![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSRsYELV93PSneGckyhLDwbfpyuBFr59oMAiZ27Ctb6Lk/thumbnails_conclave.png)

Hello, fellow Summoners of Splinterlands!
How’s it going today? I hope you’re all fired up to keep battling, especially with so many new strategies popping up lately. For this week’s social media challenge, I want to share a battle experience under the **Up Close & Personal** ruleset—which turned out to be trickier than I expected.

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### The Initial Strategy

So in this ruleset, only **melee** monsters are allowed. But lucky for me, a few of my monsters have **dual attack types** (melee + magic), and I figured that would give me an edge. Since the mana cap was generous enough, I decided to bring both of them into the fight.

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|![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmU8z6Ni4tts1xXVB3TvedZ3UJTJMro9qZGaskajqf26jb/olivia.png)    |![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdGnxUay737e3oirddK8XKjvMsdvhsbPgqKUTdN3HcV4k/druid.png)     |





My dual attackers:

* **Great Bear Druid**
* **Olivia of the Brook**

They both deal **magic damage**, and I thought this would help me chip away enemy HP quickly—especially since magic bypasses armor and can strike from any position.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmVRaqG745fwZc9MpK6bPZNzAVC4k9HvdkMC513Mu2EHBQ/1.png)


My full lineup looked like this:

* **Halfling Refugee** holding the front line
* **Kanaaq Miner** to sneak attack the backline
* **Olivia of the Brook** placed in the center
* **Vengeful Monk** with *Opportunity*
* And **Great Bear Druid** at the rear

On paper, this looked solid. But in practice… well, let’s get to the juicy part.

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### When Things Don’t Go as Planned

My opponent had a much more well-rounded formation. They brought:

* **Dread Tafarian** as the main tank, complete with *Heal*
* **Halfling Refugee**
* **Halaran Huntress**, able to attack from anywhere
* **Thanalorian Blade** with *Opportunity*
* And a **Vengeful Monk** too

In the first round, I hoped Olivia and Great Bear Druid’s magic would immediately crack their front line. But instead, Olivia targeted a lower-HP monster—not their main tank. That allowed **Dread Tafarian** to stay strong up front, as his *Heal* nullified every bit of damage I threw at him.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmWHfd7d65JRDjXBmy6ZaoPoiHY3rrJ4cBanhSKVkYbuCm/missed.png)


To make matters worse, **Halaran Huntress** had the *Flying* ability. Two of my melee attacks missed—painful to watch my win chance vanish because of RNG! Meanwhile, my opponent just calmly and consistently focused fire, taking down my team one by one.

For the full battle replay, you can watch it here: 
<center> 👉  [**LINK BATTLE**](
https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_819613de6e728c54422323db557e38ad?ref=rqr4)  👈</center>
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### Poor Tactics, Valuable Lessons

After losing in the fifth round, I really had to reflect. Turns out, **just relying on dual-attack monsters isn’t enough**. You need solid coordination between monsters:

* Focused attacks
* A tank that can actually endure
* And most importantly, **understanding the ruleset and anticipating your opponent’s abilities**

Using **Dread Tafarian** as a tank was honestly brilliant. He seems ordinary, but that constant *healing* made him an unbreakable wall. My team, on the other hand, had scattered attacks and no real focus.

So here’s the big takeaway for me—and maybe for you too: if your opponent runs a monster with *heal*, your damage has to be strong enough to outpace that regeneration. If not? Well, you’ll just be throwing punches into a sponge.

This battle reminded me that **victory isn't just about card strength**, but about **placement, synergy, and rule comprehension**.

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### Quick Tip from Today’s Defeat

Never underestimate the **ruleset**. And always make sure you **fully understand both your monsters and your enemy’s**. Sometimes, a single skill like *Heal* or *Flying* can decide the whole match.

Thanks for reading my defeat story today. Losing is normal—but what matters most: **learn the lesson and be better in the next battle.** 🛡️⚔️

See you on the battlefield!



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Talk about Splinterlands,
If you haven't tried out this fantastic game called Splinterlands yet, I invite you to [**Join**](https://splinterlands.com?ref=rqr4).
It's free, but you'll need to invest in a beginning deck or buy gaming cards to gain real assets like cards and tokens. 

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If you already joined the splinterlands, and are looking for a place to grow. We need **YOU**. We are a chill, social guild looking for a few more active members! If you think you might be a fit, join us in our [**Discord**](https://discord.gg/5u638vHPVh)

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