I Heard There Would be Gladiators?

The gladiator set contains a vast array of extremely powerful, interesting, and unique cards, yet seems to be overlooked or forgotten about frequently. As many, I have been playing since before gladiator cards were introduced and I am unsure if I have ever encountered one in a brawl. I will admit my guild is not the highest ranked, but we are working our way up and have participated in a good number of brawls against top 100 guilds. This poses the question, “Why do gladiator cards seem so scarce?” I believe the reason lies in their somewhat hidden cost.

This isn’t meant to come off as negative or a critique of the Guild system, more of an attempt to explore gladiator cards and why I feel like they not seen often as one would expect.

The (Relative) True Cost

To start, a gladiator case costs exactly 2000 merits, a currency that can only be earned from participating in brawls and can not be traded. Merits have a limited number of things they can be spent on, with gladiator packs being one of the most prominent. Because you can neither buy nor sell merits, it could be said that gladiator packs are free, and this is technically right as you don’t have to spend a single cent to obtain them.

But, someone in your guild had to if you didn’t. I’m sure most of us are familiar with the guild contribution system, but if you're not that’s ok. Buildings in guilds are required to be upgraded in order to gain additional benefits. These buildings are primarily upgraded as guild members donate DEC to the guild and you may choose aspecific building. There are ten tiers for each building that cost progressively more, but we only need to look at the first couple.

There is a relatively large cost to upgrading your guild in order to have the ability to purchase gladiator packs and even more cost to being able to play them.

Let’s quickly take a look at what it takes to purchase a gladiator case.

1. The first step to obtaining gladiator cards would of course be to unlock the Arena, in order to participate in brawls. This costs a total of 10,000 DEC.
   
2. Once you have the ability to brawl you will need to upgrade the guild store to at least 1 in order to earn merits from brawls, this is another 10,000 DEC.
   
3. Assuming you have earned your 2000 merits, you need a Guild store of lvl 2 in order to spend your merits, an additional 20,000 DEC.
   
4. At this point you can buy and open your gladiator cases and see what cards you got. At this point you should gain the collection power and airdrop points from the cards. But, you can not use them in brawls as that requires the barracks to be upgraded to level 2. This is an additional 30,000 DEC.
   

So, in order to obtain and use gladiator cards a guild must collectively contribute a minimum of 70,000 DEC. And this is only at the most basic level and assuming nothing is spent elsewhere. If you manage to obtain some level up gladiators the price to use them increases steeply as they require a higher level barracks.

I would recommend any guild that has a strong interest in gladiator cards to contribute funds as soon as possible to unlock at least Arena level 1 and Guild Store level 1 to unlock brawls and start earning merits for the future. The higher level your guild store, the more merits you will earn from brawls.

Even though I am currently unable to purchase gladiator cases, once my guild’s store is level 2 I will be able to purchase 2-3 cases. Hopefully, the wait has been worth it.

The Value of Gladiators

Similar to merits, gladiator cards can not be sold or bought, but this does not mean they lack value. Gladiators may be burned for DEC, but I would strongly advise against that as they count for collection power and add value to your account through airdrop points.

Gladiator's collection power is similar to that of Untamed cards and, if you’re lucky, may turn into a gold foil. This means a single gladiator card could contribute up to 50,000 collection power if it was a gold foil legendary. To be a bit more realistic, each gladiator pack should add around 100 collection power to your account and likely more.

Gladiators also hold a tremendous amount of value in their utility in brawls. They are hands down some of the best cards to use, so much so they are limited to one per battle. All gladiators have the ability “Bloodlust”, which increases their stats with each foe slain, making them truly live up to their name.

As there are plans to add SPS earning from brawls in the future, you will want to have every advantage possible.

Looking at some Gladiators

Let's take a look at some of the more interesting gladiators from the set. All Splinter colors potentially have some extreme powerful monsters, largely in part to their innate Bloodlust ability. Gladiators also tend to have a better stat to mana cost ratio than other cards. Many of the gladiators get interesting combinations of abilities such as double strike and magic based attacks, or combinations of multiple attack styles for immense damage. Without taking their extremely powerful ability into consideration some Gladiators can deal upto 5 damage a turn at their base level.

If you look at Quora Towershead, does she remind you of someone? I bet you guessed it, it’s Kron the Undying. Some would say she is even better, and she isn’t an extreme example. If you could sell them, I bet many of these cards would fetch a pretty penny. There are so many amazing gladiator cards I can’t show them on here.

As with all other cards, Gladiators get additional abilities when leveled up, making them an even bigger threat. But, managing to obtain leveled up gladiators is a feat of its own as they require similar BCX as untamed. This means even a level 2 common will generally take lots of merits for Gladius Cases, so get that Guild store leveled up.

Our Gladiators Will Fight One Day

I’m sure as my guild develops, as well as yours, in time those who are dedicated will be rewarded with Gladiators and more. If you can’t currently purchase gladiator cases, just keep doing your best and contributing where you can. Fortune favors the brave. It may not be today, or tomorrow, or perhaps many brawls from now. But, hopefully one day our gladiators will be able to face off in the arena. Best of luck, friend.

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