Why Most Players Are Fighting Blind | Splinterlands #480
I lost my first dozen Fog of War battles before I figured out what everyone else was getting wrong. The ruleset description tells you it disables sneak, snipe, and opportunity attacks. Most players read that and think, "Okay, no backline targeting." That's backwards thinking, and my recent brawl battle shows that I understood what Fog of War does to battle tactics and strategy.
The Ability Tax Nobody Talks About
That expensive sneak monster you're deploying? You're paying for an ability that does nothing. That snipe attacker in your backline? Wasted mana. Every monster with opportunity as its primary value proposition becomes significantly weaker.
Battle Details
Lineup Details
I chose Cursed Windeku as my tank specifically because thorns don't care about targeting rules. My opponent chose Djinn Chwala with thorns for the same reason. Magic damage ignores armor and targets from any position without needing special abilities. This makes magic attackers significantly more valuable than their stats suggest.
I deployed three magic attackers: Phantom Soldier, Witch of Warwick, and Arachne Weaver, plus Liza Fox for ranged damage. My opponent split between melee, ranged, and magic as well. Their Carnage Titan had double strike, and under Fog of War, it was just expensive melee damage that had to go through my entire front line. My magic attackers bypassed their armor entirely while dealing consistent damage every round.
Why Did My Strategy Work?
In normal battles, sneak and opportunity backline attackers can eliminate support monsters early, shortening battle length. Under Fog of War, battles last longer and become more valuable. This makes tank health pools exponentially more valuable. My Cursed Windeku started with 9 health. Not impressive compared to high-armor tanks, but sufficient for the expected damage. My opponent's Djinn Chwala had 10 health and 6 armor, which is better on paper. But armor doesn't stop magic damage, and I deployed three magic attackers. Their armor advantage became irrelevant by round two.
Both the Witch of Warwick and Liza Fox have bloodlust. Under normal rulesets, bloodlust monsters can be picked off by sneak or snipe attacks before they eliminate enough opponents to become dangerous. Fog of War removes that counterstrategy. Bloodlust monsters in protected positions become increasingly dangerous as battles progress, with no way for opponents to eliminate them early.
By round three, both my bloodlust monsters had triggered their abilities and were dealing increased damage. My opponent had Whistling Damon with bloodlust, but positioned it where my magic attackers could focus it down before it became threatening. Positioning bloodlust monsters correctly under Fog of War creates compound advantages that opponents can't counter through targeting abilities. This turns good monsters into game-winners and the battle played out exactly as I predicted during lineup construction:
- Round 1: My tank took focused damage and fell, but my backline remained untouched. Their tank also took heavy damage from my magic attackers.
- Round 2: Their tank fell. My new front-line Manticore absorbed damage while my magic attackers continued elimination of their team.
- Round 3-5: Their monsters fell one by one to my magic damage while they couldn't effectively respond.
What New Players Get Wrong
If you're struggling with Fog of War, you're probably making these mistakes:
- Deploying monsters whose value comes from disabled abilities. That sneak attacker isn't providing 8 mana worth of value anymore.
- Undervaluing magic damage. Armor-heavy strategies lose effectiveness when magic becomes the dominant damage type.
- Ignoring battle length implications. Fog of War battles last longer. Plan accordingly with appropriate health pools and healing abilities.
- Failing to protect bloodlust monsters. Without sneak/snipe attacks threatening your backline, bloodlust monsters can safely compound their advantages.
Concluding Thoughts
Your go-to Fog of War lineup should emphasize monsters whose abilities remain valuable (thorns, bloodlust, life leech). Tanks with health appropriate for longer battles. Zero mana spent on sneak/snipe/opportunity abilities. The next time you see Fog of War, don't think about what you can't do. Think about which monsters become undervalued when everyone else is still paying for abilities that don't work. That's where the edge lives.
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