Splinterlands is a play to earn trading card game with mechanics like Magic the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! Thanks to blockchain technology, players can truly own in-game assets and earn while playing games now.
In this guide we will dive into the basics on how to start battling and earning right away. We hope this will help the new players to start playing Splinterlands.
The Splinters or Elements
There are 5 Splinters (or elements) which are Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Death, and Dragon. The summoner that you choose will determine the Splinter (or element) of Monster cards which you may use. So for example a Fire Splinter summoner is chosen, then you may only use Fire monsters. No mix and match of Splinters (or elements) here with an exception to the Dragon Splinter where you may choose an additional base Splinter that goes together with the Dragon Splinter.
The Battle
Before you start a battle, there are "Practice" and "Ranked" battles. Obviously the Practice battles are for you to practice and get the hang of battle with no rewards awarded.
At the beginning of each battle, players can choose the Summoner and Monsters to go against their opponent. There will be a 3 minutes window to choose your cards.
Note that there is a mana cap for each battle, which indicates the total of mana you may use for that battle. The mana is shown on the upper left corner of each card. Usually more mana cards are stronger so the image above which is a 30 mana cap battle can use more powerful cards compared to a 12 mana cap battle.
Start by choosing a summoner which determines the Splinter (or element) which you will be using and 6 Monsters. Do note that in a smaller mana cap battle, you may not be able to use all 6 Monster slots. Always keep an eye on the mana cap so your chosen cards do not go above it.
The order of Monster cards are also important as the first Monster will be in the first line of defense which will naturally act as the tank to absorb damage from opponent’s Monsters. Once defeated, then the next Monster in line will take its place.
For more strategies on troop formation, you may see our next guide: Splinterlands Troop Formation Guide.
As you progress to higher ranks from battles, there may be different rules for each battle (eg. melee only, no healing, or only even number mana Monsters) to make the battles more interesting.
Card Basics
- Mana cost – More powerful cards will cost more mana to use. Choose card according to your mana cap for each battle.
- Stats – These numbers represent attack power (top left), speed (bottom left), armor (top right), and health (bottom left).
- Splinter/Rarity – This icon represents Splinter (or element) and rarity (common, rare, epic, or legendary).
- Name – This is the name of the Summoner/Monster.
- Level – Higher level cards are more powerful and usually will have higher stats and unlocking new abilities at certain levels.
- Experience – Experience are gained by combining duplicate cards. The bar shows the progress to next level.
- Abilities – These are special abilities which are used during battle.