![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNje7wAPMnWUzHZKBM5r5Gj3CUE8ChhNi4h3jLyppKHJH/battle_mage_secrets_banner.jpg)[[Source]](https://ecency.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/battle-mage-secrets-weekly-challenge-s7s5s0 )

Hi everyone! It's time for the weekly Battle Mage Secrets challenge and the challenge this week is the Briar Patch Ruleset.  

## <center>About the Ruleset</center>
<center>![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmbg8NFx58VGp89FoyLHoDdTyEhhrayCFa1aagA5Af56jz/briar_patch.jpg)**Briar Patch**</center>

The Briar Patch ruleset states that "All Monsters have the Thorn ability". Melee monsters are at a disadvantage in this ruleset, as they will take 2 damage every time they attack. Melee monsters with the Reflection Shield ability are great for this ruleset as they are not affected by the Thorns. Magic monsters and Ranged monsters are not affected as well, though they too will reflect 2 damage if hit by a melee monster. 

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## <center>Battle Ruleset(s)</center>

Details of my battle with this ruleset is as follows.
<center>![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmULw3g1e5We8JjGEkMqBja6kMffVsEzfzkyXkWYDrYxH5/battle_ruleset.png)</center>

<center> **Briar Patch**: All Monsters have the Thorn ability
**Noxious Fumes**: All Monsters start the battle Poisoned
**Mana Cap**: 32
**Available Splinters**: Fire, Water, Life and Dragon
**Format**: Modern
</center>

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## <center>Cards & Line Up</center>

<center>**The Summoner**</center><center>https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Kelya%20Frendul_lv4.png **vs** 
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Kelya%20Frendul_lv4.png</center>

**Summoner: Kelya Frendul** - This increases the Speed and Shield of my deck by 1. 

<center>**The Line Up**</center>
|<center>**Position 1**</center>|<center>**Position 2**</center>|<center>**Position 3**</center>|<center>**Position 4**</center>|<center>**Position 5**</center>|<center>**Position 6**</center>|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/soulbound/Venari%20Marksrat_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/reward/Djinn%20Oshannus_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/River%20Nymph_lv3_gold.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Spirit%20Hoarder_lv2_gold.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/River%20Hellondale_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Angelic%20Mandarin_lv4.png|
<center>**vs**</center>
|<center>**Position 1**</center>|<center>**Position 2**</center>|<center>**Position 3**</center>|<center>**Position 4**</center>|<center>**Position 5**</center>|<center>**Position 6**</center>|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Baakjira_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/rebellion/Moxian%20Rebel_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/River%20Nymph_lv4.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/soulbound/Riverboat%20Captain_lv4.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/River%20Hellondale_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Chaos%20Agent_lv3.png|

<center>[[Card image source](https://ecency.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/splinterlands-card-images-by-level)]</center>

|**Position**|**Name**|**Description**|
|---|---|---|
|1|Venari Marksrat|This is here to provide the effects of the Martyr ability and make Djinn Oshannus a better tank.  |
|2| Djinn Oshannus | This is going to be the main beneficiary of the Martyr ability. Along with its Void and Phase ability and fast speed, it'll help dodge both magical and melee attacks, while getting higher damage from Venari Marksrat's Martyr ability. |
|3|River Nymph|It's here to cleanse the poison from the Monster in the first position for this ruleset. |
|4|Spirit Hoarder|It has the Triage and Dispel ability. It's mainly here to dispel away the effects of Martyr from the opponent, and also to provide some heals to allow my deck to last a little longer with poison in place.  |
|5|River Hellondale|This is placed here to stack with Vanari Marksrat, to allow Martyr to trigger twice. |
|6|Angelic Mandarin|It has the Triage ability too and is here to provide heals for the same reason as Spirit Hoarder. |

---

## <center>Strategy</center>

The ruleset here meant that (1) all monsters reflect damage if hit by a melee monster, (2) All monsters will take 2 poison damage every round until they die. 

For the Briar Patch ruleset, I try to use to high health Magic or Ranged monsters to maximise the reflected damage to the opponent, if he opts for melee monsters. In this battle, Noxious fumes also cause 2 poison damage every round. Cleansed, resurrected and Immune monsters are not affected by the poison damage. As such, I opted for a deck with a mix of Magic and Ranged monsters to get around the Briar Patch ruleset, and using the Cleanse and Triage abilities to minimise the impact of the Noxious Fumes ruleset.

The opponent opted to use a very strong tank with no attack and with the Void and Slow ability, supplemented with Weapons Training from Moxian Rebel and Cleanse from River Nymph. Fortunately for me, it does only 1 damage and doesn't affect Djinn Oshannus which also has the Void ability. My strategy worked a little better in this case and I prevailed in the end.

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## <center>Thoughts on the Briar Patch Ruleset</center>

The Briar Patch ruleset is a interesting to play ruleset. It stacks well with the amplify ability, allowing more melee damage to be reflected. Where possible, monsters with high health should be deployed to maximise the reflected damage against melee monsters, and the use of melee monsters should be minimised to get around the ruleset.

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## <center>Battle</center>
<center>Watch the battle [here](https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_2fbf02111dadea718396569b6a868f02&ref=arbalestarx7)</center>
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