Hi Guys. If you, like me, only rented cards to play in higher leagues, you must read this; it discusses my journey from gold 3 to diamond 1.
I'm not sure if it's too early in the season, but I've noticed that my matches are difficult; I'm up against great players using new strategies that I'm unfamiliar with. Last season, I easily advanced to DIAMOND 1, but this season, I struggled to reach Diamond 3. I'll be sharing the WATER cards I rented, the cards I used the most, rental costs, and some of my battles.

MY DAILY FOCUS

RENTED CARDS

Since I don't have any good cards that can compete in the GOLD and DIAMOND league, I rented these cards. Almost all of the cards that I rented were used, and I rarely rent a card for CP in this new update, I just rent the gold card version of the card that I am going to use to get more CP.

But this is the card that I have never got a chance to use.

	NAME
	Gelatinous Cube
	Goblin Mech
	Wave Runner
	Kulu Swimhunter

RENTED COST,

I rented these cards because I don't have any good cards that can compete in the GOLD and DIAMOND leagues. Almost all of the cards I rented were used, and in this new update, I rarely rent a card for CP; instead, I rent the gold card version of the card that I intend to use to gain more CP.

STRATEGY

In BRONZE and SILVER, my usual strategy was to overpower the enemy, deal more damage than the enemy, and easily win; this worked because I had better and higher-leveled monsters than the enemy. However, the GOLD and DIAMOND leagues are clearly different, as there are more abilities unlocked in both the GOLD and DIAMOND leagues, as I discovered the hard way. You must always maximize your monsters' abilities and counter the enemy's lineup; choosing a simple lineup such as getting 5 magic damage monsters will not always work and can be easily countered.

BATTLE OF THE DAY

In this game, I expected the enemy to counter my lineup, which is a heavy magic lineup or THE KRAKEN lineup, but instead, I went for double SNEAK and a SNIPE monsters with two good tanks in ARIANTHUS and BAAKJIRA. I'm not sure if this lineup will win because it's an experiment, but I still won because he was caught off guard and I was able to counter his counter.

Battle Link Here

REWARDS

I did my splinterlands routine which is starting 100% and ends on 50% ECR, to maximize my rented cards and get chest rewards every other day.

Daily Chest Quest

I followed my splinterlands routine, which is playing at 100% and ends at 50% ECR, to maximize my rented cards and get chest rewards every other day.

DEC rewards from the Rank Battles

IS IT WORTH IT TO RENT AND PLAY IN DIAMOND?

• If you are the type of player who wants to make a profit by renting and playing, the answer is NO because you will never get back the DEC you used to rent because the rental costs are currently so high that the earnings from rank games are minuscule and profits will be based solely on reward chests, which will never pay your rentals back if you have my luck.
• If you want to be the best in the game, the answer is a resounding YES. You can be the best in the BRONZE, SILVER, or lower leagues, but being a TOP player in the CHAMPION league will elevate you to be one of the best. Being the best will cost you money and time, but being on the CHAMPIONS league leaderboards will reward you with DEC.

All of the images are owned by splinterlands.
The cover photo was made in canva.
The GIF was made in Lunapic
If you are not playing splinterlands yet. You can use my referral here.