Water Splinter (Blue)--Top Tanks

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A few days ago I went through each of the abilities and ranked the tanks as I see them stacking up right now at the current abilities prior to the changes that will be made up to the time games start possibly this Sunday. The next of this series will be the Water Splinter tanks that are most ideal in the first position as I see them if playing a purely Water splinter deck, this does not include of course Neutral cards that can be mixed in with any other splinter. The following is a selected text from a prior post that outlines the best attributes and ideal strategy with tanks in setting your monster lineup:

...There are some abilities that you typically want in a solid monster lineup. In no particular order (I leave that to the voters) I will be doing a short series on the best tanks that can be used as a first card in your lineup. This is quite often the cornerstone of a great foundation to your team that you are playing. The ideal tank in this game has and/or higher health, armor, and may not be fast at all but difficult to take out needing many attacks, and they also help take down in many ways. There are also some abilities that are highly desired include: trample, heal, enrage, shield, stun, magic reflect, void, retaliate, thorns, or really any other attribute that helps the tank fight off instantly the enslaught of attackers that happen out of the gate in the match quite often.

The first post I will give you a list of possible tanks that be can be ideal for your first position by splinter and I can base the rankings off of your reactions mixed with personal opinion and how they are currently being viewed in general at the moment by the rest of the public of what I have observed. Also it is important to remember the game is still in testing as nothing has been announced for permanent abilities, and may never as they will likely change quite a bit at least early on to maintain balance and uniqueness in play week to week.

Top Four Water Splinter Tanks:

• #4 Spineback Turtle- This is a handy and very cheap tank that costs only four manna to play. Decent health and armor allow you some time for the monsters behind it to attack while it fights the monster in front of it. Thorns help in decreasing health in the monster attacking it. Not a bad option if you really want to go with a mammoth attack behind it but there are more ideal picks in the Blue and Neutral that can hold up better for sustained attacks.

• #3 Frozen Soldier- When the stats came out for this is I was awestruck by the amount of armor and the magic reflect ability of this. Unfortunately it's still a bit vulnerable to magic attack and has a lower health rating despite having high levels of armor throughout. It holds up well to a melee attack and has decent speed for a tank but can really get fried and taken out by a heavy barrage of attackers focused on the tank. A great choice otherwise and a very sturdy card if not all attack intensity is focused on it.

• #2 Naga Warrior- Oddly enough with all of these female characters only one has the abilities of Enrage and Retaliate (rimshot--really bad joke I know). This card is an absolute beast in the trenches. When attacking an opposing tank with Retaliate it can really get its shots in and that punch is packed with some power when her health is less than full and Enrage kicks in. Good amount of health for this surprisingly stout front of the lineup it can really dish out the punishment if not with Stun by the opponent.

• #1 Frosty Giant- The namesake of the actual Norse mythological being that occupied the cold air creating a giant beast that wandered Viking country and even battled Thor once upon a time. This thing brings a lot of talent to the table as a tank and can be very reliable to do the job. With abilities (from Level 1-4 as it is powered up) of Shield, Trample, Stun and Slow it can wreak some havoc on the opponent in many different ways. So it clearly earns its status as a Legendary Card that fetches a premium on the market as well due to its utility and rarity as it is found in booster packs. Its powerful attack does a number on the opponent and when it does stun the opponent that other front tank is in a lot of trouble. While a higher manna cost, you definitely get what you pay for here and this is the most reliable highest cost but highest odds of bringing a sustainable frontal assault on your opponent.