$125 More Invested Into Splinterlands Credits To Boost Gameplay - Card Buying Input Welcome
After doing this a second time, it's quite frustrating to need to swap Crypto>USD>LTC>Credits when the markets are moving. I lose a few bucks in every transfer after two trading fees and mainly from the slippage or commission Splinterlands seems to keep from the transaction. While I hate tossing money away, I rationalize this in that I'd ideally use the new cards I get to earn more DEC from higher win streak rates.
Here are the "substantial" cards I bought last time and their costs at point of purchase:
- DJINN OSHANNUS for $50.97
- PHANTOM SOLDIER for $29.00
- DELWYN DRAGONSCALE for $12.50
- LUNAKARI MISTRESS for $11.61 (I accidentally thought this was a Death splinter card to pair with the +1 Spell summoner above, but I'll keep it for now).
I've bought a few other cards in the $3-$7 range before using Hive rewards, but I'm drawing a line in the sand to blog about this set above and going forward. I believe that AXEMASTER is the highest card I previously bought at $7.11 then, which has more than doubled in price since.
Interestingly, the ALRIC STORMBRINGER I have from the only Beta pack I ever got is doing especially well in price appreciation. At the time of my last post 6 days ago, it was listed for $160 on the market. It's ranging for $220-$260 today. Does anyone know why? The overall supply only dropped 2 or 3 cards in this span.
Question: Is Alric a long term hold, or should I just cash in on this free card since it's part of the starter deck anyway? A return of $250 seems like a great flip into other cards I'd use in battles since the summoner is included in the spellbook deck. However, I'm not sure if I'd want to do this until I see that he'll remain in the starter spellbook after Chaos Legion is released. If it's going to keep strongly trending up as it's been for some reason, it could also be a good hold for the blow-off top phase of this run.
The Next Investment:
I decided to skim $124 of recent crypto interest from DEFI and staking into Splinterlands today after several steps for buy 120,200 credits. I also sent in the 5.255 HBD I just earned from my last post payout for 5,005 Credits. With some extra Credits from before, I had a budget of 125,514 Credits for this round. While I can dive in faster, I want to do this slowly, especially if the cards prior to Chaos Legion will slide in value within a few weeks.
I also debated buying SPS or an Untamed pack, but I chose to get a few more cards that'll help me with gameplay. My main goal in this set is to have more fun and extend win streak bonuses where rules force me to use weak splinters that I don't play well. Renting cards to play with doesn't appeal too much at this time since I have the funds to invest and have seen enough matches to know that a few more cards in my deck will be helpful enough for the long run.
Ironically, I'm constantly convincing myself NOT to buy a high level VALNAMOR to leverage economies of scale with the reduced BCX rate. While game play would be much easier and I'd make more DEC and SPS in return, spending that much on a single NFT that may drop in price soon doesn't feel right.
So, after the week of gameplay (enjoying the higher DEC payouts with the new rules), and evaluating the options in my budget that struck me most, here's what I chose to get first:
MYLOR CROWLING bought for $49.60. This summoner will be huge for me when rules force me to stray away from my favorite water splinter in the Bronze leagues. This summoner has always been a hassle, and now I can use it to do the same, and also increase my chances of holding win streaks for higher DEC bonuses. The 3 mana cost is pretty sweet too.
I think this is a decent price. It's been hovering in the high $40's to just over $50 for a while, and I don't mind the cost for the convenience during battles. Thorns are very valuable in the low levels.
I have just over $75 left and am debating a few ideas:
- Level 1 XIA SEACHAN for $75, a scarce Epic Water Summoner seems interesting since it'll allow me to use level 2 common cards and save a mana spot on the roster. The issue is that the rental market for this is atrocious. I'm not sure if this is the best idea, but the scarce supply does appeal for the long run as Alric above has appreciated a lot. The water deck is my favorite so far. Using reflect against water decks is my second favorite. Ahhh the disappointment opponents must feel when they see that mirror!!
Level 1 MISCHIEVOUS MERMAID for $55, an Epic Water Monster with good value for its power, speed and mana cost. With the +1 Spell boost from Alric, a quick attack from this would be a nice upgrade on Medusa. I tend to prefer this over the summoner, especially since I'll have about $20 left to work with. The question is for long-time players, is this one card realllllly going to be worth it?
MORE SUMMONERS so I'm not dependent on the ones that have been delegated to me. I was thinking:
- Level 1 OWSTER ROTWELL for $21.49
- Level 1 LORNA SHINE for $16.70
- Level 3 KRETCH TALLEVOR for $67.40 to allow me to play higher level cards via the Dragon splinter.
- A few DELWYN DRAGONSCALE summoners at $13.50 each to reach Level 2, or buy one that's pre-made. If the latter, I'd then either hold the single one I bought or sell it back for a small profit to recover some cost. This would be helpful for high mana matches with the water deck for the +1 Spell.
- ARMORSMITH for the shield restore and 2 mana spots at $15.90. It's a promo card and would be quite useful in gameplay, but the rental cost is dirt cheap where it's probably better to try it out first. I really want this one, but it's not a priority.
After typing this out above, XIA SEACHAN seems like it's not enough value for now.
Anyone experienced have some suggestions based on these ideas, or maybe some of your own?
I'll probably keep giving myself a small allowance as the weeks roll on, but the main investment would be in Chaos Legion packs. Sadly, I've learned that you'll need vouchers for the next phase after the pre-sale. While the mechanics must be important for some reason, I think that sucks quite a bit. I just want packs and not to have to invest heavily to earn a set of vouchers from airdrop rewards that are extra red tape. Grrr.
Anyway, this is where I'm at right now and welcome feedback. While I'd prefer to directly improve my water deck with the mermaid, a level 2 or level 3 summoner that also improves Spell strength seems like the smarter move for now.
Oh, and here were my rewards from the last season! Nothing terribly exciting, but definitely not too bad at all for my level where I'm slowly combining common cards. I'd say that 5 cards is a solid hit.
Thanks for your help. Liquid rewards from this post will be invested into Splinterlands.
PS - My first SPL post.
The mermaid combined would be a quick little nuker with a magic buff. Get yourself a Furious chicken. Even the level 1 can be plugged in anywhere and will take sniper hits. I have both a level 1 and a maxed one (melee), but a level 1 would be sufficient. In the equalizer battles they are huge.
Ironically, I've been eying the chicken too. I was going to mention it in this post but got distracted and forgot. They're very annoying to face, but when they have rule or summoner perks, they're the difference. If I don't chicken out on it (dry heave) to get the mermaid, I'll get it next time. I wish there was a way for me to convert Credits <> DEC to make that happen faster while I wait for payouts.
Do you think I'll be able to get packs without vouchers after the pre-sale and first voucher round, or I need to suck it up to get some?
I'd wait and buy individual cards I want when they hit the market. I think the only reason to play the voucher game is if you are looking for the perks like airdrops/etc.
I rented the Chicken for 2.45 DEC total for 2 weeks since that's almost free. I'll grab it soon. In the meantime, I did just invest in TORHILO THE FROZEN for $33.99. That card was also on my list and I have $41 left to work with, plenty to get the Chicken if/when it drops a few bucks.
Hey dude!
A couple of weeks after the Chaos Legion comes out, there will be two ladders to battle in; Modern and Wild. Modern will be Untamed, Dice and Chaos Legion cards, Wild will be everything, including Beta and Alpha. I don't know what's happening with the starter pack... there might be one for wild and one for modern... or there might just be one for modern, in which case you would lose your access to Alric. Given that the Land expansion will provide better bonuses to Alpha and Beta cards, I think (given the information we have currently) that Alric should be a long term hold.
I don't have Mylor (I'm hoping prices drop during the CL release or the next bear market) but I'd argue that he's the best low mana summoner in the game. So good choice!
I know the vouchers seem like a total bummer... but personally I think it helps give new(ish) players a chance. Seeing as there is substantial demand, there is every possibility that whales could buy up all the packs in the first couple of minutes, and then sell them for double, triple, etc on external sites. We see it with shoes and concert tickets all the time. While the vouchers might not help you specifically, I think they are a good move for all the non-whales hoping to pick up some packs.
For your remaining $75, what about the Kelp Initiate? I use it so much playing water. It's such a huge card for me.
Great input. I know you're a SPL Ninja. I just wish you forced me to get involved years ago. I grabbed the Kelp Initiate since that's a good 2 mana spot with high speed, a big upgrade to the spellbook options for a buffer spot. I also grabbed TORHILO THE FROZEN for $33.99.
I'm debating getting a plot or two of land to get my airdrop and voucher points up without buying the inflationary SPS token. Do you have any opinion on the land front? Seems like it's high now, but I don't know the SPL economy over the years to know if it's actually going to keep going up with the 100K supply - and new interest coming in from the new Chaos release.
Hahaha, I wish I had forced myself to get way more involved. I bought my 7 land plots for $14 each... why on earth didn't I buy more?
They've said over and over again that they aren't releasing any new land... and I have to imagine that once the Land expansion is announced that land would shoot up in cost. Land will be necessary to actually mint your own items and potions which you can sell or use in games. You'll also need cards to "work" the land, the more valuable the card the better they'll work that land plot.
So, honestly, my opinion is that land will keep going up, with a sharp spike around a land expansion announcement.
While they've said they're never release any more land, they did say that further expansions could be possible if the community votes for it using the SPS governance token... (but it would be way down the development roadmap). Either way, getting a higher airdrop value for the next 265 days seems like the smart move, however you want to do that.
I agree with Joshman about getting the furious chicken if anything else. A no Mana card is very handy in the Bronze/Silver Leagues as there are quite a few low mana cap battles. The Mischevious Mermaid is a great hard and I really hate facing her with Alric, so Alric is definitely a keeper as he is in high demand.
I would suggest focusing on 2-3 Splinters for now and if you like the Water Splinter, you can use Bortus + Torhilo + Oshannus to counter magic. This way you can maximise the deck strength without having to add too much cards.
I just rented a Chicken for 2 weeks for 2.45 DEC. I think that's a good steal as the price just jumped up $3 since I posted this. I'll track the price and see if it turns back down. I was initially debating Torhilo last week and might actually make that move.
I used Bortus earlier today with the -1 and it saw the value of having Oshannus in the lead against magic with the 0 damage versus powering everyone up and leaving room for defeat. Good tip.
Just saw you got Torhilo too. That would make it good against the magic counter Earth splinters as Torhilo hits pretty hard to start. The beauty of the game is there are so many counter strategies and counter counter strategies......lol. Just need more $$
Water and Earth decks sort of seem to be the way to go as far as Bronze and Silver league go, so I think you should definitely hold on to Alric for that +1 magic buff. As far as mermaid goes, it's a hard hitter, but I think it's going to come down to if you're going to focus more on modern or wild if it doesn't get reprinted. Mylor has been an absolute thorn in my side to play against. No pun intended. I'm a bit too spread between every splinter except Earth and Dragon. There's a few dragon cards as well that feature thorns or just make great tanks in general, such as Djinn Chwala and Naga Brute.
From a purely investment standpoint, i'm looking at scooping up more of Phantom Soldier, Soulstorm and maybe Ancient Lich for the Death splinter as some relatively cheap/effective cards.
Thanks for your input. The thorns have been nice so far. I've had Djinn Chwala for a bit, but haven't used the card too much.