Hello! For this week I'd like to share my weekly battle showcasing Stone Golems's utility at Level 1 in the Bronze / Silver League.

For the mana cost, Stone Golem might seem an unlikely option, given his damage output is only 1 melee. However, in low mana battles, he serves as a great tank because of his Shield ability. When paired with a healer (see my match below), it's an unbreakable wall.

Battle Preview

Link to the battle here!

Ruleset & Strategy

In this battle, we have Armored Up. Now normally the best choice for this ruleset (the "cheese" choice) is to go magic spam. However, with only 13 mana and seeing that my opponent isn't playing Kelp Initiate or Venari Wavesmith (insta win combo at that mana, but that's another story), I took my chances to play the Earth Splinter. Mylor Crowling with Armored Up is a good option, since when melee attackers hit the armor, they'll still get hit with Thorns damage.

Round 1

When the opponent put up Serpent of the Eld and Crustacean King, I Immediately realized two things.

1. I will not win this fight quickly.
2. I will win this fight eventually.

Serpent of Eld's Dodge ability and speed advantage makes it a very difficult target to hit, but because he is a melee attacker, I'm pretty sure Thorns damage will eat him up eventually.

Round 2

At the start of Round 2, it seems like only armor was damaged from the first round. Wood Nymph's magic damage goes through armor, but Crustacean King negates that 1 damage, no problem. So now on to the next round.

Round 3

Armor from both monsters now gone, so I guess this is where the REAL battle begins.

Round 4

After the last round, we have a NET 2 damage to Serpent of Eld after calculating Thorns and magic damage. If Stone Golem ever misses his attack, the round will end with a NET 1 damage. As long as I outdamage him with Thorns, I will eventually win.

Round 5

Now at this point we've taken care of the Serpent of Eld before it could get a heal in, so now it's just really a matter of time. C. King is just waiting for his armor to be broken, little by little, like cracking his shell right before eating all the yummy meat inside (ok I got hungry while writing, sorry.)

Round 6 / 7 / Cleanup

Each round, I end up taking 1 Armor away, thanks to all the all-mighty punch of the Stone Golem. You'd really think at this point he'd just punch through the shell of a tiny crab but no...

Last two hit-combo from the Wood Nymph and the Golem and it's GG.

Final Thoughts

I'd say that Stone Golem has its uses, but it wouldn't be my first go-to in an Armored Up ruleset. He would work better in a Mylor team with Super Sneak or Up Close and Personal, where melee monsters would have to go through his Shield before getting through to the rest of your back line. His major weakness is magic damage of course, but I'm sure you spend time reading your opponents plays to know when not to use him. 😅

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I sincerely hope this helps you enjoy the game more and appreciate its depth and strategy. 😁

Good luck, and may your rewards chests always contain gold foil legendaries.

@cutedawako

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