After recently finishing my starter guides on the different splinters for the modern format, I realized I left out a good chunk of monsters. The coveted neutral monsters! This guide will be an overall on the Neutral monsters themselves and will not be aimed at newer players. I will be discussing all good neutrals no matter the price point as well as good Neutrals to level up. A thing to note is I only play in high gold at seasons end so some of this will be speculation based on monsters I have faced. I also won't go over any of the ghost cards unless they need leveled.
Let's start this list off with a card that is useful at every level and is affordable by almost all players, Sand Worm. Sand worm is a 9 cost, 5 damage, 1 speed, 5 hp creature. He has the sneak ability allowing him to attack the enemies backline every turn. He is one of the highest damage sneak units in the game. In high mana matches I see myself using this card in almost every situation I can possibly fit him in. The 5 damage to the backline where there's usually more fragile creatures is amazing. It results in you 1 hitting almost everything that the Sand worm encounters. If there's any card on this list I absolutely recommend you buying it would be this one.
Xenith Monk is a very useful card to have in your deck from level 2 onwards. Xenith monk is a 4 mana, 1 attack, 3 speed, 6 hp unit at level 2. When he hits level 2 he unlocks the heal ability. Xenith monk is great in poison and earthquake rulesets as well as the little league ruleset where all monsters cost 4 mana or less. He is a very cheap card to acquire as of right now and is quite useful.
Uraeus is an amazing card from level 2 onwards, at level 4 it becomes even more sweet! At level 2 Uraeus give you 2 attack, 2 speed, 1 armor, and 2 hp for 3 mana. He has the sneak ability allowing him to attack the opponents backline every turn. He is a very efficient card for his mana cost once leveled and when he gains the poison ability he can be used in a lot of situations to deal a huge amount of damage and possibly kill minions that cost much higher mana than his own. Uraeus is a must pick up while he is still in print and cheap.
At level 5 Elven defender gets the shield ability and is an absolute stud for decks that are lacking the shield or a number of other situations. At level 5 Elven Defender has 2 attack, 3 speed, 4 armor, and 8 hp for a cost of 8 mana. Like I mentioned before at level 5 he unlocks the shield ability. Shield is a very nice ability to have in your lineup when facing heavy physical damage from the opponent. Pair him with some support and you could see him living all game. Also in melee mayhem, or sneak rulesets you can position him in the proper position to really soak up some damage.
Spirit Hoarder is a great card to have straight from 1 BCX. Spirit hoarder is a 3 cost 1 magic damage, 1 speed, 3 hp unit. Spirit Hoarder is equipped the the triage ability allowing him to heal allies behind the frontline. Paired with a taunt in the back or when facing heavy sneak, opportunity, snipe he can really shine. When the enemies focus isn't the frontline spirit hoarder can really come in handy.
If you can level a Tortistan Chief up to level 4 he can really kick some butt. At level 4 the Tortistan Chief has 2 magic damage, 3 speed, and 5 hp for a cost of 5 mana. At level 4 he also unlocks the tank heal ability. He is a very powerful support with tank heal and the fact that he can be played with every class is mind blowing. I don't see too many people running this guy outside of competitive play but if you have the funds necessary this guy can really increase your win rate.
An amazing low cost neutral minion that I would call honestly broken is the Halfling Alchemist. The Halfling Alchemist is a 2 mana, 1 ranged attack, 1 speed, 1 armor, 1 hp unit. He has the halving ability cutting his targets attack in half, rounded down! If you have any TCG experience, you know just by reading this cards ability that it is absolutely bonkers. It brings 3 attack down to 1, and 5 down to 2. If you notice your opponent regularly spends a lot of mana on the frontline minion you can see this card choice really pay off. I would argue that the Halfling Alchemist is one of the best 2 mana cards in the game.
Doctor Blight is amazing right out of the gate, even better at level 2. At level 1 Doctor Blight has 1 magic damage, 1 speed, and 4 hp for a cost of 4 mana. At level 1 he has affliction stopping enemies healing as well as camouflage hiding him from opponents attacks outside of the first position. At level 2 he gains the poison ability as well. He has so much utility for 4 mana he just cannot be ignored. If you're expecting your opponent to use a lot of tank heal or self heal in the first position he is an ideal choice. There are so many situations you can use this guy in and I implore you to at least rent him and try him out.
Cornealus is a great card for higeher mana battle situations. Cornealus is a 10 cost, 2 ranged damage, 3 speed, and 12 hp beast! He has the heal ability allowing him to gain a whopping possible 4 hp every turn. He is the perfect counter to Sand Worm especially at level 2 when he has the thorns ability. At level 1 you can fit him in a lot of situations including earthquake, poison, and sneak rulesets. He generally is just a solid choice overall in higher mana battles. When he has the thorns ability he can absolutely obliterate enemy teams focusing on that thanks to his heal and high hp pool. Cornealus is a great choice of a card if you want to remain competitive across every splinter.
The last card I want to talk about is just a very good tank universally, the Chain Golem. Chain Golem is an 8 mana card that has 3 attack, 2 speed, 4 armor, and 7 hp. He is equipped with the shield ability. At level 2 he gets the void ability as well as an additional hp. He is an amazing tank for every single matchup when he is level 2, and can be used with every single splinter. Instead of investing in each individual main tank for the splinter's you could just grab this guy level 2 and I guarantee you will have no regrets. When level 1 he is still an amazing card but should be played mainly against heavy physical damage teams and you'll do just fine with him.
Thank you everybody who participated in my last giveaway, I would like to congratulate @popustus for winning the naga assassin! Your card has been sent.
Today I'm going to give away a great neutral card, the Scavo Hireling! To enter in the giveaway please leave a comment down below as well as like the post!
Thank you everybody for reading my most impactful neutrals list and I hope you all have a Splinterific day!
Hello, mate! Please, count me in for the giveaway!!
IGN: @luizeba
!Gif GOOD LUCK
Via Tenor
Please, count me in for the giveaway!!
IGN: @qoogohome
!Gif good luck
Via Tenor
Please, count me in for the giveaway!!
IGN: @qoogohome
!Gif good luck
Via Tenor
count me in
IGN: @amaillo-m
!Gif dancing-8bits
Via Tenor
count me in!
@yasky
!gif party
Via Tenor
Great post, count me in for the hireling!
@derfabs
!gif party
Via Tenor
Great Choices of Neutrals with Utility
IGN: @pinkhub
Nice post, thanks! @cjames-40
That dang halfling alchemist always messing up my battles! @tigretimo
Oh my thank you so much. More blessing.
yo chain golem is awesome i want to get one of my own some day for sure GL all 🤑
Love the spirit hoarder i put it combo with mycelic slipspawn so that enemy will target slipspawn first then spirit hoarder will heal portion of health so that it will slow ememy to target front or any other card in your line up.
IGN: @popustus
i am in
@haizelanne
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@henruc
Good read and picks! Count me in!
@teerandom
Cheers for the giveaway
@screamheart
count me in!
@eman13088
Thanks! @relf87
Count me in!
count me please!!!!!!
koukou21
let's go
@litrydow
A solid list. Sharing this on Splinterlands Digest Twitter.