I have been brawling with Shield of Glory since mid-2022, and am consistently a mid-range brawler, so that isn't too bad considering the Guild is strong and who we are brawling against in our tier. However, I have started Splinterlands pretty late, and it was much later than that when I was willing to brawl, because originally, I just wanted to do my own thing and not have any responsibilities or obligations. However, it has been fun to be a part of the guild, and they seem like decent people who care about the game.
Part of the benefits of participating in brawls is the ability to get Gladiator cards, which are soulbound to an account, so can't be traded or bought. This means that they were "rare" in the sense that only brawling accounts had them. However, since merits are available in ranked rewards, other accounts are able to buy them too. And, since there are now rulesets that allow Gladiator cards, and summoners that can call on them into ranked battles, they are more versatile too.
I feel like the growth of my set has been painfully slow, but today I surprisingly maxed my first Gladiator card, Jini Guise - a Legendary. I don't get many legendary cards so it is a surprise to max one, and the rest my Legend set is pretty slim.
But, maxing a card is something to celebrate, and while I can't use it at max in brawls, what it does give me is an interesting card for some of the Ranked battles, as the new ability I picked up at max is Resurrect.
Armor
Bloodlust
Blind
Silence
Resurrect
At only 4 Mana, that is a decent set of abilities for an older card, and could come in handy in a low mana round with Glads allowed, perhaps in sets where it is likely Earth, combining with Obsidian for the magic boost to up the chances of bloodlust, and silencing the opponents in the process. It might also be interesting in a magic only ruleset too. Not sure yet, but it might be some fun to experiment with.
If you have ideas on how to use it, let me know.
With the new points system introduced this season, I am not going to be able to climb up the leaderboard very far, let alone get into Champion 1. I used to consistently be in Champion 1 for a while, then knocked down to C2 for the most part now. However, because in Champion there are no streaks, the few good runs I do get a season, won't amount to anywhere near as many points, so it looks like I am going to be a C3 player at this point, meaning that I think I will have to start from Diamond 2 at the starts of seasons. That sucks.
It might change, but it looks at this point that the people who get to near the top, will be able to hold the position quite easily, without playing too much. Those shameful people who are "probably" using Battle Helpers will get the long enough streaks of 20 point wins to get in there, then just not play. Everyone else will be one step forward, one step back. Essentially, a 50% win rate like I have in Champion, doesn't move me anywhere, so I will just languish in the same position, with little chance of moving up into a higher league.
Finishing in Champion 3, means getting reset to Diamond 2 on 3200 points. To go from there to Champion 1, requires 1100 points. That means that in order to make that climb, it is going to require a minimum of 55 wins more than losses. I think this means the win percentage would have to be about 70%. I would have to improve my win rate by around 40% and there is little chance of me doing that. I think I am unlikely to ever see Champion 1 again. I think that what this means, is that the rankings are going to be pretty static. Static isn't exciting.
And, it is going to be very painful to just miss going up a league now.
But, these are my early feelings on it, and perhaps in time it will balance out and it will be worth it again. At least at the start of the season, when I did happen to win, I was able to get some decent amounts of SPS, which might prove valuable if there is indeed going to be some money coming into it from the bullmarkets.
I won't hold my breath for that though.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]