Greetings everybody, I hope everybody is doing well! Today I wanted to write an article highlighting the best cards to buy for newer players and lower budget investors. The cards I'm going to recommend will really help your win rate percent if you're just playing with the ghost cards that Splinterlands provides you. Without further hesitation let's jump right into it!
The first card I'm going to recommend is actually not a single card, but a group of them. With the Chaos Legion set each Splinter got a fiend card. These fiend cards are 0 mana creatures that have 1 attack and either 1 or 2 hp paired with either 1 or 2 speed. Although they are not very strong themselves, a card for 0 cost is superb. Even if it does not attack it has the ability to soak up some enemy damage. In the divine shield ruleset, if you have an allied creature that has the protect ability you can give these fiends the chance to soak up to 3 hits from the enemy team all at a cost of 0 to your mana. Although these cards are not under $5 yet, they are very close and are trending in that direction.
Onyx Sentinel is a card that I do not see played a lot but has a lot of potential. Onyx Sentinel is a 5 cost, 1 speed, 6 hp creature. Onyx Sentinel has the shield ability reducing all oppositions melee and ranged attacks. I believe where Onyx Sentinel really shines is the no melee ruleset. If you predict your enemy running a ranged damage heavy comp Onyx Sentinel has the capabilities to be an absolute beastly tank. Pair it with a heal and it is almost unkillable in low mana matches.
Grund is an absolute beast of a unit. Grund is an epic earth 10 mana, 3 attack, 3 speed, 3 hp machine. He has the double strike ability allowing him to attack twice each turn. Grund really shines in any of the rulesets that let melee monsters attack outside of the first position as well as the blast ruleset. The reason being is that the Grund can survive a lot longer put into a different position and if you can guarantee that 6 damage for a few turns you can almost 100% expect a victory from that match.
Djinn Oshannus is an absolute powerhouse for the mere cost of $3.50. Djinn Oshannus is an 8 mana, 2 magic damage, 5 speed, 10 hp boss of a monster. He comes equipped with the void ability. In a magic heavy meta the void and high hp Oshannus come with can really help turn the tides of battle in your favor. He can be used as a main tank or even a secondary tank in high mana battles. Run this guy for a few matches and you'll know what I'm talking about.
An amazing card that you can pick yourself up for the life deck is Evangelist. She is a 6 cost, 3 ranged damage, 2 speed, 5 hp unit. She has the snare ability bringing flying enemy units crashing to the ground. For the 6 cost she can really bring a lot of damage to your life deck especially if you're running General Sloan which will pump her up to 4 damage every single turn.
Creeping Ooze is a card that will undoubtedly increase your win rate. Creeping Ooze is a 1 cost, 1 speed, 1 hp creature. Creeping Ooze has himself the slow ability. Slow is one of the best abilities in the game positioning your units to attack faster than your opponents and in some cases gaining a 10% higher chance to dodge enemy attacks given the individual situation. Similar to the fiends from earlier, in the right situation this guy can also soak up 3 attacks for the low cost of 1 mana. Due to both of these factors I think he is an amazing choice to pick up since he is so cheap.
Harklaw is an amazing unit for the death deck at his current price point. For 8 mana you get 2 attack, 2 speed, 3 armor, and 9 hp. Not only does he have amazing stats but he also has the shield ability. If you're expecting a lot of physical damage Harklaw is an absolute powerhouse. With so much hp and armor as well as the reduction you can expect Harklaw to last many turns especially paired with a card like Scavo Hireling.
A great choice to help yourself when facing magic and playing fire is Tusk The Wide. Tusk is a 6 cost card with 1 attack, 1 speed, and a THICK 12 hp. Tusk has the Void ability reducing all incoming magic damage from the enemy team. With such a high hp pool accompanied with void he is an obvious choice if you like playing fire and are having trouble with those pesky magic matchups.
Djinn Chwala is an amazing choice for low mana matches coming from the dragon deck. Chwala is an 8 cost, 2 attack, 2 speed, 5 armor 9 hp slayer. He is equipped with the thorns ability dealing 2 damage back to melee attackers. In a low mana match where you're expecting the opposition to play melee units Chwala can absolutely steal the win all by himself thanks to his tankiness and thorns. For the low cost of 45 cents you can see your win rate improve significantly in these situations!
Venari Wavesmith is an absolute steal at the insignificant cost of 10 cents. Venari Wavesmith is a 5 cost, 1 magic damage, 2 speed, 3 hp creature. He has the highly coveted protect ability providing 2 armor to all of his allied units. Protect is such an amazing ability when expecting physical damage from the opponent. I've given scenarios before where you can have free units survive 3 hits due to the help of it. Not only this but an additional 12 armor when playing 6 units is almost worth the 5 mana that venari costs itself. Accompany that with the fact he is actually a decent unit on his own and he cannot be ignored.
I wanted to save my personal favourite choice for last, Sand worm. Sand worm is a 9 cost, 5 damage, 1 speed, 5 hp creature. He has the sneak ability allowing him to attack the enemies backline every turn. He is one of the highest damage sneak units in the game. In high mana matches I see myself using this card in almost every situation I can possibly fit him in. The 5 damage to the backline where there's usually more fragile creatures is amazing. It results in you 1 hitting almost everything that the Sand worm encounters. If there's any card on this list I absolutely recommend you buying it would be this one.
Thank you everybody for reading my guide and I hope it gave you some ideas to invest your earnings and our your new investments! If you do not have a Splinterlands account and would like to start playing or you'd like to start a second account under my referral link I can delegate all of these to you and give you 500 DEC to start. https://splinterlands.com?ref=eirth
Thank you to everyone who entered my last giveaway and I would like to congratulate 
For today's giveaway I will be giving away a Venari Bonesmith! To enter in the giveaway please like the post and leave a comment down below!
Thank you one last time everybody for reading, and I hope you all have a Splinterific day!