$125 More Invested Into Splinterlands Credits To Boost Gameplay

After doing this a second time, it's quite frustrating to need to swap Crypto>USD>LTC>Credits when the markets are moving. I lose a few bucks in every transfer after two trading fees and mainly from the slippage or commission Splinterlands seems to keep from the transaction. While I hate tossing money away, I rationalize this in that I'd ideally use the new cards I get to earn more DEC from higher win streak rates.

Here are the "substantial" cards I bought last time and their costs at point of purchase:

DJINN OSHANNUS for $50.97
PHANTOM SOLDIER for $29.00
DELWYN DRAGONSCALE for $12.50
LUNAKARI MISTRESS for $11.61 (I accidentally thought this was a Death splinter card to pair with the +1 Spell summoner above, but I'll keep it for now).

I've bought a few other cards in the $3-$7 range before using Hive rewards, but I'm drawing a line in the sand to blog about this set above and going forward. I believe that AXEMASTER is the highest card I previously bought at $7.11 then, which has more than doubled in price since.

Interestingly, the ALRIC STORMBRINGER I have from the only Beta pack I ever got is doing especially well in price appreciation. At the time of my last post 6 days ago, it was listed for $160 on the market. It's ranging for $220-$260 today. Does anyone know why? The overall supply only dropped 2 or 3 cards in this span.

Question: Is Alric a long term hold, or should I just cash in on this free card since it's part of the starter deck anyway? A return of $250 seems like a great flip into other cards I'd use in battles since the summoner is included in the spellbook deck. However, I'm not sure if I'd want to do this until I see that he'll remain in the starter spellbook after Chaos Legion is released. If it's going to keep strongly trending up as it's been for some reason, it could also be a good hold for the blow-off top phase of this run.

The Next Investment:

I decided to skim $124 of recent crypto interest from DEFI and staking into Splinterlands today after several steps for buy 120,200 credits. I also sent in the 5.255 HBD I just earned from my last post payout for 5,005 Credits. With some extra Credits from before, I had a budget of 125,514 Credits for this round. While I can dive in faster, I want to do this slowly, especially if the cards prior to Chaos Legion will slide in value within a few weeks.

I also debated buying SPS or an Untamed pack, but I chose to get a few more cards that'll help me with gameplay. My main goal in this set is to have more fun and extend win streak bonuses where rules force me to use weak splinters that I don't play well. Renting cards to play with doesn't appeal too much at this time since I have the funds to invest and have seen enough matches to know that a few more cards in my deck will be helpful enough for the long run.

Ironically, I'm constantly convincing myself NOT to buy a high level VALNAMOR to leverage economies of scale with the reduced BCX rate. While game play would be much easier and I'd make more DEC and SPS in return, spending that much on a single NFT that may drop in price soon doesn't feel right.

So, after the week of gameplay (enjoying the higher DEC payouts with the new rules), and evaluating the options in my budget that struck me most, here's what I chose to get first:

MYLOR CROWLING bought for $49.60. This summoner will be huge for me when rules force me to stray away from my favorite water splinter in the Bronze leagues. This summoner has always been a hassle, and now I can use it to do the same, and also increase my chances of holding win streaks for higher DEC bonuses. The 3 mana cost is pretty sweet too.

I think this is a decent price. It's been hovering in the high $40's to just over $50 for a while, and I don't mind the cost for the convenience during battles. Thorns are very valuable in the low levels.

I have just over $75 left and am debating a few ideas:

Level 1 XIA SEACHAN for $75, a scarce Epic Water Summoner seems interesting since it'll allow me to use level 2 common cards and save a mana spot on the roster. The issue is that the rental market for this is atrocious. I'm not sure if this is the best idea, but the scarce supply does appeal for the long run as Alric above has appreciated a lot. The water deck is my favorite so far. Using reflect against water decks is my second favorite. Ahhh the disappointment opponents must feel when they see that mirror!!

Level 1 MISCHIEVOUS MERMAID for $55, an Epic Water Monster with good value for its power, speed and mana cost. With the +1 Spell boost from Alric, a quick attack from this would be a nice upgrade on Medusa. I tend to prefer this over the summoner, especially since I'll have about $20 left to work with. The question is for long-time players, is this one card realllllly going to be worth it?
MORE SUMMONERS so I'm not dependent on the ones that have been delegated to me. I was thinking:

Level 1 OWSTER ROTWELL for $21.49
Level 1 LORNA SHINE for $16.70
Level 3 KRETCH TALLEVOR for $67.40 to allow me to play higher level cards via the Dragon splinter.
A few DELWYN DRAGONSCALE summoners at $13.50 each to reach Level 2, or buy one that's pre-made. If the latter, I'd then either hold the single one I bought or sell it back for a small profit to recover some cost. This would be helpful for high mana matches with the water deck for the +1 Spell.

ARMORSMITH for the shield restore and 2 mana spots at $15.90. It's a promo card and would be quite useful in gameplay, but the rental cost is dirt cheap where it's probably better to try it out first. I really want this one, but it's not a priority.

After typing this out above, XIA SEACHAN seems like it's not enough value for now.

Anyone experienced have some suggestions based on these ideas, or maybe some of your own?

I'll probably keep giving myself a small allowance as the weeks roll on, but the main investment would be in Chaos Legion packs. Sadly, I've learned that you'll need vouchers for the next phase after the pre-sale. While the mechanics must be important for some reason, I think that sucks quite a bit. I just want packs and not to have to invest heavily to earn a set of vouchers from airdrop rewards that are extra red tape. Grrr.

Anyway, this is where I'm at right now and welcome feedback. While I'd prefer to directly improve my water deck with the mermaid, a level 2 or level 3 summoner that also improves Spell strength seems like the smarter move for now.

Oh, and here were my rewards from the last season! Nothing terribly exciting, but definitely not too bad at all for my level where I'm slowly combining common cards. I'd say that 5 cards is a solid hit.