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Card Highlights #38: Chain Golem

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“My brother must die... find him and slay him. Only then will I release your soul back into the void.”
by Archmage Arius
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There are a lot of tank options in Wild Ranked Format and having knowledge about them is a good idea since you would know when to use which units at which time. Not only you would know the strengths but the weakness when fighting against these units which you can use to make your life easier within Splinterlands.

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Lore

The screech of metal on metal was deafening as the golem's gears first started turning. Archmage Arius cackled in delight. He's alive! He's alive!!! Arius encoded one message before turning the golem loose upon the world: “My brother must die... find him and slay him. Only then will I release your soul back into the void.”
The golem stood, grabbed a morningstar from the wall, and lumbered loudly into the night with the blood curse and his metal prison heavy on his mind.

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^{For full lore of this card, visit this website:
https://next.splinterlands.com/card-detail/209/regular/2/?tab=lore}

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Buy and Rental Costs

Chain Golem may be a bit expensive around $95 at max level. This is expected given that the pack this unit are in are already extinct. You can only buy Untamed packs from 3rd party and being a legendary monster, it would be hard to max him out unless you buy hundreds, maybe even thousands of packs.

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Chain Golem's rental price is a bit decent at 11.64 DEC per day. It's not too expensive and not too cheap given the value of DEC right now. He is a good tank to be on your back pocket in case you run into some trouble where you are not allowed to use your main tank for that build.

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Card Stats

Chain Golem has good stats with both high damage and high armor and health. The only downside is the low speed which makes him miss a lot more than you would expect.

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Card Effects

Shield

Reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks

Since Shield affects both melee and range attacks, it is a really good ability for tanks to reduce the incoming damage.

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Void	Reduced damage from Magic attacks

One big advantage of magic attacks are they don't miss. So, having an ability that reduces that damage instead is a strong one as you would also be sure your unit will benefit on it a lot more.

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Piercing

If Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health

Since Chain Golem has high melee damage, this ability is strong since it stops your enemy from being locked out against a unit with Repair.

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Stun	When a Unit with Stun hits a target, it has a chance to stun the target causing it to skip its next turn

This is a bit of cherry on top. The problem with this ability is that since Chain Golem's  speed is low, his misses means this ability will be hard to apply to your enemies.

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Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths
High stats for 8 mana with good combinations of abilities that makes all attacks on him get halved. The piercing is a good ability with Chain Goelm due to his high melee attack and the Stun is an extra bonus that makes Knock Out rule set online.

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Weaknesses
The main weakness of Chain Golem is that he misses a lot due to his low speed. This is not a big deal since there are a lot of rule sets that can eliminate this weakness. Abilities like True Strike from Byzantine Kitty or Swiftness abilities can also help.

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When To Use

Up Close & Personal

Only Units with Melee attack may be used in battles.

Due to Chain Golem's Shield and being a melee attacker, being in a rule set that only melees can be used are also obvious.

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Fog of War

Units lose the Sneak and Snipe abilities.

With Fog of War, anyting you placed at the front will be the focus of attack and this is one of the best location for your Chain Golem due to his abilities to reduce the damage.

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Aim True

Melee and Ranged attacks always hit their target.

Since Chain Golem has low speed and is prone to misses, then having a rule set that allows your units to always hit their attacks are good.

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When Not To Use

Tis But Scratches

All Units have the Cripple ability.

When attacked, even if the damage is 0 because of Shied and Void, the Cripple will still apply reducing this unit's health. Shield and Void does not reduce the effect of Cripple allowing him to take damage regardless of the damage reduction or negation.

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Noxious Fumes

All Units start the battle Poisoned.

Poison from Noxious Fumes directly affects the health which makes it a bad match with Chain Golem. His Shield and Void also does not reduce the damage.

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Blood and Sunder

All units have Corrosive Ward.

Unlike Thorns, the Corossive Armor is unafected by Shield. This means for each attack of Chain Golem, you also get 2 armor reduced back.

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Battle Sample

^{https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_4e5787f54cddba7c6ad7260cae83006c}

This was an easy battle due to Goblin Psychic reducing the damage of two of my enemies to 1 magic attack. This allowed my Chain Golem's Void ability to simply negate the damage from ENEMY Spirit Miner and ENEMY Djinn Miurat.

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Final Thoughts

Chain Golem is a formidable card in Splinterlands. He has high armor and health as well as impressive damage. This makes him a valuable asset on the battlefield being able to both withstand and deliver significant amounts of damage. It's important to keep in mind that Chain Golem has one major weakness, its slow speed. This can make it more likely to miss attacks than other units, so strategic planning is key when using Chain Golem in battle.

Overall, Chain Golem's combination of high stats and low speed make it a unique and balance. It is a good addition to any Splinterlands build. With careful consideration and smart tactics, this powerful card can be a game-changer and game-winner in your battles.

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If you have suggested combos or questions, feel free to comment it down below.

If you are planning to play and is inspired by my post, please consider using my referral link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=kpgamingch

I do not own any of the photos in this post. All credits goes to:

• Splinterlands
• Peakmonsters
• Canva
• Giphy