Paths to power: Understanding the basics

I joined Splinterlands not too long ago and so far, it has been fun. I've had several battle victories and have been making progress. I would like to share what has been helping me succeed so far.

One thing that really helped me is learning the basics. I understood what Melee, Magic and ranged attacks were all about. I also understood very well where such monsters would thrive and where they wouldn't thrive in battle.

For instance, I learnt that melee monsters are better suited in the first position and sometimes they are good in the second position. Putting a melee monster in other positions is usually not productive because it won't attack.

The exception to this is if the melee monster has special abilities like reach, opportunity, sneak and others. These abilities will enable such monster to attack from other positions that are not the first position.

Ranged monsters are better from the back of the line. That's their ideal position. The reason is because ranged monsters can't attack from the first position.

Also, if you put them closer to that position, they become ineffective when the unit in front of them gets eliminated and they have to occupy that position quickly.

In most of my battles, I have put ranged units at the back and they performed good. They do their damage better from there. There are of course exceptions, and that has to do with abilities. Certain abilities enable ranged monsters to attack from any position.

Magic monsters can occupy and attack from any position. This is why they are valuable. You don't have to start worrying so much about their positioning and effectiveness.

Knowing how to fit these categories of monsters into my squad and taking advantage of their strengths had added to my success so far. Not having this basic knowledge would lead to one putting monsters in places where they can't do anything to impact the battle.

Another important thing I learnt which helped me grow is the place of armor, health, speed and attacking power in battle. Taking health for example. I consider health when looking for a monster for my first position. Units in that position need to have a good amount of health. This is because attack usually starts from the first position, so the first unit comes under a lot of enemy attacks.
I also try to make sure that I put the units with more health in front of those with lesser health. This is in order to shield those ones deficient in health so they are not eliminated quickly.

Armor plays a crucial role too. If a unit has some armor and some good health, I use it in my first position. That's some extra protection. For melee attacks and ranged attacks, armors are very useful.

Units with higher attack power will always do more damage. More attention should be paid to them.

When it comes to speed, I feel like people underrate it, but it can be a decider. When a unit with lesser speed attacks a unit with a much higher speed, there's a greater chance that the attacking unit will miss that attack. Imagine how decisive this can be when it happens severally during a battle.

Ultimately, all of these things discussed here come together to decide battle outcomes. The kind of monster, the health, the armor, the speed, they all combine to determine where a unit would be better placed, how easily it would be eliminated and how influential it would be in battle.

It's obvious that having this basic knowledge gives a massive edge. It has been helping me get better and I believe it's the foundation of rising to power on Splinterlands.