If you find yourself waging battle in the Splinterlands you'll quickly learn to never feel like you know what to expect. It can comes to feel like you'll need to be ready to face hundreds of monsters led by any number of terrifying and powerful summoners. From proud elves to mighty minotaur there is one name that strikes fear into the Splinterlands more than any other.
HEY YOU KIDS! GET OFF MY LAWN!
Alric.
When I really sit down and think about cards that get an emotional response from me the Splinterlands has more than a few. Somehow, each in their own way, they each feel right.
things that make ya go BOOM
Yodin brings up a kind of fun terror. He is so expensive that it feels well balanced for his amazing abilities and, sometimes, I can sneak out a win even if I hadn't been expecting him. Mimosa feels similar but more ... oppressive.
mysterious, deadly, and kinda hot?
I don't yet understand why I cant seem to beat Swamp Thing and Spirit of the Forest but, whenever I see them on the other side of the battlefield I start to ready for death. They are some of those cards from the early days of this game that I knew were good but just couldn't seem to get my hands on them before the prices of everything blew up. These high prices feel worth it to me as these cards feel like elite play pieces and I cant complain too hard as I spent a full weeks paycheck on some Kron the Undying when I realized he might be the closest thing Splinterlands has to a broken card.
How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?
Kron strikes fear into people, especially when paired cleverly with something like Mylor or a Llama in the right ruleset. The lore tells us Kron is a nearly unkillable god and I'd argue that's just how the card feels. Godly, but also vulnerable as heck if used incorrectly. I love seeing the articles on "How I killed Kron" and think Kron is one of the single best cards I've ever seen in all of my 25+ years of card gaming.
But, none of these are the card that had many of us frustrated right now, that's Alric. And that's damn impressive.
What does Alric have going for him? +1 Magic Damage. That's it. +1 the best of the 3 damage types. That outclasses Yodins blasts, Mimosas oppression, and even all of the wild stuff some of those fancy life cards can do. +1 the best of the 3 damage types. That is the high water mark of a quality summoner going into Splinterlands next major expansion.
It's not like the have been holding back on us, you know?
Splinterlands does not feel like a game that's been holding back when it comes to design space. The Dragon Splinter itself feels like the kind of thing most games would add in years down the line to invigorate things and we got it now. Monsters go from zero cost chickens to giant kraken and all feel damn unique and explorative. The design space of this game feels extremely ample, vast, and open to me and yet ... the toughest mofo on the blast is just an old man giving +1 magic. That's AWESOME. That means that while we have seen so much the game still lives by some fundamental rules and getting just that little extra magic damage on a Ruler of the Seas blast is just about the best shit ever.
I cant wait to see where we go next in the Splinterlands because it seems to me that the design team is doing a fantastic job! So I say, bring the chaos!
My body is ready, my wallet ... not so much
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The games we are currently focusing on are:
Rising Star
Splinterlands
RollerCoin
UpLand
Neon District
Alien Worlds
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eXode