My first Splinterlands card trade

Long years ago, I got swayed by the hype of my friends and bought my first Trading Card Game (TCG) item -- one pack of Magic The Gathering cards. My young mind wasn't able to comprehend the complex rules but I mostly appreciated the art (and using it as a bookmark on my early Maths book!). I was lucky and got a rare-ish Black creature card. However, I wasn't fond of its grim and dark art style, so I hurriedly exchanged it for the most common mana-generating Forest card because of the lovelier greenery. Fun times.

_{Not the actual cards I traded. Added these card images from MTGDecks as samples.}

Now, I'm much more trading card-savvy. No more judging an item again by its appearance. The Black card types that I disliked then are now my favorite, go-to deck in Splinterland matches. I've built a decent Death splinter team and still plan to grow it. My current target is a Phantom Soldier card with its all-too-awesome Silence skill and 3-magic attack at level three. I'm currently renting one but it's not bad idea to own one. This card has been a staple for high-mana pool fights and when going against magicky opponents.

One other important life lesson I picked from that childhood moment was to never get into an unbalanced trade deal. I had that in mind as I was scouring my friends' card collection for a potential trade. There should be no losing side. I wanted the Phantom Soldier card badly so the other party should preferably get something that they really want or need. And fortunately, I discovered a good friend's deck which seems to be long overdue for an upgrade.

@romeskie had good luck with her Splinterland cards. She got the Water's legendary Ruler of the Seas by purchasing it from a common good friend, and two of those Phantom Soldiers I'm gunning for. She was also able to acquire decently leveled Alpha cards. Among the cards that stood out from her collection was a Level 6 Alpha Divine Healer from the Life Splinter deck. It was great to see she had these highly-valued Alpha cards. If only her Life Splinter Summoner wasn't stuck at level 1 ...

She mentions there was a time in her early Splinterland days when she didn't realize she had to level up Summoner cards first before Creature cards (Sorry if that was supposed to be a secret, Romeskie!). I was slightly mortified to see those capable Level 6 Creatures unutilized in a fight. I knew right then what I had to offer for two of her Phantom Soldiers.

Mine	Romeskie's
Tyrus Paladium Level 3 (BCX: 5) ~$115	Tyrus Paladium Level 1 (BCX: 2) ~$50
Elven Cutthroat (BCX: 1) ~$4(Bonus)	Phantom Soldier 1 (BCX: 1) ~$30
-
	Phantom Soldier 1 (BCX: 1) ~$30
Total: ~$115	Total: $~110

The trade was a success. I tried to make the value of the traded cards as balance as much as possible based on their current market prices. I threw in a Level 1 Elven Cutthroat as a bonus for a good trade. @romeskie was so nice as always that it felt I was negotiating for her behalf too. She's sending her cards hot while I'm still talking about my end of the deal! The level 3 Life summoner I gave her isn't actually enough to unlock the full potential of some of her cards but it does bring forth a lot more than the previous level 1 summoner.

I'm glad players have this option to trade with other players in Splinterlands. I played games like Hearthstone before, and it was always a huge and costly struggle to have a "strong" deck. With Splinterlands, a good team can be achieved a lot easier. Sure, we still get cards randomly but we got options like exchanging, buying, and even renting specific cards, to optimize our game strategy.

My first Splinterlands card trade was a fun and fruitful experience. I got something I found valuable. But much more than that, I'm glad that I was able to give a friend something that has value too. I'm looking forward to more card trades in the future! Hopefully, no more repeats of my silly childhood trading decisions.

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