There was a time that the legendary Djinn O'Shannus was possibly the most powerful card in the game. He would bring terror and the urge of instant resignation once appearing on the board. Whether you were playing short Mana or long, Djinn O'Shannus would slaughter all that came before him with ease. Not surprising then, that even a level one card set a heavy price.
Six or so months ago, buying the Djinn Oshannus card would have set you back around $50 - with its all-time high being around $60. Now (at the time of writing), a legendary Djinn OShannus card can be picked up at the Splinterlands marketplace for under $2.70.
So, what happened?
Often, with this and games of a similar ilk, considered overpowered cards are de-powered in some way. Usually by some type of stat handicap. This is done to keep balance within the overall game and stop things from being, y'know, too easy. What this rebalancing means for the cards, however, is that some will gain value and others lose it. So, if you were unlucky enough to have bought at $50 - as I was for my first purchase (I now have a MAX-level card) - then you might, quite rightly, have some irritation toward the team for this decision.
The Splinterlands team didn't have to touch Djinn O'Shannus' stats as his overpowered status could only be achieved with teamwork. Or, more specifically, with the right summoner.
That summoner was/is the mighty Alric Stormbringer.
The only way I found to win against somebody playing the Stormbringer and O'Shannus combo was to use Owster Rotwell along with anything anti-magic I could get my hands on. Bortus could also score with the right cards. Generally speaking though, particularly at the Bronze level, it was too easy to win with the Stormbringer/O'Shannus double-team as players could not figure out how to defeat it.
The team realised that with Alric out of the picture, Djinn O'Shannus' status would be instantly diminished. That extra magic point given by Alric meant that it was just too easy for anyone, even the lowest Bronze player, to win lots of games without having to put much thought into card selection.
As much as I hate to lose the value of Djinn O'Shannus, I have to agree that the team made the right move. They also did it in a way that wouldn't be at first recognised by the players. Well, not by most, anyway. Those astute enough to see what was going on sold their cards quickly. The rest of us could only watch, some in horror (as they'd bought far more than one), as the price of Djinn O'Shannus sank. Then they watched as it sank some more, and kept watching until its value became a fraction of its former glory.
Taking Alric out of the picture completely would have been tragic, either leaving people out of pocket or meaning the team would have to compensate for losses. So, instead of removing Alric completely, the team merely removed him from the default summoner list. This means that anybody with a spare $60 or so, can own the card that will bring Djinn O'Shannus back to the glory days of old.
Should you invest in Alric, though? At the time of writing, an Alric Stormbringer card will set you back $63 which is as high as OShannus ever got. You may get a few months' of glory, but what if the team changes their mind again, and reinstates Alric Stormbringer as a default summoner? This would have a dramatic reverse effect, where Alric would lose value, and O'Shannus gain it.
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