Introduction
Hi Praetoria! Welcome to another edition of the Splinterlands Community Engagement Challenge brought to you by The Jedo! Link to the challenge HERE.
This week, we will discuss my approach towards the upcoming release of Splinterlands' newest set: Conclave Arcana!
There has been a lot of hype for weeks (months?) even before the official PRESALE was announced!
Considering that the presale starts in a few days, and the official launch is in less than a month, excitement has gone through the roof!
Lots of players have come prepared and got their bags of DEC (and maybe SPS?) ready for this momentous event.
Am I joining the presale or am I diverting my attention and energy into other things?
Let's find out!
Preface
Like a lot of Splinterlands players, I have a background in playing popular TCGs. The most popular one, Magic: The Gathering, is a card game that has been influential in my life.
Not only did it teach me about gameplay and strategy, it also taught me patience, perseverance, and attention to detail!
Heck, it even expanded my vocabulary with words I wouldn't have used in English classes had I not been exposed to the game!
The new Splinterlands set reminds me a lot of my early MTG days when I played tribal decks like Mono-Green Elves, White Weenie (okay, this might not exactly be "tribal" but it kinda is), and my favorite one - Goblin Bidding. This was way before the Modern format was introduced.
Whenever I play Magic Arena to kill time, I play a modern-day version of the Goblin Tribal deck.
Here's a version of the deck I enjoyed playing back in the day, though I remember having copies of Skullclamp in there for card advantage before the card was banned!
Good times!
In relation to Conclave Arcana, I think players might start focusing on Race or Bloodline cards as their main deck.
When I first started playing Splinterlands, I specifically invested in only 2 or 3 Splinters since cards were unaffordable, at least for me, at the time.
With this new set, I think players, especially those with a limited budget, might start doing this again or just specialize on specific Bloodlines.
Bloodline Dominion: You can summon any unit of the same bloodline as this archon, regardless of element.
The most competitive of players, of course, will want to have most, if not all, of the cards at their disposal whenever they enter the battlefield.
Whether they buy or rent the cards is completely up to them. I'm just excited to see what the New Modern will look like!
For the card collectors and the fancier players, the new types of foil and foil variants look stunning! Everyone's gonna want to have their hands on these!
FOMO much? Well, like a lot of players have been saying: The Chase is Real.
Conclave Arcana Excitement
I was inspired by @beaker007's recent POST since I have a similar approach as he does.
While many are diving headfirst into the Arcana packs, I’m also shifting focus... toward land. And trust me, this isn’t a detour—it’s part of the bigger picture.
@azircon is also a catalyst in increasing awareness in the Land Management division of Splinterlands! Per his latest POST:
With Conclave looming at the horizon, instead of loading up on DEC, as I should, what I am doing is beefing up my land plots.
If you have been following my articles, you would notice they are primarily about Land.
In case you're curious, HERE is a link to my most recent one.
Yes, I am a big advocate for Land and the announcement of this new set gives me a stronger conviction for this project!
Land resources like Wood, Stone, and Iron will finally have a use case whether it's for repairing/building Conflict Wagons or crafting Midnight Potions.
Midnight Potions, in case you didn't know, double your chances of receiving Black Foil cards when you open packs! I'm sure people will want to own a lot of these potions available before they open their packs!
What excites me the most with the upcoming new set is the growth potential of Land.
Land resources will be used to repair Conflict Wagons and to craft potions for greater chances of Black Foils when opening new packs!
Conflict Wagons, on the other hand, will be used to accumulate airdrop points to receive cards similar to their first implementation during the release of the Rebellion set.
Of course, players will want to repair their wagons in order to receive at least their guaranteed airdrops when the Conflicts start!
The most recent Town Hall showcased the following images:
We don't know how much resources will be needed to craft a single Midnight Potion yet, though Cryptomancer just mentioned details will be announced sometime next week.
Same thing with the repair or building materials for the Conflict Wagons as these need to be established first before the General Sale of Conclave Arcana.
For me, I will continue to produce natural resources from Land. I can "supply" these raw materials to other players via Liquidity Pools.
I can even craft these potions myself. I have over 700k Research Tokens I can use for permits to build an Aura Lab. This worksite will allow me to harvest Auras which will then be needed to make these potions.
And just like that, around 9:00 PDT on April 19th, Cryptomancer shared some treats for Easter:
The usual disclaimers apply: this has not been released yet, there is no ETA to release, and everything shown may change right up until the very moment of release.
Let me say it again: Get to 50 plots, y'all. Get the inside scoop within the Land Barons channel!
Conclave Arcana Strategy
When Land 1.75 was released, I turned off Research activities on my Research Huts in favor of continuing to harvest SPS on my Shard Mines.
A few days later, I realized that swapping the natural resources for DEC was better and more profitable than mining SPS. Remember my post about Purchasing 4 Land Plots for Zero Dollars? 😉
It's been almost 3 weeks since I published that article and land resource exchange rates have stabilized. The price of SPS has also increased especially within the last couple of days!
Is it time to reactivate my Shard Mines? What about converting some Research Huts into Aura Labs to create Midnight Potions?
Do I stick to the plan where I just harvest natural resources and keep providing liquidity?
How will the new set affect the exchange rates of Land resources?
Do I buy packs during the presale and join the raffle?
I still want to play the Card Game. How do I keep up with the New Modern?
I understand nothing is final yet and that all the info already provided is still subject to chance. Still, I think I will stay with my original gameplan: acquire more plots while also producing more natural resources in anticipation of these use cases.
My tract in Region 50 will be my main source of Grain and Wood. My newly acquired Keep along with Epic plots in Region 46 will be my Stone haven. I am currently building a collection of Ore Mines in Region 51 to harvest Iron. I also have clusters of land in other regions still producing various resources.
I might consider reactivating some Research Huts and maybe even convert a couple into Aura Labs just to get the 100% bonus in harvesting Aura.
I could also be a dealer of Midnight Potions if I end up not using them myself.
Bottom line is that I am still laser-focused on Land and will continue to observe the trends and adapt as needed.
Exciting days ahead!
With regards to gameplay specifically Modern Ranked (no, I don't play Survival Mode 😆), I already have some Core Rebellion cards I have bought off the market.
Along with an almost maxed Rebellion Reward set, I think I will still be able to play competitively in Ranked and in Brawls.
I wouldn't mind buying a few Conclave Arcana cards if there are some listed cards I could not resist but with respect to the presale and the general sale, I will most likely watch from the sidelines and wish all the participants the best of luck with their airdrops and raffle entries!
Just like @beaker007, I will Zig while others Zag. 😜
Summary And Final Thoughts
I am ecstatic for this new set! It reminds me a lot of my MTG days when I played tribal decks and brought them to tournaments. The new types of foils definitely make this new set more desirable for collectors and players alike!
For me though, I think I'd be fine watching from the sidelines. I am happy lots of players have already expressed interest in participating in the presale and I believe others will buy more during the general sale!
Some others, and I know I'm not the only one, might opt to buy singles off the market instead.
Either way, Conclave Arcana has brought back excitement into the game and it hasn't even been officially released yet!
I know influencers have started sneak previews of some of the cards that will be in the set and there will be more in the coming days. Keep an eye out for these!
I plan to continue to build my Land holdings especially now that I have a tract to manage with people I trust.
I will pay close attention to the exchange rates of the resources currently being harvested and I will prepare for the opportunity to activate Research Huts and convert some worksites to Aura Labs.
I will continue to be a merchant of resources and I might even be a supplier of Midnight Potions for those who need them!
When other people win, we as a community, also win.
I wish everyone the best of luck!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I hope I was able to provide valuable information and impart some ideas that can help you decide your next steps. I have grown my Splinterlands assets over the years and I plan to keep on building!
Whether you prefer the exhilaration of playing battles, the calmness and idleness of building your digital real estate, or just the fun of collecting these fancy images of collectible cards, I am hopeful that you enjoy your time here in Praetoria!
If you have questions, comments, or feedback, please let me know! Let's all learn and grow together and set each other up for success! VoNak! Together We Thrive, Kapamilya!
Interested in Splinterlands? Feel free to use my Referral Code and I can help you get started. You can also find me on X or message me on Discord.
