This week's battle challenge focuses on the Wave Runner:

Card Details

A reward edition common rarity monster from the Water Splinter at level 6:

• Estimated cost: ~$64
• Mana cost: 5
• Melee damage: 3
• Speed: 5
• Health: 5
• Reach ability: Melee attack Monsters with the Reach ability may attack from the second position on the team.
• Knock Out ability: Does double damage when attacking an enemy that is stunned.

It's wild to think that you could pick them up at a couple of pennies about 6-7 months ago when the Wave Runner was added to the reward pool. Now with the wild adoption in splinterlands, they are going for $0.50 for a single card! It's pretty apt that it has the name Wave Runner. For those who don't know, the traditional Waverunner is a popular waterski machine that shoots water out of its rear. The Wave Runner excels in battle when it can attack from the backline and proc its Reach ability (one of my favorite abilities in splinterlands). But for that strategy to succeed, it needs to be protected by tanky boi, e.g., The Kraken and monsters of that ilk. As soon as the tank in position 1 goes down, the Wave Runner doesn't survive long enough due to its relatively low health.

Battle - Full Battle Replay

Battle Details

• Mana cap: 32
• Rulesets(s): Silenced Summoners, Odd Ones Out

Lineup Details

• Alric Stormbringer (Summoner): +1 magic damage
• Torhilo the Frozen: primary tank
• Wave Runner: support tank with Reach ability
• Sabre Shark: support melee damage with Snipe ability
• Crustacean King: auto-inclusion for healing buffs!
• Water Elemental + Highland Archer: primary range damage

Did your strategy work? What will you try differently next time?

This battle toyed with emotions constantly. At the onset, I thought I was done for, but momentum swung in my favor as the battle went on, and the Wave Runner was playing its support role impeccably. Where did things go wrong? Well, firstly, my opponent, Serpentine Soldier, and Sand Worm proved lethal. Those high-speed and high damage monsters depleted my backline. Secondly, two crucial misses at pivotal points in the battle swung the match back in my opponent's favor. I knew I was done for when Sand Worm was in position 1 and Torhilo attacked and missed. Speed matters, and in this battle, it proved the deciding factor. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the Wave Runner as it did significant damage, took out a couple of monsters, and if it had a couple more points of health, it would've dealt with the oppositions remaining, but alas, this wasn't the case. The battle was lost, but Wave Runner can hold its head up high!

Do you like the Wave Runner? Why or why not?

Wave Runner falls into the category of cards that serves as collection-filler. I wouldn't be out shopping for it if I didn't receive it as a reward in the loot and season chests. While it's not a bad card, and the above battle made a decent case for it, it just doesn't stand out from the vast amount of other monsters in splinterlands. I prefer to use monsters like Manticore, Fineas Rage, and Electric Eels if I am looking for a support melee monster with Reach ability. And when I consult the usage stats by @jacekw, the Wave Runner is used less than 0.07% by the top 100 players in Champion League. So yeah, not a bad card, but also nothing that makes it stand out from the rest.

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