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# The power of Gladius

[Splinterlands](https://splinterlands.com?ref=felipejoys) isn't just a crypto game with a lot of gameplay mechanics. It's also filled to the brim with economy mechanics. Gladius cards might look useless on the surface, but they are actually a very important aspect of the game, specially to newcomers. If you haven't joined a guild yet, you're about to find out why you should. They've never been as attractive as now that they're a source of gladiator cards.

When you're in a guild, you can participate in Brawls, which are frequent guild vs guild tournaments. You never lose anything if you don't do well, but you have to try really hard, because if your guild has the Store building, then you can buy gladiator packs with Merits you'll earn every time you participate.

You always earn merits by brawling, so all a guild needs is an arena, but you can't sped them without the store building, and you can't use them in battle if the barracks building isn't at least level 2. Of course, you'll always earn more merit if your guild reaches higher ranks and owns higher level barracks, arena and store buildings.

But you can't use gladiator cards in ranked matches. What good are they for, then? In case you weren't aware... Gladius cards can be burned for DEC, and they also count toward your total collection power value! Even if you're new, your total collection is increasing, as long as you're actively a part of a guild. So you don't necessarily have to spend money - you can also invest your time getting into the community.