Splinterlands REWARDS CARDS... It's Time to Burn Baby Burn

It's Time to Make Rewards Cards Great Again

The value of the in-print Rewards Cards has fallen considerably over time and it is a result of overprinting. The next set of 12 Rewards Cards to be released on May 31 and it will supplement this current set of Rewards Cards will flood the market with Rewards cards. Print releases for the upcoming Rewards cards are unknown, but it would be a good opportunity to experiment with a different method of releasing Rewards cards.

But first...

Addressing the Current In-Print Rewards Cards

Source of chart

Yes, the cards are naturally deflationary due to the ability to combine and level up the cards, but this is far too much of a release. These cards have been around since September 13, 2021 and only reached close to half of the print run.

There are a lot of cards flooding the market, even with the ability to combine the cards. The best solution is to choose an end date and cease printing the cards, effectively burning the unprinted cards. These Rewards cards will have newfound scarcity on the secondary market.

Djinn Chwala, Djinn Oshannus, Pelacor Bandit, and Venari Crystalsmith will see their values surge with the cessation of card printing. Most of the present in-print Rewards cards should see a modest recovery in secondary market value with a premature cessation of printing as a response.

More Rewards Cards, Less Circulation is the Key

Seasonal releases of Rewards cards make sense. Every three months, a new set of Rewards cards are released and the previous set of Rewards Cards are no longer printed. If you want to max out a Rewards card, you have to find a way to involve yourself in the game to put yourself in a position to do it. It creates a scarcity to the Rewards cards so that people do not want to miss out on a release, it helps with retention. Loot chests are no longer stale and actual game play has far more meaning.

Releasing 16 cards per quarter makes a lot of sense. 64 Rewards cards a year with a much more limited print run and an opportunity to use Rewards cards as marketing devices would be a wise idea as well, unlike the absolute bust that was the Waka Spiritblade release. Using Rewards cards as promotional vehicles would be a way to grow revenue on the development side and provide value to the advertiser. This also opens the door to novelty, which enhances the value of the cards over time. This is something that existed with sports cards in the 1990s.

Score & McDonald's 1990 Cross Promotion

NBA on TBS Promotion with Topps Gold Label

When to Sunset the In-Print Rewards Cards?

It cannot be immediately and it can be an intriguing limited continued release until the card printing retires. The best timing would be when the Modern/Wild split takes place. As a reward to those choosing to play more editions with higher Collection Power requirements, Wild loot chests should have a limited extended run of the previous release of Rewards Cards.

Modern League players due to the lower Collection Power requirements will not have the opportunity to earn the comparatively older Rewards cards, they would be able to earn the newer Rewards cards only.

Wild League players would be able to earn the previous run of Rewards cards in lieu of potions as well as the current Rewards cards that are in-print. When that particular quarter ends, the Wild League players will no longer be able to earn the Rewards cards from the previous quarter.

Simply put, Modern League players get one quarter to earn the limited run of Rewards Cards, Wild League players get two. This reduces the print circulation and encourages balance between Modern and Wild Leagues.

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