Risqruel Drath: The Squirrel General with Control Issues 🐿️

**Greetings SplinterLovers** 💛 Risqruel Drath is a card that symbolizes strategic evolution in Splinterlands, being a Legendary Archon of the Fire and Earth elements. It belongs to the acclaimed "Rebellion" edition. Although I have discussed cards in the past, it's time to go into much more detail about what this card can do in battle. This archon not only offers benefits to units but, thanks to its tactics, engineers a new strategy based on positioning, which can be both offensive and defensive on the battlefield. Its dual nature (Fire/Earth) allows the player to access one of the richest strategic palettes in the game, combining the ranged damage offense of Fire with the defensive tenacity and support of the Earth element. The competitive value of Risqruel Drath is undeniable, reinforced by its scarcity: with a reported regular circulation of barely 1,038 copies in the market, it solidifies its position as a rare and powerful card. Understanding its potential requires delving into all its intrinsic details, and that's why today I will tell you why you should add this archon to your deck.  ## Visual Aspect  This is the champion who can't decide which element to use first, so he decided to use both at once, haha. In the background, the image is split right down the middle, as is common with most dual-element cards. Furthermore, he is in a position that suggests he is jumping or levitating, although judging by his appearance, he is probably jumping because his stature must not be pronounced. Now, regarding his appearance, he seems to be a squirrel or a fox with an incredibly serious look, as if he lost his house keys and is blaming the enemy, haha. He is dressed in a rogue's cowl and some light armor. In his right hand, the one over the red background, he is casting yellow lightning bolts with an energy that makes you feel the buzz—it's the pure fury of Fire. But, at the same time, in his other hand, he holds a long, thin sword that glows with an orange, lava-like heat, ready for close combat. Basically, he's a diminutive general telling you, "I'm going to electrocute you, stab you with my lava sword, and, by the way, I'm perfectly mentally balanced, watch out!" This is what appears to be miniature strategic chaos, haha. Sorry, that just came to me as I was writing.  ## Abilities and Stats (The Tactical Triad)  As a "Tactical Archon," Risqruel Drath redefines the rules of battle with three key Tactics that the player strategically applies to their units at the start of combat—and yes, I said 3 tactics even though there are originally two, but you'll see why:  * **Flying Tactic:** Risqruel can grant the Flying ability to all allied units, as well as +1 Ranged Attack power. Flying itself is an elite "Defensive" ability, as it confers a 50% chance to evade Melee and Ranged attacks, making it a crucial survival tool while our offense increases. This suggests maximizing the selection of Ranged attackers in both elements. * **Speed and Attack Reduction Tactic:** Now for what would be his first official tactic: combining the reduction of enemy speed while ensuring our ranged attack always hits the target. This is achieved because we can grant Impede and True Strike abilities to 2 of our units. In this case, Impede decreases the enemy's speed with every successful attack we land, and the True Strike ability serves precisely for this—to never miss attacks and strip the opponent of their speed. * **Taunt and Massive Damage Tactic:** This is Risqruel's most powerful focus control tool. The Tactic applies the Taunt ability to one allied unit, forcing all eligible enemy units to attack that target, regardless of normal targeting rules. It's used to protect fragile backline attackers. Additionally, this same unit will have the Redemption ability, which, when defeated, inflicts 1 point of damage to all opponent units.  ## Best and Worst Rulesets for using Risqruel Drath  The Archon "Risqruel Drath" is a specialist, but his true essence lies in discerning the best and worst rulesets to play him, and that is precisely what I will teach you below: **Best Rules for Zyrx** ✅  * **Earthquake:** This is the most advantageous ruleset for this Archon, as in "Earthquake," all units without Flying receive 2 physical damage at the end of each turn. By granting Flying to his two most important units, Risqruel Drath completely nullifies this source of constant damage, gaining an overwhelming sustainability advantage over the enemy team, whose units will be progressively decimated. * **Fog of War:** This rule disables indirect attacks (Sneak, Snipe, Opportunity). It is highly beneficial because it completely protects our Ranged attackers, who benefit from an attack power increase, allowing the offense to operate with total security. * **Unprotected:** All units have 0 armor and cannot gain any. Since Ranged attack damage is physical and normally hits armor first, this rule eliminates the opponent's main defense mechanism, ensuring that Risqruel's boosted damage directly impacts health, thus accelerating victory. **Worst Rules for Zyrx** ❌  * **Silenced Archons:** This ruleset is the antithesis of Risqruel and his worst-case scenario. It nullifies all the archon's Tactics and abilities. Risqruel becomes an expensive card (7 Mana) that offers no benefit to the team, making it a selection that must be avoided at all costs. * **Wands Out and Up Close and Personal:** Both rules limit attacks to Magic or Melee respectively. Since Risqruel's primary offensive boost is Ranged Damage, these rules render half of his tactical value useless. Although the ability to grant Taunt and Flying remains active, the core of the attack is completely neutralized.  ## Conclusion  Risqruel Drath transcends the role of a conventional "Archon," as he is a Battlefield Manipulator whose power lies in positional intelligence and the focus control we give him depending on the rules and/or conditions we encounter. His ability to grant defensive evasion advantages (Flying) and offensive damage advantages (+Ranged/Damage), combined with unparalleled Mana efficiency, make him a high-impact archon on the battlefield. I undoubtedly recommend adding him to your decks; he provides versatility and control, so if you can add him, you should.