponents. It was simply unimaginable considering that the opponent also had the Divine Healer. Then the opponent’s apparent mistake was visible. He/she did not have enough attack monsters to take my Shieldbearer. I was hoping that this point would help me win.

Let’s see.

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The Battle Races to Conclusion

Soon my Shieldbearer fell too. But my situation wasn’t that bad.

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The Crystal Werewolf was the only tank-cum-attack monster that the opponent had. Should the Werewolf fall, my magic attackers would regain their attack value, and my win from there would be a cakewalk.

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The Werewolf did fall, and the rest of the monsters just fell like pins against my enhanced magic attackers. The Boatman was the most destructive, and once the opponent’s shields were gone, the ranged attacks were lethal.

Thus, I won the battle from the most unlikely position.

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Do I Use the Lone Boatman Often?

The Lone Boatman was my only ranged attacker in the Life Splinter until the Air Elemental, Evangelist, and the Silvershield Sheriff came by. Now each of the mentioned monsters has better health as well as equal or better attack value. So, they became the obvious choice to take into a battle.

The Lone Boatman was still the choice in case of low mana battles. However, in such cases, too, my choice would be to take the Boatman or a magic attacker. So, at the moment, I am spoiled for choice.

Earlier, though, the Boatman was a dependable companion.

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How Does the Lone Boatman Level Up?

The Lone Boatman is one of the few monsters that get three abilities by the time it is leveled up to the max. Have a look.

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The Lone Boatman gets “Repair” ability at Level 5 and “Shatter” at Level 10. That’s a lot of ability for just one card. In other words, the Boatman will not only repair friendly monsters’ armor, but it will also destroy the enemy monster’s armor. That’s a double whammy for the opponent.

The Boatman also gets a perk up in its attack value to three, and speed increases to four. Armor too witnesses an enhancement, but the health does not grow as much. The max health that the Boatman gets is just four. So, would I take it to the battle when I have a choice of maxed out Air Elemental or Evangelist or the Silvershield Archer? I am not sure.

However, where rules like “armor” are in play, the Boatman is a good ally. Especially if the health-equalizer is also in play, such a game cannot overlook the Boatman.

So, yes, there are conditions when you would want the Boatman by your side.

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Lone Boatman | A Ranged Attacker With A Lot of Promise

The Boatman is good when you are starting or when the rules are conducive for ranged attackers. The only drawback is its health. If neutralized by the health-equalizer rule, then the Boatman is quite strong and overbearing on the opponent.

While the Boatman is not the automatic choice for every battle, there are those few which you wouldn’t enter without the Boatman. In such cases, thumbs up to the Boatman! 😊

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Want to Join Splinterlands?

You can click below and follow the link. All the best!

JOIN SPLINTERLANDS

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands

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Few Gaming-cum-earning sites

Splinterlands || Drugwars || Holybread

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Thanks for sharing! - @ashikstd

What a fantastic battle post it is!
Well done on the battlefield as well.
Keep on battling.

Thank you! 😊