In Splinterlands, there are units that specialize in reducing the enemy's speed while the rest of your team pounds on them. They might not hit the hardest but they decide how the battle moves. Sometimes, that small advantage in speed is really the key to winning. Today, I’ll talk about a unit that knows how to do exactly just that.

Lore

Mystic Scaleweavers are serpentine thaumaturges in service to the Gloridax Empire. Trained to manipulate the weave of reality with surgical precision, they are more than spellcasters. They are arcane engineers, unraveling stone with a gesture, folding light into illusion, all while bound by the rigid hierarchies of imperial command and generations-old magical doctrine.

https://splinterlands.com/card-detail/848/regular/15?tab=lore

Stats

Mystic Scaleweaver is an underrated magic unit that can reduce the enemy speed while dealing consistent damage each round. With 3 magic damage and decent health, it can survive long enough to make a big difference in each battles. It works great when combined with units that gets advantage related to your team having higher speed or abilities that benefit from slowing down the enemies making it a strong yet simple unit.

Abilities

Icon	Name	Description
	Slow	Reduces the Speed of all enemy Units by 1.
		is a match because Slow reduces the speed of all enemies which makes Dodge units even harder to hit. This combo can turn the tide of battles where accuracy matters a lot especially against melee or ranged lineups. It’s a small advantage that can create miraculous results at unexpected times.
		is a counter because True Strike completely ignores any speed difference, making Slow useless. Enemies with True Strike can hit through all the evasion and speed bonuses. This removes one and only Mystic Scaleweaver’s ability making it less valuable in those matchups.

Good Rules to Consider

Icon	Name	Reason
	Armored Up	All Units have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor stat.
		Magic attacks ignore armor, giving Mystic Scaleweaver a huge edge in this rule. While most units waste turns breaking through armor, Mystic Scaleweaver keeps dealing direct damage to the enemy health. It is very good here since it’s unaffected by the enemy gaining armor while you reap all the benefits for it.
	Fog of War	Units lose the Sneak and Snipe abilities.
		This rule protects Mystic Scaleweaver by removing Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity, which usually target low-health backliners. It can safely stay in the backline to deal steady damage. That safety lets it keep its Slow debuff active for the whole fight.
	Back to Basics	Units lose all abilities.
		Even without abilities, Mystic Scaleweaver remains effective thanks to its solid stats and magic damage. It doesn’t rely too much on abilities to stay relevant. This makes it a reliable pick unlike others that rely on abilities.

Bad Rules to Think Twice

Icon	Name	Reason
	Aim True	All units gain True Strike (attacks will never miss).
		Aim True removes the accuracy advantage gained from Slow and Dodge. Enemies will hit no matter what, making Mystic Scaleweaver’s ability meaningless. It removes the whole point of her ability, reducing her value in battle.
	Reverse Speed	Units with the lowest Speed attack first and have the highest chance of evading attacks.
		Slow becomes a double-edged sword since it actually makes enemies faster instead of slower in this rule. Mystic Scaleweaver and her team will also act later which can be deadly in the first few rounds. It’s one of the worst possible rules for her.
	Counterspell	All units have Magic Reflect (returns 50% of magic damage to attacker, rounded up).
		Magic Reflect punishes Mystic Scaleweaver every time she attacks especially with the buff from Marlai Singariel. This makes her a risky pick since she just kills herself each round even without the enemies doing anything to her.

Battle

Link to battle

The only threat in this battle is Nim Guard Captain because of his Slow but with the help of Marlai Singariel, all my units with magic attack still do decent damage to him. Once he died, the battle quickly turned to my favor. With Mystic Scaleweaver coming in from the front and Saltwater Mage coming from the back, the enemy is on a ticking clock as I bide my time until I win.

Images were taken from Splinterlands, made in Canva, drawn in Krita and animated in Photoshop.

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