Splinterlands 1 Mana Card Review

Available single mana cards have doubled since the release of Untamed, providing players with additional options for low cap mana games or sliding in one more card with that extra available mana. Previously limited to Shin-Lo, Creeping Ooze, Brownie, and Silvershield Bard, the new one mana cards now span to all splinters and come with some serious abilities. Below is a brief overview of the 1 mana cards and their use.

Shin-Lo: Available only during the October 2018 Kickstarter, Shin-Lo is one of the scarcest cards in the Splinterlands universe. With 225 regular bcx cards in existence and decimated down to a combined 113 in circulation, the top 25 players have been using it less than 1% of the time, but with a win rate of 69%. Dragon 1 mana magic sneak is incredibly powerful, though quite expensive to level up! Dragon splinter quest should see revived interest in some of the early Dragon cards. Regardless of new cards or abilities released, the legendary Shin-Lo should always have a use in Dragon and remain a classic card.

Ledgendary Promo, Dragon, bcx reg. 225 / gold 75, Circulation 113 / 44

Creeping Ooze: Recently hitting the reward print max cap of 400k, Creeping Ooze is currently the fifth most played card for the top 25 players at 16%. Unsurprising, as it is the only Neutral single mana card that also immediately has the ability of Slow. Additional value comes with playing the gold variation of this card for the DEC bonus. As a common card, it is cheap to acquire, but it is debatable on increasing its level through combining. Excluded from Keep Your Distance at level 4, is the 505 card combine worth 2 melee and 1 extra health? If the game allowed different held variations to be selected, ideally one of each would be retained in decks. Circulation will probably remain high for this card, since there isn't a strong incentive to combine. Neutral Furious Chicken at 0 mana has also reduced its use slightly.

Common Rewards, Neutral, bcx reg. 346,436 / gold 7,325, Circ. 126,256 / 3,921

Brownie: Another rewards card to recently hit the print cap, the Epic Earth Brownie provides an immediate +1 speed with Swiftness and a +1 melee at level 4 with Inspire. With dual useful abilities, Brownie is being utilized nearly 7% of the time by top 25 players. The downside for those interested in the game economics lies in the leveling. Inspire is achieved at level 4, and level 5 and 6 only add an additional speed and health for a steep card combine cost. Regardless, Brownie will remain a heavily utilized card in Earth decks.

Epic Rewards, Earth, bcx reg. 35,480 / gold 568, Circ. 14,323 / 391

Silvershield Bard: Released with the Orbs promos, Silvershield Bard is still available to be drawn, as just under 40% of Orbs remain. Fitting in nicely with the Life theme, the rare card starts with Cleanse at level 1 and picks up Swiftness at level 5. Possibly underrated and overlooked at release, the cleanse ability is finding significantly more use to counter Affliction which in turn is used to counter Heal. Top 25 players are using Silvershield Bard 7% of the time.

Rare Orbs, Life, bcx reg. 35,819 / gold 970, Circ. 10,583 / 469

Albatross: The Untamed Edition provided Water Splinter with a very powerful 1 mana card in Albatross. Though lacking any ability to attack, the Flying and more important Tank Heal are significant dual abilities. The lack of an attack is most likely an advantage for most players who want their tank healers to avoid reflect, return fire, and thorns. With the maxed version having health of 3 and speed of 4, this card will see lots of use in Water decks as more players upgrade their Untamed cards. Currently hovering around 2% use for top 25 players, it is the third most utilized Untamed series card. Expect this card to become a standard inclusion in most decks with a high combine rate to achieve the Tank Heal.

Common Untamed, Water, bcx reg. 44,480 / gold 1,547, Circ. 13,190 / 733

Cursed Slimeball: Maintaining the theme of Death, Cursed Slimeball provides the Redemption ability at level 6. Combined with Crypt Mancer and Undead Priest, Cursed Slimeball can knock out low health cards quickly. Is it worth combining above level 6? We will see what meta develops with this card.

Common Untamed, Death, bcx reg. 44,214 / gold 1,545, Circ. 13,185 / 687

Shadowy Presence: Recently added to the reward card series, Shadowy Presence adds another important 1 mana card to the Death splinter. In a similar design to Albatross, Shadowy Presence does not wield an attack ability, but it add Strengthen and Inspire to the deck. With six health at level 6, expect this card to be fully maxed in most competitive decks, as the lack of attack will help keep it alive longer. The dual supporting abilities that influence attack and defend should result in Shadowy Presence receiving heavy use. Will Death decks start including this card over Cursed Slimeball or will there possibly be room for both?

Epic Rewards, Death, Circ. 545 / 17

Flame Monkey: The Fire splinter also receives its first 1 mana card in Flame Monkey. With a single melee attack, Flame Monkey will not be providing a lot of firepower, but the inclusion of Repair at level 5 and Swiftness at level 10 will result in use. Currently Fire does not rely heavily on armor, but this could change with additional cards. Flame Monkey's real benefit is in the +1 speed with Swiftness at level 10. Already one of the fastest splinters, expect some heavy Exploding Dwarf, Cocatrice, Serpentine Solder or Serpent of the Flame possible combos.

Common Rewards, Fire, Circ 6,713 / 195

Furious Chicken: Obviously not a 1 mana card, but Furious Chicken remains the only 0 mana card in Splinterlands. As a Neutral, this card should be in every deck. Debatable whether it should be upgraded, but expect to see it remain as the most utilized card until another 0 mana is released. Doesn't even matter that the ability is almost never utilized.

Rare Rewards, Neutral, Circ 27,333 / 1,096