Hello, Splinterlands warriors.
Today, for some reason, the timeline feels quieter than usual. Maybe it’s because of one piece of news that makes the smile tilt a little: HIVE is at an all-time low. It feels like watching a chart that’s nothing but blood, but that’s life in the Web3 world—sometimes you soar like a dragon, sometimes you drop like a slime getting stunned. Hopefully, there’s some wisdom to be gained from this down the road.
Amid those conditions, last season actually closed with some pretty encouraging news for me. For the second time, I managed to enter the Bronze leaderboard at position 30. The reward? Not bad—10,000 Glint. It won’t make me rich, but it’s enough to warm the heart. I plan to save that Glint for upgrading Exemplars, because ever since the Exemplar feature arrived, I’ve started to “split” my focus: some Glint for battle cards, and some for long-term investment in Exemplars.
Honestly, the Exemplar feature has changed how I see progression. In the past, everything felt instant: open packs, play, climb rating. Now there’s a new layer—resource micromanagement, long-term thinking, and that feeling of “it hurts a bit” when all your Glint is spent in just one place.
And just when I was getting comfortable with that pattern… Splinterlands came again with a surprise.
Its name: 🔥 Escalation – Conclave Arcana Mini-Set.
This new feature is planned to release in February, and just from the name alone, you can feel it: this isn’t just a card addition, but a real escalation in strategy. There will be 43 new cards in total, with a fairly balanced composition:
- 12 Common
- 12 Rare
- 8 Epic
- 11 Legendary
Not to mention 2 presale promo cards and 6 Legendary Archons that will be released through the Conflicts system. Honestly, the Archon part is what makes me a bit nervous. If those Archons turn out to be truly meta-defining, the direction of the game could change drastically.
From an economic standpoint, Escalation also feels very “serious”. There will be 550,000 Standard Packs, priced at a fixed $5 USD per pack. You can buy them using Credits/USDC, DEC, or SPS. There’s also a bonus of 1 wagon for every $100, up to a maximum of 20 wagons per account. Typical Splinterlands: there’s always an incentive for those willing to go big.
The presale starts on February 10, but the packs can’t be opened until the General Sale on February 24. And this is important: all presale rewards are calculated only from packs purchased during the presale period. So if you’re chasing leaderboards or promo cards, you really have to be willing to commit early.
What interests me isn’t just the cards, but the shift in mentality that this feature brings. I used to play with the logic: “which card is strong today?” Now the question becomes:
“which card will still be relevant six months from now?”
Escalation feels like a gentle invitation from the developers: stop thinking short term. The meta will change, strategies will shift, and those who endure won’t just be the ones with expensive cards, but those who understand the ecosystem.
Sometimes we focus too much on ranking and forget to enjoy the process of learning the meta, forget to chat with the community, forget to experiment. And yet, that’s exactly where the fun is.
If you want to get into Escalation, do it with a cool head. Don’t buy blindly because of hype. Study the cards, define the role of your Glint and resources, and remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint.
And who knows—amid HIVE being at a low point, Escalation might just become a small turning point—not only for portfolios, but for how we enjoy this game in a more mature way.
Talk about Splinterlands,
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