This week’s engagement challenge is about small mana battles. They sure know how to pick the tricky ones!

There are two types of battles that I don’t really like much: low mana matches and Back to Basics rulesets. At least with Silenced Archons all units still keep their abilities, so that one feels a little better.

This season I’m also playing Modern again, so I figured it was a good time to take a look at a low mana battle that actually surprised me.

Here is a 12 mana cap battle, which is in my understanding the lowest possible mana cap battle.

The Matchup

I queued into a match where I honestly didn’t think I had much of a chance. My opponent had higher level units and an Archon, so I figured I was going to get outpowered.

But here’s the starting lineup:
Click on the image to rewatch

My opponent tried to counter my ranged unit, but that didn’t really matter since mine only had one attack to begin with.

Tip 1: Expect Low Attack Units

In low mana matches, it’s safer to assume you’ll be dealing with units that don’t hit hard. Sometimes you’ll see debilitation abilities (like Electrified) that can add extra damage, but those can also backfire and hurt the enemy’s own team.

Early Rounds

Round 1 didn’t have much action. But in Round 2, my opponent’s team got punished by its own Electrified unit — that was huge for me.

Their triage could only heal one unit in the backline, which wasn’t enough to stop the chip damage from Electrify.

Tip 2: Triage Has Its Limits

Remember, triage will only heal one backline unit per round. That means abilities like Electrify can slowly whittle down multiple units at once and overwhelm a healer.

Bloodlust Potential

My Phlegmunculus still went down to an Opportunity snipe, so I wasn’t feeling confident yet. What I was really hoping for was that my Gladius unit would score a kill and trigger Bloodlust.

That’s often the turning point in low mana battles, if a Bloodlust unit starts rolling, it snowballs into attack, speed, and health boosts.

Tip 3: Bloodlust Can Flip Small Matches

Never underestimate Bloodlust. Even in small mana battles, one lucky kill can turn an underdog unit into a match-winner.

The Turning Point

Then came the big moment: the enemy Water Diviner actually killed itself with the Electrified effect.

At that point, there was only one enemy unit left to deal with, and the battle was basically mine.

Conclusion

In the end, I won a battle I didn’t expect to win. My Bloodlust never even triggered, and the Bloodline synergy wasn’t needed either. The main reason I pulled through was because my opponent’s Electrified unit did too much damage to their own team.

So there you have it, a small mana match that flipped in my favor, even though I thought I was outleveled from the start.

See you all on the battlefield

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