Documenting my Splinterlands Knowledge - Rebellion Reward Cards Review: Commons Part 1

Hello there.

I delayed it for a while, but I am now finally starting my review of the Rebellion Reward cards. One of the reasons for the delay is the numerous updates and changes that the team has released these past few days/weeks. Another big reason is because I am still trying to familiarize myself with the cards and see how they work with the meta and my strategies.

There wasn't much happening with the game this past week [except for the voucher bug issue], so this is as good time as any to do this review. I will be going through the cards via rarity; Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. I will first discuss the cards objectively, looking at the stats and abilities, and eventually on what teams it can work with. I usually play up to Silver level cards so I'll be looking at them from that perspective, but I'll also share my thoughts on their max level versions.

Drybone Hobgoblin

Drybone Hobgoblin is a 4 Cost Fire monster. Even at level 1 it already has the Reach and Immunity abilities. It gets the Shatter ability at level 8. Because of the reach and immunity, I think this card can easily see a lot of uses especially during little league and noxious fumes rulesets. It also helps that it has good HP and Speed even at lower levels. It is good to use with Tarsa because it has a bit of low damage. But it can still work with Jacek because of its high speed that can make the opponents miss.

I do think it gets more viable when it is level 5+ when its attack becomes 2. There is a high chance of it facing an Antoid Platoon, and having 2-3 attack instead of 1-2 can make a difference against the Shield ability. The Max level card gets more use because of the combination of high speed and shatter. Imagining this hitting monsters like Grum that really value their armor can be devastating. Its stats isn't that bad for a cheap secondary tank as well.

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Chaos Evoker

Chaos Evoker is a 7 cost Fire monster. This card is rather interesting since it has the 2 magic damage and Blast ability at level 1, although it starts out at 2 HP. It gets the Ambush at level 5, and the Dodge at level 10. I do think that the ordering of the last 2 abilities should have been the other way around. Ambush provides a big damage spike, while getting the Dodge when it already has 7 HP isn't that big of a deal. I'm not complaining since getting the big power spike early is good for me. Because of the Blast, this works well with Jacek's scattershot, and the Ambush makes it even better. I wouldn't be surprised if a few low HP monsters die before the end of round 1.

Unfortunately its low HP makes it difficult to use in low level. I think they balanced it well by making it a glass canon early on. Personally, I tried using it but I find it hard to use outside of high mana or equalizer rulesets. I still have a level 2 which only has 3 HP so that explains it a bit. I think it is more viable at level 5 when it gets the ambush. As for the max level, I do think it is a bit low damage for 7 mana. Maybe it can work with Lorkus, since it goes to 3 damage, which makes a big difference for the blast damage.

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Giant Alpine Skink

Giant Alpine Skink is an 8 cost Water monster. It has 3 melee and the Shield ability at level 1. I can't help but think it is a better version of the Grimbardun Fighter at low levels. It gets the Phase at level 5, and Stun at level 10. I think the abilities work well with its stats since it has high speed even early on. It will obviously work well with Kelya, but I think it works well with Possibilus and Aquatus too. I think the Stun is good to have, but needing level 10 for it makes it just a nice to have.

I actually think it doesn't need to go higher than level 6 where it gets its speed to 5. It just gets a little more HP and armor after that. Overall, I think it is a solid card. It can't outdamage Diemonshark, but it can be a very flexible tank that can deal with all attack types. Unfortunately, it being in the same set as Commander Slade can put it down a notch in a lot of scenarios.

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Mar Toren Trader

Mar Toren Trader is a 3 cost Water monster. It has the 2 range attack at level 1 but gets the Headwinds at level 4, and Heal at level 10. Another interesting monster that already has its max attack at level 1. This reminds me of the Naga Windmaster, but with its low attack and Heal, I think it is a rather niche card to use, mostly in Going the Distance ruleset, and Little League at max level. I think it can be used in lower leagues because it is a cheap 2 damage monster with headwinds. But in higher league, its stats and abilities can be a bit weak. It can work well with Prophet Rosa's increased range damage, or a Shield target. I will probably be just after its Headwind, so I will be ok with it staying at level 4.

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Halaran Huntress

Halaran Huntress is a 4 cost Earth monster. It has 2 damage, Flying, and Charge at level 1 which is insane to me. It gets the Snare ability at level 5. Apart from it being really good at level 1, I do think its level progression is better than others. It gets up to 3 damage at level 7, and 4 damage at level 10. I honestly think it is already viable at level 1, the higher levels just make it better. It has a really good set of abilities with it being able to attack from the backline and being able to counter other flying monsters with snare. I think this card is a must have. It is easy to slot in a lot of teams and its only downside is that it doesn't synergize with a lot of Earth summoners.

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Blackmoor Wild Elf

Blackmoor Wild Elf is a 5 cost Earth monster. It has 2 damage and Camouflage at level 1, gets Amplify at level 2, and Cripple at level 10. I think the team made a mistake when they made this card get the Amplify at level 2. Since it stays at 2 damage even at max level, I don't really see any point in getting it any higher than level 2 unless you want the Cripple. Since it also has Camouflage, the additional HP in higher levels isn't that important. Sure it can be killed by scattershot, but that is just RNG.

In lower league, I think this is cheap 2 magic damage that works well with Obsidian. In higher league the Cripple can see some good use to compensate for its low attack. I have a level 2, and I find myself using it as a fill monster because of its 2 magic, camouflage, and amplify. It is a safe and good consistent damage, and the amplify can take opponents by surprise in some rulesets.

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Final Thoughts

These are a good mix of cards. I think Blackmoor and Mar Toren are really good beginner cards due to their power and cost. I'm surprised that only Mar Toren has no ability at level 1, and some even had 2. I really like that a lot of the cards get their ability at level 5 which is the upper limit for Silver. I did notice that a lot of the cards don't need to get to max level to reach their potential. Some of them just get nice to have abilities like Stun and Dodge that don't really affect their gameplay much. I think Halaran is the best of the bunch, with Alpine and Blackmoor seeing some play. The rest are pretty niche, need a specific strategy, or are just good in lower leagues.

That is it for my review of the Rebellion Fire, Water, and Earth common reward cards. In my next post I will share my thoughts on the Life, Death, and Neutral cards. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for improvement.

And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.

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Splinterlands Referral Link