"Try to Remain Neutral" Opinions on the NEUTRAL Chaos Legion cards Pre-General Sale

in Splinterlands3 years ago

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It's about 7 days until the General sale, and oh, wow, there are 7 Splinters; weird.

Let start today off with a talk about my opinions, thus far, on playing with the CL Cards, how I feel about them in both a Modern and Wild context as well as some, small, opinions on the lore and art; We'll start off with the Neutrals, where, bonus, I will include my favorite Splinters to use each with, and a few cards that synergize nicely with them.

Consider these tiny little analysis pieces on these CL cards and how I think they'll do in each meta.

"Try to Remain Neutral" LEGENDARIES


LEGENDARIES


DOCTOR BLIGHT | Pre-Sale Promo | Legendary

Doctor Blight is a very powerful card; you receive him from ordering packs during Phase I of the pre-sale, and he is a Little League magic attacker with Affliction and Camouflage. He quickly ramps up as he levels, gaining Poison and Scavenger. Many players will not have him, or will need to rent him, but he's a great card to start with on the Chaos Legion Neutrals:
  • Doctor Blight pairs very nicely with Obsidian, Delwyn and Alric as they make him much more lethal.
  • Doctor Blight is extremely powerful in Little League and Reverse Speed Rulesets
  • Doctor Blight pairs very nicely with the Death Splinter for debuffs, and is good for countering a Heal heavy Life, Earth, or Water Comp
  • This is an easy card: Doctor Blight will be quite usable in Modern and Wild formats; performing the same role very nicely thanks to his Camouflage Ability.

I'm a fan of Doctor Blight's Lore and Art, who wouldn't be. I happen to really dig Plague Doctors, and the eerie purple lighting and the detail in his skull staff really seal the deal. If I were to complain a little, it would simply be this: He's a little 'plain' of a Plague Doctor, and there's not a lot on the card itself that suggests his mutations or insane powers.

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LEGIONNAIRE ALVAR | Chaos Legion | Legendary

Legionnaire Alvar I've only played with a bit, but he is absolutely wild. Starting with extremely powerful defensive abilities and Void Armor, he ramps up quickly with abilities like Giant Killer, Demoralize, and Deathblow. This cements him into an Anti-Melee / Anti-Magic role that absolutely *decimates* High Mana targets and Last Stand targets; At Max Level, against a Last Stand Kron, Legionnaire Alvar hits for 12 Melee Damage, and his armor just eats a ton of magic damage.
  • I like to utilize Alvar with Kelya, Kitty, Lir, and Mylor, as they enhance his defensive tanking capabilities in a myriad of different ways.
  • Alvar pairs nicely with Scavo Hireling, Merdaali Guardian, and other units with Repair
  • I prefer Djinn Muirat to Alvar in situations where I am using Death with a similar need.
  • Alvar is of course, great in Armored, Melee Only and Melee Attacks from Anywhere

Alvar's Art is freaking cool; He looks like he's waiting to behead somebody while some all-powerful judge decides some poor soul's fate; He also kind of looks like when those Cartoon Football players in tons of shows would "Get Serious" / "Get Angry". I'm sure you can imagine what I'm talking about.

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EPICS


GEM METEOR | Chaos Legion | Epic

He was king of the Neutrals during the test server, where he had higher damage and had Blast. (An ability, which appears to be far undervalued in the balancing spreadsheet, as evidenced by Yodin and Gem Meteor in their original state). He had his damage nerfed a bit, and blast was replaced with Piercing, and how the mighty have fallen.
  • Gem Meteor is quite useful with Sloan, bringing its damage up to make it quite dangerous. This means it's also great with Selenia Sky, Yodin, and Prince Rennyn as well.
  • Gem Meteor is much more niche than the other cards on the list in my opinion, and might actually be, for me, the most underwhelming epic due to its high mana cost, low damage, and lack of abilities until Piercing.
  • As a Neutral, he will still see a lot of use, but I think he's a niche pick for +1 Range summoners.

Gem Meteor is one of the stranger cards of the bunch art wise; He's such a detailed face/hands that slowly changes into geometric crystals. I love the color and his glittery tail that resembles a cold comet. Absolutely awesome, weird, but awesome.

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MAGI OF CHAOS | Chaos Legion | Epic

The Magi of Chaos, actually one of my more used Epics across all Splinters; he's a really solid generalist pick for a LOT of comps if you need a bit of magic; and is basically a Tortisian Chief lv. 2. He gains a lot of Magic damage as he levels, and Oppress.
  • Obviously great with Delwyn, Obisidian, and Alric. His usefulness goes beyond that as a strong magic pick for almost any composition that needs it.
  • I like to pair Magi of Chaos with a Protect and Repair set of monsters, which makes him extremely threatening and difficult to burst down.
  • Magi of Chaos is a very potent magic attack in mid mana situations, and especially enhances Wild format, where Delwyn gets a much needed boost to All Splinters
  • I like to use him in Blast, Equalizer, and Reverse Speed rulesets most.

I LOVE Magi of Chaos' smug ****ing face. Look at this man. He is better than you in everyway, when you see him on the battle field, he's shouting out cheeky insults, probably in an Irish or Scandinavian accent and he's flippin' the bird as he blasts you with explosive magic.

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RARES

XENITH ARCHER | Chaos Legion | Rare

I don't dislike Xenith Archer; but she is my least favorite of the Rare Neutrals. That being said, she is one of my most used modern cards, and one of the ones I am happiest to have as a Gold Foil.
  • Pairs excellently with Selenia Sky, Prince Rennyn, Yodin, and Sloan
  • One of, if not the most versatile Neutral of Chaos Legion aside from Chaos Agent; She can be played with any team and fits into almost any composition well.
  • Perfect for Low Mana compositions; She really enhances the Wild and Modern format ranged teams nicely, and offers damage variety and decent health for her mana cost.
  • I use her in Low Mana, as well as in Blast, Equalizer, and Reverse Speed rulesets most. That's right, same as Magi of Chaos. In fact, many times I use them together if mana allows.

For me, Xenith Archer is definitely one of the prettier cards; The colors are a really good combo, and I love the painterly style, paired with the stark glow of her rune-like tatoos. I like the creativity here compared to older cards, like, say, Highland Archer.

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XENITH MONK | Chaos Legion | Rare

This card is *extremely* relevant to Bronze and Silver matchups; Getting a NEUTRAL Heal Tank at Level 2 is absolutely fantastic, and really gives a lot of options for players now, who are priced out of cards like Cerberus, Flesh Golem, and Haunted Spirit. Xenith Monk doesn't kick *any* of these cards out of their role, but instead does a good job as a discount substitute on a budget.
  • Pairs excellently with Kitty, Kelya, and Tarsa
  • This card won't be used every round, or even a lot of rounds; Many splinters have better tanks for most situations, but he DOES fill out some absolutely crucial weaknesses in each Splinter.
  • Xenith Monk pairs nicely with Kelya or Protect and Repair
  • I use Xenith Monk wherever some additional sustain is needed, this usually means during Earthquake and Poison rounds.

Xenith Monk loses a lot of that painterly feel, and goes straight into hard edges and neon tattoos; a different vibe on the same tribe/card and the stylistic choices of the artist show through. I prefer Xenith Archer overall, for its softer shading and glow, but Xenith Monk really shows how different artists represent different cards of the same tribe/clan.

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VENARI SPELLSMITH | Chaos Legion | Rare

My LEAST USED Rare so far; Yeah, I know, that's insane, but it is what it is. I still think this card is one of the bigger game changers for the Neutrals, but outside of Mylor and Owster, who I rarely use as of late, I tend to use the other Amplify cards, OR skip them altogether.
  • Pairs excellently with Mylor, Owster, and Obsidian/Alric/Delwyn
  • His presence alone can really enhance battles; Failed Summoner and Centauri Mage and Mylor become lethal with this guy.
  • You really need a decent amount of abilities to capitalize on its Amplify, and the card is very underwhelming before it gains Amplify.
  • I use him against Queen Mycelia or Truthspeaker users, or in Blast, Equalizer, and Reverse Speed

Look at all tha color and stuff going on, this artist is sleek, he/she represents shadows and folds starkly, with these sharp cuts of yellow and gold. This definitely gives vibes straight out of a comic book and I dig it. I can see the Western comic influences dripping off the card.

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COMMONS


DISINTEGRATOR | Chaos Legion | Common

One of those cards that is horribly niche; but also horribly good. You'll see this guy in almost every Melee Only matchup or Super Sneak matchup you can imagine; His mana cost for Demoralize is fairly good, and he's a solid attacker in these situations.
  • Pairs excellently with Tarsa, and Kitty, Kitty for +2 Speed and True Strike.
  • This card won't be used every round, or even a lot of rounds; Many splinters have better tanks for most situations, but he is an absolute must in Melee-Only. There's two rules for Melee-Only: Have Mylor, and use Disintegrator. Expect to lose otherwise. (You can still win! just expect the loss.)
  • Like I said before, Distintegrator is for your melee picks: Melee Attacks From Anywhere, Melee Only, No Range + Lost Magic, Super Sneak, etc. etc.

Disintegrator is, not the best card to look at. There's nothing wrong with his art, he is just a rather grotesque, muscley, mechanical aberration. His weird shoulder mufflery shoots off steam, and he appears to be some sort of heavily augmented creature: What was he originally? Will we ever see a card (or maybe skin?) of the original, unaugmented creature? Who knows!

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SUPPLY RUNNER | Chaos Legion | Common

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Supply Runner is pretty underwhelming initially; That is, until he gets Swiftness, and suddenly he is usable in SO many compositions.
  • Initially, only really useful with Selenia, Rennyn, Sloan, and Yodin but with Swiftness, he becomes quite useful with Kelya, Kitty, and Brighton Bloom especially, but becomes a solid pick for almost any Splinter.
  • This is still a niche card; He's a lot of mana for what is essentially a non-snipe Mantoid, but his Swiftness ability changes things up quickly.
  • Supply Runner is a pretty general use card; Instead of recommending Rulesets, I'm going to suggest Rulesets NOT to use him in: Poison and Earthquake will eat through him quickly, Reverse Speed makes him slow, and nerfs your team if he has swiftness; and Armored Up makes his ranged attacks take longer to start hitting through your opponents.

Supply Runner is wild, this man is absolutely crazy. Do they put their Supply Runners on Meth? Does he just run forever. Is this Runner's High? Whatever it is, I'm crossing the street when I see this man; he's either asking me for Meth or Money, and I know I can't out-run him.

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CHAOS AGENT | Chaos Legion | Common

As a 1 Mana Neutral, Chaos Agent is about the #1 Card you should want as a Gold Foil, short of the 0 Mana Fiends and Chicken; You will be raking in that 10% GF Bonus on nearly every battle! Chaos Agent gains Evasion AND Phase as he levels, becoming a Generalist dodge card for all Splinters!
  • Pairs excellently with Kelya, Kitty, Drake of Arnak, basically anything that grants Armor or Speed to make you Dodge more or block more.
  • You can (and probably will) use Chaos Agent in nearly every battle, and especially low mana battles. He's an extra body for your opponent to chew through, and after level 2, an evasive body to chew through.
  • Chaos Agent can be used in Anything. The only time I don't recommend him is in Poison/Earthquake, and even then, throw him in with a 0 mana to boost your Scavenger! Seriously, Chaos Agent is an ultimate generalist; there is always a use for him. The one exception may be extremely high, like 60+ Mana battles, where you are likely to have more than 1 mana leftover.

Not gunna lie; Chaos Agent makes me think of Thanos wearing a cloak; Like, Thanos became a farmer and went into hiding and wears a cloak and haggles with folks for cabbages and tomatoes at the farmer's market every Sunday type shit. He no longer wants to destroy the universe, just get Tomatoes for a fair value.

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SCAVO HIRELING | Chaos Legion | Common

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THE undisputable champion of Neutral Chaos Legion cards; I don't care what you say; Scavo is the best: Art 10/10, Meta Relevance 10/10, Usability 10/10, Level Up Stats 10/10. This thing, this cute-ugly thing, gains Camouflage and Slow, and becomes one of the best Repair supports in the game, mana for mana.
  • SUPER useful, use him with Tarsa and Forgotten One/Lava Launcher, use him with Kelya or Drake of Arnak, use him with Truthspeaker or Queen Mycelia or Venari Wavesmith. Now pair him with Alvar, Djinn Muirat, even Frost Lion
  • There is no niche here: If Earth is down and your opponent doesn't have Alric or Delwyn, consider this... ratty boi.
  • Best in Armored Up and Fog of War Rulesets. Also very good in Magic Hits Armor rulesets, but Do NOT use in Unprotected or Opportunity (without Camouflage).

The best; Look at this thing, I can't tel if I love it cuz it's absolutely ugly, or if I love it cuz it's absolutely cute. Look at it eating an apple. This thing; This thing needs to die if it's on my opponent's side, I want it dead ASAP.

Likewise, if it's on my side; LIVE YOU GLORIOUS RATVENTURER, LIVE. Earn your Apple as payment!!

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Who's your favorite Neutral Chaos Legion card?

Let me know in the comments below!

My favorites are Scavo Hireling, Legionnaire Alvar, and Xenith Archer. I also plan to get a Gold-Foil of Scavo Hireling and Chaos Agent ASAP, for 10-20% Bonus DEC in any match!

Surpise Giveaway: One of you who comments will be receiving a Copy of Scavo Hireling and Chaos Agent to celebrate these Neutral Monsters and the upcoming General Sale; Be sure to check back each day for the next piece on each Splinter, and possibly some additional surprise giveaways!!

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𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕌𝕡 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨!

Wanna collect these and MANY more Neutral cards? join Splinterlands and Get in on the Neutral cards while they're cheap, buy the Chaos Legion Packs for General Sale on January 19th!

if you use my link, here:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=jakkal
I'll send you 100 DEC when you sign up and get a spellbook, (as long as you show up as referred) which should help you get started via renting! Also, feel free to message me, I can answer any questions, give tips, etc.

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Hello friend! That's a fantastic post congratz! Directly upvoted. I also wrote a post today about how much I do love Scavo https://www.splintertalk.io/@beffeater/chaos-legion-dinamics-evolution-scavo Take care!

My favorite are Scavo Hireling, Magi of Chaos and Doctor Blight (and Xenith Monk when I get at least a level 2 of him).

Xenith Monk is like a less beautiful but totally amazing Cerberus 😍

Idk if I have the !PIZZA for this but we'll see >:D

Cerberus is too cute; here have a different Cerberus as well :D

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I would love to point out that Legionnaire Alvar is an ABSOLUTE BEAST (just like Muirat) if combined with Resurrect, Because of Void Armor, he will always have the extra 9 points of health through his Shield.

Pairing him with Chanseus, River Hellondale or Adelade can be such a pain for the opponent.

I completely forgot about Resurrect; Great comment on him, he's such a monster!

The Armor w/ Resurrect; oof He's such a good pick for Life and Water, you're right;

Maybe even in Earth, with Grog; though you'd have to protect his royal squishiness from getting one shot immediately by a snipe or blast.

Congratulations, you won this giveaway, is your IGN mezume as well?

I'll be sending you a Scavo Hireling and a Chaos Agent!

!PIZZA

Alvar is definitely a beast and good with resurrecting just like other cards with Void Armor.

I love Void Armor; Believe it or not, Frost Lion is such an awesome card cuz of it

This expansion gave us some really great Void Armor tanks to show what the ability can REALLY do >:D

!PIZZA

I definitely agree.

I definitely think that pound for pound(mana for mana) Scavo Hireling is one of the top cards released in chaos legion for what it brings to so many teams in lower leagues. I think the key there is lower league as once you reach high level play it is usually in over its head although can still be useful! IGN @brojustaverage

100% Agree! I think he really starts to struggle in Gold league; His Camouflage is a much needed ability there, but after that, he starts to get shoved out by other cards with absolutely stacked abilities

!PIZZA

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I quite like the Monk for his healing capabilities at a low level.

Thanks for the hidden giveaway!
I adore the chaos agent, so usefull in a lot of situations!
Ign:@stekene

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thanks for the giveaway
@henruc

I've been getting a lot out of a renter Alvar. He can pair with Tarsa and protect from magic. Thanks for the post and the giveaway. Please include me. @squishna

For me, I'd say my just used card is Disintegrator. There's a lot of power in melee and he definitely takes some if the edge off.
@theacks