All about: Arconte legendario Cryptic 🃏

### Greetings SplinterLovers 💙 I hope everyone is doing well in my favorite community. Today, continuing with my featured cards from the "Bloodline" type "Human," in which there are several very interesting cards to highlight, although (I still haven't decided which "Bloodline" to follow once I finish with this one), I will talk about a legendary card called **Cryptic**, an Archon I have already talked about, but not in as much detail as I want to do in this post, so, taking advantage of the occasion, we dive into the tactical depths of one of the most intriguing cards in the Rebellion set, which has one of the most powerful techniques of all that came with the previous edition of "Rebellion." **Cryptic** is one of those cards that not only changes the flow of a battle, but also forces you to rethink your strategy from the ground up. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, it belongs to the Rebellion set, an edition that introduced the famous "Summoner Tactics," a new type of card that redefined what it means to lead a team. Unlike traditional Archons or summoners, Cryptic not only powers up your monsters, but also offers a crucial tactical choice before combat begins, giving each battle an unexpected strategic twist. With a mana cost of 7, Cryptic is positioned as a central piece in medium-high mana compositions, one that is not seen in every battle, although when it comes to a "Legendary Archon" like this one, it usually happens. Its power does not lie in a simple increase in stats, as is customary in some cases, but rather in total control of the battlefield, with abilities that can damage you without you seeing it coming and/or eliminate important abilities from your opponent and even weaken certain types of attacks. It's truly incredible. --- https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/23u5tF8dNPqcC3QW663spjoUJKYP5qvt49ijBRoVJ1pJnqt1RYJQaXykgm3BNDttj5Q5r.png ### Aspecto visual https://images.hive.blog/DQmaGxPb1AgP9whK3yUktqV6aRxGY3gavovoadSZwkVoX1t/gif%20sp.gif The description of its visual appearance should be based on its origin, its dual element, and its history. **Cryptic** is a dual card, combining the Splinters of Water and Death. This fusion suggests an aesthetic of the depths, though not exactly of crystal clear waters, but rather of murky and dark currents. Furthermore, as its dual element shows us, this monster has a color palette that mixes the blues and greens of Water with the purples and blacks of Death. The design of **Cryptic** is that of a sorcerer who somehow combines the essence of his two elements. He wears a flowing robe in dark colors with an elegant cape, giving him the air of a powerful wizard. His face, pale and with a mischievous smile, projects a sense of madness and clearly unstable power. In his hands, Cryptic manipulates a dual energy, with purple flames in both hands, symbolizing; or at least that's what I think, the combination of the magic of death and water. The background of the card is divided by a pattern of blue waves and another of purple zigzag lines, basically the new background of these last two editions (Rebellion and Conclave Arcana), although this visually reinforces his hybrid nature and his mastery over both Splinters, which is great. --- https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/23u5tF8dNPqcC3QW663spjoUJKYP5qvt49ijBRoVJ1pJnqt1RYJQaXykgm3BNDttj5Q5r.png ### Skills and statistics https://images.hive.blog/DQmaGxPb1AgP9whK3yUktqV6aRxGY3gavovoadSZwkVoX1t/gif%20sp.gif Unlike units or monsters, "Archons" do not have attack or defense stats that directly matter on the battlefield. Their value lies in their mana cost and the set of abilities they bring to their team as a whole. In the case of Cryptic, his mana is 7, and there are different types of abilities that can affect both his own team and his opponent's. Cryptic is a master of control and manipulation, with a set of abilities that can tip the scales in your favor before the first blow is struck, depending on how you play him, of course, and what you decide with your strategy. From the start of the battle, Cryptic applies two powerful passive effects to all enemy units. The first is a 1-point reduction in their speed, which in my experience is a critical factor in the various strategies that can be executed. Of course, and no less important, it also determines the order of attack and the accuracy of those attacks. so slowing down the attack speed of all enemy units gives you a significant advantage, allowing your monsters to attack more often. In addition, this can provide you with a "Defensive" layer, increasing the probability of dodging enemy attacks. The second passive skill that also applies to all enemy units is "Blind," which reduces the accuracy of enemy units' attacks by 15%, specifically physical (melee) and ranged (range) attacks. This ability massively increases the survivability of your entire team, making tanks harder to take down and giving ranged and magic monsters more turns to do their job, which is to do enough damage and stay on the battlefield for many more rounds than the opponent. Now, as I said, this type of "Archon" has what is called "Summoner Tactics," which group together 4 abilities that are divided into what I would call 2 groups, which are: * **Option A:** "Don't touch me or you'll regret it" (Enfeeble + Retaliate) https://steemitimages.com/200x200/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/23uQnQVUDSXvHMtoJwKFPW6GDmv5fDoXUAQ8E1WvzMBsdHVuMubAJRWVCRvjafHT21ZLL.png * **Option B:** "Poison and Strip Defenses" (Poison + Expose) https://steemitimages.com/200x200/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/EoCgcfUhTDrNC89msHLVbhCksCd91p6E2YT1UrYoJpfaGW9o6Wn8BidBaXH5gg1dt7X.png The true magic of Cryptic and/or its usefulness on the battlefield lies in choosing one of its two tactics, which I mentioned earlier when explaining the two abilities that each one contains and which are selected before the battle begins. These tactics grant a couple of additional abilities to two of your monsters, whichever ones you choose, although you can also choose two of your opponent's units. It all depends on your strategy and how you want to use them, but to help you better understand how they work, let me explain: - **Tactic 1.** **Enfeeble y Retaliate:** CWith this option, two of your units gain the Enfeeble ability, which reduces the target's melee attack power by 1 after a successful attack, and Retaliate, which gives them a 50% chance to counterattack when hit by a melee attack. This is Cryptic's defensive tactic, designed for battles where melee attacks are the main threat.   Enfeeble mitigates incoming damage, while Retaliate turns your tanks into threats that punish attackers. Not bad, right? - **Tactic 2.** **Poison y Expose:** The second option is Cryptic's offensive tactic. It grants Poison, which has a 50% chance of poisoning the target and causing them to lose 2 health at the start of each round, and Expose, an ability with an 80% chance of removing a defensive ability from the enemy after a successful attack. The Expose ability is particularly noteworthy because it has a priority order: it always removes Immunity first and then proceeds to remove other defensive abilities such as Shield, Void, Void Armor, Deflect, Forcefield, or Lookout at random. This is a lethal tactic for breaking tanks and clearing the way for the rest of your lineup. To give you a clearer picture of how they work, I have created a table comparing Cryptic's two tactics, adding some ideal battle rules: | Tactics | Key Skills | Ideal Battle Rules | Strategic Purpose | |:---|:---|:---|:---| | Tactic 1 | Enfeeble, Retaliate | Up Close and Personal, Melee Mayhem | Mitigate damage, counterattack | | Tactic 2 | Poison, Expose | Back To Basics, Equalizer | Break defenses, sustained damage | The ability to choose between these two tactics before battle makes Cryptic a "Swiss Army knife" among the "Archons." Rather than being limited to a single role, it adapts to almost any situation, whether you're facing a team of armored tanks or an army of melee attackers. This makes it a smart and versatile investment that offers immense strategic depth, making every battle a new and challenging experience. --- https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/23u5tF8dNPqcC3QW663spjoUJKYP5qvt49ijBRoVJ1pJnqt1RYJQaXykgm3BNDttj5Q5r.png ### Best and Worst Rules of Battle https://images.hive.blog/DQmaGxPb1AgP9whK3yUktqV6aRxGY3gavovoadSZwkVoX1t/gif%20sp.gif As a player, I've learned that not all rules are the same for every card, and Cryptic has its moments of glory and its moments of, "Better keep it on the bench" for now. **Best rules** ✅ - **Up Close and Personal (Hand-to-hand combat only):** In these rules, Cryptic becomes a beast. With Blind active for all enemies, attacks fail a lot, and as an Archon with Retaliate, it returns damage to enemies that attack it up close, making it ideal for establishing a defensive counterattack strategy. --- - **Rise of the Commons" (Common and Rare only):** ACryptic cannot enter here, but her abilities are activated for both of her tactics, making her even more versatile in other contexts, especially when you can only use cards of more limited rarities. --- **Worse rules** ❌ - **Equalizer (Equal Life):** This rule gives all cards the same life as the unit with the most life. While this also benefits you, it also benefits enemies with low mana costs and low damage, making their Enfeeble or Poison abilities less impactful and giving your opponents more opportunity and time to destroy your combinations. --- - **Back To Basics:** In this rule, "Cryptic" will not be able to reach its full potential or help with your tactics, since the abilities here have no effect, so you would waste mana. In this case, it is recommended to use an "Archon" that increases power, especially the "Magical" one. --- https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cieliss/23u5tF8dNPqcC3QW663spjoUJKYP5qvt49ijBRoVJ1pJnqt1RYJQaXykgm3BNDttj5Q5r.png ### Conclusion https://images.hive.blog/DQmaGxPb1AgP9whK3yUktqV6aRxGY3gavovoadSZwkVoX1t/gif%20sp.gif If you like Splinterlands chess, basically thinking up brilliant combinations where every move counts, Cryptic is a must-have card. His ability to control the speed and accuracy of enemies gives you a decisive advantage, and his dual tactics allow you to adapt to any situation, whether offensive or defensive. Take advantage of high mana costs to bring him out and destroy your opponent.