Calamity, the third Conclave Arcana card, is coming to Splinterlands in just over a month.
I think the arrival of Calamity is somewhat analogous to the arrival of Venka in Rebellion. Calamity will change the meta. It won't "break" the game I think, but it'll absolutely be necessary for the highest levels of the game. I'll explore several of the key synergies for Calamity that I think will redefine the meta.
1. Bloodline Archons
Given that Calamity is a DRAGON card, it'll require using either a Dragon Archon or Bloodline-based Archons (i.e. the new CA ones which have Bloodline-specific abilities) in order to use.
Here are all the Archons we'll be able to use with Calamity in Modern (for now):
From Conclave Arcana
From Rebellion
Calamity brings a ton of new value to the non-Dragon bloodline Archons in CA, as it won't be available with some of the other staple Archons (e.g. Lorkus, Tofu, Cryptic).
Quick overview of how each Archon will synergize with Calamity: - Razi: Giving Calamity Painforge is HUGE. The Electrify on Calamity will synergize well with other Gnomes/Shapeshift cards in your lineup, and Calamity itself will Life Leech to give itself additional survivability. I think Razi/Calamity will be one of the new most feared duos in the Modern meta. - Bella: Bella brings the hippos, which will synergize very well with Calamity due to the Arrowbait (more on that below). - Fithe/Kaylia: Both of these will be good options in magic-only rulesets. With Fithe you can also bring in the Inept Healer, which works very well with Life Leech units. Meanwhile Kaylia gives Calamity Execute, which is cool as it can help Calamity's attach trigger twice, but may not play a role if the opponent brings a lot of Silence. - Gorgug: The -1 ranged and Enraged aren't super exciting, although you could stick Jicarilla behind Calamity to make it able to avoid all attacks, which will become more powerful when it's enraged. Kind of situational, probably won't be that great. - Kavor and Sheng Xiao: Neither is super interesting. - Akane: Also not super interesting, unless it's a super low-mana match (e.g. 12) and you want to try to cheese Calamity on its own with Last Stand. Or as a #2/#3 card with a couple of meat shields in the front. - Nidhoggr: Could be interesting in low/medium mana matches where you stick 2-3 other cheap cards (especially cards with Bloodline Tribute) and Calamity in the back with either one of Nid's tactics. Think of a lineup like Nidhoggr / Moribund Arrobait --> Ujurak Elder --> Thunderous Herald --> Calamity; that's a total of 27 mana and you get 2 Bloodline Tributes. Stick either tactic on Calamity and it'll feast with Life Leech before likely getting a Last Stand at the end of the battle.
2. Bloodline Tribute
Much like Arcane Skinwalker and Gramel, Calamity will synergize extremely well with Bloodline Tribute cards. However, it'll require Bloodline or Dragon Archons as it's not neutral.
Here are all the Bloodline Tribute cards currently available:
Calamity will synergize particularly well with Moribund Arrobait, Songale, and Zargrul which will give it additional magic damage. Of course Arrowbait will be the best choice as it resurrects and is the cheapest one. To use Arrowbait, you'll either need to pick Bella or pick a Dragon Archon.
Alternatively, Songale will be a great choice, particularly with Earth so you can bring in the Sentinel and get a revive on Songale as well.
3. Painforge
Painforge cards will benefit a lot from Calamity's Electrify. As mentioned before, this will make Razi a must-have for the new Modern meta, as Razi will give Calamity its own Painforge.
However, Electrify will also benefit all other Painforge cards.
Here are all the Painforge cards in the game today:
And here are all the Gnomes who will get Electrify when using Razi:
And of course we've got Shapeshift cards that can be Painforged Gnomes with Razi:
In small/medium mana caps, all of these cards are viable. In larger mana caps you need to be careful that the Electrify doesn't kill off your team. Self-healing cards (e.g. Nimbledook Explorer) and Life Leech cards (e.g. Shadowfey Shiek, Thragha) will be particularly good options.
Stacking Calamity with Water Diviner will be possible to double up on the Painforge triggers. It'll be a bit risky as you could kill yourself off fast, but with cards like Nimbledook Explorer who heals itself it could work out well. It'll also be great with Calamity itself given it has Life Leech to keep itself going (and a large amount of initial health to boot).
Countering Calamity
Alright so Calamity has a lot of friends in the Modern meta - how do we counter it?
The main way to counter Calamity will be a combination of Silence and, to a lesser extent, Void.
Cards with Silence:
Cards with Void:
It only takes 2 Silence cards to reduce Calamity to 1 damage, which will make it hit for 0 damage against a Void card (except after it lands an Expose on the Void). Due to the Expose, bringing some cleanse will be helpful as well. To summarize, if you're certain Calamity may be coming, you can neutralize it with a combo of 2 Silence cards (e.g. Arcane Skinwalker and Ashen Cindergrim) and a Void card in the front (e.g. Cavewise Wayfinder).
Now if you're the one with Calamity, you can overcome the counter by pairing it with Razi (it'll get stronger and stronger as the battle goes on) or perhaps with Jicarilla (stick Calamity in the back, and Jica will clear the Silence).
Another way to counter Calamity will be to kill it before it gets going. It's likely people will put Calamity in the back, hoping to get it to trigger Last Stand at the end of a battle, and so Sneak units could be used to try to snipe Calamity early in the bout.
Cards with Sneak:
It's a bit of a gamble as they may try to protect Calamity with Lookout, use a Taunt card, or put some other Sneak-protection in place, however a Sneak-heavy team could still get you the win if it forces too much adjustment from your opponent.
What do you think? Are you excited about Calamity? Are there other ways you think it'll affect or redefine the Meta?
