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[[Image source](https://ecency.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/battlemagesecrets-3-21-2023)]

Hi everyone! It's time for the weekly battle challenge for Battle Mage Secrets. The challenge this week is the Armored Up Ruleset.  

## <center>About the Ruleset</center>
<center>![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQiZer67LnQ1oYy6SkE9BTaZqgPmePcYyzQNrEJqXGx1m/armored_up.jpg)
**Armored Up**</center>

The Armored Up ruleset states that "All Monsters have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor set", and it means that all monsters are more resistant to melee and ranged attacks due to the additional armor.

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

Details of my battle with this ruleset is as follows.
<center>![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYeJn2dk4ieHyuQxefSqgyPT1bKAXAZp2ibtgyJTSWnjb/battle_ruleset.png)

</center>
<center>**Earthquake**: Non-flying Monsters take 2 Melee damage at the end of each round
**Armored Up** All Monsters have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor set
Only the Fire, Water and Death Splinters can be used
**Mana Cap**: 29
**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_lv3.png **vs** 
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Kelya%20Frendul_lv2.png
</center>**Summoner: Kelya Frendul** - This increases the Speed and Shield of my whole 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>|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/soulbound/Venari%20Marksrat_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Diemonshark_lv3.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Scavo%20Hireling_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/rift/Runemancer%20Kye_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Torrent%20Fiend_lv1.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/Diemonshark_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/chaos/Merdaali%20Guardian_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/untamed/Tower%20Griffin_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/reward/Venari%20Wavesmith_lv2.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/untamed/Ice%20Pixie_lv1.png|https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/reward/Pelacor%20Bandit_lv2.png|

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

|Position|Name|Description|
|---|---|---|
|1|Venari Marksrat|I used it first position so that it'll get killed first, to get +1 to all stats for the Diemonshark.|
|2|Diemonshark|I used it second position it has a fair amount of shield, and can take a fair amount of damage from the Earthquake ruleset. |
|3|Scavo Hireling|It's here to repair the shields, so that the Diemonshark can get some shield repair. |
|4|Runemancer Kye|This is the key to this ruleset, as it has the Flying ability and does not take damage from the Earthquake ruleset. Plus, it has the Life Leech ability which increases its health after every attack|
|5|Torrent Fiend|It's here to take some damage in case the opponent uses a Sneak monster. |

---

## <center>Strategy</center>

The rulesets here meant that non-flying monsters will take 2 damage every round and that all monsters will last an additional round against the Earthquake ruleset due to the additional shield.

Given these 2 combinations, the best strategy is the use flying monsters with magic attacks. There are, however, limited number of those monsters in the Modern format. The next best strategy is to use monsters with high shields or the Shield ability, and high health. As such, the 2 key monsters used in this battle is Diemonshark for its high health and shield, and Runemance Kye, for its Flying ability and magic attacks. I chose to place Venari Marksrat in the first position, so that the Diemonshark will benefit from the additional shield and health after the Venari Marksrat's death and Scavo Hireling to repair the shields, making the Diemonshark last longer.

The opponent chose a healing strategy with Venari Wavesmith providing additional shield and some low level flying monsters. This is a good strategy as well, but fortunately for me, once his Diemonshark was taken out, the rest of his monsters were not so effective against the Runemancer.

## <center>Thoughts on the Armor Up Ruleset</center>

As the Armored Up ruleset makes the monsters more resilient against melee and ranged attacks, it is great for decks that utilises magic monsters. Monsters with the Thorns ability also benefit from this skillset as they are able to reflect more damage against melee attackers.

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## <center>Battle</center>
<center>Watch the battle [here](https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_603ec394d74d270621230b5b66083054&ref=arbalestarx7)</center>
<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C7UpoIAivJY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>