Splinterlands is one of the oldest and most serious blockchain TCG. If you played Magic: The Gathering or Hearthstone, you must give it a try.

Before starting, I have to make an important caveat: Splinterlands is not F2P. It is however a competitive game, way more rewarding than your average clicker blockchain game. Cards can cost several hundreds of dollars, the game mains tokens (DEC and SPS) are traded on several exchanges and there are definitely opportunities and incentives for committed players.

That being said, the game can sometimes appear to be really complex for newcomers. You have six cards editions, a dozen or so abilities and figuring out what you need can sometimes be tricky.

This article is divided in three parts and gives you some insights about how to optimise your first day, week and month playing Splinterlands. Keep however in mind that the game evolves over time: prices and recommendations may not be relevant in the future. I have also taken some shortcuts and if you want to start from scratch, I can only recommend this great introduction.

Your first day : a spellbook is all you need

You can learn for free the basic game mechanisms, but real things start when you buy a spellbook at $10. When you purchase the spellbook, it will:

• Enable you to play low level cards. You don’t own them and they aren’t tradable, but it’s all you need to score your first wins and earn your very own cards and tokens (see below)
• Allow you to play ranked games. It matters because every win gets you a crypto named DEC, that is fully tradable and needed to purchase more cards or in game items (skins, guild upgrades). You will also enter Splinterlands leagues system and earn seasons rewards every two weeks. Those rewards are chests containing DEC, cards and potions improving your packs opening. The higher you rank, the more chests you get.
• Enable daily quests: finally, the spellbook unlocks daily quests. You will have to win between 3 and 5 matches per day to get additional chests. The number of chests given by daily quests is also based on your league.
• Create your very own Hive account, with enough resources to do nearly whatever you want on the blockchain. More on that point here.

Budget: a spellbook ($10)

Your first week : Bronze league and quests potions

Believe or not, the spellbook cards are all you need to compete on the lowest level league, the Bronze League. If you have a hard time, stick to one of the following core teams:

• Fire: Living Lava/Cerberus, Serpentine Spy, Kobold Miner (full melee and everybody strikes).
• Death: Haunted Spirit, Death Elemental, Twisted Jester (two snipers and a tank).
• Earth: Unicorn Mustang, Child of the Forest, Earth Elemental (a tank and two ranged).

At that point, your most efficient purchase is a bunch of quests potions. They give you five more chests per daily quests, enhancing tremendously your odds to get new cards and DEC. Since quests are daily, a full week of enhanced quests will have a significant impact on your progression. At $.75 apiece, potions are affordable, and you even get a discount from bulk purchases and your guild lodge (see below)! However, don't buy them with DEC: the price is not updated and it's currently cheaper to sell your DEC for HIVE or HBD, for instance on Hive Engine, and use them to buy credits for your potions. By paying a potion in DEC, you overpay them tremendously (750 DEC is currently $4.95).

If you want to improve further your winning odds at that point, I suggest you to get a legendary card. Most opponents you met on the bronze league have read this guide and use only cards from the spellbook. A legendary monster will thus put a lot on pressure. Cheapest legendaries are now around $30 or better, can be rented for pennies. There is no silver bullet but all rounders like Kron The Undying and tanks like Almo Cambio are almost impossible to kill only with default common and rare cards.

Before buying anything, did you know that MonsterMarket offers you a 5% cashback on all your purchases?

Budget: $7.5 for 11 potions, $30+ if you go the expensive way

Your first month: Silver league and above

If you completed the previous step after one week, you are now a Bronze challenger and opened at least 42 chests (7 days x 6 chests per enhanced daily quests). And at least 5 others from the lowest league rewards are on their way! You can repeat the process and build your collection that way. Your priority is after that to reach the highest league you can to get more season and quests rewards. You will need two things to quicken your journey: strong teams and collection power.

Core teams

My take is to make 2-3 core teams and level associated Splinters and monsters ASAP. Each league has a specific level cap. When you level monsters, they gain a new skill or a buff that makes a clear difference. Try also to remember (and buy) cards that kill you and replay your defeats to understand why you lose. Luck matters and some battles are unfair, but they are the exceptions.

When you reach silver league, basic monsters and splinters won’t unfortunately be relevant anymore and you have to work with rented cards and your collection. Splinterlands is really open, and you will make your own strategies.

I suggest you however to consider the following neutral cards, affordable and versatile enough, even when fighting Diamond league challengers:

• Creeping Ooze ($5): a cheap filler slowing opponents down. Speed is both an offensive stat (wipe the opponent before she/he strikes) and a defensive one (improve dodge rate). At one mana, the Ooze can fit in any team.
• Goblin Mech ($5): an absurdly strong first liner. Maxing it ASAP is a crude but efficient strategy. The Mech has all the best offensive skills (stun, pierce) and an impressive body.
• Halfling Alchemist ($45): more expensive than the two previous cards and situational. The Alchemist can however save unwinnable situation by neutralising monsters he hits. Most strategies built around a single monster (Magnor, Leviathan…) can be countered by that 2 mana guy.

After levelling your teams, your next concern is…

Power cap

The highest league you can reach depends on your collection power. Every card you own or rent will increase your collection power. Details are shown on the table below.

If you keep buying quests potions, your collection power will grow organically over time. If you want to speed up the process, renting the cheapest gold legendary will do the work!

Budget: really hard to quantify and open ended at that point (renting vs buying, luck, available resources...)

Feel free to comment or share your own tips!