Why didn't you join a Guild Yet?
I often hear:
It's not worth it to join a guild as a beginner.
I can't contribute that much dec.
The advantages aren't that big.
In this guide about guilds, I'll try to counter those arguments, since it's definitly worth it to join a guild!
Similar to many other games, Splinterlands offers players the opportunity to create and join guilds in order to work together for a common goal. As with many other games, Splintertlands incentivizes players to join guilds with a good number of different benefits. In this article I will cover some of these benefits.
Increased Earnings and Saved DEC
Whenever a guild's Lodge is upgraded all players in the guild receive a bonus to DEC won in every ranked matches and discounts for items bought with DEC, with some limitations. The bonus starts out pretty small, but grows to be very substantial in time. Even the smallest bonus earnings add up in time.
The Opportunity to Brawl
Once a guild has a level 1 Arena its members will be able to participate in Brawls. Brawls are basically just battles between guilds where additional rules or modifiers are added before the match. These rules included things such as different league caps, Specific card sets only (Such as Untamed), and/or only gold foil cards may be used.
Brawls allow players who participate to earn merits, which may be used in the guild store to purchase things such as Gladius Cases. Merits are the only way to get gladiator cards, a powerful asset when it comes to brawls. Gladiator cards consist of an entire set of cards that can only be used in Brawl battles, and they appear quite fun.
There are future plans to add SPS earning from brawl battles, although it is unknown when this feature will come out. This adds a tremendous amount of value to guilds, as currently guilds seem more of a DEC sink. I’m sure any additional opportunities to earn will be welcomed with open arms. This ties back into the increased earnings.
Socialization
One of the core functions of guilds is the socialization that they enable and promote. Guild’s have a tavern tab that allows guild members to directly communicate with each other and even show who is currently online.
There are numerous ranks that the Guild Leader may bestow upon guild members, if they choose. These ranks range from standard member all the way to Co-leader. There are different permissions allowed to each rank such as inviting, promoting, demoting, moving members out of brawls, and likely more. I am not super familiar with all the permissions of each Rank as I am not a guild owner/leader, but I believe they can be dictated by the Guild Leader.
Many guilds have their own Discord servers where members are able to communicate outside of Splinterlands and the socialization opportunities skyrocket. Personally, once I joined my guilds Discord server I started to see the guild a little bit more differently. In an odd way I felt more connected to my guildmates, even though I have only spoken to a handful. Without my guildmates and the Discord Server I likely wouldn’t have found out about Splintertalks, Oneup, Peakd, or any other blogging sites.
In order to reward or incentivize their members, some guilds run competitions that range from small to large. On multiple occasions my Guild Leader, 
Finding a Guild
Finding a guild can be a bit of a hassle at times. Due to the relatively high cost to establish and upgrade buildings, as well as the additional benefits gained, the demand to join a guild is high.
If you go to the guilds tab you can filter guilds by type or search the name of a specific guild. When filtering by type your options are:
Open: Anyone can join if a spot is open. You rarely see any guilds with an open spot, but it never hurts to look.
By Request: You can request to join the guild, kinda like an application. A high rank in the guild will accept/decline based on how they feel about you. Never hurts to apply, but keep in mind possibly 100’s of others have applied as well.
Invite Only: You must be invited by a high enough ranking member in the guild.
Guilds often have requirements in order to join. This may include things such as: A minimum rank, a set Collection Power total, DEC donations to buildings, or whatever the leadership decides. This information can generally be seen on the “About” page of the guild before you would request to join. Because the maximum number of guild members is 30, many guilds are connected and fall under the same umbrella.
Some guilds will require minimum contributions each week, season, or other interval. These will vary greatly between guilds. These contributions are to ensure growth and development of guild buildings. If you are a newer player with little or no DEC you may have to work your way up through “Feeder” guilds to prove yourself. These generally don’t require contributions, but reward those who do well in brawls and excel at Splinterlands. Keep in mind, demand for these spots is high and the supply low.
My Guild
To wrap this post up, I figure I would include a little bit of information about my guild and my experience. I am in “The 420 Bud Tenders”, we are a part of the "The 420 Syndicate guild" that was founded by
This are our 7 core values which are followed by our guild. I can guarantee that we are definitly following them. For example I won some Splinterlands cards of @Sneakry since he's really acting according to the principle: Givers Gain
We have four Splinterlands guilds currently and are thinking of opening a fifth. I believe we have a bright future and the number of guilds/members will continue to grow!
https://discord.com/invite/kTaGhcuc
If you are interested in joining the Discord to learn more about The 420 Syndicate, feel free to join!