Splatoon 3: Table Turf Battle Guide

Want to unlock everything in Splatoon 3's Table Turf Battle mode? Here's an extensive guide on how to play and some strategies you can use to become a crowned Card Battling Master! Prepare your best deck as we dive into the freshest card came in the Splatlands!

While there are many guides out there on how to play the main modes of Splatoon 3, there are very little covering the brand-new time consumer, Table Turf Battle! I have dedicated hours to strategize and research the best way to play. Giving you a one-way ride to a flawless win streak in this brand-new mode! From deck building to rewards, this guide will make you ready to destroy the competition. Bring your best strategies as we splat it up, Tabletop style!

“Note, totally real research shows even the freshest of Splatoon players can still lose to Baby Jelly Level 1”

Want to continue your inking in the Splatlands after this guide? Then check out some of our other Splatoon 3 articles:

  1. Splatoon 3 Breaks Japanese Sales Records Beating Out Animal Crossing and Pokémon
  2. Splatoon 3 Everything You Need to Know About Abilities: Rerolling, Ability Chunks and More 
  3. Team Gear Wins First Official Splatoon 3 Splatfest
    Table Turf's Location

    Table Turf’s Location

Basics

First, we need to know where we can actually find this mode! Head towards the Battle Tower and then go through the alley to the right. Turning right at the end of the alley you should see the tiny little Table which the Turf Battles take place on. First time playing you will be given a start deck but later we will touch on how to make your own decks with the plethora of cards you get from the card packs. 

The basics of Table Turf Battle (Or TTB as we will call it for short) are to place down cards to cover as much of the board as you can in your blocks. Just like a game of Turf War! Each battle consists of 12 turns in which both players place down a card at the same time. Note that the card with the higher block count gets placed first. Meaning you can strategize whether or not to use a larger card to place yours first or second. As whichever card is placed second will be placed over the top of the other. If both players use a card with the same value, they will be placed at the same time. Any overlapping blocks will become neither player’s turf. 

Almost all cards have an orange block called a Special Space Square. By surrounding a Special Space Square completely, you get a Special Space at the bottom of your screen. All cards have a Special Space cost and when powered up with Special power can be placed next to a Special Space Square to go over any blocks. Even the opponents! Cards must be placed touching your colored block. Contrary to the main modes, you cannot paint over the enemy’s ink not unless you use the Special power.

You really have to balance whether or not you want to take as much of the map as you can or focus on building Special Spaces. Both are important for controlling your lead. It all comes down to what 4 cards you have access to on each turn and planning when to use them is important. Towards the end of the game, you really want to have a very little number of large cards left in your deck, so prioritize those at the start.

Example Of Locking Out

Example Of Locking Out

Strategies 

My personal go to strategy is to start with a long card that can rush the opponent’s line and then using that position, block them off from entering as much of the map as you can. The more space you have to work with the more cards you can place down. If you cannot place down any cards, you will be forced to pass the turn. The only benefits of passing is getting a Special Space and removing a card. Meaning if you can stop your opponent from even having access to any of the board you can have all 12 turns to just fit in whatever you can. For example, the Dynamo Roller is great at blocking off areas due to how wide it is. So use cards like this as ways to stop your opponent charging into your turf. 

A Mess Of A Match

A Mess Of A Match

A good tip is if you have Special Spaces during the last 3 turns, save them for the final turn. This makes sure that the opponent cannot use one over it, during the other turns remaining. The use of your special Spaces may just cost you a game so be extra careful. When you are inking turf make sure to focus on any free Special Space chances even if they might be risky. Note that it is always good to put your Special Space Squares further in the enemy’s line as you have to place Special powered cards next to one. Therefore, the closer the Squares are to their blocks the more value you will get out of your special. 

A risky yet luck-based strategy is to push straight into your enemy’s turf then pass for multiple turns to build Special Spaces. Then place down a huge card like Frye or Shiver in the enemy’s territory using the Special Spaces to take away a ton of the enemy’s turf. The reason why this is risky is due to the fact that your opponent could easily take tons of turf while you are passing your turns. Prey luck is on your side at all times with this one. 

The Card Dueling Players

The Card Dueling Players

Looking to raise your rank quickly? A strategy to grind your Rank is to challenge the Player characters in Splatsville. They will give you between 100-200 points on victory. In comparison, defeating a Level 3 character will only give you 130 points. Challenging player Inkling CPUs does however mean you lose out on earning the character-based rewards we will touch on later.

Even with these strategies in mind be careful as at any second things could go horribly wrong. So, make sure you have back up strategies and always remember not to panic if the strategy goes not to plan. Since you can ink if the corner of a block touches yours, be careful to look for every area your opponent has access to each turn. This can either allow you to focus on building defenses to stop their advance or just try getting past theirs while they are focused elsewhere. All the strategy presented here may end up being useless due to how unpredictable your opponent can be. Table Turf has oozes unpredictability just like the sea’s tide. The key is in how you build your deck to suit you!

The Deck Building Menu

The Deck Building Menu

Deck Building

Hidden away in the menu is the option to build your own deck. You can use the cards you have collected from the packs earned in the Catalogue. My recommended setup is having 6 Large cards, 6 Medium cards and 3 smaller ones. These give you the best chances to take turf and lock the opponent out. For example, the Splatana Stamper card is a straight line that covers 6 spaces. Hence is good at diving straight into enemy turf.  After you may want to use cards like the H-3 Nozzlenose to get the most out of the tight turf battle. Then once your opponent is locked out you should focus on the free space you have left using small cards.

Sub Weapon cards are very good at filling in the small spaces while giving you a potentially easy free Special Space. Having a Special Weapon card is important as these have a low Special Space cost of 3 yet cover 12 squares. Take for example, the Big Bubbler card, the round shape it has is perfect for looping around your opponent’s turf to ink into more area for yourself. Or if you need to take away lots of the opponent’s area the Booyah Bomb is perfect for the job.

You can also upgrade your cards in the deck menu using Card Bits acquired from getting duplicate cards to give them aesthetical changes. Two-star cards have rare backgrounds, and three-star cards have a foil look to them. Of course, all of this depends on what cards you have access to. Build your deck with whatever works for you or whatever you have access to.

I recommend having a deck base for trying out new cards. Whenever you get a new card replace a card that is similar to another in this deck. Then test it out see how it feels! The built-in card tester in the deck building menu has your back. Use it to see how this new card fits in with your favorites and what applications it could have.

Reward Screen

Reward Screen

Rewards

Other than being splatting good fun, levelling up your Table Turf Rank gives you access to exclusive rewards. Here is a list of the most notable ones: 

  • Rank 5, 8,14,18,22,27,35- New Stages for TTB
  • Rank 12,28,32,36,39,42,43,45,48 – Locker stickers and decorations 
  • Rank 20,40,49 – Card Sleeves 
  • Rank 10,25,46- Banners
  • Rank 30 – Card Shark Emote + Badge 
  • Rank 50 – Title “The Strongest” “Card Gamer” + Badge 

The max Rank is 50, however you can still get exclusive Card Sleeves for beating a non-Jellyfish character 30 times on Level 3. If you want to be a true Card Master all or a mass collector, these rewards are for you. Feel free to destroy your favorite character’s Table Turf reputation, to show off their card sleeve!

The Final Rival, Clone Jelly is very unique in that they use the deck that you are using. This mixes up the gameplay as you know exactly what cards your opponent has. With the “just one more game” aura the mode has; the battling will be abducting you to come back over and over!

Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead

What next?

With Splatoon 3 receiving future content updates and online play with others being added in the future we expect to see more cards getting added alongside stages and characters. While currently all the Splatoon 3 characters have a card. This mode would be a great way to sneak in some fan service with characters from Splatoon 1 or 2, for example Spyke or Crusty Sean or even Off The Hook. Eventually with the addition of Online play, there will hopefully also be a ranked mode to climb like Anarchy Battles. Hopefully this guide gives you a good idea of how to splash your way to the top of the online ranks!

The important part of this all is just like anything in Splatoon, you should play it your way. Don’t let this guide define how you “have” to play. Experiment with decks and cards you like and have fun with it all! 

We hope that this Table Turf Battle guide helps you become as Inkredible at Table Turf as you are in the main modes!

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