Hello there! **@saydie** here, playing **Splinterlands** everyday!
A few days ago, Splinterlands launched a new set for the Frontier Mode called the Starlight Caravan. This set is made of 36 new cards, including 30 new units and 6 new Archons. Since these were all cards that were specifically made for Frontier, the cards' levels were all capped at Silver, and the most that you can use them is in the Gold Bracket if you choose to use them in Modern. Another thing that is different from this set is that you can not get them for free, but you also can't buy them unless you play Frontier or the Dao-sponsored weekly tournament and get a hold of the Drop Tokens that give players access to purchase these cards.
But aside from that, Starlight Caravan gives birth to new abilities, which were unprecedented since the release of Frontier Mode.
Starlight Caravan Gives Birth To New Abilities
We know that card abilities turn Splinterlands from a basic card game of high-stat cards into a deeper, tactical game where positioning and card synergies dictate the battle's outcome. Even a seemingly weak card could become the match's MVP if we placed it in the right place, along with cards that could provide support to it. There were even cards that could gain certain abilities when placed next to a certain unit. Because of that, the game turns into a deeper strategy game. We also know that for each set that comes into Splinterlands, they have always introduced new abilities to the game.
But for Frontier, it is unprecedented thing to have an ability that was introduced in Frontier. Well, it's still in the early stage, but it was technically a free-to-play format, so why even introduce new abilities on it? And while Untrainable is also a Frontier-exclusive thing, it is a debilitation, so why would any player want to have that in Modern?
Back to the topic, there were two new abilities that were introduced to Frontier Mode through Starlight Caravan. The Focus Guard, which increases the ranged damage of a ranged unit after it and Repair Guard that restores the armor of the unit that was next to the card with this ability. In a way, these abilities were similar to Focus and Repair, but they have much less coverage of what the new abilities can do.
Focus Guard - At the Start of the battle, the next living allied unit behind this unit gains +1 ranged power if it has a ranged attack.
Unlike Focus, which brings +1 ranged damage to all allied ranged units, Focus Guard only increases the damage of the unit that was behind it. As I haven't tested the ability yet in battle, I do not know if the additional ranged damage will be gone if the unit with Focus Guard was defeated or if it can be cleansed. But since this was Frontier, just having additional damage for a card could be a huge advantage to have, especially when rulesets such as Close Range and Going the Distance were at play. As of the moment, there were two units with the Focus Guard ability.
| https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/starlight/Fire%20Trinity_lv3.png | https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/starlight/Ronrick%20Traceur_lv2.png |
Repair Guard - Each round, restores 2 armor(up to max) to the next living allied unit behind this unit.
Meanwhile, for the Repair Guard, although it can also repair up to 2 armor in a round, unlike Repair, which prioritizes the unit that loses the most armor, Repair Guard only restores the armor of the unit behind it. Well, it can still be quite a powerful ability if you use it along with a unit that has Taunt, which also happens to have armor and much more powerful if you include other units with Repair, so that the unit can get multiple repair. As of the moment, there were two units with the Repair Guard ability.
| https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/starlight/Drowned%20Oracle_lv4.png | https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/starlight/Tarmanter_lv4.png |
Closing
Since these new abilities were first introduced in Frontier, will the abilities also be introduced in the Future Modern sets or cards? I think so. While these abilities were more contained, they still have their uses, and the strength of the card does not just rely on a single ability but on what combinations of abilities it has, as well as how a player can utilize those abilities on their lineup.
Thank you, and see you on the next post!
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