I see you guys are enjoying these and that makes me really happy! Once I finish this set of posts, I'll be going into the initial core cards you'd want to upgrade out of the Standard Set for each Element! Be sure to check back and follow for continuous advice for newcomers who are *on a budget*
As usual, I will be going over 5 Core cards that are *affordable* and that I think round out the weaknesses of the starting team, even at Level 1, which will help with your win rates significantly for as little DEC as possible.
# About the Light Splinter
This is a tough one to master, but is very rewarding for doing so. It, like Earth, is also focused on Versatility and has a very balanced set of teams, however, where Earth focuses more on Melee and Health, Light is more focused on Armor and Healing.
Many of its cards have no combat effect, and it's EASY to make a terrible team with Light, which is why it's so difficult to use. You have to balance your buffing, non-attacking monsters with your attacking monsters, and any tip in the balance WILL make you lose. What's worse, this balance ALWAYS changes based on your opponent's preferred Splinter, the modifiers, etc. etc. So here are some good staple cards for Light:
# #1 The Shieldbearer
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/untamed/Shieldbearer_lv1.png
A High Cost, very defensive tank, equipped with Taunt, which forces ALL who can attack him to attack him regardless of his position or theirs. This gives the Light splinter one of the cheapest ways to redirect attacks entirely, and this guy can help you shutdown Fire, and Death decks by forcing Twisted Jester and Serpentine Spy to attack it instead of your squishies. This makes him an absolute must for Light.
Cost: Normal: $2.50, Gold Foil: $45
Renting: Normal: 0.1 DEC / day, Gold Foil: 24 DEC / day
# #2 Armorsmith
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/promo/Armorsmith_lv1.png
A Low mana card! But wait, it has no attack? What gives! This little guy heals your ARMOR every turn. That's right, you've got a healer, AND now you can restore Armor. He pairs VERY nicely with Shieldbearer, and is an EXCELLENT healing alternative in No Healing rounds, his low mana cost makes him an absolute pick for rounding out teams and creating tankier tanks!
**Honorable Mention** Truthspeaker is a slightly higher cost card, which provides 2 Armor to ALL allies including itself. Great for Melee only rounds, No Magic, etc. etc. But not quite as useful IMO as this guy can be, due to the lower mana cost.
Cost: Normal $3, Goldfoil: $31
Renting: Normal 0.1 DEC / Day, Goldfoil: 15 DEC / Day
# #3 Air Elemental
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/Alpha/Air%20Elemental_lv1.png
No luck displaying this one either....
He's fast, hits hard, and has decent health, making him a solid ranged attacker for almost any team. Short and sweet, easy to use, plug him in where he fits and let him do his thing.
Cost: Normal: $26, Goldfoil: $1000
Renting: Normal: .6 - 3 DEC / day, Goldfoil: 30 DEC / Day
# #4 Light Elemental
https://d36mxiodymuqjm.cloudfront.net/cards_by_level/Untamed/Light%20Elemental_lv1.png
For some reason, he won't appear for me when I put him into the thing that auto generates the image, but Light Elemental is a 4 cost Mage with 2 Magic, Flying, 3 Speed, and 3 Health. This is a great, cheap way to add some magic damage to your team, something that the basic Light splinter doesn't have a lot of. This will help you counter other Light users who rely on armor, and just gives you a slightly different option for things like No Melee, No Range, etc.
Costs: Normal: $5, Gold Foil: $150
Renting: Normal: 0.3 - 1.6 DEC / day, Gold Foil: 8.5 DEC / day
# #5 Baby Unicorn
As you can see, it appears to be not displaying the stats for the cards properly...
This was a tough one, I ultimately decided that Light's weakness is that many of its good cards are relatively higher cost than other Splinters. As such, I think it's best to have some lower cost cards to balance that out, especially ones that boost those other, tankier cards.
Baby Unicorn does that by adding 1 Health to every user, paired with the default Light Summoners' +1 Health, you have a very large advantage in Earthquake and Poison Rounds. I also decided on this card because of its extremely low Gold Foil cost for renting.
**Honorable Mention** Silvershield Bard with 1 Cost is a great meat shield which can cleanse an ally, removing Poison!
Costs: Normal: $0.38, Gold Foil: $10
Renting: Normal: 0.1 DEC / day, Gold Foil: 0.43 / day
# Summoners
So now, the best summoner you can add to your roster for a newbie, when factoring in cost, is likely to try and get a Level 2 or 3 of the default summoners.
Your other option would be to get **Kiara Lightbringer** as she is a 2 cost summoner with no abilities, this is especially good for low mana, letting you play for instance, Shieldbearer and Armorsmith in a 12 Mana battle.
Ultimately though, I think that the default summoners are actually the best choices, and while **Lorna Shine** offers some unique opportunities to go full range or full magic, I think it's way too situational compared to the simplicity and functionality of +1 Health or +1 Armor.
# Sign Up for Splinterlands now!
Never played? Interested in getting in on the action? Want to find out what all the fuss is about for these battles, or maybe you've seen a bunch about SPS? Join here https://splinterlands.com?ref=jakkal You can play the game 100% for free initially, without earning currency. If you like it, you pay $10 to get in on the action by buying a Spellbook! You'll make that 10 dollars back in less than a month at current prices. If you sign up, feel free to message or comment and I might hook you up with some free starting cards, or delegate a card to you for a week!
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