5 Must-have(or rent) cards in the Modern Diamond league

Hi, fellow Battle mages!

Today I will write about 5 very important cards in the Diamond League, of course, in my opinion. Diamond and especially Champion leagues became very competitive and you really must have all those important cards maxed out. Sometimes, this may be very expensive but luckily, renting is an option. What to buy, or what to rent, is a game inside the Splinterlands, especially if you are on a tight budget. It is very important to estimate which card will have the biggest impact on your deck and your play style.

Recently I found out which cards are doing just that for me, and I decided to write about those cards. So let's get started. Number 5 on my list is...drum rolls...

---

Arkemis the Bear

I was not convinced that this is a good card but lately, I use it a lot and nowadays I can't imagine my deck without "The Big Bear".Sadly, I do own only a level 5 copy because it is a little bit expensive since a max copy can be bought for about 52 USD at the time of writing this article. Honestly, all you need is level 4 because that is the point when our Bear gets Halving ability. It means that on a successful attack, Arkemis will cut the opponent's attack in half.

You can imagine how the ability is very useful. Because of a Forcefield ability the most damage that this guy can take is 4, of course, if the opponent does not have Giant Killer ability - then you are toast. Enrage ability is amazing as it gives you 2 additional attack and speed making this guy unstoppable.

The main reason I play this guy is his Protect ability. I often play him in combination with Conqueror Jacek because cards like Countess Sinash and Djinn Inferni are very vulnerable to Opportunity attacks. That means you need to protect these cards if you want to do some damage otherwise this damage dealer will die before they can even do some damage to the enemy team. His Protect ability and big health pool make him the perfect tank in those big mana matches.

---

Conqueror Jacek

Jacek is a really unpredictable card. His Scattershot can often win games for you, but sometimes you can lose because of it as well. You want to play Jacek when you have around 40-50 mana available and I think that he is strongest in that situation. Cards like Countess Sinnash and Supply Runner are often used in that combination, the same as Djinn Inferni. You really want to play some cards that will protect your damage dealers so Arkemis the Bear, Ferox Defender, or Ildri Fyre must be used.

A huge speed advantage is given when playing Conqueror Jacek as he gives your team +2 speed and we all know that this is huge - thanks to Kitty. With cards like Countess Sinnash and Supply Runner, you can take that speed to high levels.

Piercing ability is cream on top. Fire Splinter has a lot of "big hitters" and it is very annoying when 1 armor stops 6 damage. You would mostly use Jacek with ranged attackers but in some situations, you can play full melee team for that extra speed and piercing damage.

Lately, even the magic team looks pretty interesting, especially because no one is expecting something like that when playing Jacek. Cards like Djinn Inferni, Djinn Apprentice, Goblin Firemage, Technowizologist, Ifrit Rising, and Efreet Elder are looking super interesting.

---

Lux

Lux is the only Neutral Splinter summoner and you can play her in almost every ruleset. I don't use Lux very often because it is very expensive even to rent her, but if the price is right I could play it for 2-3 days, especially if there is an important Brawl or Tournament.

Is Lux really that good?

Yes, it is! Why? Because it can be played with every Splinter and most importantly with Death and Life splinters. Death Splinter summoners are focused on debuffs and when Death is played with Lux it is very strong. Cards are a bit stronger than in other splinters so when played with Lux they feel extra powerful.

Cards that are usually weak to opportunity attacks like Life Sapper, Lira The Dark, and Soul Strangler are way more powerful because you now need 2 attacks to kill them. Also, cards like Cursed Windeku have enhanced defense and will be very hard to kill.

The same thing is happening when playing with Life Splinter. Cards like Time Mage, Stitch Leech, Pelacor Arbalest, and Celestial Harpy will get much-needed protection in terms of armor and health. When you pair that with the abundance of heal and repair monsters in Life splinter you will get a really nice and dangerous splinter.

I am sure that there are many more combinations in which Lux will transform your team but these two were the most obvious ones, at least for me.

Almo Cambio/Baakjira

Almo Cambio is really amazing card due to the many abilities that it has. If you are playing against Almo Cambio then you won't like Magic Reflect and Return Fire. These abilities will reflect the magic and ranged attacks back at the attacker. When paired with support monsters that provide and repair armor or monster that can heal Almo Cambio becomes really annoying. I think that Almo is working really well with Life and Water splinters where you can easily find such cards in the form of Truthspeaker, Adelade Brightwing, Merdaali Guardian, or my favorite, Swamp Spitter.

Baakjira is poor man Almo Cambio, though it is not really that cheap. If you want a max-level copy you will need to give around 55 USD. The main strength of Baakjira is its huge health pool. 16 health unbuffed is amazing and when you pair that with a Heal ability, you get a titan that is not easy to kill. Of course, you could inflict Affliction to the Baakjira and nerf that op heal ability, but often Baakjira is paired with support cards like River Nymph that will cleanse all harmful effects.

The downside of Baakjira is that it has no attack so your 6 mana will deal no damage. With new Chaos Legion reward cards that is no longer a problem. I like to play Baakjira in the first spot and then in the second spot I play Kulu Mastermind. His Weapons Training ability will give Baakjira some attack. Most of the time that is between 2 and 3 attack that enables Baakjira to do some serious damage.

Dr. Blight

Probably a card that I use the most even though I don't own him. It is one of those overpowered cards that you just must have in your deck, at least rented. It is a unique combination of abilities that makes this card good. I would say that primarily are Poison and Scavenger. Since you are mostly playing this card in lower mana matches all other monsters will have lower hitpoints. That is perfect for Scavenger ability as you will get a lot of health when a monster dies during the battle. Poison is the ability that will bypass armor and often Dr. Blight is doing 4 damage per turn, 2 from his attack and 2 from Poison ability. Camouflage is also very neat because you can put him in the last place so he can't be the target for the monsters with the Sneak attack. That means he works very well with cards that have Martyr ability.

Summary

I found that these cards are really amazing and I can't imagine my deck without them. Unfortunately, I currently own only Conqueror Jacek at max-level. Baakjira is in the process of leveling - currently on level 3 while Arkemis is only on level 5. To be honest, I don't have money to buy Lux or Dr. Blight, it is just too expensive for me so I will rent them whenever I can. I would say that everything below 200 DEC per day for these cards is okay because they are that good. But sometimes the prices are way too high so I have to battle without these monsters. Let me know what cards are your must-have!

This presents an opportune moment to strategically acquire new cards and revitalize your deck. It is essential to exercise caution, as the influx of new players can potentially lead to heightened demand and subsequent price fluctuations within the market. For those who have not yet embarked on their Splinterlands journey, now is an ideal juncture to seize the benefits of acquiring exceptional cards at special prices. I invite you to join the Splinterlands Discord community, where you can gather further insights and delve deeper into this captivating realm of gameplay.

Official Splinterlands Discord: https://discord.gg/A6yNcVqbU6

If you are new here

Splinterlands is an exceptional NFT trading card game that operates on the play-to-earn model. For newcomers, this implies that engaging in the game not only offers an immersive and enjoyable experience but also presents an opportunity to generate income through the acquisition of SPS. If you have yet to create an account, I highly recommend registering using my referral link. In doing so, kindly reach out to me via direct message, and upon confirming your presence on my referral list, I will gladly provide you with 100 DEC to facilitate your initial foray into the game.

https://splinterlands.com?ref=vjekich

Have fun and see you on the battlefield.