The Problem with Old Editions in Splinterlands (Part 1)

Best regards Splinterlovers 💚

Lately, I’ve been posting in various places, though it’s not on purpose—the topics I’ve chosen simply call for it. This time, I want to discuss a rather interesting topic that not many people talk about, but which I find quite relevant: the value of old letters. However, more than their monetary value, it’s about the lack of demand and interest in these letters. Far from receiving the attention they deserve, little by little—and as time goes on—these letters are literally falling into oblivion.

Of course, I’m not saying that the new cards don’t truly deserve recognition; the reality is that the cards from “Rebellion and Conclave Arcana” are impressive, with mechanics and playstyles that the older ones will never have. However, as with any TCG, the older cards have incredible collectible value, but far from being like these types of games, the reality is that every in-game asset deserves attention, and it’s essential that every in-game asset has utility and demand so that the economy keeps flowing and volume is taken into account.

That’s why, in this post—and perhaps in a follow-up—I’ll share some ideas on what could be done to draw a little more attention to these vintage cards and boost demand. So, if you want to know what they are, stick around until the end of this post.

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The Current Situation and the “Problems” That Have Been Lingering

Okay, before I share my ideas—and that’s why I might need two parts to explain them all—I need to provide some context and explain the problems that have been lingering in a format that perhaps shouldn’t exist, or, failing that, a new one should be created. And yes, I’m referring to “Wild.” but, aside from that, we have several issues affecting the demand for and attention given to older cards. It’s not that I’m against how things work right now—it’s just that we could create other approaches to revitalize them.

But let’s start with the issues affecting demand, volume, and attention for cards from older sets:

Demand Issues

• The Challenge of the Wild Format: Of course, unlike "Standard," "Wild" is much more complicated to play because there are so many more abilities. As a result, you not only have to keep an eye on the older abilities and their cards, but also on how they interact with the new cards and their versatile and disruptive abilities.

• Rewards and the Wild Pass: Of course, playing in the “Wild Format” puts players who don’t have new cards and are more old-school at a significant disadvantage, since the rewards in SPS and GLINT are relatively lower than in Modern—because in Wild, you need 50% more SPS in staking to increase your multiplier. On the other hand, to play in this format, you have to pay for a Wild Pass that costs 2,000 DEC, which may not be much right now, but it still affects the returns players can earn.

• Sales and Capitalization: Due to the SPS penalty, which requires 50% more than in Modern, users tend to sell these assets and liquidate them at any price to raise capital and, in turn, try to compete in the latest meta, which generates constant selling pressure that undeniably affects liquidity and demand. Prices stagnate, and interest wanes as no further profits are on the horizon.

Demand for Liquidity and Its Current Use

For an asset to have demand, liquidity, and attention, it must be useful enough to generate consistent buying and selling volume—something that newer cards have in abundance, as players buy and sell them much more frequently. In fact, the trading volume for older cards is negligible, and there is practically no movement, which is clearly a problem.

On the one hand, we have the “Ancient Legendary” cards; because many of them have an extremely limited supply and are in very short supply, the prices of these cards are practically prohibitive. In addition to these, there are hundreds of cards from sets like Untamed and Chaos Legion, for example, which have a higher supply but, of course, virtually no liquidity. As a result, new players don’t find it appealing to focus on these, but rather concentrate their efforts on the “Modern Format.”

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All of this turns the old cards into static objects, and their role as financial tools within the game is sidelined because they serve only one purpose—and the reality is that it’s not enough.

Its current purpose (The Lands as the only refuge)

Currently, the only real use for these cards lies solely in the land system, since, due to their age, their production points (PP) are significantly higher than those of modern cards. This means that workers from older editions generate far more resources than those from newer cards.

The problem is that relying solely on land plots and their ability to produce resources is not sustainable in the long run, especially for hundreds of cards. While the land system has attempted to make use of them, ideally these cards should have much greater utility both on and off the battlefield to create real demand, which would increase their liquidity and ensure they receive the attention they deserve.

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Conclusion

I think this post makes it very clear just how many problems older edition cards are causing. While there are reasons why newer cards get much more attention, the fact that the market for these cards in the Wild format is practically dead makes it clear that there’s a problem, since it leaves the older players who started out in this game at a disadvantage.

In any case, this is the first part of this post, and in the next one I’ll focus on solutions rather than problems, but I felt it was necessary to write this to provide some context. If you have any questions, feel free to comment on this fascinating topic. See you in part 2.