There has been a lot of discussion about the upcoming validator node sale and a new pSPS-PolyCUB pool. A lot of buzzing going on around SPS in general. Validator node sale and the ending of SPS airdrop on Splinterlands are believed to add value and scarcity of SPS token.
In this short guide, I'm going through the ways of gaining more SPS and do some comparison as well. Remember that the airdrop ends in about two months but there is still time to grow your bags or jump in for the first time!
Airdrop Points
There are several things that add to your total airdrop points and determine how much SPS you can claim daily. In the picture above you can see how my airdrop points are calculated. 112,239 points are bringing me about 8 SPS daily. Now let's take a closer look at how to get those points:
DEC - pretty simple, no staking needed. You will get airdrop points based on the amount of Dark Energy Crystals (DEC) you are holding.
Note that you are also getting SPS by holding DEC on other networks such as WAX or TRON for example.
SPT - You can also earn Airdop points by being active on Splintertalk or just creating content elsewhere on Hive with Splinterlands tags. This is a great way to encourage players to be active on Hive.
Collection Power - each card has its own power which is based on rarity, normal/gold foil or what card set it is from. A common Untamed card brings more power than a common Chaos Legion card for example. If you combine cards the power is obviously combined too.
Gold foil cards can add a huge amount to your total collection power especially if they happen to be epic or even legendary ones. For example, an epic Djinn Renova card adds 100 power while a golden one adds 2,500. Having these cards will help you climb up to higher leagues but also earn you more airdrop points and that way more SPS.
You might think that it's a bit too late to start acquiring cards with a lot of power at this stage. Luckily there are more ways to maximize your SPS holdings.
Make SPS work for you
Staking
A pretty straightforward way to gain SPS is by staking it within the game. You can do this on the SPS management page by simply clicking the stake button and choosing the desired amount. The current APR is 57.90% and rewards are paid in SPS and vouchers. Unstaking will last 28 days and will come in batches every week.
Providing Liquidity on Tribaldex
Compared to collection power, in my opinion, an even better way to earn SPS is by providing liquidity. I have been doing this on Tribaldex with DEC-SPS -pair. My LP is currently worth $77 and it's giving me 59,109 airdrop points. If we compare this to my collection power which gives 40,640 points, I'd say it's a very good way to earn points/SPS since my total collection value is $954 according to PeakMonsters.
One thing to consider when providing liquidity is impermanent loss. I like things drawn for me so I'd recommend this short video explaining the concept. Also, this calculator might help you to do the math.
PolyCub
Here is a great guide on how to use liquidity pools written by 
Tournaments
Let's not forget that Splinterlands is a game and one way to get SPS is by participating in events. Even though the fee might also be in SPS it isn't usually that much and in some events, you can get your entry fee back.
Conclusion
This has been written from the perspective of one who doesn't have any extra stables lying around. If I had, I would probably buy some more at the current price and add to liquidity pools.
It's interesting to see where SPS will stand after the airdrop is done and what new use cases there might be in the future for it. After all, land expansion is yet and perhaps much more too! Remaining bullish here.
There you have it, thanks for reading!
Note that this is not a financial advice. And also since I've mentioned airdrop so many times, I have to remind you that if you are getting those Telegram messages about airdrops, they are all scams, so beware.
Thumbnail picture made with Canva
Other pictures are screenshots from Splinterlands