From the looks of it, there finally is a new game mode on the horizon for Splinterlands. This is some speculation around it...
Hardcore Mode, What We Know!
Not that much at all is known about Hardcore mode aside from the fact that 
Looking at the current Pay2Win trend, my first reaction was 'not again' thinking they would raise the bar giving players that have multiple copies of a card a direct edge over opponents. However, it looks like Survival Mode is going to be a PvE mode instead of a player vs player and the way Tales From The Crypt Mancer interprets the multiple cards is that cards that get killed in it no longer can be used that day or session which makes players want to own multiple.
Tales Hardcore Mode Theory!
Tales really has an interesting theory that could actually work and give older cards some proper value again in the game which right now is totally missing. Imagine a ranked-type game mode where your Monsters and summoners no longer can be used on the day once they get killed. This combined with some Rewards in this game mode that come from packs that are held by the DAO and/or SPS directly from the team for a limited amount of time.
It would create a choice for players to have their cards either on land or use them in Hardcore mode giving them more utility. It also gives incentives for players to actually hold a wide collection of cards and especially on Summoners. It would also need to be human-only as Wild players now have no incentive to actually play.
More Ideas
Here are some more ideas on the top of my head for Hardcore mode.
Extra Card Slot that burns card on loss: In the end, Splinterlands still has a massive oversupply and a huge gap in cards between different sets. Maybe something like allowing players to play 1 extra card to help them win with that extra cards being at risk of getting burned in case the match is lost. It would create a situation where 0.01$-0.05$ cards could be worth risking and a systematic burn as a result.
Stream Friendly: Right now, Splinterlands is not really a game that you can stream and that people enjoy watching. It would be nice is Hardcore more would bring something that is actually easy for new players who watch to understand and something that is easy to stream.
Limit Time Requirement: One of the main issues of Splinterlands right now is that you either need to play full-time or you just let a bot play for you. My fear with Hardcore mode is that it brings yet an extra game mode that once again demands a lot of time each day. So it really needs to be kept short and I would prefer it to be just 1-5 games each day maximum and a time span of a week or a season for the card cooldowns. At the same time, this would make it harder for rentals.
Soulbound Card Restrictions: One of the issues with Splinterlands is that players just can keep playing with limited to no investment once the own soulbound cards. This especially because summoners are included. Something needs to be done to prevent leechers form getting too many rewards just using these cards. Something like maximum 1 or 2 soulbound cards can be used would already help a lot in this regard.
New Player Friendly: I hope this new game mode also will be friendly toward new players in that with just a handful of cards owned, they can get started in Hardcore mode giving them the temptation the buy more cards along the way to reach higher ranks there.
Use-Case For All Cards!: Right now, the range of cards that are actually used is rather narrow and there are so many of them that never ever see some action and are totally lost to the game. It would be nice to see all cards actually getting some use case even if they aren't the strongest.
Hardcore Mode Fears
While it's nice to dream and speculate on how awesome Hardcore mode could be and how it might increase the use case of older cards pumping their prices. At the same time, it's hard to have too much faith given how many things played out so far. My fear is that once again this will be a missed opportunity where Economical factors are given priority and come at the cost of gameplay. If it's PvE I don't mind so much the 'pay2win' factor but if it's against real opponents it really sucks. Looking at the Wild entry fee and all the other extra costs that they tend to implement like on land for example. I fear this game mode also will have something like this.
Bought 2 More Cards!
Conclusion
We are still not sure what Hardcore mode will exactly be aside from the fact that it will be some kind of survival mode likely against the computer instead of player opponents. I'm looking forward to the day they reveal it and really hope it will give older cards more use case again.I continue to have a love-hate relationship with Splinterlands as I want out but not at current prices which makes me want to accumulate more cards.
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