One Attack First, One Victory Secured

Greetings, Splinterfam!
How are you today? Hopefully you're having a great one—especially with the crypto market starting to strengthen again lately. HIVE is rising too, and it always feels like there’s new hope every time the market begins to smile a little. So, while the mood is looking pretty bright, I want to share a battle experience that I found quite interesting. Not because I won overwhelmingly, and not because of some flashy formation… but because this battle proved that a difference of just 1 HP and a little bit of speed can decide everything.

This battle took place under the Back to Basics ruleset—which means all monster abilities disappear. No Poison, no Heal, no Shield, no Dodge, no special taunts. Everything returns to the purest form: attack, defend, survive.

And in a battle like this, two things truly matter:
Speed and HP.

Since we both used the Archon Marlai Singariel, magic attacks automatically became our main weapon. Marlay gives extra magic damage, so it’s natural that both sides built very similar team compositions: magic spam + solid HP.

What surprised me was… our team compositions were extremely similar, almost like mirror images.
You can see it from the team formation display:

From that alone, it’s clear that my opponent relied on quantity. They used six monsters, while I only had five. In Back to Basics, having one extra monster means one extra attack per round—and that’s usually a big deal.

Even in total HP, I was at a disadvantage.
My total HP: 6 + 6 + 8 + 5 + 5 = 30
Opponent’s total HP: 6 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 7 + 5 = 29

Okay, so it’s only a 1 HP difference. But even a single point, when distributed differently, can shift the momentum.

However, there was one thing that made me confident:
I had more monsters with Speed 4.

And in Back to Basics, speed is king.

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Battle Breakdown

As soon as the first round started, the impact of speed became obvious. My monsters attacked first, hitting the opponent before they could respond. This made a huge difference, because landing the first hit can secure early kills and reduce the number of incoming attacks.

For example, when my Mindless Thrall, with its high speed, launched the opening strike, one of the opponent’s attackers was immediately pushed into a critical state. From there, each round my attacks landed first, followed by fewer and fewer enemy attacks as their units fell one by one.

Even though, on paper, the opponent had the advantage in numbers—and in Back to Basics, having more monsters usually = easy win—the fact that my attacks always came first made my damage timeline much cleaner and more efficient.

Speed was the biggest plot twist here.

If you want to watch how the “giant” fell, here’s the link:

👉 LINK BATTLE 👈

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Interesting Notes From This Battle

Some points I think are worth highlighting:

1. I was outnumbered, but I won through timing.
   Fast attacks aren’t just aesthetic—they determine who falls first.

2. Back to Basics makes Magic the star.
   Since armor can’t block magic, using Marlai Singariel was a very smart choice.

3. It all comes down to who survives longest.
   With no special abilities, the fight becomes a pure “who drops first” contest.

4. Small differences turn into big outcomes.
   Just 1 speed or 1 HP can completely flip the direction of a battle.

I often see new players confused about why they lose even when their team looks “stronger on paper.” But Splinterlands isn’t just about big numbers or cool cards. Small things—speed, attack order, and total HP—can decide the winner.

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Conclusion & Quick Tips

This battle reminded me that victory often doesn’t come from numbers or big cards, but from proper execution and perfect timing. Speed truly becomes the invisible MVP that decides everything.

My advice:
If you’re playing with the Back to Basics ruleset, pay attention to:

• Monster speed
• Attack order
• Total team HP
• And of course, magic + summon buffs like Marlai Singariel

Don’t underestimate small stats — because in Splinterlands, small differences can create big results.

See you in the arena, Splinterfam! May HIVE stay green and may victory always be on your side!

Talk about Splinterlands,
If you haven't tried out this fantastic game called Splinterlands yet, I invite you to Join.
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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