Steem Monsters Sunday!: Welcome Me Back to Champions Division!

The last season is now over and going all into Steem Monsters and making some large purchases over the past couple of weeks has finally paid off. After a couple of seasons not reaching the Champions Division and prior challenges to even remain in Diamond Division, I had a long week battling through the Diamond Division. It was still a challenge as most of my battles were with ranked individuals much higher than myself. It seemed as those closely ranked to me were no where to be found! However, the last 2-3 hours of the season seemed to have many thinking the same as me and there were plenty of players trying to work their way into higher Divisions for more Reward Edition cards. With about 25 minutes to spare I was able to finally get into the Champions Division! I immediately took a break as I knew that that was going to be the best I could do for the season!

I have to admit that the grind and the investment have been worth it as the Division provided 80 cards which is double what I have been typically getting in the last couple of seasons. While I did not get any amazing Legendary cards, the amount of Reward Edition cards have continued to build to assist in making some of these pretty strong during season ranked play and tournaments as well. In addition, the fact that I was in Diamond Division for most of the season also helped in getting more cards for the Daily Quests. This has allowed me to level up cards in my collection past the levels that I have been able to achieve on by Alpha Collection.

This, in conjunction with the cards I have been purchasing, has also allowed me to place in tournaments more often than not. Particularly in the tournaments of the lower Divisions, my placements have improved quite well. This past week, I have been able to place in the top 10 in approximately 7-8 tournaments, including a pair of 2nd place finishes! This has continued to bring more Steem into my account which is great as I continue to accumulate for my Steem Power and for sharing with the community with SBIs. While my first first place finish continues to evade me, I have become more confident that it will come because the more I play, the more I am learning strategies to improve my chance to rank higher on the battlefield.

Learning these strategies has enabled me to also grow in my rankings quite consistently. Last season I was able to finish in the top 100 of players (97th)! I believe this is the first time since the beta seasons I was able to join that list of players. While I am still far away from achieving better Rewards which I believe are given to those in the top 50, the direction is going in the correct direction for achieving it in the future. Another positive change that I just noticed is that I have started the new season in the Diamond Division which has helped continue the get more cards from Daily Quests. Slightly less than a week into the new season and I have already reached Diamond Division I although I have been able to stay above it for now.

The complicated thing I have begun to consider is the fact that it becomes more difficult to improve from here. I continue to see myself battling cards that are maximum level while in these higher divisions. As I see the advantage that most have, I continue to consider ways to improve my collection but have noticed that the curve to improve from here is quite steep as some cards require more than double the amount of cards I already have to level up towards maximum. I have also thought about buying booster packs but leaving it to chance is not my way to go and I still have not created a base of strong beta cards except for the neutral monsters which were launched for beta. It will be tough to see where I go from here but I feel that I have the funding necessary to start doing so as I continue to get some Steem from the tournaments.

This new season has gotten off to a great start as beginning already in Diamond Division III has had its perks as mentioned before. However, it also makes for a challenging grind as most players in this Division early in the season are also working their way into the Champions Division with some great cards available to do so. At least it allows me to continue learning the strategies of those that I have been battling most often. It is also pretty fun to see many of the known Steemians engaging on the Steem Monsters platform. I enjoy battling some of them often and being able to send them a note saying “Good Game!” Continuing to engage and interact with the community is what continues to build a network that will create value throughout the ecosystem!