I have been "Brawling" with the Shield of Glory Guild for a few weeks now and have been quite enjoying the change in the gameplay, though I am not overly successful and I think that the last round that just ended, was my worst to date, losing half of my matches, and only getting over the 50% win rate because the final opponent fled (did not submit a team).
But, I have also struggled a lot because not only am I new to the format, I am new to the Gladius Card range and I don't have many to play, let alone enough to adequately field a team for Silver-level brawls (where I played last round). But, I do have (through renting) a decent range of playing cards in general, so I tend to hold my own. A lot of my losses seem to be because of stupid errors in card placement, rather than not having the right cards, but the Gladius cards are very important.
Today, after opening two more packs I bought with Merits, I was able to combine cards to a Silver level for the first time, which means I now have a few cards that are ready to roll, if I am selected again to represent the Guild.
On top of this, the Guild has moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3, which I don't fully understand, but I noticed that a lot of the opponents have two summoner cards blocked from play, which makes it very hard to win when they are key cards in my repertoire for a win. The guild finished fifth overall this round, which I think is a decent result considering it is our first attempt at the higher Tier.
While I have been asked and encouraged so many times over the last year to join a guild and get involved in Brawls, I never really felt that it was for me - as unfortunately and perhaps surprisingly for some, I am quite a "lone wolf" when it comes to these kinds of things, as I don't really like relying on others for my results and, I don't like letting a team down due to my own. It is far safer to treat it like golf, where I am playing against myself.
However, as said above, I am enjoying the change in gameplay and enjoying being more a part of a team, at least for a few rounds a week, where we have a common goal to accomplish and are doing what we can to reach it. When I say "we" - I don't bring much to the table in this for various reasons, including inexperience, but at the moment, time constraints are a major issue I am facing and I am still prioritizing open format gameplay over brawls in terms of time.
I don't know if this is the right or wrong approach, but when I was a kid playing team sports, I chose to be one of the feeding players, rather than the star scorer, watching people miss time and again, shots that I would have made. That sounds conceited, but it was actually based on my experience as a kid with others, which meant I didn't want the spotlight, because being singled-out always came with some form of torture, social or physical. In the end, it was because of this reason that I actually stopped playing altogether.
Splinterlands is not a sport I the classical sense, but there is still competition involved and I like to compete and do well - but I don't care that much about actually winning. The result is of course good, but it is the act of the competition, the journey to that result that matters, where I am able to test my skills against others, see where I have strengths and weaknesses, and improve for next time.
Brawling has exposed a lot of weakness and it isn't only the lack of cards. Because there are only a limited amount of matches each round, every round matters. In comparison to open gameplay where I can screw up rounds and they have less impact (generally) on the final outcome. This means that during brawl rounds, I have to be far more attentive and, I can't take the more habitual approach to the cards I choose. I feel like in order to win rounds, I have to "trick" the opponent more, playing third-string lineups that will surprise them, rather than the obvious or backup lineups. This has worked relatively well so far, but of course, it has its flaws, because when they play the obvious, I am screwed.
As said, I don't know that much yet about Brawling or Guilds at all, but I am trying to ease my way into it, because I do see Guilds playing a far more significant role outside of the game in the future. Outside meaning that it will be the guilds that end up fielding the star players like in any sports team, whilst individual stars will have less opportunity. Building the Guilds into the "sports franchise" they could be, would bring immense value to the game in time, as well as make playing a career for more people, as well as management of guilds a career also.
But, at this point, I have no clout in the game either as a top player in e open format or in the Brawls, and I am unsure if I ever will. I feel that my role will always be more of a supportive role that offers above average results (most of the time) to create a base for the top players to build upon. It is a midfield position or even a defensive safety net position, not one that glitters in the spotlight. This is good for me, because I still have a chance to lone wolf in the background :)
For those who are not in guilds and not brawling - after playing for the last month, I wish I had started earlier. Not just because I would have a better set of Gladius cards, but because I would have improved my single gameplay skills too, shoring up more of those weaknesses, so being able to better utilize my strengths.
And, it isn't "so bad" being part of a team.
:)
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
