The only way to finish the Trial of Strength is with a basilisk scale in hand.

Champion of Rhonas

You may exert this creature as it attacks. When you do, you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step.)

Amonkhet Remastered

You may exert Champion of Rhonas as it attacks. When you do, you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step.)

Amonkhet Promos

Amonkhet

All attackers are chosen at once. You can’t attack with Champion of Rhonas, put a creature card onto the battlefield, and then attack with that creature.

All cards in the Amonkhet set that let you exert a creature let you do so as you declare it as an attacking creature, as do some of the cards in the Hour of Devastation set. You can’t do so later in combat, and creatures put onto the battlefield attacking can’t be exerted. Any abilities that trigger on exerting an attacking creature will resolve before blockers are declared.

If an exerted creature is already untapped during your next untap step (most likely because it had vigilance or an effect untapped it), exert’s effect preventing it from untapping expires without having done anything.

If the creature put onto the battlefield has any abilities that trigger when creatures attack or when you exert creatures, those abilities won’t trigger.

If you gain control of another player’s creature until end of turn and exert it, it will untap during that player’s untap step.

You can’t exert a creature unless an effect allows you to do so. Similar effects that “tap and freeze” a creature (such as that of Decision Paralysis) don’t exert that creature.