Even though Splinterlands right now continues to be in a real depression mode with few new players coming in while many are leaving, I continue to make use to expanding my collection using funds that I earn from within the ecosystem. These are the cards I bought and Leveled recently.
Splinterlands Botting Problem
While endless printing of cards / DEC / SPS has been a serious problem in the Splinterlands ecosystem, I'm not overly concerned with those as the potential for new players is, in my opinion, more than big enough to offset this. The thing however that is worrying me more and more is the bot problem. Not so much that players are using them but that they simply outplay human players systematically just because they can process a lot more information. This is the reason one of the better players like 
This said, I still enjoy the game and mostly played manually because the Splintermate bot really is bad and I haven't put the time yet to explore xbot. I do have hope for this bot and battle helper issue to be solved at some point so it actually becomes a game again. With this idea I continue to expand my collection. These are the cards I bought in the past week...
New & Leveled Up Cards
Phantom of The Abyss (Level 1 -> Level 2)
This was one of the bigger purchases getting the single level 1 card I had to Level 2 which gives it the extra Demoralize ability. I love the speed in this card combined with the Fly and the Dodge. When adding 1 or 2 speed buffs and the Blind ability with the Sthispa Summoner it really becomes a near-impossible card to hit.
I also believe at some point old powerful cards that are fully printed and don't have many in circulation need to show that they are resilient to card inflation making them more wanted and valuable again. I wrote last week about an idea of Card Rental Pools for a Draft Mode (Link) which would make these types of cards way more wanted. I paid around 22.5$ for each of the 2 copies I got as always using HBD blogging earnings.
River Hellondale Level 2 > Level 3
This was the last regular Legendary Card from the Chaos Legion Set that I needed to get to Level 3 (excluding the Fiend cards and tha Summoners). It's however a card that I kind of still have to learn how to properly play as I only used it so far on the rare occasions.
Gem Meteor Level 4 > Level 5
This card has the speed, the damage along with the Scattershot ability and Piercing at level 5 which makes it great for Game Rules where all cards get the Blast Ability. Right now both Epic and Legendary cards are very affordable also compared to what it actually costs to get them from packs.
Weirding Warrior Level 3 > Level 5
This is another Chaos Legion Epic cards whicg now is very affordable. The stats and abilities are also great even though it's another one of those cards that I still properly have to learn how to play.
Ant Miners Level 6 > Level 7
I had a ton of single cards of the Ant Miners which I had at level 6 until this point. Since my Summoners are now up to max gold level I did combine 50 more of my Singles which doubled the Health and makes it less vulnerable. I do quite regularly play this card on low mana rulesets where Melee can attack from any position.
Screeching Vulture Level 6 > Level 8
This is another one of the old reward cards that I'm only now combining more to get it from Level 6 to Level 8 giving it +1 extra health and +1 extra speed which both are useful boosts.
Supply Runner 7 > Level 8
I did get this one up to level 7 last month but since there was low liquidity of single cards I waited to but 70 extra in order to get it up to Level 8 now where it got the +1 Ranged damage which is quite uselful. I have been using this card more regularly.
Upcoming Buys Priority List
The priority list of cards that I want to buy next for sure is starting to get smaller. I still want to get the Epic The Forgotten One from Level 2 to Level 5. From the Riftwatchers set I aim to get my Runic Skyclaw from Level 3 to level 5. From the older cards, I'm also eying the High Priest Darius from Level 1 to Level 2 or 3. Aside from that I'm also tempted to load up some more on SPS as it should be a matter of time before it gets out of the current low-price zones.
Conclusion
I'm still having a lot of fun playing Splinterlands and prices right now for cards don't feel overpriced. For those reasons along with the fact that it's just fun collecting more, I continue to buy more cards and level them up to make them stronger. There are still a lot more that I want and my aim is to keep blogging and use those earnings to fund these purchases and upgrades. I am however somewhat conserned about the entire botting problem.Play2Earn Games I'm Playing...
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Crypto & Blockchain-Based Bookies and Exchanges that I'm personally using as they allow anonymous betting with no KYC or personal restrictions...
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