Hi! I'm EMD012 and here's my one of my battles with the featured monster for this week, Pirate Captain.

INITIAL THOUGHTS
Pirate Captain is a 3-Mana Ranged Monster from the Water Splinter. He has the ability 'Snipe' and also gets the ability 'Inspire' at level 6.
Generally, I haven't been using ranged monsters much. I've been pretty successful with Melee Sneak lineups and Magic lineups as a second choice. That's why I haven't really made a strategy using a core of Ranged Monsters.
Snipe monsters are great when you're expecting your opponents to
THE BATTLE
The battle that I will feature had the following ruleset:
League: Gold
Mana Cap: 36
Active Splinters: All
Close Range: Ranged attacks may be used in the first position in battles.
Healed Out: All healing abilities are removed from Monsters and Summoners.
TEAM COMPOSITION

Selenia Sky:
Because of the 'Close Range' rule, I decided that majority of my line-up can be ranged monsters. That's why the Summoner I used is Selenia Sky, her +1 buff to range attacks is perfect for this match

Djinn Oshannus:
I chose Djinn Oshannus as my tank for this battle because of his high HP and Speed. The plan is for him to absorb the first few attacks while my other Monsters burst down my opponent.

Naga Assassin:
Naga Assassin follows the Djinn and with her high Speed, I'm hoping that she can dodge one or two attacks if needed.

Mantoid:
Mantoid is a 'Snipe' Monster and benefits from Selenia's Buff.

Pirate Captain:
The Pirate Captain is also a 'Snipe' Monster and with Mantoid, I'm hoping they can burst out a few backline Magic/Range Monsters.

Cyclops:
I chose Cyclops because of his high base range attack which will be boosted also by Selenia.

Axemaster:
Axemaster completes my lineup, I like his especially because of his Twin Strike.
BATTLE PROPER
My opponent fielded in a Death line-up with Zintar Mortalis as their summoner. Good thing we don't have a Melee Monster in this battle!
My Mantoid and Pirate Captain snipes off the Venari Bonesmith.
My Axemaster almost falls! Sneaky Skeleton Assassin!
Pirate Captain offs the Haunted Spider.
Victory!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Even though I won this battle, it feels too close for comfort. If I will change something, I would switch the Cyclops and the Axemaster to protect the axemaster from sneaks. Pirate Captain is a good monster for low-mana battles, but generally I will still need to form a strategy with ranged monsters.
THANK YOU FOR READING MY POST
If you're interested in playing Splinterlands, here's my referral link.
Great job! Pirate Captain pairs up better with Selenia Sky than original Blue Summoners, and transforms into an effective sniper. I don't have Selenia so Pirate Captain basically becomes cannon fodder most of the time XD
Yeah, Cyclops is a good shield. It has a literal Shield skill at Level 4. I was looking into the unlocked skills of all monsters recently, and was surprised that there's an excellent neutral ranged tank in Cyclops.

Thanks for the info on Cyclops! Looks like a nice tank vs Snipes or Sneaks.
I just happened to also have a Snipe quest when doing this challenge, that's why I rented a Selenia to make things easier. Haha.
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Thanks for sharing! - @ashikstd

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