INTRODUCTION
So, you finally decided it's time for you to join in on the Splinterlands mania. Went out and got yourself a Summoner's Handbook and wow, a whole bunch of starter cards came with it. So with knowing nothing about the game, what do you do? Well, you battle but don't have a clue of what cards to use or where to use them. But you plug on and try, how hard can it be anyway? The result - LOSER! So, you try, and try again, and again, same result - LOSER! So you start thinking, maybe if I knew what these numbers and symbols on the cards meant I might just win.
No one can guarantee that you will win 100% of the time. The game is designed so that is nearly impossible. But in this section of the DEC Coin Guide let's investigate what the numbers and symbols on each card mean so you have a better understanding of how to use the various cards in battle. Armed with this knowledge, you should see a significant increase in your battle win percentage.
TWO CATEGORIES OF SPLINTERLANDS CARDS
In Splinterlands there are two categories of cards: Summoner Cards and Monster Cards.
SUMMONER CARDS
In the game, Summoner Cards represent various elements: fire, water, earth, life, death, dragon, and neutral. The Summoner Card is like the leader of your battle team. The Summoner does not do any of the actual fighting in a battle. The Summoner card is your pick for which Elements cards you will use for battle and provides the fighting Monsters with buff, such as an armor boost, increased damage, magic, etc. In preparing to battle, the choice of your Summoner is an important one due to the specific buff choice it provides.
MONSTER CARDS
Monster Cards come in three varieties: Melee, Ranger, and Magic. These Monster Cards are the cards which actually fight in the battles. Each of these varieties carry with it a specific use in battles.
MELEE MONSTERS
A Melee Monster will only attack if it is positioned in the battle's front line (with the proviso that it may attack from the back line if it has a special ability such as 'sneak'). The Front Line (in a battle) is shown in the following photo, circled in blue:
Base Photo Source (edited by author)
RANGE MONSTERS
Your Range Monsters have the ability to attack from your back line. Your Back Line (in a battle) is shown in the following photo, circled in yellow:
Base Photo Source (edited by author)
Note: if your Range Monster's attack from the back line falls on your opponent's front line, that Range Monster can not attack any longer for the duration of the battle.
MAGIC MONSTERS
A Magic Monster has the ability to attack from both the front line and the back line. A Magic Monster's attack ignores any shield your opponent's monster may have permitting the attack to do damage penetrating this shield.
So, when building a battle deck. diversification in the type of monster is essential as the different types serve different functions. Now let's turn to what all those numbers and symbols on the card face mean.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS ON A SPLINTERLANDS CARD?
[For the purposes of answering the question posed in this heading, photos will be utilized. Unless otherwise noted, the photo source for each photo is the battle deck used by this author].
MONSTER'S ELEMENT
As set forth above, each Monster is associated with a specific element under which that Monster battles. The location of the Element to which your Monster belongs is found on the face of the card. In the following photo of Goblin Mech, its Element is circled in gold:
Each Monster Card's Element will be found in this location. The icon associated with each respective Element is:
- Flames icon = Fire Element
- Wave icon = Water Element
- Leaf icon = Earth Element
- Star icon = Life Element
- Skull icon = Death Element
- Crossed Swords icon = Neutral Element
Note: Neutral Element Monster cards are available for use in any battle.
MANA VALUE
For each and every Splinterlands battle there is a maximum amount of Mana you can use. Each card in the battle deck is assigned a Mana value which counts toward the battle maximum when choosing your Summoner and Monsters. In the following photo of Goblin Mech, the Mana associated with this Monster is circled in red:
MONSTER TYPE AND DAMAGE/ATTACK VALUE
As stated above, Monsters come in three types: Melee, Range, and Magic. In the following photo of Goblin Mech, the way to identify your Monster's type and damage/attack value is circled in green:
There are three different icons:
- The saw icon identifies the Melee type of Monster.
- The target icon identifies the Range type of Monster.
- The purple smoke icon identifies the Magic type of Monster.
The number inside the respective icon represents the damage the monster can inflict per attack.
SPEED
The Speed associated with the Monster you choose for battle is important. The higher the number of Speed, the faster the card.
The turn order of the cards chosen for battle depends on the cards speed. Also, speed is important as the faster the Monster card is, the greater the chance that Monster can eliminate your opponents Monsters before they have the opportunity to attack you. By looking at the following photo of Goblin Mech, the Speed of your card may be found in the location circled in orange:
SHIELDS
Not every Monster has shield capabilities. A Shield will deflect or reduce the damage incurred from an attack by your opponents Monsters. The Shield availability and number of shields available may be found on your Monster card in the location identified in the black circle in the following photo:
If the shield icon is absent from your Monster's card, that Monster does not have any Shields available for use in the battle.
HEALTH POINTS
Health points are important for the Monsters chosen for battle as when the number inside the Heart icon reaches zero, that Monster is eliminated from the battle. If all your Monster's Health Points reach zero before your opponent, you have lost that battle (you do not gain DEC but you do not lose the card from your deck - although the battle was lost you retain the cards used in the lost battle). In the following photo of Goblin Mech, Health Points are circled in white:
ABILITIES
In the following photo of Goblin Mech, the location of where your Monster Card's special Ability is identified by the pink circle:
Not every Monster has a special ability so if this location is blank you have a regular Monster. At the time of the writing of this sub-section, there are 55 different Abilities associated with various Monsters. You may find a list of these abilities (with a display of the icons and brief description of the Abilities purpose) here.
MAKING YOUR CARDS STRONGER BY COMBINING
By combining identical cards in your possession, you can level that card up thereby strengthening it. Note that a greater number of identical cards are needed to continue leveling up for each step in the process.
To combine cards, go to your in-game card collection, find and click on the card you wish to combine. In the author's collection there is a card available for combining:
To combine your cards, once located, simply click on the button circled in gold in the photo above. [Note: it is required that you likewise level up your Summoners so that you will be able to use your newly acquired higher level cards]. Once complete, the page will change to reflect the combination:
A WORD ON YOUR STARTER BATTLE DECK
It is a great starting point for you that a bunch of starter cards were provided for your use upon purchasing the Summoner's Spellbook. But that's the thing, the cards provided are only starter cards, not at all able to provide you significant financial gain or help you to rank up in the Game. So, if you are going to pursue the Splinterlands Game, it will be critical for you to get your hands on some stronger cards and to generally expand your collection.
Basically there are three ways to acquire Splinterlands cards:
- Buy Packs: Presently no booster packs are available for sale, but stack up your DEC. New card packs are set to be made available in game in the near future. Alpha, Beta, Untamed Boosters and Azmare Dice Boosters are available on the secondary markets but be warned, they are very expensive. Recommendation here is to exercise patience, stack DEC, and wait until the new packs are offered for sale. [Azmare Dice Boosters are available in the market in limited quantity].
- Buy Individual Cards at the in-game Market: In-game there is a built=in market allowing you to buy and sell Splinterlands cards. If you know the name of the card you wish to purchase, a search feature is available. If you wish to browse what is being offered for sale but want to limit your search, filters are available. This is a great way to slowly and methodically strengthen your deck and expand your collection.
- Daily/Season End Chest Rewards: At the end of each season, players are awarded Chests in a number dependent upon their level of play. Chests may also be obtained by completing the daily challenge. Chest rewards include: DEC, Potions, and Reward Cards.
CONCLUSION
So, now you are armed with the knowledge of what your Monster Card's can bring to the table for you in Battle. However, this knowledge alone will not gain you a 100% win rate. Knowing what your Monster's can and can't do is only the first step along your Splinterlands journey. It will take time, patience and a tolerance for losing battles, but eventually you will discover card combinations that work in your favor providing wins. The financial benefits are there if you are patient and devote time and attention to the Game.
But please, always remember, it is a Game - have some fun! Good luck all.