Splinterland Strategies: The Untamed Spoilers, History and Power Creep

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(Edited)

Untamed is almost upon us and so far I have resisted the urge to get in on the hype, the kick-starter deals, and the pre-release opportunities.

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The main reason is historical and not wanting to be bitten twice.

I can relate Splinterlands to the early days of Magic the Gathering. I was there for the release of the Legends expansion in June 1994.

I ordered a full box, and hindsight tells me it was one of the best investments I ever made.

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...'some individual Legends cards go for serious money, could a Splinterlands card ever be the same?'...

Try and buy a sealed box of Legends now. If you can find one that’s not been tampered with then you better have some very deep pockets.

If there are any left in the world you would be hard pressed to get them out of the hands of collectors. There may be 100 sealed boxes left, any more and I will be shocked.

Then came ‘The Dark’. More cards were printed and the set was decent but not in the same league as Legends.

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...'packs of 'The Dark' now fetch a pretty price, they can easily be tampered with and it's a terrible idea to buy them'...

Which brings me to the next set, ‘Fallen Empires’, and the decision (until now) to keep away from Untamed.

The set was hopelessly weak, massively overprinted and I heard outlandish tales of boxes being sent to landfills as Wizards of the Coast could not give them away.

I bought several boxes of Fallen Empires on the strength of Legends and The Dark. It was not a nice feeling and I felt more than a little ripped off.

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Today we are seeing some of the new Untamed cards for the first time. First impressions tell me these are strong cards and not a repeat of the ‘Fallen Empires’ fiasco from late 1995.


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There could be repercussions to this. 'Cursed Slimeball' from Level 6 with the Redemption ability to me looks overpowered.

"Redemption", which means that after it dies, it does 2 melee damage to all enemy monsters.

There’s a potential to do 12 damage upon death; don’t kid yourself this monster is nothing more than a kamikaze object.

I would say '1' damage is probably better, coupled with the fact the card is common and only a single mana to cast. Only time will tell how this one will work out.

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The other cards look interesting; 'Opportunity' I feel is a very strong ability and Feasting Seaweed is going to be an in-demand card.

’but what of the Beta cards, are they going to be left in the shade?’

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Betas have grown in value by up to 300% in some cases.

I needed a couple of Serpent of the Flame cards to get mine to Level 5 and was shocked to see only a couple under $2. Only weeks prior, they were 63c each.

Gold commons have seen a massive increase. Some are bordering on the price of Uncommons with the neutral cards as always leading the way.

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For the moment, Beta hoarders are are doing rather well when it comes to the financial aspect. I have a stash myself and will be watching them with interest.

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In Magic the Gathering, the current game play state is referred to as 'the Meta'.

...'Are Beta’s going to hold up in today’s Splinterlands‘ Meta’?'...

We will see, but if the tasters we have witnessed are any testament to the rest of the expansion then we are going to see some strong cards arriving soon.

I just hope they have been thoroughly played using a combination of Beta’s and Untamed during testing.

Power Creep

There's no doubt that the testers and designers of the 'Untamed' expansion will be aware of this problem.

The idea behind the concept is that a company has to sell its new products, but everything new they create has to compete with previously existing pieces. To compensate for this, cards end up becoming superior to other cards to the point of becoming strictly better. This means that older content becomes obsolete or relatively underpowered. Perceived power creep in Magic is often a source for complaints of the player base, predicting the end of the game.

Magic the Gathering was always susceptible to ‘Power Creep’.

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Regardless, seeing some of the new cards has sent me over the edge. I am about to pre-order 100 packs (with 10 free ones).

Now I just need some of those alchemy potions, though I’m still semi-unconvinced they are worth buying.

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25 comments
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I would pass on the alchemy potions. I haven't had much luck with them. I am sitting on a handful of untamed packs right now and I still have about 15 unopened beta packs that I am hoarding as well. I really hope we see the price of beta cards continue to increase and not plateau or fall. That would make me very sad!

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I don't know what will happen to the price of Beta's. In a few days something will happen which is entirely new to us, the core set of Splinterlands will be replaced with a new one. This means new summoners as well as monsters.

I do know now that I want some of the new cards, I do like what I have seen so far.

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I’m still semi-unconvinced they are worth buying.

I feel the same about the potions given my past disappoinments but I will be buying them again since my experience without them is even worse. In the last 3 seasons and 382 cards I have opened there have been no legendaries, only 7 epics and just 4 common gold cards. Unbeliveable! 😢

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I had a bad patch of no legendaries too. 110 beta packs and only a single one. Subsequent buys yielded many more so I don't feel to bad about it now.

Potions now will just be brilliant ones, there's no 25% or 50% chance ones from the 30th. I have had some success with the alchemy ones.

The game is going to be turned upside down soon with all these new cards and the new rules. It's gonna be interesting.

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(Edited)

1 out of 110 is not that far off since the chance is 0.8% so if you've done better since I'd say you're doing well.

Oh hang on. You said packs. That's 550 cards so I've got a way to go yet to beat that nad patch. 😂

I keep thinking my luck must surely change but 3 seasons and almost 400 cards and still 0. 😢

The game is going to be turned upside down soon with all these new cards and the new rules. It's gonna be interesting.

I think it's going to be too complex for me now so I'm organising my cards for others to play them but I'll see how it goes.

70 new cards is huge!

Do other games release that many at once? Is that par for the course?

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Yes, 110 packs! I felt hard done by and I had a 25% Legendary potion for part of them just to rub my nose in it.

I think it's going to be too complex for me now so I'm organising my cards for others to play them but I'll see how it goes.

It's just the same, but with more cards. You will do fine!

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Great to read about your experience with MtG. You have an unopened box of first edition booster packs?

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You have an unopened box of first edition booster packs?

Alpha/Beta was considered first edition, and Unlimited second.

Legends was the third expansion pack after Arabian Nights and Antiquities. Yes, I split a box of Legends. They are almost priceless now.. if I only knew...

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I just keep playing at the lower levels and see what cards I can win. Got a Ruler of the Seas and a Darian Dragonscale this week. Mostly it's the usual crap. I have 900 DEC, but not sure what good they are to me. If I have spare money it will go on Steem as I can at least make use of that now, but I know you are interested in the economics of this game. Hope it goes well for you.

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I have 900 DEC, but not sure what good they are to me.

You can buy cards using DEC directly now using the marketplace. This will get you a few cards to bolster your splinters. You should use it!

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Probably the wrong spot for this but should I buy a starter pack today? Or wait until the season ends?

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I'm not entirely sure they are for sale until the new set is released. You can purchase boosters but this wont let you play the game (as they cant be opened yet). Then again the starters would likewise not be usable.

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I pulled the trigger and paid $10 for the starter pack and it did turn on daily quests for me as well as let me start pre ordering boosters. I've had it confirmed you won't hve to buy another starter every season at least! Thanks for chiming in!!

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Sup Dork?!? Enjoy the Upvote!!! Keep up with the dorky content for more love!!!

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well, cursed slimeball is death so maybe finally we start playing death :-)

i made a post a few days ago immediately realising i already didn't have a picture of our meeting the first night, i will never learn...

Posted using Partiko Android

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I'm playing in the Diamond league now and find death quite strong. Is it not so in the big league? What are the prevalent splinters in Champion?

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I love death. It's my favorite splinter and great for a lot of the rule sets.

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When I saw cursed slimeball I was a bit worried as well and still am as it kills good old creeping ooze without touching it...maybe Armor will get even stronger with this but we also just seen 14 cards so far...

Despite Fallen Empires bewing a weak set a sealed display still costs around 370€ and to be fair it is a bad deal for the age and the other ROIs from other displays but you would have not lost money.

I talked myself into the kickstarter and have 500 untamed packs coming my way with the amount of new cards that is still not enough to max anything probably

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When I saw cursed slimeball I was a bit worried as well and still am as it kills good old creeping ooze without touching it...maybe Armor will get even stronger with this but we also just seen 14 cards so far...

It looks very powerful, hope they have tested everything thoroughly. My post may appear critical but I want nothing but success for Splinterlands. I have a decent stake invested in it.

Despite Fallen Empires bewing a weak set a sealed display still costs around 370€ and to be fair it is a bad deal for the age and the other ROIs from other displays but you would have not lost money.

It's due to the age, and not power. Hymn to Tourach is desirable.. but its a common! The rares were terrible and I remember opening my pre-bought box and thinking... 'these are shit'

I talked myself into the kickstarter and have 500 untamed packs

I regret not getting into the kickstarter now, oh well...

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Did you write in English? I didn't understand a word of all that 😝

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You could always use that bit of cardboard that @aggroed gave you when leaving the boat. It will blow your mind!

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Hi, @slobberchops!

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That’s crazy how much the MTG cards cost right now)

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