Hello Splinterlands Summoners and welcome to my blog! The Frontier Mode is a great way for beginners and free to play players to experience ranked battles. The card pool is similar, therefore the playing field is somewhat equal. It makes battles more strategic and less dependent on expensive cards. It’s a good entry point for new players as it rewards them with tradable cards and weekly draw entries. On the other hand, veterans like me also enjoy playing in the Frontier. In today's post, I'll show how strategy can win battles.

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Water Magic Battle

In the Frontier, players have the same set of cards so we are playing with the same deck. If you have been playing for quite some time then you probably have collected all cards so all players are playing with the same set. There may be differences in levels but eventually, it all evens out. The only difference will be which cards you use in battles and how you position them. Here's one example where we positioned our cards differently.

The four mana Asel Alagosdil is a great tank that I usually use in position one. In this battle, my enemy and I had the same card but the ruleset included Super Sneak so the enemy positioned his Asel in the rear. On the other hand, we didn't use any melee units so this strategy failed. This slight change made a lot of difference since his most powerful unit, Mystic Scaleweaver, was placed in first position, allowing it to be destroyed first. My Mystic Scaleweaver was in the rear, safe from damage and was able to stay in battle.

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Earth Team Battle

In this battle, the card level made a huge difference. We both used the same splinter but my enemy had the higher level archon and units. This allowed him to have access to have higher stats which is crucial in battles where units are the same. I may have lost this one but it motivates me to play more, earn cards and level them up to be more competitive. At the moment, my Earth archon is at level two but I'm playing daily to upgrade it to higher levels.

Link to Battle

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Mind the Rulesets

There are rulesets that can nullify our units stats and abilities. In this battle, the rulesets were Unprotected and Healed Out. Both rulesets were a disadvantage to Dread Tafarian who lost both his armor and his healing ability. So it's only natural not to use him but my enemy seems not to consider the ruleset. I almost always use the Dread Tafarian when I choose the Earth splinter since it has high defense and Healing ability. However, in this battle, we both used the Earth splinter but instead of Dread Tafarian, I used the Dire Bear instead. The Dire Bear's stats lean toward offense, having higher melee attack compared to Dread Tafarian. The Dread Tafarian is more defensive, having armor and healing ability. However, in this battle, he lost both so he's weaker than the Dire Bear.

Link to Battle

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Life Splinter Battle

In this battle, the enemy and I both used the Life splinter but he had the higher level archon and even had a shiny Gold Foil Arcane Twice Yester Knight. The level difference is a huge advantage in the Frontier where you play with the same set of cards. However, a slight positioning difference gave me the advantage in battle. The enemy placed his Vengeful Monk in last while I had Sherringham Logger in that position. That meant that his rear position had less defense since the Vengeful Monk lacked armor while we both have sneak attackers. My team was able to eliminate the enemy's rear units first while my tank was holding its own against the enemy's. After I few rounds, I was left with three units against his tank and eventually got the victory.

Link to battle

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Final Thoughts

The Frontier Format is one of Splinterlands’ most player friendly innovations. It's a mode where strategy and familiarity with cards matter more than card collection size or spending power. It's a mode where beginners can grow at their own pace while veterans can enjoy battles with a balanced set of cards. In the Frontier, everyone has a fair chance at earning meaningful rewards. The Frontier serves as both an entry for new players wanting to try the game and a proving ground for veterans.