Battle Mage Secrets: Counterspell - Thorny Magic

Prelude
Hello everybody, how is it going? It's time for more Battle Mage Secrets. Last week we looked at Close Range and we saw many came forth with the strategies for using range cards to the fullest. Today we look at another ruleset which is closely related to magic cards.

The ruleset of the challenge this week is: Counterspell

Ruleset Spotlight

Counterspell
All monsters receive the Magic Reflect ability at the start of the battle. Enemy monsters that attack with magic receive damage back.

Damage returned is equal to the damage of the attacker divided by 2, rounded up.

Magic monsters with the Reflection Shield ability do not take damage from reflected magic attacks.

If there is Amplify ability, the damage is increased.

Abilities/Cards that get shutdown with this rule set
On this ruleset, definitely we will see reduction in the number of magic cards being put onto the lineup, because this is like thorns but in the magic form. Anything that boost magic attack is highly not encouraged such as the likes of Obsidian and Alric which in normal days makes the team super scary.

What thrives with this ruleset?
For this ruleset, expect range and melee to fill the board. So abilities like protect, return fire, thorns, retaliate, dodge, flying etc are all very viable. If there is thorns or return fire in the lineup, can also consider finding amplify to further that damage of the "returned favour".

One special consideration that I would like to bring to your attention will be the Summoners Immortalis and Mimosa Nightshade.

This 2 cards that gives void to the whole lineup:
So imagine if your do 2 magic damage, the reflect will reflect back 1 damage but that 1 damage will be absorb by the void ability. This effectively allow the team to field cards that do up to 2 magic damage without getting hurt by the magic reflect. And this opens up options to a more varied lineup for consideration.

With these in mind, let's start to talk about the battle proper.

The Battle
Link: https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_85149b4ff8a9e06b2e63e7c47456b0c7&ref=vaynard86

Rules
Counterspell, Silent Summoners
Mana Limit: 21

Splinter	Mana Cost	Position	Reason
Thaddius Brood	4	Summoner	Silence summoner ruleset, so chose my most levelled up summoner
Cursed Windeku	6	1st	Tank with thorns
Corpse Fiend	0	2nd	Extra padding before backline
Silent Sha-vi	5	3rd	Big and fast sneaker
Soul Strangler	3	4th	Heavy Range Damager
Venari Marksrat	3	5th	Martyr trigger
Total Mana:	21

Opponent Lineup

• Summoner - Contessa L'ament
• Position 1 - Cursed Windeku
• Position 2 - Silent Sha-vi
• Position 3 - Carrion Shade
• Position 4 - Magi Necrosi

Prediction before pressing rumble
Very similar lineup chosen with slight differences. I opted for Marksrat for the martyr in hope to boost my backline attack. Interestingly, my opponent, chose a magic card in his lineup. Let's see which choice is better.

Battle Synopsis

Round 1, 3 casualties this round with Magi sniping my Soul Strangler and opponent Silent Sha-vi killing Marksrat, while my own Silent Sha-vi took out their Carrion Shade. With Marksrat dying, martyr ability initiated, beefing up Silent Sha-vi.

Round 2, Both Cursed Windeku get taken out, mine by opponent Silent Sha-vi while my opponent's one by a suiciding Corpse Fiend.

Round 3-4, It was my Silent Sha-vi's show where it took out my opponent's Silent Sha-vi in round 3 and Necrosi in round 4. Victory secured.

Post Battle Summary
In this match, if it was a normal match, I probably would have a hard time dealing with Necrosi but because of the magic reflect, it self destruct and wean down it's own health until 1 and get easily taken out by Silent Sha-vi.

Did my strategy work? I did what I could to avoid putting in any magic attackers into my lineup, especially in normal context, I would always include cards like Revealer or Life Sapper into the lineup .

What's the Battle Mage Secret?
Other than fielding non magic, I ensured I put in some key advantage to my lineup such as Thorns in the form of Cursed Windeku, big sneak in the form of Silent Sha-vi and the playful Martyr in Venari Marksrat.

Thorns really helped to shave off excess health on big tanks, else it will usually take a while before they get thin down. Sneak is also something good since we know likely backline will be weaker cards. Martyr is one of my favourite ability right now which boost stats of cards. After the boost Silent Sha-vi is huge in attack and speed, allowing it to strike first before getting hurt and this is good in any match to gain advantage.

Rule of the thumb will be, reduce/abstain using magic cards, get thorns/return fire, get some protection if able else sneak in a martyr to boost some stats will be great.

Wrap Up
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my sharing on the rule set Counterspell. I would really appreciate it if you liked and/or commented to let me know what are you thoughts.

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Till my next battle sharing, take care, stay safe and happy battling!

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