INTRODUCTION
Congratulations! You pulled the trigger and bought yourself the Summoner's Handbook. You've read up on how the game works and what capabilities the cards you hold have. It's not easy, but, you are earning yourself some DEC by winning a few battles here and there. Now, what can you use those earned DEC for? Let's answer this question in this subsection of the Splinterlands DEC Coin Guide.
USES FOR DEC TOKENS
Let's now give a quick look as to the items available for you to use your DEC tokens on:
HODL THEM FOR AIRDROP POINTS
That's correct. Just do nothing with them but hold them in either your in-game wallet, Hive/Steem Engine Wallet or BSC wallet. By doing this you are earning yourself points toward the Splintershards (SPS) Airdrop on a 1:1 basis. Now honestly, when was the last time you earned something for doing absolutely nothing?
USE DEC TO BUY CARDS TO IMPROVE YOUR BATTLE DECK
Well wasn't it nice that with the Summoner's Handbook you bought you got a base set of cards to start playing the Game? But face it, you truly are not going to go far in the Game without taking steps to improve on that starter deck. By not improving upon this base battle deck you are seriously limiting your ability to level up in the Game as well as limiting the financial returns you can earn from the Game.
So the suggestion here is to take some of the DEC you managed to earn and go to the in-game market and buy yourself some stronger cards, Start slowly - you can not build a battle deck all at once. And do not think you need to go out and buy the most expensive card to improve your deck. True, card prices are up, but you can still find some gems at a relatively good price on the market.
Face it. If you intend to be in the Game for the long run, this suggestion will catch up with you sooner or later. Therefore, the sooner you embark on a path of improving your battle deck, the sooner you will see a greater win percentage in battles and the resulting financial benefits that flow from these wins.
USE DEC TO BUY QUEST POTIONS
This suggestion is the subject of some debate within the Splinterlands community with some saying it is a waste of DEC tokens while others saying it is of great benefit. Your author suggests that you give it a try and make your own personal decision as to whether the cost of a Quest Potion is worth the gains derived.
A Quest Potion costs 750 DEC in the in-game store. So what does this 750 DEC expenditure get you? By having a Quest Potion and completing the Daily Quest, you earn extra Loot Chests. For Bronze League players, having a Quest Potion earns you 5 extra Loot Chests upon completion of the Daily Quest. In other words, you get five extra chances of earning either a Legendary Potion (Double the chances of obtaining a Legendary Card whenever a card is generated), a Alchemy Potion (Double the chances of obtaining a Gold Foil Card whenever a card is generated), DEC tokens (in varying amounts up to 2000 DEC), or a Reward Card.
However, when you are in the 'growing' stages of this Game, Cards and the Power they represent is important as it is determinative of the highest league tier you can achieve. Any way you can accumulate cards and their associated power should be pursued. But nonetheless, each individual must for him/herself do a cost/benefit analysis to determine if this is a proper course to pursue.
INVEST THE DEC IN A LIQUIDITY POOL
Depending on your overall financial condition as well as your tolerance for risk, several investment options are available for you to put your DEC to use. These options include:
- CUB FINANCE: Cub presently offers a Liquidity Pool pairing DEC with BUSD. At the time of this writing, this Pool is yielding 12.3% APR, with rewards being paid in CUB tokens.
- TRIBALDEX: TribalDEX currently offers 5 different liquidity pairings. Most interesting among these is the PIZZA:DEC Diesel Pool which is currently paying additional Liquidity Rewards (both Pizza and DEC tokens)
- UNISWAP: UniSwap presently offers two Liquidity Pools - DEC-ETH and DEC-DAI.
Detailed directions for participation in any of the above Pools may be found in the sub-section titled "Using Splinterlands DEC on DeFi platforms" of this Guide, or alternatively by clicking here.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HOLD DEC TOKENS YOU CAN SWAP THEM
For whatever reason, when you earn DEC tokens and reach a specific amount, you may wish to swap the DEC tokens for another token of your choice. Swaps are available on the following Trading Platforms (with links provided):
CUB FINANCE
HIVE ENGINE
STEEM ENGINE
LEODEX
UNISWAP
TRONTRADE
[NOTE: With all that is occurring and developing within the Splinterlands Ecosystem at present, this option for utilization of your DEC tokens is the least desirable option]
CONCLUSION
Clearly, the DEC token displays great value when viewed in the light of these suggested use cases. Furthermore, being a soft-pegged token (1000 DEC:$1.00) it is rather safe to hold [Caution: while this statement is true, it must be noted that DEC is currently trading well in excess of peg. Holding DEC at this level and DEC returning to peg will result in unrealized loss]. So, go out there and put your DEC to good use - financial opportunity awaits. Good luck!