Splinterlands: A touch here or there

Greetings folks, it's been QUITE a while since I've posted about Splinterlands. But here we are, and I have been playing on and off. Mostly off aside from brawls. However, Survival mode might have me hooked into SPL again as a "secondary" card game to do while I do chores etc. or am unable to stream/traveling.

What is survival mode?

Survival mode is a ranked battle mode in which when your cards lose they are put out of action and have to recover. This creates interesting nuance of strategy for owning/renting in various different ways that weren't really being explored before. Numbers or quality can be used to grant the highest MMR increase or SPS return.

I haven't looked at this mode that much but it has regained my interest in playing Splinterlands as a nice side game while doing chores etc. since it's rounds CAN be quick on your end if you are trying to rattle off your energy. I did bust out of the lower tiers to actual ranks and it was quite fun and here's what I have gleaned. If your cards lose they are taken out of the action for a time period and can seriously effect you strategies thereafter.

Strategy: More than Expected

This mode actually offered unique layers of strategy beyond normal ranked to the point I am probably going to explore it further in the future here (ideally making it to silver rank maybe). It's an evergreen way to use and play with my collection that isn't managing land etc. and more active so I've been enjoying it. I'm sure people may/may not bot this mode (haven't followed it) but it's nice to have at least a place to play the cards I bought.

Tall or wide?

The main strategies seem to be running numerous lineups at lower levels, or having a few key high level lineups that smash through the ranks until you get to a higher tier.

Strategic Renting

Similarly you can either rent fewer more pricey cards at higher levels for stronger builds to power rank higher, or rent legions of shitty low rank cards to spam through the lower ranks aswell.

Talking Tidbits: Various Thoughts

Recently they changed the resource requirements for land (which caused me to have to renegotiate my plots and productions accordingly to eventually be generating at least 1 of each resource so I can still harvest SPS). This was a tad obnoxious but I hope it means we eventually can make stuff with the land that has in game value as they initially pitched (extra layers of gameplay with spells/items etc.). Seems like you have to have had a bunch vested into "the secret of praetoria" to produce anything in this upcoming event they are having where it's basically potions for packs crafted by the players (not sure how that will go or if players will trip over each other to sell to the bottom).

As far as survival mode is concerned, it's actually enjoyable if you are a fan of the core gameplay loop and seems to benefit people with large collections/renting pools the most. I'm having fun with it and it's brough me back into the game beyond the guild brawl (which honestly was something I didn't expect to happen given a lot of the managerial direction the game has had). It's a mode that I will keep coming back to and actually participating in beyond "the land game". Baffling and unexpected.

I'll be playing more survival, trying to rank up, and posting about strategies and synergies I see along the way. Stay safe out there battlemages.