Getting Back Into Splinterlands
I started playng Splinterlands when it first debuted as Steem Monsters back in 2018. It was a fun alternative to games like Hearthstone with the revolutionary benefit that you actually have ownership over the cards in your collection. Each one is traceable using an identification number, opening up the opportunity to buy, sell, trade, or even rent your cards on the secondary market.
For those first couple of years, I was a pretty casual on again/ off again player. There would be periods of a couple of months where I made sure to claim my daily rewards religiously. Then, I wouldn't play for several weeks. I've never been one to spend money on pay-to-win games, but Splinterlands allowed me to spend my Steem and Hive that I earned from posting content to buy card packs. It almost felt like playing with play money, which made it a lot easier to drop a few bucks on the game. Still, I might have spent $30 or $40 on Alpha and Beta card packs, not really expecting any return on my investment aside from the fun of playing the game.
When the Untamed expansion was released in November of 2020, I bought another 25 or so packs at $2 apiece. The reward cards that I had been pulling in my season rewards and for completing daily quests had been holding me over, but I just couldn't overcome the FOMO surrounding those new cards, especially since each pack purchased earned a chance to win airdrops for special release cards each time another million Untamed packs sold. And, I'm glad I didn't miss out! I pulled some pretty decent cards out of those packs; although, I wish I had held on to a few more of them. I still have one unopened Untamed pack, and those are selling on Hive Engine for $68.38. Thats a little over 30X gains on my initial $2 investment! Not to mention that the cards I pulled from opening packs have skyrocketed in value, and I ended up winning some pretty awesome airdrop cards.
In February of 2020, Splinterlands announced the introduction of Land Tracts into the game ecosystem. This was followed up in October by the announcement of a land presale event offering discounts of up to 50% for those who got in early enough. Unfortunately for me, this would have been during one of those periods where I wasn't really playing the game very much, so I didn't get in on the discount until it was at 30% off. At the time, I couldn't imagine spending $1190 dollars on a land tract (100 plots) or $10,500 on an entire region (1000 plots), so just I bought two individual plots for $14 apiece. (I'm kicking myself now that land plots are selling for $745.37 Hive Engine!) Along with those land plots, I received raffle tickets for a drawing that ended up netting me two common totems that will be used in conjunction with my land when the features launch in the future.
By the way, those totems are currently valued at $94.40 each on Hive Engine.
Then came another period of dormancy for me. I would log in every week or two just to see if a new card had been dropped and if I was one of the lucky receivers. But, I didn't really play a lot, which is unfortunate, because I missed out on a whole lot of reward cards that would be worth a pretty hefty sum right about now. But, I did luck out on one of the bigger airdrops in the series. I actually drew the Yodin Zaku!
I was pretty happy about it when it happened, but at the time, it wasn't a super valuable asset. I ran across this post by @gungunkrishu that showed that as recent as May of 2021, a mere 5 months before the time of this writing, a base level Yodin was selling for about $35. I didn't realize that the card was ever that cheap! As of now, there is an open bid out for $545, although the lowest anyone is willing to sell for is $749. That's pretty much the only price I've ever seen it at.
I only recently started getting back into Splinterlands, mostly because I randomly logged in and saw something about SPS. I had no idea what it was, but I had been airdropped about $500 worth at the time. I was pumped! I started reading up on what was going on in the game, and I found that all of the Untamed packs were sold out and had been for a few months. Consequently, all of the ravenous Splinterlanders were chomping at the bits to get new cards; so much so that the market value of all of the older cards had been driven way up. I started skimming through my collection and found that all of those cards I could have stocked up on for pennies back a year or two ago were now selling for dollars! My level 1 Alpha Edition Angel of Light was worth somewhhere in the neighborhood of $200.
My level 2 Alpha Edition Lord of Darkness was closer to $1000!! I was absolutely SHOCKED at how much value my account had accrued over such a short amount of time, but I couldn't help but be a little bit disappointed. I couldn't get over how much time I had spent not playing the game. I regret not max leveling all of those alpha and beta cards back when it would have cost well under $100 for most of them. I can't believe how many reward cards I missed out on!
As you can see, everything pertaining to Splinterlands has blown up since its release. These cards, packs, lands, totems, dark energy crystals, and recently released splintershards are not just game pieces. They are valuable assets that have been and (I believe) will continue to appreciate in value as this game grows, and I don't want to miss out on any more of it! So, as of now (actually, about a month ago), I am all in on Splinterlands. Not only will I be playing daily to receive my free rewards, but I will also be investing a decent chunk of money into the upcoming Chaos Legion expansion. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Splinterlands!