Introduction

Well, you can take a break from playing but can hardly take any break from Splintering. I always wanted to say that but for a good reason. See, Splinterlands is a combination of a great game, a good investment avenue and an excellent returns provider. So, what happens is that even if the gamer in me wants to take a break, the prudent investor wants to continue. If the investor wants to go slow for some time, then the player takes over for fun. What does that mean?

You never grow out of Splinterlands. It is just a fun game with all-round possibilities of some immaculate strategies inside and out. That kind of sums of Splinterlands and if you haven’t started yet, well, don’t think again. Just dive. 😊

Anyway, let’s look at one more character from the game, shall we? Today we will be looking at the ***“Child of the Forest”***. Here is one of the cards belonging to the Earth Splinter and one which I used to play with during my early days of Splinterlands. Why? There’s a lot of reasons and let’s look at them.

But before that, how about getting to know Splinterlands as a game for the newbies and the uninitiated? You bet. So, let’s go.

What Game is Splinterlands?

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

*Splinterlands is a digital card game which 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 or guilds that you can join.*

***Just to give you an idea of few of the uber-expensive cards, take a look at this recent purchase of Prince Julian at USD 3500.***

Card Purchase Contract: Gold Foil Prince Julian

Did you go to the link and see for yourself? I hope you did. And I hope that gives an overview of the game. I just love the game, and those interested can go to Splinterlands’ site and join. If you want a link to join, I will leave one at the end of the article which you can use.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Child of the Forest — The Fierce Child

Now at first glance, the *Child of the Forest* appears to be much like any other card in the ranged attack category. If you are a newbie, much like I was a while back, this would be your usual companion getting into a battle. It ticks quite a lot of boxes — low mana cost, high speed and decent attack value. The combination of these three parameters means that the Child will be one of the firsts to attack in a game. And if the attack is potent, you already have started on a winning note.

So, then a great card to have, right? Hmm. Not exactly. As I said, when you start-off on Splinterlands, this is one of the best cards around, especially in games with low mana cost. However, when you level up or get more new cards, you will find more potent ranged attackers in the Earth Splinter. Besides, the Child has one drawback, and that is low health. If a monster with an attack value of two takes on the Child, then he will be gone in just one strike. He, after all, has only a health value of 2.

Also, sometimes in the same mana cost, we can get similar or more attack value monsters but with higher health. A good example is the Earth Elemental shown below.

Now, the speed of the Earth Elemental is not as good as the Child’s, but at least, it will be around even after taking a few hits. The health value of six is fantastic. So, when it is a choice between these two cards, I tend to lean towards the Earth Elemental.

So, then the Child is a No-Go?

Nah, I did not mean that. As I said, it is an excellent card to go when you are starting off playing the game and very unlikely that you would also have the Earth Elemental in your collection. So in such cases, definitely a go-to card. But there are other situations too where it would work well.

Let’s see a few of them.

Low Mana Cost Battles

There is no rocket science here. If you want to form a team in low mana battles, the Child forms an excellent mate to carry into the fight. Most of the time, it is a great idea to have at least, one melee, one magic and one ranged attacker. It is just a good strategy to ensure that you are attackers will prevail even if the opponent has monsters with the ability to take reduced attack.

So, in such cases, a Child comes handy, and guess what, the Child would be one of the first attackers. Not a bad start, huh?

Health Equalizer Rule

This is one of my favourite rules in the game. Under this rule, more or less, I am the winner. The rule is simple. It says that all the chosen monsters’ health value will be made equal to that of the highest health of any monster in your’s or your opponent’s team. Which means, the Child’s health automatically goes up, and thereby, takes care of its only drawback.

How cool is that? It is right. And now consider a scenario where the Health Equalizer rule is in play for a low mana battle — a perfect setup for the Child to shine. 😊

Leveling Up

Well, not always will we get a low mana battle and not always will we be playing the Health Equalizer rule, that’s understood. So does that mean that the Child can’t be used otherwise? Heck, no.

In fact, the Child levels up quite strong. So, to get your Child potent enough, start levelling him up as soon as possible. That’s the third strategy with the Child.

Let’s get to know a bit more about the levelling up part.

How Does the *Child of the Forest* Levels Up?

The Child levels up to a health value of six, and that takes care of the health part. But that’s not all, it gets new ability, and its attack value improves to three.

Take a look below.

Talking about abilities, the Child comes with the Snipe ability right from the beginning. Which means, the Child will target magic, ranged or no-attack monsters in a position other than one. That helps in keeping the enemy’s battle line in check.

But as the Child levels up, it also gets Snare ability. The Snare ability allows it to remove the flying ability from monsters, and that could be useful in the Earthquake rule set. How cool is that? And you would have already noticed the attack value going up to three. That’s very, very cool.

Besides, at the current market rate, you can max out the Child for just six dollars. That’s a stick of economical dynamite in your lineup.

Yes, that’s how you define the ***Child of the Forest — An Economical Dynamite.***

Did That Give You a Good Idea?

Well, that’s why I kind of like the Child and I hope you too can take full advantage of the card. So, if you already have one, it is a good one to hold, but if you don’t, then not a bad idea to get one in your kitty. And while you are at it, might as well level it up.

So, take care, have fun and keep Splintering!!

😊

Want to Join Splinterlands?

You can click below and follow the link. All the best!

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**Image Courtesy:** Splinterlands