Hello there.

The new Splinterlands season is underway, and I wanted to share some insight on the Survival league this early on. If I'm not mistaken, Survival was stopped for some time while they were assessing and tweaking things. It returned last month with liquidity bots, and the removal of Foundation cards. I played it for a while then, and stopped at Bronze league. I was already facing some high level teams and a lot of my cards were already on cooldown. During that time I thought that since Survival just came back, a lot of strong players are still down in Bronze, so I'll just play again on the next season.

Fast forward to the new current season, I decided to dip my toes in Survival again. I ended last season at Bronze 3, 300 rating, so I started this season at Bronze 3, 260 rating. I played around 18 hours after the season started, so I was hoping that the strong opponents have already left Bronze. I also had low rating at this point so I wasn't too concerned. The first battle I had was a bit interesting.

I fought a player using a level 2 soulbound summoner and some leveled cards. I won this battle easily, but I was surprised that I faced a level 2 summoner this early. I almost lost my Iziar, so that was a scary thought. Iziar is essential in a lot of my Life teams, so I'm not happy about just getting away by the skin of my teeth. In my mind I am thinking this might just be a fluke so I didn't mind it. I remember facing a lot of level 1 summoners early on before, so I'm hoping my next battles will be against those.

As luck would have it my next battle was against a full level 1 deck. This is what I am expecting to face in my low rating at Bronze. I was able to breeze through it without losing anything again. My third battle was against a user of a Legendary Archon, and some leveled up cards.

I was a bit concerned since two out of the three battles have been against players with leveled cards. I have higher level cards so the win is almost guaranteed, but the danger of losing some of my high leveled cards this early on in the season is a scary thought. I was already having second thoughts at this point, so I said to myself that I will stop if I faced another opponent with leveled cards, or if I lose. As if jinxing myself, that is what happened in my next battle.

My opponent had a level 6 Kelya, and almost a max team for that Archon. I was playing conservatively and my team was obliterated without even taking down one of their monsters. It was safe to say that I stopped playing survival after this battle. I'll wait for a while before stepping back into it.

Now as for my tips and strats, this is for players that have a limited amount of cards that they can use for survival. Something like 2-3 competitive teams per element. If you're a whale or have a lot of cards available to play with, just keep playing since the rewards are usually good.

Tip 1: Wait before playing

I thought 18 hours was enough waiting time but obviously it wasn't. Some players might be just starting playing at that time. I think a full 24 hours after the season starts is the minimum waiting time. There is a higher chance that most players have gone through their games by then.

Tip 2: Always check your opponent's battle history

When the matchmaking happens, don't forget to check your opponent's battle history. Not only is it helpful to know what they usually use, but what's even more important in survival is to check the level of the cards they use. I really like the change that the team did in adding this battle history during the team creation page. You can click the 'Signal?' looking button on the upper left and it will show both player's battle history.

Before this change, if I forgot to check it, I would even go so far as to refresh the page just to see it again. Seeing the opponent's usual teams is important for one's strategy in Survival. I was actually doing this against my battle with 'THE-POCKETS'. I saw that they were using lower level cards. But what I didn't realize was that the battle with me was his first one, and those in the battle history were from the previous season. That is why Tip 1 is important.

Tip 3: Learn to accept defeat

When you see that your opponent is using a max level team, and the best you have is Gold level, it is better to accept defeat and try to keep your losses to a minimum. A common strategy that I found when I was playing last season is to just put a low level Archon, and one monster. Some might think of just surrendering, but I am not sure which Archon will be used as sacrifice. By doing it this way, you have control on which ones get taken out. This strategy is essential if you want to maximize your run in Survival.

Some might frown upon this, but for players with limited cards available, this is one way to min max and increase your chances of success. This strategy will rely on how many low level summoners you have. So if you are running low...

Tip 4: Take a break and find a better time to play

If you see yourself losing battles and facing strong opponents, it might be a good time to take a break. You could be tilted and playing suboptimally, or this could be a timeframe where a lot of strong players play. It might also be a good idea to take note of times when you are winning a lot and trying to play during that time.

Tip 5: Check the top battles of your league

Checking the top battles of your league can be a good indicator of the opponents you might face. It seems to be arranged with the latest battles at the top. Looking at the newest battles shows the level of opponents possibly queuing for battles right now. Looking at battles that are closer to your rating can give a glimpse of the strength of opponents still near you. Do note that since this is "Top Battles" this isn't a very accurate representation of the league, but hopefully it helps in deciding whether the strong players are far from you or not.

For Bronze, I am seeing some low level teams near me, but I still see a few gold to max level teams here and there. That tells me that maybe I shouldn't play yet, and should wait for them to go to Silver or higher.

That is it for my early season strat for Survival. Do note that last season was the first time I played survival and this is my first time starting the season of survival. These tips are based off of that, and I wouldn't be surprised if I find out more as I play more games.

Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for improvement. And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.

If you want to start playing Splinterlands, you can use my link:
Splinterlands Referral Link