How to Master “Tournaments” in Splinterlands in 2026? – The Basics

Best regards Splinterlovers 💚

Tournaments in Splinterlands are one of those game modes that put you to the test right from the start. This is where the “elite” players from across the entire game gather, since there are rewards at stake for the top tournament winners. However, this isn’t like ranked battles—you need a different kind of preparation, something that isn’t required in “Ranked” mode. You have to prepare your collection, have enough SPS to play, and adapt to every opponent you face along the way. There are many factors at play here, and if you want to succeed and learn in this game mode, you need to understand these things.

That’s why, in this post, I want to share a well-structured guide to maximizing your winnings and how you should approach playing in “Tournaments.” This will help you improve your performance and prepare properly depending on the types of tournaments you want to play—since it depends on the league, the editions you want to focus on, and so on. All of this is so that those who don’t want to play in “Ranked” matches—or who simply want to diversify their gameplay a bit—can do so. It will also greatly help them improve their strategies and consistency.

So, if you want to learn more about this, stick around until the end of this post so you can learn everything you need to know to take “Tournaments” seriously:

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What are the prerequisites for participating in the “Tournaments”?

In order to play in a “Tournament,” you need to take into account several aspects, factors, and requirements so that you don’t run into any problems along the way. All of these conditions I’m about to discuss are necessary to determine your eligibility, so pay close attention—because playing in tournaments can be very lucrative, but you have to learn what’s required and, of course, understand how to play the right way.

Constraints

• Collection Levels and Leagues: Tournaments in Splinterlands are strictly tied to a league, which means that cards and their levels are limited to the levels offered by those leagues. This is very important to know because it doesn’t work the same way as in “Ranked” battles. For example, if you’re playing in the “Silver” league, a summoner in this league can only summon cards up to level 5 of the common rarity.

• Mana Power: This is something they don't talk about much out there, but it's very important because it has a lot to do with managing your deck. To help you understand better, battles generally have a random mana cost ranging from 12 to 99 points, so you’ll have battles with very high costs and others with low costs. That means your deck should include units you can play in both scenarios—that way, you’ll be prepared for anything.

• Entry Fees and Costs: In this game mode, there are two types of tournaments. Of course, there are those with free entry; however, these tend to offer very low rewards and the competition isn’t as appealing. And, of course, there are those that require a fee to participate; the fees are usually paid in DECS, though sometimes they may be in SPS or VOUCHERS—it all depends on what you’re looking for.

• SPS in Staking: This is the last thing you need to keep in mind: you need SPS in staking because most tournaments—if not all—require a certain amount of SPS in staking in order to participate. Of course, the most lucrative ones—those that offer incredible rewards—require a significant amount of SPS in staking. That’s why you need to be prepared for this; a deck alone isn’t enough—SPS is essential to the entire ecosystem.

Types of Tournaments Available in 2026

This might seem basic, but new players who are just starting out probably have no idea how it works. That’s why, even though it’s very basic, I’m sharing it in this post. However, I’ll go into much more depth in this post because I’m sure you’re interested in learning how to prepare for a tournament, how to build your deck, and all those details—because in tournaments, it’s not the person with the most cards who wins, but the one with the right cards. So, I’ll explain all that in the next post.

For now, I’m going to continue with the “Types of Tournaments” that exist, and this is important because knowing which one you’ll be participating in will give you a head start over the other players—since that’s where you’ll need to decide which cards to use. But let’s get to this first:

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Types of Tournaments

• Modern and Wild: Most of you probably already know how this works, but it’s very simple: “Modern” only allows you to play with the two most recent sets, which are “Rebellion” and “Arcana Conclave.” In some cases, “Foundations” is allowed, but this set is often treated separately. In “Wild,” on the other hand, you can play all cards from the other sets; however, there are tournaments where you must play a specific set—though not necessarily all together. For example, there might be a tournament in Modern featuring only “Escalation” and one in Wild featuring only “Untamed.”

• Editing Restrictions and Elements: This ties into what I mentioned earlier, since there may be single-edition tournaments or restrictions on the use of certain Splinters. That’s why it’s very important to read all the tournament rules before entering.

• Gold Foil Tournaments: Here, too, the rules are very clear: these are very specific tournaments where only “Gold Foil” cards can be used—which not everyone can afford. However, these types of tournaments offer by far the highest payouts, with hundreds and hundreds of dollars awarded in prizes.

• Tournaments with Exemplars: A more recent development is the inclusion of “Exemplars” cards in various tournaments, which allows you to essentially add a card that you design yourself—which is great and can turn the tide of a battle.

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Conclusion

With this, I hope you’ve understood how “Tournaments” work. Of course, this is just a basic overview of how everything works; however, as I mentioned earlier in this post, I’ll explain in more detail how to prepare depending on the type of tournaments you choose—whether you have your own cards or don’t have any and need to rent them.