![](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/E1-TCO2Ga36wm9mX4quLD4qdA8FK-noeaHo76RLPV-0uR8Hk1mrUSLaEuENppVam-8JfLcUzdU1php_-tmfqgpPiYoIbMML6r0fb_QnmmT4M0Vpus-jWUfsTnkOh1wkx_l9KQHlSwvqQ6-H5NIL-oFI\")
![](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/zsOHdPLndRKtHFZ4I_IPn2rCjbioF5J0U0elHEv9U2QOZbMfEuI56rti8Hspm6uRLTmd71NAYObqbNQEwvXWw5EAMPW63HjZffsIvNuYDZw5o2YrRs9wTPPv0Vit0mn8FpB6aRLOxrJtt_ao8j0ssWk\")
<\/h1>\n\n\n\nNow that all of the time cycle has been spoiled let\u2019s have a friendly debate. There is lots to be excited about between the versatility of Snapper and the sheer power of card sifting by the Knowledge Seeker. However, a long shadow falls on every new unit that begs the question; Is Silver Snake the best unit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/h1>\n\n\n\nHello! I\u2019m Jayson (ImpossibleGerman is my handle) and I\u2019m delighted to be a guest writer for this article. Jerod approached me with a simple (and LOADED, by the way) question- whether I thought Silver Snake was the best unit in Ashes. Most criticisms of Snake are rooted in its need to be supported by other cards. But, like, does it? Even without Golden Veil, Explosive Growth, and the rest of the gang, Silver Snake is an incredible value proposition. It\u2019s 4 Life for just 2 dice, and then every kill turns it into a harder and harder question for your opponent to answer. A substantial majority of Ashes win conditions necessitate killing your opponent\u2019s units anyway. It\u2019s true that Snake doesn\u2019t belong in decks that prefer to ignore the Battlefield, but Command Strike\u2019s damage utility means Maeoni really isn\u2019t a natural spot for those decks. Maeoni wants to fight, and Snake\u2019s reward for fighting is a win condition. It\u2019s just an incredible amount of weight for 2 dice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Carl\u2019s rapid refinement of the Snake win condition into a 30-card monster may have found the best Snake deck early in Reborn\u2019s life, but pure mathematics tells us that Snake could also function well in a number of decks. 2 dice. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artistic tastes aside, the Silver Snake hype is an overblown reaction to false causality. I am not going to tell you that the repeat champion Meoni deck is just fine. It\u2019s amazing. What I am saying is that Silver Snake is not the best unit because it is in this deck. I believe that most any reasonable unit can be built into snake-like proportions. My job is easy. I only have to convince you that any ONE other unit is better than snek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Silver Snake can\u2019t win a game on its own. It is actively quite bad at winning you a game actually by itself. A toothless 0\/4 for 2 dice. Only Sleeping Bear is as efficient to get a 4 anything stat into play on a unit and we know how much that guy gets played. But we know everything needs context. And the truth of the matter is the amount of unit guard, removal, and bypass makes the snake’s job look pretty cushy compared to most hard working units. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I can easily make the argument that Silver Snake isn\u2019t even the best unit in its own builds. Plus, there is the number one drafted card this season in Lightbringer, the most played unit in Ashes history in Raptor Herder, and finally the new king of knights: Realm Walker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those are some great units for sure, and they\u2019re certainly among the best in class. You can win games of Ashes in a variety of ways while ignoring those units, however. Ignoring a Snake, on the other hand, is almost invariably a death sentence. It\u2019s just not prudent to pretend a unit that might eventually be able to kill you in one hit doesn\u2019t exist. You need to play around<\/em> Realm Walker, to pick one example, but many decks can do so in ways where they never have to deal with it directly. Snake has so many ways to make those lines untenable. Loaded? Or just trying to get to the TRUTH?!<\/p>\n\n\n Er, what I meant to say is I\u2019m more than happy to take the proof of burden. Playing around units is the name of the game and Realm Walker does it better than anyone. It has a built in bypass ability to forward your win condition. A snek will gak a unit in play if it\u2019s big enough to do so and that\u2019s not guaranteed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The number of championships looks all well and good but pales in comparison with the number of games won off the frostback of, well, Frostback Bear. We can also point out that Meoni doesn\u2019t have the best win percentage of phoenixborn in recorded history. That belongs to Saria. Should we put Seaside Raven in the mix too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we are going to use the court of popular opinion then in the latest draft why wasn\u2019t the best unit in the game taken until ROUND TEN. Over 100 picks after such luminaries as Frostback Bear and Salamander Monk. Because those units win you games on their own. I won\u2019t give you short shrift for stating that Silver Snake is the best unit in a combo deck. Best overall unit it does not make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know if Bear, a unit most players feel is on the decline, is the best candidate to put up a fight against Snake at this point. They do share an interesting angle in that they both can form the backbone of a strategy, though I would stop short of calling Bears a full on win-condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reality is that all<\/em> units in Ashes need careful application to be their best selves. <\/p>Jayson – ImpossibleGerman – Ashes Unit Whisperer<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n All units benefit from synergistic play and deckbuilding- it\u2019s just that Snake\u2019s sky-high ceiling gives it a dramatically outsized reward for those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What you are saying is high tide raises all ships. Or in this case, cancel or unit guard increases the value of all units. Well, I think it is safe to say that Meoni builds specifically around snek. A lot of resources are poured into making that particular unit the best unit. Kaile\u2019s records<\/a> show an astounding win percentage over all recorded seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s where some others fall. Not quite snake level but Gilder, Ruby Cobra, Mind Fog Owl, and Salamander Monk make compelling cases while getting played a ton more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and here\u2019s this. I\u2019m willing to toss out Seaside Raven, Wishing Wing, and Gorrenrock Brawler due to the low play volumes. (Although we should definitely keep an eye on Wishing Wing!) I am just as shocked as you for the last standing unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I do. Here\u2019s why.
Ashes is a game of inches, not miles. Tiny advantages in efficiency can and do snowball into victories, and in terms of generating mathematical advantage, Silver Snake is unmatched. The reason for that, like most things in Ashes, is multi-layered, but it can be boiled down to a simple thesis; Silver Snake scales, infinitely, <\/em>on a condition that you want to meet anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paroxysmbydesign.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nNope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Exhortations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Yessssssss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I do think it\u2019s unfortunate that we haven\u2019t seen as wide a variety of great decks with Snake as we have with some of the other premier Ashes units, but even so, I would argue that the burden of proof in this discussion is actually on the \u201cno\u201d side. The numbers are just very compelling. 3 Shufflebus Championships, even more top cuts, and the distinction of having been not just the premier unit but the primary win condition<\/em> of the aforementioned decks. I think Silver Snake is the top unit in Ashes until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paroxysmbydesign.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nYessssssss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can\u2019t just slot Salamander and win because it\u2019s the most efficient- it needs to play a role and have the support it needs to amplify its strengths. Snake is no different, really, except that it\u2019s much better than other Ashes cards at being lifted up by the pieces around it. A Nature\u2019s Wrath is great for a Salamander to refresh it\u2026but it\u2019s really<\/em> great for a Snake that might pick up upwards of 3 tokens from the resulting board clear. A Golden Veil will protect your Knight\u2026but when it saves the 20 attack Snake that could attack for lethal next turn, that card is at it\u2019s best.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nNope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Win\/Loss<\/td> Total<\/td> Win %<\/td> Unit Name<\/td><\/tr> 29\/21<\/td> 50<\/td> 0.58<\/td> Silver Snake<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Win\/Loss<\/td> Total<\/td> Win %<\/td> Unit Name<\/td><\/tr> 219\/160<\/td> 379<\/td> 0.57<\/td> Gilder<\/td><\/tr> 104\/77<\/td> 181<\/td> 0.57<\/td> Ruby Cobra<\/td><\/tr> 74\/58<\/td> 132<\/td> 0.56<\/td> Mind Fog Owl<\/td><\/tr> 277\/217<\/td> 494<\/td> 0.56<\/td> Salamander Monk<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n