Night Reaper or Flight Killer?

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

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Night Reaper is the kind of monster that normally doesn't get priority because it's a Dragon monster. It has high mana cost for its stats and abilities, it is an Epic monster which is hard to get and gets very expensive when leveled up. No wonder players aren't really picking him up especially the new ones.

While it looks appealing, it feels more like a card designed to counter some of the meta picks than just be there in your team in general. Many doesn't know thought that it was a reward card that many players earned for free and its real strength is honestly surprising.

What makes Night Reaper stand out for me is how consistently dangerous it is, even at low levels. The niche Wingbreak ability is very unexpected but is surprisingly strong when it worked. This keeps your opponents on their toes not knowing what they hit them after Night Reaper hit their flying monsters like a truck.

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^{Night Reaper From Splinterlands}

About Night Reaper

Night reapers are monstrosities born of a realm of demons and dragons. When their world was subsumed by the dark god Uul, they joined the Host of the legions of Chaos. These malevolent creatures answer to Silus of the Rift alone and unleash their wrath according to his will.

Unpredictable and brutal, night reapers ensure terror reigns wherever they soar and have been a crucial instrument in quelling the rising rebellion in the towns and cities that span the empire’s horizons.

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What Makes This Card Special?

Night Reaper is one of the epic Soulbound Reward cards that felt premium from day one and many players got it absolutely free if you started playing Splinterlands a year ago from today. Because it belonged to the first wave of Soulbound releases, it can no longer be earned through the Glint Shop. You can only buy or trade it if you missed the original shop. Despite that, it remains one of the strongest dragon cards you can bring into battle especially since even its early levels, Night Reaper perform extremely well.

Its mix of Flying, Wingbreak, Deflect, and Last Stand makes it dangerous in every stage of the game. Even at low levels, having Flying and Wingbreak together lets it hunt down evasive targets other monsters struggle to touch. As it levels up and gains Deflect and Last Stand, it transforms into a powerful finisher and survival threat that opponents must play around.

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Mana Cap and Modifiers

Night Reaper is good enough to see play in almost any mana cap but it works best in medium to high-mana battles where its 11 mana cost isn’t a problem. I think it can still work in a 20-mana fight but only if you have a max level one with Last Stand ability. The higher the mana cap, the easier it is to pair Night Reaper with other cards that can boost his potential.

^{Earthquake - All nonflying and snared units take 2 physical damage at the end of each round.}

Earthquake heavily punishes non-Flying monsters but Night Reaper avoids all that damage thanks to its natural Flying ability. What makes it even nastier here is Wingbreak, which lets it target enemy monsters with Flying ability that are normally safe from Earthquake damage. Combined, it becomes a perfect monster in a modifier where avoiding damage is already a huge advantage and punishes flying opponent at the same time with Wingbreak's sure-hit increased damage.

^{Explosive Weaponry - All units have Blast (deals an additional 50% damage to units adjacent to the target, rounded up).}

With everyone getting Blast, most monsters die from the blast themselves with the splash damage but Night Reaper doesn’t. Deflect prevents all Blast splash, Thorns, Magic Reflect, Return Fire and Corrosive Ward damage. Deflect lets it fight with zero problems. This means your opponent suffers with the modifier when combined with Night Reaper's good magic damage while you get all the benefits.

^{Blood Moon - All units have Bloodlust at the start of battle.}

Blood Moon gives every unit Bloodlust and Night Reaper loves this because it pairs perfectly with Last Stand ability. When it eventually becomes the last monster standing, it activates Last Stand and the stacking Bloodlust now makes its presence turning itself into a monstrous solo carry. In this modifier, leaving Night Reaper alive as the last unit is very dangerous especially with Last Stand's increased stats.

^{Armored Up - All units gain +2 armor.}

Armored Up modifier gives everyone extra armor and this helps Night Reaper reduce incoming melee and range damage. Since Night Reaper has magic damage, it can still pierce through the increased armor of opponent monsters while enjoying the extra defenses. This makes it a reliable and consistent pick during this modifier.

^{Fog of War - Units lose Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity.}

Fog of War removes Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity, which helps protect Night Reaper from being targeted early. By placing it in the last position, you guarantee that it stays protected until the last rounds until all of your monsters fall. This is when Last Stand activates and turns the end of the match into a big power spike for Night Reaper which can win you the game.

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Archon Synergies

^Nidhoggr

Nidhoggr’s ability to grant Blast and Deathblow works incredibly well with Night Reaper’s already high magic damage This damage can be increased more with Last Stand. You can also use Nidhoggr's other ability granting Night Reaper a +2 speed and Execute. The extra speed complements Night Reaper's high speed and Flying ability while the Execute gets you that last damage you need to kill your opponents.

^{Lily Shieldpaw}

Lily Shieldpaw gives Camouflage to the whole team creating an effect similar to Fog of War without relying on the modifier. This keeps Night Reaper safe in the back line letting it hold Last Stand until the last moments. Once it becomes the final monster alive on your team, the stat boost from Last Stand makes Night Reaper hit harder and faster than ever.

^{Byzantine Kitty}

Byzantine Kitty turns Night Reaper into a huge solo carry with sustain if it becomes the last monster standing. Last Stand increases all its stats and Byzantine Kitty’s Tank Heal keeps restoring Night Reaper's health each round. Last Stand also increases Night Reaper's max health and gets it up to 15 max health which means an extra 5 health healed every round . Even though Byzantine Kitty isn’t available in Modern Ranked Format, this combo remains one of the strongest combos, I think, for this monster.

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Battle Sample

^{https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_14436677bc632fd92ef30388d257ac6c
Edited in Canva Pro.}

One turning point in this battle is Night Reaper’s Wingbreak adding +2 damage when it attacked Helheim Demon. It allowed Night Reaper to instantly remove a Helheim Demon out of battle with 5 solid damage. This early death opened the board and let my monsters focus on the frontline doing splash damage with Nidhoggr's blast at the same time. I do want to note that Wingbreak’s bonus damage does not extend to blast damage which keeps the blast damage to 2 instead of 3.

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Why do you think more players should be using it?

I noticed a lot of Flying monsters being used recently which means Night Reaper's Wingbreak ability gets extremely valuable. With so many strong monsters like Zyrx the Emberglace floating around, having a dedicated anti-flying monster is a massive advantage. You can add Night Reaper in your normal build and not lose any value and still counter the unexpected builds just like the one in the battle I presented.

Its abilities can also be used in a lot of combos and they fits naturally into many modifiers. Flying helps it survive Earthquake and Wingbreak punishes Flying opponents, Deflect protects it from Counterspell or blast damage, and Last Stand turns it into a scary late-game monster with Fog of War modifier. These unique strengths make Night Reaper a really good carry in any games.

Finally, Night Reaper is simply reliable. Even at lower levels, it performs above its rarity thanks to solid stats and good abilities. You don't need a max level Night Reaper for it to be a good monster and even a level 1 can make your lives a huge lot better which I think a lot of players misses out on.

• This post is an entry for Splinterlands Social Media Contest.
• Animated Banners and Dividers are edited in Canva Pro.
• Other sources that I do not own are cited under their respective photos.
• Some of the fonts used are from instafonts.io

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