@splinterlands. Edit by 
@stdd - Font used is Open SourceAs of late, we started getting our first soulbond award cards, instead of the old edition. It's time to take a closer look at them and choose some strategies for development and battles in the game. After all, this period may last about two years if we don't see a significant increase in new players and the number of battles played daily.
The most interesting thing to me is the summoners, and in the new release of reward cards we got 6 summoners. 1 for each shard. And they are the ones that in my opinion can change the game and be the most valuable new cards of any deck. First, a thicker deck will have a better chance to surprise your opponent when you open it up. And secondly, we got to take advantage of the gladiator card when using them.
Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on summoners today and pick the best one in my opinion. Let's go!
Minus 2 armor for Fire even looks very tempting. Now, when a battle is almost never without a shield, taking off 2 units would be worth a lot. Rapid fire monster attacks can end a battle without even starting it. If the opponent is counting on his armor...
Plus using one of the gladiators can speed up the process of clearing the battlefield before, during and after the battle.
Is that a horse or a donkey from Shrek? 😜
Just imagine what you can do by adding one of these monsters to your next battle.
As a result, the importance of some monsters and CL summoners is lowered (I mean Water) and we may soon see Fire burning everything in its path and draining the oceans of the Splinterlands. All in all, I expect that will refresh both the game and the splinter of fire considerably. Let's see what happens...
Plus 1 life. Hardly a surprise to anyone, especially when Water already has some great summoners for all occasions (battles). But using one of the gladiators again can change any battle. Since it will cost us an extra 2-3 mana, I wouldn't use this option in battles with less than 25 mana.
For the most part, Water has no shortage of life, so for me this summoner is only valuable because of its ability to use gladiators. Maybe someone will come up with a great use for it with a great strategy.
Minus 1 enemy speed. The picture shows some unfriendly gorilla, which clearly makes it clear how it will take away your speed before and during the battle. 🤪 I don't see any more advantages here as well as Water, except the possibility of using gladiators. But this is where the use of gladiator will happen all the time, because this splinter has QUORA TOWERSHEAD in its composition.
And besides QUORA, there's someone to surprise your opponent. The number of really interesting working combinations keeps increasing. It gets very interesting...
Plus 1 to armor. And that's the guy I want in my deck. But as we already know, Fire can take that armor off and ruin our plans. Unless we have a plan B. And using a gladiator would be our second plan. Let's say I like using MARISOL CONTUMA, who can take out half the enemy's lineup by himself. Just give him a chance!
Minus one enemy life. Looking into that girl's blue eyes, there's no doubt about it. But Death has great summoners. But there is no possibility to use gladiators like she has. Perhaps XULAX NIGHTWIND combined with a tank with Taunt ability and some archers to taste would make the battle very interesting.
In principle, any gladiator is capable of turning any fight upside down with his bloodthirstiness. Maybe that's what the creators wanted?
Plus 1 for speed. And this uncrowned dragon queen reminds me of the movie Avatar. That's where I remembered that you can't joke with ladies like that. Well, the dragon shard speaks for itself. I never want to see dragons against me. So I start gradually raising dragons myself. 🤪
Dragons only have one gladiator, but look at him. This female tandem can ruin any team and your plans).
Obviously, there are thousands of strategies to be found now, considering that we also got 3 different battle conditions very recently. The importance of owning more cards can no longer be overstated. And the constant balancing of splinters should eventually lead to unpredictable battles and a game somewhat similar to poker. Every card deal is like every blind battle if your opponent has a thick deck...
It was probably the Fire summoner that I liked the most. He'll really freshen up this shard's play and we'll see a bit more of him in battles, even without Zaku or Jacek. And dragons are always out of competition, especially in big mana battles.
Spending an extra 2-3 mana for each of these summoners will definitely stifle their use. But when necessary, gladiators will do their thing. I look forward to seeing these battles.
It's more exciting than ever for new players to begin their journey in the world of Splinterlands. The marketplace and reward summoners will help a lot in the early days. The rest is just a matter of taste or savvy.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading!
