Getting Started:

Naturally, my first step is renting out some cards.
Starting off, I'll gather 1-3 cards for collection power, maybe 70-80% of whatever I "need" for my target rank, then I'll find cheap utility cards and a few niche use cards, maybe a handful of more expensive usable cards like leveled summoners.
I actually like this Ha'on card for CP, not only is it usually at a great CP/DEC price for renting, but also quite strong in my opinion.

For a batch like this, Dark Ha'on is the only CP card I rented, in gold it becomes easier to rent the power you need in a way, because you will need stronger cards so you can actually rent a handful of them for a good CP/DEC price and use them too. Or at least I think so. After this, I rented about 20 or so powerful cards to use, then about 100 other cards. At the time of this, I didn't own any cards other than a 2 commons.

I was able to get the CP I needed for Gold 3 for under 300 DEC/day, less than a week before EOS as well so not bad I'd say. Averages to a little over 360 CP/DEC

Small win streak at about 75% ECR Gold 3 12/1/22

Golden Experience!

So if you're Bronze or Silver, or if you've never really heard much of this game, you may be wondering what this scary, high level, illusive Gold rank is.

I was a bit afraid of going to Gold before, even when I was Silver 1 for over a week doing well. For good reason I suppose, despite your best efforts, you can still encounter some very powerful teams. (Watch me hopefully enter a decent team and lose here)
Gold can be a bit tough if you're playing more on a budget.
Even if you're sporting a team that would do well in Silver while in the right hands, something like level 2-4 commons, a few leveled up rares, so on... That can get completely shut down by a maxed gold team.
Especially if you make it to Gold in the early season. You will encounter quite the competition.

Enough Scary stories, Check out these fights:

Link to the Fight below.

Here we have some Gold 3 action. Specifically, in Gold 3, it isn't uncommon to encounter these players who are on the edge of Silver 1 and Gold 3, and thus are not as hard as most enemies. Though not to be underestimated.

Check out this fight below.

Here you'll see a more common setup.

I really like Magnor

This is maybe half of the enemies I fight. A decently leveled team, nice lineups, nothing too crazy. But don't be surprised to encounter the occasional maxed out Yodin teams from time to time.

Onto those sweet, sweet Reward Chests:

Here's a collection of the loot I got from 3 days of Gold 3 daily quests.

09/1/22

Don't lose hope in these situations! Sometimes it's not the best haha.

10/1/22

Now that's better! This seems like a more acceptable Gold 3 loot.

11/1/22

Aha! A good card drop. Love to see those Gold Foil cards haha.

Don't give up!

One nice thing about Gold 3, or any higher rank, is more chests at the end of season!
Sure, there have been times that it wasn't really worth to maintain gold till EOS due to high rental prices.
If you own cards, this isn't an issue though I suppose. I do think it is still worth it 9/10 times. The chests end up averaging out to some good value, and Gold rank is both challenging and fun, and allows for some good room to make some crazy plays without being too overwhelming.

I think it's absolutely worth being in Gold, assuming you have had your share of time in Silver to learn some of the ropes well too. Not only that, it's fun! Sometimes, profit just isn't everything. In a way, you want profit so you can have fun with your life, but sometimes I feel it's worth lowering your current profits a little to make the grind more enjoyable and fun. Some people like the min-max mindset, I am like that sometimes, but its also nice to step back and do something you want to do in the game.

Have a great Splinterlands Journey, thanks for reading!

Extras:

Are you using the best place, Peakmonsters, to rent, buy and sell most cards? If not, check out this guide on how to use it, by the @peak-monsters team!

Looking for something to post about? Take part in the SHARE YOUR BATTLE Challenge that the @splinterlands team runs each week!

In case you missed it: Check out How Renting to Gold Can Be "Cheaper" Than Silver 3 by @luke-wtp !

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Check out the community page for my Splinterlands guild!

Credits:
Art for Guild Logo: @doobeedoodle
Dividers: @flauwy
Game: @splinterlands
Screenshots and remaining art by myself
Hive art created with Nvidia Canvas

Thank you to all who contribute so much to make this game, website and ecosystem so great!