I did not have any archon with Bloodline Dominion so I was not able to fully use the Shapeshift Happens Modifier. Because of that, I focused more on strong melee units instead of bloodline synergy. The units I have with higher melee damage are mostly in Fire Element so I decided to build around that. Up Close and Personal Modifier also limits the battle to melee units only. This makes abilities like Shield very valuable. With everyone using melee attacks, this gives a big advantage. Check out how managed to overwhelm my enemies with this lineup.

Battle:

https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_3724345670d96e440378cf2d905841e2

In this battle, I chose Fire Element for the available strong melee units. I have Frankasgard as the main tank with Mana Warden's Shield Ward to protect him from the melee attacks. Grove Doomblade and Vengeful Monk attacks the back line as the others protect them. This isn't the strongest lineup for melee units only but it's good enough for this battle and the amount of mana you are allowed to use. Modifier 1: Up Close and Personal: Only Units with Melee attack may be used in battles. Modifier 2: Shapeshift Happens: All units have Shapeshift (treated as all bloodlines).

My Lineup:

With Up Close and Personal Modifier, Fire Element has a lot of melee choices. I wanted to use a simple frontline tank with backline attackers. Mana Warden supports the tank by giving Shield. The rest of the units focus on dealing damage from different positions. Sneak and Opportunity help attack enemy backline. This spreads damage across the enemy team. The lineup is straightforward but effective.

Barthalamas: It gives units +1 Speed which helps the whole team. Speed is important because melee units need to hit consistently. Faster speed also helps evade enemy attacks. It is not the strongest archon but still useful. I chose it because I was already using Fire Element melee units. The extra speed helps Grove Doomblade land attacks. Barthalamas supports overall consistency.

Frankasgard: Frankasgard has no ability but has decent stats for a frontline tank. It has 1 armor, 8 health, 2 melee attack and 2 speed. These stats allow it to absorb damage early. With Shield from Mana Warden, the survivability increases a lot. This makes Frankasgard a reliable frontline. It can hold position while others deal damage. Frankasgard acts as main wall.

Mana Warden: Has 2 melee attack and 3 health which is average. The important part is the Shield Ward ability. It gives Shield to Frankasgard which reduces melee damage. Since Up Close and Personal Modifier forces melee attacks, this is very strong. Even if Mana Warden dies the Shield stays. This makes the frontline more durable. Mana Warden is key support.

Vengeful Monk: Has 2 melee damage and 4 health which is decent. It also has Opportunity which allows attacking from the back. This helps target weaker enemy units. Removing low health targets reduces incoming damage. Even from backline it contributes consistently. Vengeful Monk adds damage while being at the back. It helps increase the overall damage the team can do per round.

Grove Doomblade: It has very strong 5 melee damage which is high. Also has 2 armor and 5 health for survivability. Sneak ability allows it to attack the backline directly. The only problem is the low 1 speed which causes misses. Good thing Barthalamas gives +1 speed to help. This increases the chance of landing attacks. Grove Doomblade is very scary when their attacks hit and the extra speed from Barthalamas makes this possible.

Up Close and Personal Modifier made Shield very valuable in this battle. Fire Element melee units worked well in my opinion. By maximizing the damage my team can do each round, I could win even with simple lineups like this.

Posted Using @aiko2ne1/mana-warden-is-too-strong-in-this-modifier-2i1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">INLEO