Splinterlands Sunday!: End of Season Fireworks!

Yet another season is not over for Splinterlands and I was sure a rollercoaster of emotions for me as it continues to be one of the most competitive games I have participated in ever in an online space. That is saying plenty given my past in some consoles first person shooters I have participated in with friends. As the amount of players continues to rise, the competition to not only achieve higher Divisions but entering into the Top 50 become more difficult with every season. Despite continuing to invest and growing my Collection, I was unable to get into the Top 50 this season. However, the amount of time I spent playing was enjoyable given the how the community continues to embrace the growth of the game.

The development actually announced two important milestones shortly after the close of the Season this morning. First, the last 24 hours of the season saw the largest number of games played under the new format. This is great considering the lack of engagement in other areas in the Steem protocol. Second, the market capitalization or value of all the cards available has reached a new high in surpassing $3 million! This is truly interesting considering that the number of cards being burned or combined is growing daily which supports the value over the long term of the game. Also, Beta Booster packs are now only 12% or 120k away from selling out! Given the success of cards and packs, this is sure an opportunity to park our Steem in the meantime; I know I have.

The journey this season was one of ups and downs and I believe I was not alone as I often read on the Discords I frequently participate the same thoughts. Despite being able to reach the highest Division, Champions I, five days before the end of the Season, I was unable to compete for a spot in the Top 50. This was despite being confident that I could actually get deeper into the Top 50 this Season after the success in doing so in the previous two season. The level of which players are competing in these Divisions is incredible as I had thought I was getting good at this game but learned quickly this season that my cards continues to be leverage at the moment.

I had decided to really do my best and attempt to get into the highest position to see how well I could do. As the Season would end late in my time zone, I got a great dinner and some coffee to be ready for the grind. However, it quickly got ugly as I made the mistake of going for my last Daily Quest of the Season while competing for a top placement. Many of the top players were playing as they continued to secure their Top 50 placements so I actually had one of my worst streaks ever before I had started buying cards to max their levels out. However, the game often has it ups after its downs.

The only thing that really suffered was my Energy Capture Rate as I played the most games I ever had in one sitting. I was definitely seeing the opportunity of getting some great Dark Energy Crystals (DEC) going down the drain but I committed to improving my placement. After a couple of quick wins and finally completing my Daily Quest, I was able to get as close as 49th on the list! Early in the Season, I had achieved 35th but I knew that even being around 5,300 ranked points would not be enough to stay in the Top 50 so I continued to play. However, I quickly got into another losing streak and with about an hour left to the end of the Season knew it would be tough to get it done. I decided to get some rest and cross my fingers for the rewards coming in the morning.

While the need for more Reward cards has been reduced given I have achieved most to be maxed out, it is always great to see a Legendary in addition to a number of Epic and Gold Foils (one being Epic itself)! Also, new Rewards Edition cards will be coming to the game so it will be great to be in the hunt once again each day as they are always fun to add to the Collection. In the meantime, continuing to collect some of these extra Reward cards will surely provide an opportunity for some additional income by way of burning, renting or even selling once some of the printing stop on some of them. Look at the prices of some of those that are on the verge of running out! It continues to be a great time to be involved in the game!