Thought Experiments in Splinterlands: "Reward Card Packs" and a Fun New Account Bound System

As there's been discussion throughout the game of The Splinterlands to make economic adjustments, quality of life adjustments, game theory adjustments all in an in effort to enhance the viability of the most fun and well-thought out blockchain game available to date--there are some considerations that can enhance that experience by all in some fun and dynamic ways to allow the game's market to decide how "truly equal all reward cards are" going forward.

The cool factor of opening packs is undeniable. Whether it's packs, loot chests, anything with RNG factor and is completely random in result any human being cannot resist to look away but look at like a kid opening a gift on a special day. The above is without question the least "hottest take" in the history of The Splinterlands. No kidding Sherlock [Holmes].

The dynamic in game TS as it sits on this date of 12/09/22 for reward cards is... win daily focus matches, win daily focus points, wait until the finish of the 24 hour period, then rip open the loot chests with fury. That's been fun over the years and is daily gain that keeps so many of us coming back every day, among other reasons of course but that is a big and very common, central construct of TS. Then there are end of season rewards, and that's when it gets wild with so many of us opening a multiple of what we're used to opening day to day. Long story short... load of fun with the reward reaping.

As these activities compound card collections build in reward cards, along with market activity making it quite possible to max out a reward card easily and quite cheaply (if you're careful) within a few weeks of the card's initial release. This has become the status quo for a multitude of reasons, some players sell new reward cards early thinking they can be bought back cheaper at a later date, some multi-account holders like to dump and extract all they can from the economy (regardless of price), and some land gold cards they may not care to hold and they sell for a premium very early (first few days) of the new reward card cycle and cash in to pick up other things in game or out of game they'd rather have.

This idea is fairly cut and dry and could spice rewards up quite a bit with the already interesting concept of "account bound reward cards," or at least at the start of the reward card cycle. First getting cards that are bound to your account for some is a negative. I get this point in the short term but disagree whole-heartedly in the long term.

The game economy has not seen a reward card release where value has not been smashed down to a very low multiple of the card's burn value within a few weeks. I mean a very long time, like back to goblin mech days, like that long ago. You may disagree, but for a real significant time for all real purposes until there was a massive spike in demand for all cards in game during the last crypto macro bull market the game experienced over a year ago. But keeping some level of restriction of being able to dump these singles on the market have also distracted from the market of picking up lowest priced cards of even the base set (in CL packs for example).

But if many of these cards are kept in accounts in a strategic matter for the game, such as account bound cards (or at least until a later date or alternate condition of releasing them possibly to the card markets) dynamics can happen over time that allow these cards to develop utility in game and can experience a natural rise in value over time whether it be for the card itself--or maybe even as a burn mechanism to more quickly acquire new reward cards later on at a premium cost.

To follow the idea lets' assume reward cards keep the same system of print numbers, rarity, and distribution based on level of play, and so on.

But the game adds a dynamic that increases the speed (or limited market possibility) at which the players in game can add to their quantity owned in their account and possibly list these cards on the market outside of the other default mode of pure account bound holding.

Initially earning cards in your daily focus/end of season loot boxes will be how a player acquires these cards. So the earning in this process will be limited at the speed and caliber of the reward chests each given player opens.

In a more dynamic setting that I propose would spice up reward cards in a major way is to allow older reward cards that are out of print to be burned to earn "Reward Pack Points." These would be account bound as well, but would be spendable in the pack shop if the right threshold of points are acquired by a given player.

For example, a player burns a max (level 10) Venari Heatsmith, regular foil, and a common of course as a rarity. The collection power/burn value of the 400 bcx combined is 2,100 DEC/CP. So... that card burned (when it's out of print) would earn 2,100 REWARD PACK Points. Let's say hypothetically a reward pack costs 100 RWP, then that pack will get you 5 random reward cards (without a guarantee of a rare or higher as well). Potions could be invented as well in game to increase rarity likelihood of course. This would be a speculative move at the time because if you're doing the math, 21 packs earned from burning an out of print card in my arbitrary number of 100 Reward Points buys one pack of 5 random (highly likely 5 common cards without potions), that only adds up to 105 total cards at the expense of burning a 400 bcx card that's out of print.

Of course the number is arbitrary but there would have to be some value lost to ensure people don't simple convert older cards that the entire game had months to accumulate and have become very commonly held versus these new and highly robust cards in utility. So even if the number were doubled, say it cost 50 Reward points per pack, it's still 210 bcx of random new reward cards at the expense of burning a 400 bcx card no longer in print. That would be the breaks.

If a reward card becomes overly abundant it could be a buffer for higher net valued accounts to accumulate these as they come out of print.

But one factor here is missing...
How does the card go from account bound to market accessible?

First, I would propose all gold cards can be moved to the market day one of them pulling from chests. With one part being added prior to its ability to be transacted in any way, it must be animated by the holder adding the necessary DEC to give it a burn value. Yep, reward cards are initially earned without a DEC burn value. They must be animated to leave your account (if even applicable at the time). So, if a player pulls a gold reward card there will be a 0% DEC threshold, and must have the necessary DEC attached to it to make transactable. So, in an example, let's say you pull an account bound gold foil common, then it would require that player to add 125 DEC to that card. When it's added then the gold foil card can be listed on the market.

For regular foil it would of course be different. Regular foil cards would not be available to be non-account bound until they are both animated (as mentioned above) and out of the print threshold the game has set up as the max number printed, or is placed on the market at its maxed out version and of course is also fully animated.

Cards can be combined of course in the account they are bound to and are able to be played at that level but cannot be transacted to another account unless the market ready conditions are deemed ready for each edition of the given card.

At the conclusion of the print threshold of the reward card are met and after any level of card is animated with the required DEC then it is now available to be transacted in any way in game.

This would be a blast for those new and old to the game and give an ongoing strategy as each player builds their decks during all reward campaign prints for the game indefinitely. Players will decide if it benefits them to continue holding, rent, sell or accumulate these cards as then enter and exit their active print phases.

Tell me what you think and any other ideas that I have not considered here I would love to visit about this.

Thanks for reading and congrats on being here at this time in the ecosystem. These are the times "the O.G.'s in this game are made."