Deep Lurker - The Hunter from the Depths

The Deep Lurker is one of those versatile monsters that can be used in any mana cap battles. Its above average attack and abilities makes it a suitable damage dealer. Its considerable health can shield your team from sneak attacks. At times, it can also act as a main tank.

Attribution:
Background under water image is a Photo by Jim Beaudoin on Unsplash

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Stats and abilities

Deep Lurkers requires 6 mana but comes with appealing stats and abilities.

Ability Description:

Opportunity -> Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy Monster with the lowest health. Usable on Levels 1 to 10.

Poison -> Attacks have a chance to apply poison, which does automatic damage to the target at the beginning of each round after the poison is applied. Poison is usable at Levels 6 to 10.

Demoralize -> Reduces the Melee attack of all enemy Monsters [ -1 to melee attack, it cannot be less than 1]. Usable only at Level 10.

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The Actual Battle

Rules of War:

The ruleset, the mana cap, the activated elements and the current League are the main deciding factors when forming my team. It is as follows:

Ruleset: Even Stevens
Mana Cap: 20
Activated Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Life

Team Formation - Preparing for Battle:

I made a non-conventional positioning in my line-up for this specific scenario. It’s less than a battle setup but more on a hunting formation. 😁

Position	Description
Summoner	Kelya is perfect summoner considering the activated elements and the mana cap. The +1 speed will increase the advantage of my team of attacking first. The +1 shield is a plus against physical attacks.
1st Position	The main tank of my team. I usually place this at the backline due to its low health but not in this case. Its’ purpose is to buy time for my Deep Lurker to deliver damage to the backline.
2nd Position	The secondary tank and the secondary damage dealer. Needed two opportunity attackers in case the prey has a shield, especially if one of them has the repair ability.
3rd Position	The main damage dealer or hunter of the team. Its above average damage can eliminate monsters with 1 hit. I’m expecting the opposing team to be composed of mostly low health monsters under this mana cap.
4th Position	Positioned in the back to defend the team - as a bait for opportunity and sneak attacks. Its speed and flying ability will most probably evade sneak and opportunity attacks. Its 1 magic attack is an added bonus. Note: Most monsters that have the opportunity and sneak ability are melee.

The Hunt in Action:

Below is the actual battle encounter with the opposing team.

Post Battle Analysis:

The opposing team is made up of a tank/attacker in front plus a magic attacker/tank-heal support at the back. This is actually a good formation for head on attacks or against magic attackers. Unfortunately for them, Deep Lurker swam through and devoured their backline first. Like an appetizer before the main dish. 😀

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Conclusion:

Deep Lurker is one of my preferred cards to deploy in battle. It can be positioned anywhere. It’s a suitable damage dealer and can also shield your team from sneak attacks. Force it to the first position and it will fight as a tank.

Attribution:

All resources (e.g. images, audio, etc.) used in this post and in the video, unless stated otherwise, belongs to Splinterlands.