It's time for another issue of the Ruleset Strategy Series, in which I take you one by one through the Splinterlands rulesets and give you some strategy tips, pointers and nuggets of wisdom from my own experience. I may not be one of the best players, but this game is a huge part of my life and I have battled nearly 20,000 times.

Last week I got into the Even Stevens restrictive ruleset, and now it's time for its counterpart, Odd Ones Out. It may be the same principle, but the cards in your selection are 100% different. So let's talk some quick strategy!

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Odd Ones Out

Only Monsters with odd Mana costs may be used in battles.
It may be called Odd Ones Out, but more technically correct would be calling it Odd Ones In, because you only get to play with Odd mana Monsters. Still, I think everyone gets the idea. Here are few things to remember about Odd Ones Out before I get into the cards I like to play.

Summoners Don't Count

When reading the descriptions of rulesets, always pay close attention to the wording, for every detail can usually be found in the concise description. In this example, the wording clearly states that "only Monsters" with odd Mana costs may be used. This means that Summoners are fair game. Sure, you'll see the even mana Summoners as choices when you begin to make your team, but this is something to keep in mind when planning your basic strategy for battles in both Even Stevens and Odd Ones Out.

Refer to Even Stevens

This may seem lazy, but I don't care. Every piece of advice that I offered in last week's Even Stevens guide holds true in Odd Ones Out as well. I'm not going to go into each of them again, so make sure you check out that post. Here are the bullet points...

Don't let the restrictive ruleset become a disdvatage.
Don't waste time.
Go with the flow.
Use smaller Monsters.

Focus on the 3 and 5 Mana Monsters

Monsters that cost only 1 mana are an especially rare breed, and you'll probably find that when they're not used in the perfect situation, they're not very useful. 3 mana Monsters on the other hand are very plentiful, always useful and easy on the mana.

There are 40 Monster cards that have a mana cost of 3 and they're all winners.
There are 37 Monster cards with a mana cost of 5.
There are 18 Monsters with a 7 mana cost.
8 Monsters cost 9 mana.
There is only 1 that costs 11. (Robo Dragon Knight)

Obviously you should feel free to build a team from the higher mana Monsters when the mana cap is higher, but I have always found the 3 and 5 mana Monsters to be the most effective ones in this ruleset. Still, there's almost always room for a 7 mana Silvershield Assassin or a 9 mana Sandworm.

Balance your Collection

I doubt that this holds true for everyone, but my collection was fairly unbalanced in favor of even mana Monsters. If this is the case with your collection, I would definitely consider targeting a few good odd mana Monsters and adding them to your repertoire like I did. It's easy enough to write off the Odd Ones Out ruleset instead, but remember, there are only 33 rulesets in total, and many battles have 2 of them in play. This means that about 3-4% of the time, you could be facing Odd Ones Out. It's best to be prepared, especially since those cards will be useful in every other ruleset as well.

Another thing to consider when collection building is renting cards through Peakmonsters. This can be done easily for pennies (or less) a day, and it's a great way to try before you buy.

Some Cards I Like

These are some cards I like to play in the Odd Ones Out ruleset. I'll go into a little detail on each and explain why I like to use them in my collection, but please remember that there are always endless solutions and it's not always easy to label something as right or wrong. The cards you decide to use are only one part of this brilliant strategy game that we all love. Be sure to share in the comments if you have some great Odd Ones Out Monsters that I failed to mention.

Serpentine Spy

The Serpentine Spy may be quick to die, but he's a very useful Opportunity attacker, starting with an attack of 2 even at level 1. When summoned with Malric Inferno his attack power is instantly boosted and when summoned with Qid Yuff he is given Piecrcing, which allows him to sometimes destroy back row attackers in one hit. I recommend leveling this card up to your maximum level of play because it's attack power continues increasing. I personally cannot resist that icing on the cake ability, because as you know if you've read my strategy guides before, Poison is my favorite ability of all.

Sniping Narwhal

This card has really been growing on me, but I must admit that at first I didn's really see the appeal. At low levels, the 5 mana cost seemed a little steep to me and the Speed wasn't that impressive. But as the narwhal gains levels it gains incredible abilities (mainly Stun), that can make the difference between defeat and victory. Since the addition of the Heavy Hitters ruleset, Stun has become even more strategic and useful, so always pay attention to Monsters that know how to use it. Another nice thing about the narwhal is that it has pretty decent Health, unlike many other Snipers out there. You don't always have to plan on having it killed by the second round.

Javelin Thrower

She's always my favorite to bring up the rear when I battle with the Earth Splinter, and since she comes with a 5 mana cost, she's perfect for Odd Ones Out. Piercing paired with a powerful Range attack makes sure that she helps take out the enemy's tank quickly, and a speedy Dodge usually causes her to be missed by several attacks per battle.

Sacred Unicorn

I don't always use Legendaries, but when I do, they're almost always sacred. With 1 ability per level Legendaries like this, I can almost never resist maxing them out. Each new ability is simply too enticing to pass up. Since the Stampede ruleset was recently added to the game, the Trample ability has been in high demand. At level 1, the Unicorn is a bit costly for a medium-attacking healing tank, but as soon as it hits level 2 gaining Piercing and an attack point, it's on. Make sure when you play the Unicorn that you throw in an additional tank healer to help keep it alive. It can be tricky playing with a non armored tank. I also recommend using the Protect ability (Defender of Truth) combined with Repair (Armorsmith).

Soulstorm

Right at level one the Soulstorm is a pretty great Range attacker and its native Flying ability pairs nicely with Earthquake, but pay attention to the abilities. The Snare ability at level 2 removes the Flying ability when it lands an attack, and the Headwinds ability debuffs the Range attacks of the entire enemy team. Stun at level 6 is almost a too-goo-to-be-true bonus ability for this card. The only challenge with the Soulstorm is keeping it alive long enough to do its damage with such low Health. For this task, because you'll be facing tons of Return Fire and Opportunity, I recommend using a monster with Taunt.

The Vigilator

The Vigilator's native ability of Double Strike is hard to beat. That's why I've included it in this list even though it has a hefty mana cost of 9. Two attacks and two kinds of attacks means that this beast attacks 4 times in many cases. The Vigilator is a no-brainer for me in Dragon Splinter battles with the Melee Mayhem or Super Sneak rulesets because it lets me quad attack from anywhere on the field. And with more attacks come more chances to land Poison, making an already powerful ability even more powerful. Before you get to thinking that you just can't afford Legendaries, remind yourself that they only take 5 BCX to get to level 3 out of 4; it's not always necessary to go full max with these powerhouse cards.

Grenadier

The Oppress ability is easy to overlook, but it almost always saves you from the brink of defeat. The Grenadier has it as a native ability for a mana cost of only 3, and since non-attacking tanks are so popular right now (Arianthus, Almo), the Grenadier's mediocre attack easily becomes high-powered. If you ever play at Diamond, I highly recommend maxing this card out. With Blast, Headwinds and an additional attack point, it becomes a one-man wrecking ball that can blow a hole in your enemy's team. They'll never see it coming, especially from a 3 mana card. This is one of my favorites, and the fact that it's Splinter Neutral means that you can use it anytime, anywhere. Get one.

Hopefully this little guide (along with last week's Even Stevens) has given you some good tips for dealing with these restrictive Splinterlands rulesets! Now get out there and show your enemies how much you've learned!