Introduction

Octopider is a card that caught my attention as soon as I started playing Splinterlands. And the reasons are obvious. When battle after battle, you notice that the opposition outlasts your monsters, you realize that the Octopider is a good addition to the team. With its relatively high health for the bronze league, you are more than certain that you would last the opposition’s onslaught.

Of course, back then, I had no clue of strategies and would rely on the superior attack value as much as the health of the Octopider to help me win battles. That didn’t always work, as you would have guessed—the primary reason being the Octopider’s mana cost.

The Octopider costs eight mana cost to take into battle. Even if we consider its attack value of three, it won’t help if the Octopider reaches the first position; after all, it is a ranged attacker, and it needs strong monsters before it. So, that alone limits the Octopider’s usage for just medium and high mana battles.

There are numerous strengths of the Octopider too, and more so as it levels up. Let’s look at all of them and witness the Octopider in battle. But let’s take a moment to talk about Splinterlands. The game which makes the Octopider available in the first place.

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game relatively late, I should have had gotten going early in hindsight. Anyway, no need to despair. There are so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments that you can play or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of how lucky you can get in Splinterlands - read my story of getting cards worth $327 for buying few packs worth $20 only.

Got Cards Worth $327 for $20

And this is just a small number. I have witnessed people getting uber-expensive cards in their pack and selling it for as high as $6500. This means the game has interested buyers for your cards too. In fact, there is a whole Splinterlands marketplace.

Now, if all that interests you and you want to try out the game, then I am leaving a link below for you to join.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Octopider | Health of an Octopus | Attack of A Spider

The Octopider stars with a high attack value even at the base level. That’s how I fell in love with the card when I started. There was no other ranged attacker with such a high attack value in my kitty. In fact, I did not even have too many melee attackers with an attack value of three. It was only later that I got the Goblin Mech and the Nectar Queen. So, you would have guessed right if you thought that I relied on the Octopider a lot.

Yes, indeed, I relied on the Octopider a lot, and it did not let me down. At the bronze level, barring the flying monsters, there aren’t many that can stand the Octopider’s barrage of attacks. And you would not have any reason to complain other than the known one – the mana cost. But then, even with the mana cost, the Octopider is a great package, especially as it levels up.

We can now get into a battle to see the Octopider perform.

The Octopider in Battle

The battle that I chose to take the Octopider was one with 29-mana cost and with the trample rule in play. Incidentally, I had no monster in the Death Splinter with the trample ability. In my collection, only Rexxie has the trample ability but belongs to the Earth Splinter. In other words, I had to forego taking advantage of the rule in play.

Despite the rule, I was confident of a strong team since the Death Splinter held a few of my best monsters. Besides, the Octopider would be part of the selection, so I was quite confident that I would have fun. It reminded me of the old days when the battle was all about Octopider for me. 😊

The Face-Off

Since the death quest was also going on at the time of this battle, it is obvious to see that the opponent, too, had chosen the Death Splinter. But at first glance, the opponent’s six attack monsters appeared formidable against my four. Even in the four, one was the Furious Chicken (😊), so I couldn’t pin much hope on it. That said, each of my monsters was high on health. That meant only one thing – the opponent would need multiple rounds of attack to do away with my lineup. That was good news, but still, I wasn’t very optimistic. We will know as the battle starts.

But first, let’s get to know both the lineup. We will start with the opponent’s lineup. I realized that I was fighting a bot. 😊

Summoner: Contessa L’Ament | Death Splinter | Decreases the attack value of all enemy ranged attackers by one.

Monsters:

Position 1: Bone Golem | A melee attacker with an attack value of three. It also has void-ability, thereby taking reduced attacks from magic attackers.

Position 2: Spirit Miner | Magic attacker with an attack value of two.

Position 3: Fallen Spectre | Magic attacker with an attack value of one. Its flying ability makes it virtually tough to hit

Position 4: Dwarven Wizard | Magic attacker with an attack value of one. It has snipe ability, so my monsters in the second position need to be careful.

Position 5: Undead Archer | Ranged attacker with an attack value of one. It has an affliction ability that can stop the healing abilities of enemy monsters.

Position 6: Boogeyman | Magic attacker with an attack value of two. It has slow-ability, which slows down all enemy monsters.

See what I mean? It is indeed a good selection of monsters by the opponent. In this case, it is a bot. Interesting!

Now it’s time to take a look at my lineup.

Summoner: Contessa L’Ament | Death Splinter | Decreases the attack value of all enemy ranged attackers by one.

Monsters:

Position 1: Dark Ha’on | A melee attacker with an attack value of two and taunt ability. So, it will attract all attacks to itself till it is in play.

Position 2: Furious Chicken | Since it is level three, it has a melee attack value of one.

Position 3: Shadowy Presence | A non-attack monster that could act as a tank if the first two monsters perish.

Position 4: Ancient Lich | Strong magic attacker with an attack value of three. Since it also has the life-leech ability, it will grow in health as it attacks the opponents.

Position 5: Octopider | This is our champion with a ranged attack of three. Since it is level three, it also has demoralize ability. So, all enemy melee attackers will have their attack values reduced by one.

That was the lineup, and now I was keen to start the battle.

The Battle Gets Intense

With the initial sizing, I initiated the battle. The Octopider lost one attack value because of the opponent’s summoner. That was expected, but still, the Octopider remained powerful.

As expected, the Dark Ha’on took most of the attacks. The Bone Golem had also faced a strong attack which had reduced its health to two. It wouldn’t survive much of the next round.

In fact, it was the Octopider that took out the Bone Golem for good. But by that time, the Ha’on had also sustained a lot of damage. I could estimate that it wouldn’t even last round two.

The Battle Races to Conclusion

During the course of round 2 itself, the Ha’on was gone. That brought the opponent’s Spirit Miner and my Furious Chicken to the front.

It was hilarious to see something as strong as the Spirit Miner being taken down by my Chicken. What this did is expose the chink in the opponent’s armor. The next three monsters in the lineup were of low health, which meant that one attack from the Ancient Lich and the Octopider would take out two for sure in the next round. Then it was the opponent’s two monsters against my two. The thing was that both my monsters were quite high on health in comparison.

Interestingly, the battle went on for three more rounds before the Octopider dealt the final blow. The Boogeyman was gone, and the battle was over.

I had won, and our champion, the Octopider, did the trick. 😊

Do I Use the Octopider Often?

At one point, it was very often. However, with more options now, I use it in some instances. The high mana battles find the Octopider participating for sure.

In the battle that we witnessed, the true strength of the Octopider was not evident since the other two monsters were also powerful ones. You’ve got to take my word for it that the Octopider can stand on its own and take down the opposition single-handedly in many cases. All it needs is good monsters in the front that can stay alive and keep the Octo from reaching the front position. So, yes, a good companion in battle.

Where Else Does the Octopider Fit In?

The obvious one is the “close-range” rule, where the ranged attackers can attack from the first position. That rule makes the Octopider a formidable tank. Think about it – the Octo has high health, high attack value, and has demoralize ability. Isn’t it as good as the Molten Ogre from the Fire Splinter? Yes, it is and therefore becomes a tank in the first position when the close-range rule is in play.

That said, I would still place it at the back and have it eventually reach the front. That way, it would remain shielded from the enemy attacks while unleashing its own lethal ones. The opportunity and sneak attacks make the Octopider even more interesting. It can attack monsters other than the ones in the front position. It deals a severe blow to the ones at the back. And it is fun to watch. The only time it is not fun is when the Octopider is in the opponent’s lineup. ☹

There are many more places, rules, and mana caps where the Octopider readily fits in. I would recommend trying it out in different situations. 😊

How Does the Octopider Level Up?

Octopider has one of the coolest leveling up, and that too while being economical. By economical, I do not mean just the cost but also the number of cards required.

The Octopider’s first ability, the demoralize ability, is unlocked at level three. This is something we witnessed in our battle, and when there are many melee attackers in the opponent’s lineup, it could work for us beautifully. The point to be noted here is that it requires just five cards to reach level three and unlocking the first ability. That is quite achievable, in my opinion.

Besides, even if you check the cost of the Octopider, you will realize that level five Octo is available in the market right now for just $3. That is very cheap. The Octo also has the blind-ability unlocked at level seven. This ability ensures that the opponent’s melee and ranged attackers have a higher chance of missing their targets. That is quite an impressive one too.

Again, if you want to have the blind-ability in your Octo, all you have to do is purchase three of the level five cards that I just spoke about, and that will take you to level seven. In other words, at $9, you can have a level seven Octo with all abilities unlocked. Not bad, in my opinion.

And we haven’t even touched upon the Octo’s speed and attack value. The Octo gets a speed revamp to four and an attack value of five at the very top level. A ranged attacker with an attack value of five is formidable in any form of evaluation. So, yeah, a good card.

I am sure you would agree with me that the Octo is indeed an economical card for leveling up. 😊

The Octopider | Too Strong and Lethal

If there is any doubt of taking the Octopider to battle, you should relinquish it. It is a great card and would work even better with its abilities unlocked. It is easier to get and level up too. So, what is there to not like about the card.

The only thing that would matter is the strategy of taking the Octo into a battle. That is the least of the problem, as players would sooner than later know what to do. If that is the case, then the Octopider could be termed as a one-helluva monster in the Death Splinter! 😊

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Image Courtesy: Splinterlands