Since the day I joined the Guild Dark Assassins, I had a few realizations about the game.
The fact that anyone in any part of the world can have an access to play Splinterlands with $10.00 worth of Spellbook made me think that the game is just like any game that I used to see that my children play with a twist - the ability to earn cryptocurrency.
Only after joining the Brawl and suffering more defeats in battles did I think of finding a way to have more wins. In regular battles at least up to Silver I, I am doing just fine. Out of ten fights, I usually win six to seven of them. I consider that a satisfactory performance. However, entering the Brawl looks like I joined a different battlefield with far stronger monster cards that there is no way for me to defeat them but to upgrade my deck.
This caused me to analyze the mechanics of the game in the higher leagues. I realized that if a player wants to take this game seriously, it requires huge capital. And so I came up with a long-term project of buying Summoners. Many who don't understand the nature of NFT blockchain-based games would consider paying a digital card with such a big amount as foolish and wasteful. But those who are looking forward to growing with Splinterlands will have a different perspective, and that is, he will consider it not only something for fun but also as a long-term investment.
And so as a result of this realization, among the many available Summoners in the game, I decided to acquire four of them:
Alric Stormbringer
A regular level 8 Alric Stormbringer would require combining 115 regular level 1 card. Each level 1 card is now worth $27.57 USD. If you will buy a such number of cards and will combine them on your own, you have to spend a total of $3,170.55 USD. Wow! That's too expensive for a game! In PHP, that is equivalent to 186,146.00! The current market price of that one card is more than the approximate yearly minimum wage in the Philippines, which is just $2,053.00 USD. There is no way that a common man can play this game at the Champion League. If you do, you are exceptional!
Analyzing the value of the cards led me to think that Splinterlands is a game for the elite players, for those who have big buying power. The good news is you could be one of them but it requires time, perseverance, and consistency.
A level 8 Alric Stormbringer can summon a level 10 Common, a level 8 Rare, a level 6 Epic, and a level 4 Legendary Monsters.
Currently, a level 8 Alric Stormbringer is now sold on the market for $1,100.00 USD.
There is no way I can reach that level with my current situation. Slowly, I can start with just a single level 1 card and then another, and then another until I will have three of them and combine them for level 2 and on and on until I reach level 8.
Mylor Crowling
I consider Mylor Crwling as the King of Melee monsters due to his Thorn ability.
Though a regular level 1 Mylor Crowling is not as expensive as a level 1 Alric Stormbringer, reaching level 8, this card is now sold higher than Alric for $1,722.00 USD.
Since Mylor is also a Rare Summoner like Alric, he has also the same summoning capability.
Owster Rotwell
When I was just starting this game a year ago, I used to like the Death Splinters because of Haunted Spirit. That card is very powerful if used in the Bronze League. However, as I climb higher to the Silver League, it appears to me that the strategy that worked on the Bronze level is no longer working on the Silver III level. And so I adjusted. This time, I found both Water and Earth Splinters giving me more wins than other Splinters.
Nevertheless, leaving Silver III and entering Silver II and I, I observed that the Death Splinters are more effective in winning battles with Owster Rotwell.
Comparatively speaking, a regular level 8 Owster Rotwell is far cheaper than the first two summoners. The current market price of a level 1 card is just $4.49 USD and so I think I can start with this one in achieving my long-term goal. A level 8 card sold on the market now is overpriced at $933.57 USD. I would rather combine 115 of these cards and it will only cost me $516.35 USD. However, a few weeks or months from now we don't know if we can buy this card for the same price. It could be cheaper or it could be more expensive.
As for summoning capabilities, a level 8 Owster can also summon a level 10 Common, a level 8 Rare, a level 6 Epic, and a level 4 Legendary Monsters.
Quix the Devious
Among the four Summoners, I find Quix the Devious the cheapest. Yes, a level 1 card is more expensive than Owster, but the maximum level that this card can reach is only up to level 4. At that level, you can use this card in the Champion League.
The lowest market price for a regular level 1 Quix the Devious is now $21.54 USD. To achieve level 4, you only need to combine 11 cards and that will cost a player $236.94 USD. If you don't want to do that, someone is selling now a level 4 Quix the Devious for just $219.95 USD.
I don't know how long will it take me to achieve this project of owning the above four Summoners. If I intend to continue in this game and maintain a certain level of competitive advantage, I cannot afford not to own and level up my preferred Summoners.
With all these considerations, I concluded that Splinterlands is not an ordinary game!
How about you? What do you think of Splinterlands? Have you tried it? If you want to give it a try, check my code.