Summary and Lessons from My First Season in Splinterlands
Tomorrow is going to be the end of my first full season in Splinterlands, and while the end-of-season CP race is still ongoing, the bulk of the season is in the books. How did it go? After making some modest investments I spent most of the season in Bronze II. I was able to have a borderline Bronze I/Silver III rating for most of it, and renting more CP to move up will be one of my goals for next season. Breaking it down into a few categories:
Building my Collection
I made do this season with Wavesmith and a mix of random cards from the CP autorent. For the most part I felt competitive with my opponents and don't plan on making any major changes new time - next season I'll probably be renting 1 or 2 more cards that seem to be helpful.
The Battles
As mentioned earlier I was in Bronze II most of the season, with a 700-1000 rating range for most of the season. I was hovering just under a .500 win percentage, which is to be expected, in a MMR system with win streak bonuses. Learning all of the different rulesets is a process, and a lot of fun - Splintercards was my friend here, and I had the site open more often than not while playing matches in order to look up what different rules and abilities did.
Season Takeaways
It is definitely possible to play Splinterlands competitively (at a low level anyway) and have fun with a modest investment. I bought a single card and for most of the season rents for Bronze II are roughly 3-5 DEC/day, which is relatively easy to make back by playing 25 games/day and gaining ~1 DEC per victory (though be sure to keep a reasonable Capture Rate!). I had a good time, and while some of my opponents definitely had larger collections than me, the vast majority of my games were winnable depending on my lineup choices.
Plans for Next Season and Beyond
It seems like slowly making my way up the league system is a good way to go. Next season I plan on renting some more cards and giving Bronze I a shot. I am tentatively also thinking about investing a bit more into my collection once Chaos Legion releases, though after the recent news this week things do seem to be a bit...chaotic (har har) and I'll have to see how the set release and the markets turn out.