A Fun Guide To Playing (& Winning) Splinterlands (Even Though I Haven’t Played It)

_{Disclaimer: I’ve played more games in my 4 decades of life than anyone I know, and they taught me a lot about winning. I’ve also dedicated my life to elevating my decision-making and generally being smart. This guide combines these to give you rarely taught secrets to victory and applies them to Splinterlands. The principles hold up, even if my examples are off, or my game-knowledge is weak. Please read it with an open mind.}

---

“Daaaad! Can you help me win at Splinterlands?”

“Sigh, c’mon Emma, I’ve told you before if you want to be excellent at anything, do R.I.S.C. - Research, Inspect, ‘Steal’, then Create.”

“Ugh, I don’t want a lecture, and I don’t want to jump through a bunch of hoops!”

“I know, you want a ‘magic pill’ to win games without doing any work at all.”

“Hey! I resent--”

“--Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. I’ll help you, my darling daughter.”

“Yay! Thank you! You have such a knack for teaching, I can’t wait to hear your tips.”

“I’m flattered, and happy to help, but keep in mind, I’ve never played Splinterlands, so first you’ll have to teach me the basics.”

“Great! What do you want to know?”

“What exactly is Splinterlands?”

“Splinterlands is a collectible card game similar to Magic or Hearthstone, but it runs on the blockchain, letting you own cards & earn crypto.”

“And why do I want to play this game?”

“Because it’s fun! It’s easy to learn, hard to master, the battles are fast so it’s low time-commitment, it’s got an active player base so it’s easy to find people to play with, plus… since all players have the chance to earn crypto, many people earn enough crypto playing Splinterlands that they’ve made it their full-time job!”

“OK, how do I get started?”

“It’s easy!

1. You hop on a web-browser on an internet-ready device.
2. You create a Hive Blockchain account (and keychain).
3. You head to splinterlands.com, click play now, and enter your sign-up details.

Voila, you’re in!”

“I did all that.”

“And…?”

“It loads a page that looks like a mega-pack of crayola crayons puked on my screen.”

“Ouch. Ah, yeah, Splinterlands’ aesthetic isn’t for everyone. I like to think of it as the love-child of Disney and Fisher-Price getting a facial from Jackson Pollock.”

“Em… I want to teach you how to win at this, but my eyes are on fire. Is there any chance they’ll change the game’s entire aesthetic so I can actually learn it?”

“We can cross our fingers, but it doesn’t seem high on their priorities at the moment.”

“OK, well what are the Splinterlands basics?”

“Oh, there’s countless articles, guides, and posts out there covering Splinterlands basics, and they’re just a google away, Daddio.”

“I know, Hon, but our family has higher standards for explanations-- surely a daughter of mine can break it down for me clearer than all those others, right?”

Emma sighed. “Fine, here’s the basics: Just as Poker has four ‘suits’, and Magic has five ‘mana-colors’, Splinterlands has six Splinters.”

“Cool, what are they?”

“Fire, Water, Earth, Death, Life, Dragon.”

“One of these things is not like the others…” I sing-songed until Em squinted at me.

“Ahem. Each Splinterlands match pits you head-to-head with another player. This is called a ‘battle.’ Players on each side of a battle will choose a Splinter and create a team before going into the battle.”

“Can I mix and match Splinters?”

“Well, your entire ‘Collection’ of cards can hold many cards from all six splinters. But… each player can only choose one single ‘splinter’ to play for the duration of each battle.”

“OK, so basically when I want to start a new battle, I make a new ‘mini-deck’ of cards to play, using cards I pull from my ‘collection,’ yes?”

“Yes. For each battle you’ll choose seven cards, the first one being your preferred ‘Summoner.’ At this point your Summoner can be from any of the six splinters, but as soon as you select him (or her), you’ll only be able to select cards from that same splinter (or ‘element’) for the duration of the battle.”

“Oh, so like if I were an Egyptian general, I’d get to command an Egyptian army.”

“Yes, and if you choose a Dragon Summoner, you get to command a Dragon Army.”

“K, are there wildcards?”

“Yes, we call them ‘neutrals.’”

“K.”

“And that’s it! Choosing your cards is basically the entire game.”

“Er… Is it hard to choose 7 cards for a battle? Sounds easy as pie.”

“Like I said, it’s easy to learn, hard to master. You’ve gotta place each card on the battlefield, and positioning/order is suuuuuper important.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, each battle has a ‘mana cap’ that tells players their ‘mana budget’ for that battle. More powerful cards usually cost more mana, weaker cards usually cost less.

Before the battle begins, a smart player will spend their mana wisely to craft an effective ‘team.’”

“OK, so imagine I choose a ‘Water’ Summoner. I would then access a pool of ‘Water’ cards to create my army. My army has room for six units (or cards) as long as I have mana-budget left to spend on them before the battle starts, right?”

“Yes, but we call those six cards ‘Monsters’ (as opposed to your Summoner) and each of them gets placed into one of six ‘position slots.’ These slots are in order from front (slot 1), to back (slot 6).”

“I think I’ve got it. So I place my cards into my preferred slots, and once all my, uh, ‘Monsters’, are arranged, I click ‘start battle’ or something. Ultimately, whichever player had the better setup & strategy during battle-prep emerges victorious.”

“Wow. You, uh, sorted that out pretty quick. I mean there’s more to it, each card has stats like speed, damage, armor, health, and special abilities, but you got the gist of it lightning fast. Geez.”

“Well, you know how I do... when I do... what I do.”

“Oh em gee. Puh-leeze, Dad.”

“Fine, is Splinterlands free?”

“Every player’s ‘beginner account’ is free, and it’s fine to play around with it. But to trade or earn new cards and cryptocurrency, you’ll need to purchase the ‘Summoner’s Spellbook’ upgrade.”

“What’s that?”

“Meh, it’s kind of like how in sports, you can play casually with friends for free, but if you want to rank up, earn points, prizes, etc. you have to join a League and pay a Sign-Up Fee. Know what I mean?”

“Yeah, got it. Ten-dollar fee to ‘play for real’ with everyone else instead of messing around in the kiddie-zone, right?”

“Yes!”

“What’s the object of the game?”

“The object is to win ‘battles’ vs. other players by pitting your well-chosen Splinterlands lineups against theirs, thus ‘ranking up.’”

“OK, so how do I win?”

“Hello? Uh, Dad? That’s what I’m asking you!”

“No, I mean that ‘winning’ in any game requires understanding the game’s foundations, its first principles. In basketball, a team ‘wins’ by having the ball go in the basket more times, for more points, than an opposing team when the buzzer sounds.”

“Ohh, got it. In that case, a Splinterlands battle is won when all cards have dealt their attacks and all ‘rounds’ of damage have completed. The last monster standing... wins.”

“Thanks. Can I see an example battle?”

“Sure, click the ‘How To Play’ button to start a step-by-step tutorial, or click the right arrow to switch ‘How To Play’ over to ‘Practice’ mode. ‘Practice’ lets you jump into some low-stakes, unranked games against other newbies. Unlimited practice can be done on your free account.”

“I see. It looks like I choose a ‘Summoner’ card, which then opens up a pool of cards for me to choose my army. So the game's real strategy is mainly choosing & positioning various melee, ranged, and magic ‘monster’ cards in the most effective order, like a general directing his army. Once I give the order, the battle is automatic… I don’t actually have to ‘do’ the fighting, like in other games.”

“Exactly! You just watch the magic as the computer unfolds the battle before your very eyes. If you ordered your team well, you’ll win, if not, you’ll lose. Great job, Dad, I knew you’d get it quickly. Whichever Summoner you choose dictates what splinter you’re in, and what Monsters are available to you. Want healing Monsters for your battle? Choose a Life Summoner. Want fast-damage Monsters? Choose a Fire Summoner.”

For example, choosing ‘Tyrus Paladium’ for the battle lets you choose Monsters likely possessing healing abilities (from the ‘Life’ Splinter.) But, if you choose the Summoner ‘Pyre’, your pool of Monsters from that battle will lean towards fast, fiery damage from the ‘Fire Splinter’ instead.”

Taking Emma’s advice into consideration, I quickly clicked through the tutorial battle, while she flounced away to get us some tea.

“I think I get it. So the foundation of winning at Splinterlands is being a great general for my army, selecting the right units at the right time, and placing them in the right order, so that when I click ‘Rumble’ and the battle unfolds, my army is victorious.” I bellowed so she could hear me in the kitchen.

I shouldn’t have bothered though, she couldn’t hear me over the kettle boiling, and I had to repeat the exact same thing when she finally arrived with our tea.

“Wow, you’ve really zeroed in on the heart of Splinterlands in just a few minutes of studying it. I’ve been playing for months and I hadn’t thought to look at it that way. Mia and I just keep trying different cards, crossing our fingers, and hoping it works. No wonder we haven’t gotten very far.”

“Well, I’m glad my perspective seems to be helping already.” I said grinning, then sipped my tea haughtily, proud of my clearly-phrased summary.

“I knew it would, that’s why I asked! Though I should mention your ‘army’ is called your ‘team’ in Splinterlands.”

“Fine, but I’ll probably still call it an army, that makes way more sense to me.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Mmhmm, sure, I’ll run that by @aggroed and @yabapmatt next time I talk to them.”

“Are they the founders of Splinterlands?”

“Yeah, I heard an interview with Aggroed with @rutablockchain recently, he seemed like a pretty cool dude. It’s jaw-dropping what these guys have created, a hugely successful blockchain CCG.”

“Cool, cool. I don’t want to side-track us though, let’s stay focused on what you wanted to know. How to win more at Splinterlands. From the example battle, I think I’ve got the hang of it now, so it’s my turn to be the teacher.”

“Sweet! I’m so psyched!”

“Well, before I start, let me ask you a question…

Why do you care so much about winning?”

“So many reasons! How about, because losing sucks. Everyone hates losing. Because I want to earn crypto. Because it feels like I’m going backwards. Sometimes it takes me like 7 wins just to recover points that I lost in a single battle. When I was playing early last season, I lost 3 battles in a row, costing me over 200 points, and it took me the rest of the damn season to make those points back! I was sooo depressed.”

“Well, thanks for the honesty, Em. That’s pretty intense. Some people say you shouldn’t care that much, ‘it’s just a game’ after all, but every high-achiever in any field, whether it’s Michael Jordan or Taylor Swift, cares very much about their craft and isn't thrilled when things go wrong.”

“I definitely care, but really I just want results.”

“We’ll get you some, because victory —in all games— operates on the same core principles.”

“Name one.”

“Tiny choices and small details matter.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ever heard the phrase ‘Football is a game of inches?’ In (American) football, every inch of ground claimed on the field affects all future plays being made. Similarly, in basketball, dribbling the ball a millimeter too far from your body could be the choice that gets the ball stolen from you, and costs you a game-winning basket. ”

“OK, but there’s no dribbling or inches in Splinterlands.”

“C’mon Em, think! The principle I’m talking about is obvious! Dribbling is the ‘boring, basic foundation’ of basketball. Inches is the ‘boring, basic foundation’ of (American) football. In the video-game League Of Legends, ‘minions’ are the ‘boring, basic foundation.’ Every game has its own ‘boring, basic foundation.’ My point is that the tiny details and small choices a player makes regarding the foundations of any game, plays a huge role in achieving victory or not, but most players are blind to these things.”

“Oh, yeah, now I’m kind of embarrassed. This happened to me and Mia. We’re often so busy chasing ‘the next great card’ that we’ve barely studied the boring, basic foundations of Splinterlands at all.”

“Well, admission is the first step to fixing any problem…

...so you’ve just taken a big step.”

“Hooray! I —Emma Brown— admit I’ve been blind to the foundations of Splinterlands while I chase better cards and more crypto!” Emma did a cartwheel in our blessedly high-ceilinged living room.

“Ahem. Let’s not get carried away, Em.”

“Right. Er, it’s bad that I ignored the foundations.” Emma slapped her own wrist playfully.

“That’s more like it.”

Emma winked in reply, and her radiant smile lit up the room.

“Now miss, can you tell me what tiny choices Splinterlands offers?”

“Hmmm. My choice of Summoner, my choice of monsters, the order I position them in, ummm…”

“Hold your horses! That’s a great start. And you could even go a bit deeper, like what time of day you choose to play, how you navigate card economy, and so on. But from what I can see, mastering the three foundations you just mentioned will be enough to secure a boatload of victories. ”

“Exciting! So you’re telling me that if I pay more attention to my Summoner choices, Monster choices, and Positioning choices, I’ll win more?”

“Yep! You got it! I guess my work here is done.” I picked up my mug and started heading off towards our hallway.

Emma’s jaw dropped open. “Hey! Wait! You only told me what three areas to focus on! Aren’t you going to teach me how to improve them?”

“Oh, you wanted to know how to master these foundations, my bad.” My eyes crinkled with mirth. What’s the point of having a daughter if you can’t joke around with her, right?

“Sooo not funny, STEP-Dad.”

“Hey now, low-blow, Em.” Usually Emma only pointed out my stepfather status when she was really mad, but this time she was just having fun with me. I made a mock pout.

“What can I say, fathers who refuse to teach me Splinterlands don’t get the luxury of being called ‘Dad’, just sayin’.” Emma’s tongue popped out to let me know she was just playing.

I played along. “You got me. I guess I have to teach you if I want to maintain ‘dad’ status.”

“‘Zactly.”

“Let’s start with Summoner choice.”

“Great, I usually just choose the Summoner that I have the most/best cards with.”

“Sure, and that’s good for a beginner. But imagine someone who’s mastered the foundations of Splinterlands, is that how they’d be making this ‘small choice’, each battle?”

“Probably not.”

“So, what do you think they might do?”

“Ummm… they’d analyze their opponent in the battle prep screen, do their best to predict what the enemy will do, and choose whatever Summoner would best thwart them?”

“Bingo! Although I honestly can’t believe someone your age used the word ‘thwart.’”

“Well, I honestly CAN believe someone YOUR age used the word ‘Bingo!’”

“Touché.”

“So the next match I play, I won’t just choose my Summoner by default, I’ll really think it through.”

“Very wise. For example, if you see your opponent has played the ‘Death’ Splinter for the last 3 or 4 games, what may be a good Summoner choice in response to that?”

“I’d say choose a ‘Fire’ Summoner, so I get access to a lot of fast damage, that way I can burn him down before his slower Death deck can do anything.”

“You’re getting it. But what if you were up against a Gold player, who’s last 6 games were all different Summoners, from different Splinters, you can’t just simply choose a Fire Summoner in this case, can you?”

“Dang. No. What should I do?”

“Same thing you’d do in any game, like I said, these foundations are all the same.”

“Uhhh… that literally doesn’t help me.”

“My bad. You choose the Summoner that gives you the best chance of winning ‘blind.’ Since you can’t analyze your opponent’s playstyle based on their last matches, and they’re probably quite skilled if they’re in Gold, you simply must choose a Summoner that best enables you to win going in blind. In League Of Legends this is called a Blind Pick.”

“That makes total sense. I can’t believe I haven’t had a better approach to Summoner choice before now.”

“Yes, and it goes even deeper. In Splinterlands, I gather that you can earn cards, rent cards, unlock cards, and more, yes?”

“Yes, it’s a huge part of the game. That’s why Mia and I are always chasing the next best card.”

“Right, and Summoners are a single card that massively impacts and affects your entire pool of cards each battle, right?”

“Right.”

“So what cards are well worth researching and investing in carefully?”

“Summoner cards?”

“Spot on.”

“Ugh. I’ve wasted so much DEC (Dark Energy Crystals) on Monster cards, when the whole time I should’ve been chasing Summoners!”

“Well, not exactly. How many Splinters are there, again?”

“Six.”

“And how many are you comfortable playing?”

“Well, I mostly play Fire and Life, lately.”

“So how many Summoner’s do you really need to invest in for now?”

“Oh! Only 2!”

“For now. A true master at the game will probably have multiple summoners for each Splinter and be adept at playing them all, but for a beginner you really only need one high-performing, high win-rate Summoner card for each of the few Splinters you’re most comfortable with.”

“Nice! That way I’ll have 2 very reliable Summoners that I’m comfortable with, and I can focus on. Do you think I should invest in a good Summoner for the rest of the Splinters? Splinterlands offers ‘Daily Quests’ which are pretty important if you want to earn more cards, and they often require certain Summoners or Splinters to be played.”

Emma was already clicking around various Splinterlands sites, digging up win rate data on Summoners.

“Well… it depends. If you’re focused on building your collection, Daily Quests may help with that. But if you want wins, hopping from Summoner to Summoner may not help much with that.”

“Why?”

“Because it dilutes your focus and card-pool, which will make victory a bit trickier to reach in the short-term. Still, you could do it, as it will prepare you for true Splinterlands mastery down the road. It just depends if you’re more of a ‘win-now, quick-fix’ mindset, or more of an ‘invest lots to truly master the game over time’ mindset.”

“I’ll be honest, I really want quick wins, even if I’m not ranking up, it’d be great if I could surprise Mia by stomping her next time we play.”

“Mmhmm. With great power comes great responsibility. I’m not teaching you to win so you can rub it in Mia’s face.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I’ll win, but then I’ll teach her all these tricks, so she can do it too!”

“Hmph. Good. Anyway, in any game where I want quick wins, I focus and niche-down as much as possible. So for Splinterlands, I’d focus on Summoners for your two favorite Splinters. Perhaps get two or even three high-performing Summoner cards for Fire, as well for Life. That way you stay focused on your card-pool, and have a couple solid options in each of your best Splinters.”

“It looks like some Summoner cards perform well at level one, others only perform well once they’re leveled up. Still others perform well in Bronze, others perform well in Gold. How do I choose?”

“Smartly.”

“What the eff, Dad? What kind of an answer is that?”

“It’s an answer that says you’re a smart girl. I’ve taught you the principle that matters. I’ve taught you that small choices about your Summoner card in every battle is a foundation to Splinterlands victory. The nuances of what to choose are different for every person, in every unique battle. It’s up to you to experiment and think things through, to make the best choice. You can figure this stuff out without me spoon-feeding you every answer. For example, are you playing in Gold right now?”

“No.”

“So should you be selecting Summoners that perform well mainly in Gold?”

“I guess not.”

“Exactly. Not rocket science, if you use your brain and actually apply yourself. Do your research, think carefully, ask yourself questions, and improve your Summoner choice every. single. battle. Make sense?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll just Google ‘high win rate Splinterlands summoners 2021’ or find them on YouTube or something. My bad. I got this.”

“There we go. And don’t you feel a bit silly for not thinking of that yourself?”

Emma blushed. “Yeah I do. But I also remember the summer when you neglected to ditch your sweater, yet complained about being hot for hours.”

“Touché… again. You know people might think you’re crazy to seek lessons from someone who’s never played the game, let alone someone not bright enough to take off a hot sweater, right?”

“Yeah they would. But you’re good at the ‘mental game’, the ‘first principles game’, the game of life! Your teachings put so many other guides to shame, even those of experts in the field, so I can forgive your sweater mistake.

“My, my, Em, are you fishing for an increased allowance or something?”

“No I mean it, honest! You’ve always explained things so clearly that anyone could understand it, and are definitely my go-to for real learning.”

“Well, hopefully I can live up to that praise with the next lesson.”

“I believe! So what’s next?”

“Let’s talk about Monster choice.”

“K, great! Gimme the scoop, coach!”

“Choosing monsters for your army...excuse me, ‘team’, is a series of small choices.”

“But small choices matter a lot in every game!”

“Yes, the pros, are making many tiny choices about card-selection. And they’re doing so extremely well. They make card-choices that the average player doesn’t see or understand.”

“K, so how can I make more card-choices like the pros?”

“Well you could just watch their games and copy them, if you haven’t already. But the most advantageous way of doing it is by…

...understanding offense and defense properly.”

“And that’s important, why?”

“Because any game that has player vs. player (or team vs. team) has elements of ‘offense’ and ‘defense’ in it.”

“OK, I can see that, and...?”

“Well, watching those battles earlier showed me that in Splinterlands, usually each card attacks the ‘front’ or ‘first’ card on the enemy’s side of the board, right?”

“Yes, we call that the ‘first position’ or the ‘tank.’”

“So that card would qualify as the ‘first line of defense’ for a Splinterlands, uh, team, and it’s essentially protecting all the other cards of its team, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So does it make sense to have a low armor, low health unit in the first position?”

“Of course not, it would get destroyed instantly and you’d get no value from it.”

“Exactly.”

Emma folded her arms, unimpressed. “Wow. Mind-blowing stuff Dad. ‘Make sure you choose a strong tank, not a weak one.’ Genius advice!”

“Shush the sass, missy.

My point is that to win, you need to get into a certain mindset regarding offense and defense.

“And that is?”

“A value mindset. The top-performers in any game are always assessing things for value. They’re always weighing the pros and cons of each defensive or offensive choice. You just demonstrated one simple value-assessment, but imagine the following:

You and I are battling. You choose a traditional ‘tank’ with high health and armor, but it does pretty low damage. You also choose a healer and some other stuff. You’re proud of your ‘tank defense’ decision, because that’s how everyone you’ve seen plays. I, on the other hand, stacked my deck with 6 extremely high damage-dealers, pure and simple. I have no tanks, no healers, Who will win?”

“I will, you literally have no tank, it’s dumb. No one plays like this.”

“Is it? Here’s how the scenario plays out. Because my damage-dealers have such low health, the Splinterlands founders made them ‘fast’ to compensate. (There are trade-offs in every game.) Basically, my cards get to go first, they have initiative over yours.

So the match begins, and all my damage-dealers start attacking your tank. Since mine all go first, your tank gets pummeled and dies in the first round, before even getting to attack. So that’s one less attack you get next round. On top of that, your healer, who you usually use to keep your tank alive from round to round like an unkillable wall, has very few allies left to heal, none of them very tanky, so my extreme offense not only minimized value from your tank, but also minimized value from your healer.

So, now it’s your turn to go, but you’re massively disadvantaged, and your traditional ‘tank’ plan has fallen apart.”

“Dang… that’s actually brilliant. It reminds me of the adage…

‘The best defense is a good offense.’”

“Good connection Emma, and I’ll address that, but for now, why was I able to figure my unique strategy out, despite not ever playing Splinterlands?”

“Because you understand the first principles of games?”

“You guessed it!”

“I can’t wait to try this out on Mia, she’ll be shocked!”

“Hold on. A good offense isn’t always —or only— the best defense. The strategy I’ve outlined will only work in certain situations. It’s not true that offense or defense are better in all cases. A player who secures victory consistently is one who spots when (and how) to use their offensive and defensive choices correctly. They’re a player who maximizes the value they’re getting out of their cards.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“OK, let’s take a deeper example. Let’s say you’re about to battle. It’s time to choose the final card in your chain. You know you need a ranged damage dealer who you’ll place safely way in the back. You have three candidates to choose from…” I hastily typed into my phone.”Say...uh… Soulstorm, Dark Astronomer, and Twisted Jester.”

“Dad, I'm not sure random googling is the best way to come up with examples, like, all three of those ranged attackers are ‘Death’, and I don’t play the ‘Death’ splinter very much.”

“Don’t nitpick, any splinter will do here, this is just an example to make a point. C’mon, keep up.”

“Ok, geez. I’m listening, how do I maximize value in my Monster choice here?”

“Well, each card has offensive and defensive value, correct?”

“Yeah…”

“So which one would you include in your deck? Which one is the most valuable to you?”

“Probably Soulstorm. It costs the most mana, has fairly high stats & abilities, and it sells for the most crypto out of the three.”

“Sounds like a good card, but is it always the most valuable? I mean, is a card’s value the same in every situation? Are the times when cheap, ‘bad’ cards can provide huge value? For instance, which card is more valuable when you’re facing a lot of ranged enemies?”

“Probably Twisted Jester, since it can ‘snipe’ enemies beyond any tanky front-line. It can directly damage ranged units.”

“So you’d take Jester over Soulstorm in your last slot if you knew your enemy was bringing much range?”

“Yeah, I think I would.”

“And which is more valuable when you’re facing a lot of tanks?”

“Hmm. Probably Dark Astronomer, since its ‘shatter’ ability can remove the armor of many tanks completely.”

“And which is more valuable when you’re blind-picking than others?”

“Ah, we’re back to Soulstorm again.”

“But what if you only have a few points left to spend?”

“Well, Soulstorm is pretty costly to squeeze into a deck at 5 mana, so I’d likely go with one of the other two if I didn’t have many mana points left.”

“Are you seeing the pattern here?”

“That each card's value changes depending on circumstances?”

“Yes, but more importantly that star players are those who constantly ask themselves questions like these about every Monster choice.”

“Ugh, sounds like a lot of thinking.”

“Yes, Em, because winning at games requires thinking. Winners are analyzing their opponent, and choosing cards likely to provide a lot of value. They’re inspecting their Summoner and their own card pool, and choosing cards which deliver major value. They’re imagining the game in their mind: who will attack first, how much defense is needed, what an appropriate offense is, as well as their own tendencies and playstyle. Pro players make extra-valuable choices for their lineup in each battle. They make extra-valuable choices on cards to add to their collection. They make extra-valuable choices on how to order their cards. You feel me?”

“I do. Totally. And I can see that I’ve been a lazy thinker, a lazy player. So far I’ve not had a very value-based mindset while playing Splinterlands, especially when we have things like ‘rulesets’ which alter the rules of each battle. I can see how ever-changing rules means I have to make many different choices about the cards in my chain. So far, I’ve only done basic value-mindset stuff, like adding the card with bigger numbers to my deck. I’ve barely scratched the surface of choice-analysis to the degree you’ve outlined.”

“The same goes for most ‘average’ players. They simply don’t put in the passion or thought necessary to really examine every tiny choice they make, but in the end, that’s what separates winners from losers in all games. The top-ranked players have made thousands, even millions, of tiny, invisible choices better than their opponents did, and the results add up to victory. It’s not flashy, it’s not instant, it’s not a magic ‘victory pill’... but it straight-up works.”

“I’m gonna do it! Next battle I enter, I’ll be really thinking through my Summoner and Monster choices. Thanks so much! What’s next?”

“Ordering, Positioning, Lineups.”

“Ah, good, this is where the game’s mastery really comes in, in my opinion.”

“I agree. And just so we’re clear, a ‘chain’ is just all your Monsters for the battle, ‘ordered’ as chosen, yes?”

“Yeah, Mia calls it a ‘lineup,’ ‘positioned’ as chosen, though. I honestly don’t know what the correct terminology is.”

“Okay, thank you. Anyway, I noticed from our example battle, that this is where a lot of the decision-making takes place, but I’m not 100% clear how it works. Mind elaborating before I give my advice?”

“Well, once you’ve selected a Summoner for the upcoming battle, you’re then given six ‘slots’ worth of space to create your team--”

“--army--”

“--team. From the first position, to the sixth position, this is what I call your ‘chain.’ You’re meant to fill each slot with a ‘Monster,’ (or card, or unit,) or whatever you want to call them, Dad. The first slot is the ‘front’ line of your team, (the first position,) and generally considered the ‘tank’ since your opponents cards will be attacking it first, barring exceptions.”

“Once my tank or ‘first-position’ card dies, what happens?”

“The next unit in your chain moves up to take its place, becoming a new, temporary tank, until it dies as well. Then the cycle repeats until one player’s Monsters are all dead, and only the victor remains on the battlefield.”

“Got it. So we can see another gaming first principle here.”

“We can?”

“Yep, the importance of first and last. In games...

What you choose first sets the tone. What you choose last decides how your story ends.

They both matter a lot. Heck, every choice in the middle matters too, but your first choices and last choice tend to matter more.”

“Huh. Now that you say it out loud, it seems pretty obvious, but I’ve literally never thought about it that way. Choosing a tank is super important, as is choosing a finisher, or ‘back.’”

“I’m glad you get it. So even though I don’t play, I can already tell that a tank is a card that performs well in the first row, and who’s stats and abilities bring a lot of value when placed there. Something that dies in a single hit, before it has a chance to make any impact, is probably not a card we want to place in slot one. Does it make sense?”

“Yes.”

“So I already have an idea of what cards do this, but based on all we’ve covered already, can you describe what may make a valuable ‘tank’ in Splinterlands?”

“Well, at first I thought it was one that can take hits and protect my back-row attackers so they get a chance to lay waste to my foes, but after you schooled me earlier, I’d also say it could be a card that does a ton of damage fast, destroying a lot of the opponent’s team before they even have a chance to act.”

“Bravo, Emma! You’re getting the hang of these value-based small decisions for sure! And you can see that what does well in position one is either significant defense, or significant offense. A mediocre blend of both will likely fall short here.”

“Hey, I’ve had other people beat me even with tanks that don’t have noticeable offense or defense.”

“Sure, but if so, it’s only because they were still important cards bringing a lot of value. Maybe they were there to distract you. Maybe they were there to be kamikaze cannon fodder, due to special powers of abilities the Monster had. Maybe there were certain rulesets or battle conditions that made more ‘unique’ tanks possible in that match. Regardless, even if you were beaten by subpar tanks, are you sure the game wouldn’t have been won even more decisively with a more clearly offensive or defensive tank? It’s food for thought, at least, n’est-ce pas?”

“Got it. So I need to put way more thought into the cards I place first, in any given situation or battle.”

“Yes, the same applies to your ‘back’ Monster. Can you tell me what may fit well there?”

“Uh, I dunno, the same thing?”

“That’s a starting point, yes. We can dig deeper though, by exploring another head-to-head game first principle.”

“Another one? Aight, I’m all ears.”

“Suss out what the opponent wants to do, and foil it.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Sure. Since, like you said earlier, everyone plays defensive ‘tanks’ in Splinterlands, your opponent is almost certainly assuming you will be.”

“Yeah, and barring your nutty aggressive damage-dealing example from earlier, I will be.”

“Right, so what will your opponent be trying to do in the next match you play?”

“Umm, kill my tank asap?”

“Well said. So applying the ‘foil it’ principle, what would be good to do?”

“Prevent him from killing my tank somehow?”

“Yep. And which of your cards is furthest from your tank?”

“My back Monster.”

“And is there any way to get your opponent to attack your back monster?”

“Some cards have the ‘taunt’ ability, that might work.”

“I thought as much. Good.”

“Ah, so my back should have taunt?”

“Sort of. It’s not about memorizing a set of rules like ‘back must have taunt’, it’s about figuring out what the enemy desires, and countering it. This applies to any game, Magic, League, basketball, whatever. If you get the hang of it, you can claim victory so much easier than the average player.”

“Okaaaayyy...”

“I can tell it’s not clicking. Let’s take the example further, maybe that will help you. Let’s say you position a Monster in the back, slot six, that has taunt.” I tried to google Splinterlands card abilities while my phone was in my pocket. It was extremely difficult, but I got part way there.

“Kraken.”

“Sure, you put Kraken in the back, and he taunts the opposing Monsters to attack him. They skip your tank and attack Kraken instead. But your opponent is prepared with a ‘counter.’ He’s dealt with ‘taunt’ before, so he made sure that his cards have, uh, er…” I probably set a new record for google-fu, but in the end I did have to take my phone out of my pocket to see the results. “...‘Life Leech.’ What happens?”

“Uh, he damages my Kraken, and his Monsters get stronger from Life Leech. How do you even know about Life Leech anyway? There’s literally no way you looked it up in the split-second you had your phone out.” Actually, that’s exactly what I did.

“I have my ways. Point is, you thought you’d foil your opponents tank-killing strategy, by taunting him to attack your Kraken in the back. He foiled your idea by putting Life Leech cards in his chain. If we leave it like this, he’ll have the upper-hand in battle.”

“So what do I do?”

“Well, are there any abilities in the game that foil life-leechers?”

“Retaliate does that, I believe.”

“Great! Then maybe it’s better to put a ‘retaliate’ card in the back, if you think you’re going to be dealing with ‘life-leechers.’ See? Every little detail matters, and whoever chooses the wisest wins. And if you’re going in blind and you can’t predict, you simply do the best you can, and learn from any losses.”

“Yeah, though I should probably mention, Splinterlands can occasionally have a ‘bot’ problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, some coders make computer-programs (‘bots’) to play for them and ‘automatically’ win. The bots do this by viewing what cards you picked before the battle starts, then countering you. I almost thought you might be using a bot or something on your phone, with the way you came up with that perfect Kraken counter.”

“I had no idea bots were a thing.”

“Yeah, and you probably didn’t know this, but the Kraken can ‘level up’ and eventually gain the ‘retaliate’ ability, so it’s an even more perfect counter than you may have realized!!”

“Whoa! Uh, I totally knew that. Yep. One-hundred-percent predicted it. Cards you own can, uh, level-up! Sure, I totally took that into account…” I trailed off, grinning sheepishly.

“What-EVER, Dad.”

“Emma, all this is to say that there are many different strategies for who you place in the back, some are better than others overall, some are better at certain times, some may be countered, and some counters can be countered in return. There are ways to counter ‘sneak’, ‘thorns’, ‘snipe’, and everything else. The real trick here is to use your value-based mindset to figure out what’s going to perform well for you. (Also, you may want to google it, I bet there’s a solution to that bots issue.)”

“Yeah, Mia told me to open a browser, go to my Splinterlands ‘Settings’ and click the option to ‘wait to reveal team’ so bots can’t see, but I forgot to.”

“Alright, well, moving on, would you like one more example of using a value-mindset to be better at Splinterlands?”

“Sure!”

“Alright, we’ll start by examining a tiny detail we’ve barely talked about, but one that holds a lot of power.”

“What’s that?”

“The ‘mana budget’ you’re allowed to spend on your team in each battle.”

“Oh yes, the ‘mana cost’ for adding cards to your line-up can quickly reach the limit if you put too many overpowered Monsters into your chain.”

“Yeah, that. Maybe your most valuable strategy is to put 3 heavily overpowered Monsters in your front three positions, taking up most of your mana-budget, then filling the remaining back-half of your team out with low-mana-cost units that taunt and debuff your opponent, packing a punch before they die like cannon fodder. Or maybe your most valuable strategy is to have many medium-cost units, nicely balanced so that they all share some of the workload. Maybe you change your strategy from battle to battle, depending on the mana-cap.”

“Wow, this is a lot to think about. Every time I think I’m getting the hang of it, you turn things around or show me a different way.”

“Yes, because an average gamer doesn’t think things through. Average gamers aren’t very creative. They’re looking for shortcuts, quick tips, and any way to turn their brain off, instead of applying it to victory. They don’t inspect the details of their choices. They play on autopilot and get destroyed by more aware, more savvy gamers who’ve poured passion into improving their choices.”

“Hey! Are you saying I play on autopilot?!”

Emma swiveled her chair away from the computer to face me.

“Yes. But I don’t mean it as an insult. I do it too. We all do things on autopilot here and there. The same morning routine. The same conversational patterns. The same approach to our favorite games. We all live some parts of our lives ‘unexamined’, at least until we get fed up with poor results and start really focusing on improving.”

“Like me, today. I got fed up with losing, and came to you for help.”

“Yes, just like today. You’ve been playing Splinterlands for over a year, and you just now asked your insanely brilliant, god-tier-wise, toe-curlingly handsome father for advice, because you actually wanted to examine your performance and improve for once.”

“Shee-eesh, cocky much?”

“It ain’t cocky if it’s true, babygirl.”

“You know, this is why Mom and I don’t ask you for advice more often.” Emma’s lower lip stuck out indignantly.

I shrugged my shoulders, tilted my head, and said “I guess that’s just my cross to bear.”

Em fake-glared, then beamed, then spun her chair back towards the computer. “You’re incorrigible! But thanks for teaching me this stuff about Summoners, Monsters, Positioning, and game theory overall. I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure, Em. And I’m not quite done if you’re still able to absorb more.”

“Are you kidding? I’ll take all I can get. This stuff is gonna rank me up, and put me way ahead of Mia.”

“You girls have a weird friendship.”

“We both have weird parents, so it’s all good.”

“Clearly those parents should’ve never taught you sarcasm, but oh well.”

“Oh well indeed, what’s the next lesson?”

“Always explore synergies.”

“What are synergies?”

“It’s two (or more) things becoming greater than the sum of their parts.”

“In English, professor?”

“It’s how things become super-valuable when combined. Like Michael Jordan was great on his own, so was Scottie Pippen, but together, they were truly magnificent. Or how The Beatles were good, but not super famous, until they hooked up with their manager, Brian Epstein.”

“Ah, got it. But how does this apply to Splinterlands?”

“Well, certain cards are bound to synergize better with others, and the players who spot these synergies and consciously apply them to their battles, will soar high above other players.”

“Oh, like how Mylor Crowling is a great performing Summoner on it’s own. And Flesh Golem is a decent Monster. Together though, they become nearly unstoppable, and dominate many low level games.”

“Yes! Er… I think. I have no idea what either of those cards do.”

“Well, Flesh Golem has a ton of health, and he self-heals. So he’s already kind of annoying to kill, and the opponent has to spend many attacks to take him out. And Mylor Crowling is a Summoner who gives your whole team ‘thorns,’ which means your Flesh Golem now returns damage back to enemies attacking it, taking it from an annoyance to a behemoth that decimates huge chunks of the enemy... uh… ‘army.’”

“Yay! You used my word! And ah, yes, a brilliantly synergistic combo, yes. Great job, Emma.”

“Thank you, thing is, since I wasn’t very focused on synergies, and I don’t play Earth much, I’ve not managed to acquire either of these cards yet.”

“That’s the thing about synergies, Em.

You probably have synergies sitting in your collection already.

Synergies are everywhere in games, but they often sit right under our nose until we begin researching, inspecting, and experimenting to find them. Most people just jump into match after match, instead of taking a breath, sitting down, and really looking through their collection.”

“Good point. Maybe I could make a spreadsheet of my cards and give them a ‘synergy ranking’ of how likely they are to synergize with others?”

“Now you’re getting it! Put some effort into finding synergies, and you can often make a cheap, ‘bad’ card do a ton of work and win for you.” As usual, Emma was already clicking like crazy, researching Splinterlands synergies while we talked. On the one hand, it was a bit disrespectful to do mid-conversation, but on the other hand, I couldn’t ask for a better student than one who takes action on what she’s learned immediately, cementing the concept with action.

“Dad! Check this out! I’ve already discovered an affordable-but-good combo that I’ve never used before, Exploding Dwarf + Malric Inferno!”

“You’re on a roll, miss, keep it up! I bet Mia has some unused synergies in her collection too.”

“Are there any other ways to discover synergies? This seems like it could be huge towards increasing my win rate.”

“Yes, make match review fun.”

“Match review? Sounds boring.”

“Yes, that’s literally why my tip was ‘make it fun.’ Match review is done by anyone who’s serious about improving in anything. Dancers and weight-lifters watch their performance in a mirror or on video-recording. League Of Legends players comb through their replays. You get the picture. I’m telling you right now, the top Splinterlands players on the ladder review their matches looking for things that went wrong, line-ups that went right, and synergies that were particularly effective.”

“Yeah, even though I don’t know any, I do agree with you there.”

“And I bet you anything that they didn’t do it in the beginning, when they were average players, but eventually realized match review is a game-changer, and adopted it. You and every other player have the exact same option to do this. You have the opportunity to dive into match review with passion, eager to discover great synergies or pitfalls to avoid. The question is… will you? Or will you just click that ‘Battle’ button again on autopilot, looking for a dopamine hit rather than a victory?”

“Yikes. When you put it that way, I feel like I kind of have to do a match review…”

“Well don’t let my painting a bleak picture bully you into it. It’s fine to play casually. It’s fine to play for dopamine. It’s fine to skip match review... but you asked me how to win more, and match review is one-hundred-percent a major differentiator between winners and losers, and it’s important for you to know that.”

“Well, I’ll definitely think about it. Maybe I’ll apply your other tips first and move on to a boring match review later.”

“Sounds good. And I just wanna emphasize that it won’t work if you don’t make it fun. The players you look up to make time in their day for match review. They plan things around it because they love getting better, and they understand this is part of it. They realize moving your arms and legs is a part of dancing, you don’t regret doing it, you’re happy to do it. Same goes for winning games and match review. If you can’t feel positively about it, you can try and grind it out, but it may actually hurt your win rate instead.”

“Hmm. Even more for me to think about.”

“Yep, speaking of which, I think…

That wraps up my Splinterlands 101 class.”

“Aw, I was hoping you could teach me about card-economy, collection-building, and how to get plenty of legendaries…”

“Now, now, I’ve already spoken over eight thousand words on the subject. And what have we always learned in our family?”

Emma took a deep breath, then began to recite one of our family lessons. “Be grateful for the value all around us, and expect more to arrive when the time is right.”

“Exactly. You won’t get this sort of teaching every day, especially not from someone with almost zero interest in the game.”

“True. Thank you. I’m so grateful you took the time to explain all this, and even more that you’re able to learn and teach things so quickly and deeply. You taught me Hive completely after using it for a couple weeks. You helped me master censorship in a couple conversations. And now you’ve taught me how to win at Splinterlands without ever having played it. It’s totally surreal, yo.”

“Well, we all have our unique gifts, right? I certainly can’t fill out a bikini, strike a pose, or captivate audiences with a swish of the hair like you do. But I will give you these tidbits regarding the Splinterlands economy.

One, it’s probably worth it to rent a card or two at least.

Why? Because anytime you’re playing a game with people who’ve been playing a lot longer than you, they’re going to have many advantages over you. They’ll have more experience, quicker thinking, better reflexes, more time in their day, etc. You don’t want them to have even more of an advantage with better cards than you, while you have the option of easily renting for a pittance. This kind of thing goes for games like League of Legends too. It’s usually worth it to a) carefully research and experiment with champs on a friend’s account until you find ones that perform for you, then b) invest in a couple that can take you far.”

“I was going to interrupt you because I’ve seen a lot of players waste a lot of money on cards, while others go quite far with just free cards, but it sounds like you’re suggesting a very prudent middle-ground. Experiment with a friend or on your free account, or at least do some research on Reddit and YouTube, so you can find cards that feel good and really perform for you, and only then invest a small amount of DEC to rent them. Great idea on making the climb easier, especially since the SPS token launched, and many new players flooded in, driving the price of cards way up. Renting is all many people can afford, and even it’s prices will likely be sky-high until the release of Splinterlands’ next edition.”

“Yes and two, don't expect to rank up instantly.

Most games are designed to keep a player addicted. They're designed to be a grind. They're designed for every climb to have a 'slow pace' unless you're a natural gaming god or something.

Getting to silver right out the gate is unlikely, especially if you're playing casually, with minimal investment. Some people call this pay to win, but whether you see it that way or not, it's good to understand the reality of your climb. Even if you master many of the tips I've shared, it will likely still take a good chunk of time, like most games.

You'll need to invest in yourself, your collection, and the game. Many people are buying and renting cards, giving them an advantage, so you'll need to be quite skilled and smart to beat them, even if you level the playing field by renting your own. So play at your own pace, and relax any expectations of speed-climbing, unless you're willing to develop the talents of a speed-climber, which if you don't already have them, is not a fast process.

Three, decide if you’re playing for fun, playing for money, or both.

In all games there are people who play for fun, people who play for some other kind of reward like wealth, status, prestige, bragging rights, personal growth, and so on. There are those who play for both, but ultimately everyone is prioritizing one over the other to some degree. It’s important you know what your motivations are, because they dictate your actions. In athletics, the people playing ‘for fun’ don’t often use PEDs or steroids. On the other hand, the people playing for wealth, or to ‘be the best’ are often found using such drugs. In Splinterlands, people playing to ‘be the best’ are often whales who will spend a lot of hard-earned fiat in order to climb, whereas people playing ‘for fun’ may never buy a single card.”

“That’s definitely something I’ll talk to Mia about. We both love the game, and we got into it for fun, but I think I’m getting deeper into it now. Maybe I’m a bit more serious.”

“I’ll support you either way, but it’s worth getting clear on in your own mind, or the lack of clarity may hold you back, regardless of your goals.”

“Thanks, you rock. And hey, if you can get past their less-than-ideal UX/UI, and you want to join Mia and I in playing this awesome game, here’s a few resources that may help you get started:

• Bulldog1205’s YouTube
• Splinterlands Guide YouTube
• Dwayne Cunningham’s YouTube”
• Splinterlands Wiki spearheaded by @unitqm
• Splintercards.com by @tehox

“Thanks Em, remember when the founder of PeakD interviewed me regarding UX improvements? Well, I’d probably have to talk to the Splinterlands team for ten times as long, just to cover the same ground, heheh. So their current interface is a dealbreaker for me, but they’re growing fast, the player base seems to have no problem with it, and I love the success Matt & Aggroed have created. Maybe you and Mia can get your sister to join instead.”

“Fair enough. I bet I can get Mom to join too. I’ll talk to them when they’re back from walking Olive. Wooooo! OK, I hate to learn and run, Dad, but I’m so psyched to try all these new Splinterlands tricks out, how about I go play and report back when I’m done?”

“Sure thing, Hon, wishing you smooth, splinterful success!”

---

This guide was just a fun way to introduce newbies to Splinterlands and boost players towards winning that other guides neglect. I haven’t played Splinterlands, unless you count a single practice battle using the tutorial deck, but [I do know a lot about gaming](https://peakd.com/hive-140217/@ryzeonline/from-pacman-to-hades-i-never-finish-games, so if I’ve made any errors, please kindly correct me.

_{(If you’ve ever tried writing a guide on something you’ve never used before, you’ll know it’s tricky to get one hundred percent accuracy.)}

Anyway, I don’t just teach how to win at games, I actually teach the first principles of well… practically anything. My favorite to teach is Law Of Attraction, because every dream you have, big or small, comes down to how well you’re able to manifest it into reality. Including victory at games. So I ask you, how well do you know the first principles of the law of attraction? Want to get better at them? Master them? If so, consider joining me in my discord class to ask me any question you want.

Either way, I appreciate you reading, commenting, sharing, and even skimming, and I wish you huge joy and success in your games and all you do.

P.S. Tagging a few kind souls who may enjoy this: @enmy , @danielvehe , @pusen , @reviseology , @mattclarke :D)

SOURCES:
https://medium.com/@splinterlands/first-and-last-cards-the-foundation-of-splinterlands-strategy-5177a6c6c247
https://www.neoxian.city/splinterlands/@grapthar/taunt-and-thorns-two-truly-useful-abilities-a-splinterlands-walkthrough-for-the-brand-new-players
https://hive.blog/splinterlands/@davemccoy/a-solution-to-the-bot-problem-on-splinterlands
https://mralanc.blog/splinterlands-strategy-guide-full-playthrough-formerly-steemmonsters/#Welcome_To_The_Splinterlands
https://hive.blog/hive-13323/@marianaemilia/splinterlands-basic-battle-tips-the-taunt-strategy
https://www.publish0x.com/jstacktv/splinterlands-beginner-experience-xjjyrwg
https://hive.blog/splinterlands/@mercurial9/comprehensive-guide-for-new-players-to-splinterlands-or-or-ep-13-or-or-splinterlands
https://peakd.com/gaming/@slobberchops/splinterlands-strategies-exploding-dwarf
https://leofinance.io/@handtalk5/10-splinterlands-card-strategies-for-beginners