Chaos Knight - The Giant Killer ⚔️

in Splinterlands3 years ago (edited)

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Those of the Order of the Silver Shield stood waiting as the Legion of Chaos closed the distance between the two armies. The Shieldbearers in the front rank planted their shields firmly in the earth and set their feet, while archers and mages readied their bows and their spells. Those wielding melee weapons tightened their grips on their hafts and hilts, ready to charge once the Shieldbearers had born the brunt of the initial assault.

At the head of the column opposite them, Chaos Knights led the charge, the throng behind them screaming and jostling to be the first into battle. The heavily armored knights hefted battle axes that were impossibly large, and those of the Order of the Silver Shield eyed them warily.

Arrows flew. Spells were flung. At last, the two armies met, clashing together with a violent ringing of steel on steel. The Shieldbearers leaned into their shields, preparing to give those in the rear as much time as possible to inflict their lethal ranged damage. But when the Chaos Knights swung their mighty battle axes, the Shieldbearers could not hold the line. They staggered backward. Another swing, and the Order's front rank broke.

Then the Legions of Chaos swarmed over them.

Holy sht! I didn't realize that the chaos knight is part of the invading army. Maybe that's what the Chaos in its name is for. LOL

But man, reading the lore, I now feel bad for the Shieldbearers. Would have been nice for them to be on the same side!

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The Stats

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The Chaos Knight has a 2 Attack, 2 Speed, 3 Armor and 4 HP at level 1. This is a bit underwhelming for a tank at base level especially it's at 6 mana. It already has the Shield ability at level 1 reducing the melee and ranged damage but due to the prevalence of magic line-ups in lower leagues, Chaos Knight will be easily melted with 1 to 2 attacks.

At level 5, the max level for Silver League, it gains the ability Giant Killer allowing it to deal double damage against targets that cost 10 or above. The Chaos Knight becomes more usable in Silver league due to the addition of various Rules of Combat.

It gets crazier at level 9 with the addition of Inspire.

Personally, the best Rules of Combat for the Chaos Knight to shine on are the following:

Rules of Combat Description Why?
Lost Magic: Monsters with magic attack may not be used in battles With its low level HP, magic damage can easily tear through a Chaos Knight. With magic gone, its Shield ability will definitely shine.
Up Close and Personal: Only monsters with melee attacks may be used in battles Again, with magic gone, melee attacks will have a hard time bringing down this tank.
Super Sneak: All the melee attack monsters have the sneak ability Even with magic present, I can just simply move this to the backline.

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The Battle

Rules of Combat

Modifications: Lost Magic
Mana Cap: 58
Playable Splinters: Fire, Life, Death, Earth
Link to full battle

My lineup
Position Card Mana Cost Comment
Summoner 3 More shield, more sustain. Easy decision.
Position 1 - Tank 6 With magic gone and the high mana cap, I anticipated that the opponent will use a high mana tank. I though this is the best opportunity to showcase the Chaos Knight.
Position 2 - Reach Damage 6 This is the best melee attacker from the second position for the life splinter in my opinion. The speed and damage will ensure to chip away the opponent's tank shield or HP.
Position 3 - Buff, Pseudo Tank 4 I was aiming for a melee line-up so I added the Silvershield Knight for its Inspire ability granting all my other melee monsters +1 damage. Since I wanted the Chaos Knight to shine, the +1 attack is remarkable.
Position 4 - Sneak Attacker 7 This provides damage from the back. Even if the opponent has a shield, the double attack increases its chance to poison the opponent. With the buff from the Silvershield Knight, it's able to deal more damage.
Position 5 - Ranged Sniper 9 Grants additional armor and the piercing ability ensures it's able to take down opponent's ranged attackers.
Position 6 - Damage Soaker 8 I wanted my tank to be able to survive so I added the Shieldbeare at the back to soak in all the other damage. The Shield ability will ensure it's able to receive more damage than usual.
Rounds Breakdown

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I was matched with a Fire + Grum lineup which I anticipated based on my opponent's history. Perfect time for the Chaos Knight to display its worth. Grum is in for a surprise.

The opponent has a lot of high damage monsters so the Shieldbearer is perfect to soak up all those damages.

In the first round, armors have started to chip away. The lava launcher is poisoned and the Pyromaniac is close to dying. My Chaos Knight and Shieldbearer are still both okay. 😉

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In the second round, the Shieldbearer goes down after receiving 19 damage! Its purpose for this lineup is well fulfilled. The Pyromaniac goes down and the Lava Launcher will die before the 3rd round start. The Grum also got a taste of the Giant Killer damage; its HP went down from 14 to 10 to 2! What's the use of bloodlust if you cannot kill my Chaos Knight?!

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Silvershield Sheriff goes down taking Grum with him.

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The curtain's closing. The Chaos Knight succumbed from Fineas Rage's damage while the Silvershield Assassin's cleaning up from the back. The eagle dealt the fatal blow to Fineas Rage.

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You all know how this ends.

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All the monsters in my line-up perfectly fulfilled their roles. Even those who aren't attacking are bringing intangible stuff to the table.

Rewatch the full battle here.

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Conclusion

With the battle above, the Chaos Knight was able to shine, effectively slaying a max level legendary monster. But one cannot deny that he's a situational monster. The battle was a very high mana cap and there are more suitable tanks we can use like Uriel the Purifier or Kralus who both have heal and are able to sustain themselves. Nevertheless, as long as the rulesets and mana cap align, the Chaos Knight can definitely shine with the proper support and strategy.

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