If you're tuning in for the next installment of the #Splinterlands Survival Prep series TANKS very much! then you are absolutely in the right place. Stay tuned...

In this installment of the Survival prep series, we'll cover the best deals out there on death tanks.

First though, before getting to Survival prep, I want to show you something new and pretty fun that the photoshop team did with firefly, and also drop a few more "death element"-inspired teaser creatures for the completely-fictional, 100% not-real, self-made, made-up, web3 game that doesn't exist (yet?) called 🌲 #BattleForest 🌲

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Photoshop Beta, Newest Load Screen

If you're not familiar with photoshop, or even if you are---but you never use the beta version---then you might not know that for every new mini-update they drop for beta, they also put out a new image made using firefly generative AI tools. It's always great. So I figured... why not share it here too? Other people might enjoy it.

Maybe you might even enjoy it MORE than my awesome cartoon characters?! Probably... actually... yes. At least some of you. That's okay though. I mean, tastes differ, right? That's fair. That miniature house is pretty adorable 😍 But also, by now, honestly I could do this too---even better than this probably---that's just not my passion. So anyway, again, just to be clear---the following image is from the latest photoshop beta load screen. I did NOT generate this image... (although I 100% could have by now, and I would have probably even done it way cooler too!)

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Newest generative AI image from the team at photoshop! At this point I could make stuff like this too, and at this level of quality. It's just not my personal style. Honestly, I think I could do even better. But also, I need to make what I love, or else why do it? Making images of little miniature houses sounds fun, but not my passion.

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Jmo, when it starts to look too real like this, it starts to get me a little weirded lol. Deep fake anyone? Super easy now. For anyone to do. I mean, everyone's doing it already basically. I see generative images everywhere now. That's why I stick to unrealistically proportioned cartoon characters with magical powers. Because they never make me scared for what's (already happening?) soon to come. In other words, it's very clear that they're not real. If anything, I err on the side on less real, and more unrealistically adorable 😍

I mean, there are built-in safeguards on mainstream generative programs like firefly. Other, less-mainstream programs? Probably less safeguards. Some programs out there? Probably no safeguards... Anyway, just saying... stay vigilante! You can't necessarily just assume ANY image is real anymore. That might make you sad, and I get that. It kind of makes me sad too. But also, it's a fact and by-product of this technology, which is not going anywhere. The key will be responsible use. As always, "responsible use" ultimately comes down to who? The individual user. Common sense. But also easy to forget. Folks just need to harness these new awesome powers in positive ways. Do good things and bring happiness to people's lives. That's key if generative technologies are going to flourish.

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BattleForest: 3 New Creature Types!

In this post I'm also excited to announce three more creature type for the new web3 game BattleForest... the game that doesn't actually exist, except in my head. As you can see from the new creature types, there's no way anyone will mistake my images as being pictures of real things in a real forest, lol. These new creature types were inspired by... the death element! That's why they have that death element vibe. Purple, black, neon green and skulls. Not everything in BattleForest will be so scary, but the death element creatures will.

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Killer angels

Killer Angels (aka "Fairies of Death") look relatively tame. Wait until you see them in action though. They're basically like berserker hummingbirds, moving and swinging their razor sharp scythes at the speed of sonic the hedgehog. Better to just get the heck out of their way, unless your units have serious magical armor, or some other form of protection against an onslaught of magical melee damage.

Mock-up for basic Killer Angel creature type. Also known as the "Fairies of Death" because (1) they're fairies and (2) well, they kinda like to kill stuff... like everything. All of them can fly, but their weapons, magic attack and speed increase according to card level, rarity and the presence of synergistic creature types.

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Jumping spiders

Wow, this guy looks pretty cute right?! Wait until he goes from standing perfectly still to jumping onto your face at lightning speed. He won't look so cute as his pincers repeatedly inject you with paralysis debilitations and then he wraps you in a spider web cocoon for a snack later on. Nope. This lil' guy is not to be ignored. The problem? He's so hard to spot until he's already on your face stabbing you. At that point... it's pretty much over. You gotta be constantly on the lookout.

This spider might look friendly at first. It's kinda cute and it's smiling right? But this image is like one second before it's about to pounce. So yeah, it is smiling... but not in a nice way. More in like the way you smile when you're hungry and someone hands you a plate of food.

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Nightshades

Another beautiful-looking creature type. Again though, don't be fooled. Once Nightshades have been established on a forest plot, there is literally only one way to remove them. Yeah, you guessed it! It's gotta be eaten. One for one. One of your units takes out 1 opposing nightshade. Someone on your team is gonna have to put their hungry face on, and take one for the team 💀 If not, nightshades will continue to spread. Eventually into neighboring unaligned plots.

This one might be the simplest, but tbh it's one of my favorites. There's something very soothing and relaxing about this simple little flower. Also though, don't ever forget. It is poisonous nightshade, and any creature that eats it in BattleForest will die.

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💀 Best value death TANKS for Survival

Okay, if you made it this far... Congratulations! We're finally to the part where we talk about real stuff. Death tanks for Survival 💪 Let's get down to business. If you haven't read the previous installments of this series, then... you should. Assuming for now that you're not going to rush off and do that right away though, I'll give you a recap of the general the hypothesis we're working from here.

If Survival survives past the first few seasons, and if the rewards are good, then demand for summoners and tanks will increase. Even the B-list cards. 🙂--"The ones that are priced insanely cheaply right now?" Yes, those. Anyway, limited supply plus increased demand typically means increased price. Not only that, but the rewards for Survival might be huge at first (it's pretty unclear) so... some of us... we're prepping for Survival now. Not later. Hoping the game takes off along with the prices of these cards. That's basically it. There's no guarantees here. That's been made clear many times. This is only for people who have already made the decision to play Survival. And if Survival doesn't do well, then the prices of these cards will probably go nowhere. Just being straight-forward and honest.

In other words, you better be happy and relaxed in the face of all that uncertainty. Otherwise, take a seat, sit-back and see what happens first. The problem with doing that? Nothing at all. It's probably you're wisest choice. But also, if Survival does take off? Then it's pretty unlikely you'll see these cards, at these prices, ever again.

In this section we'll look at a few of the best, most undervalued 💀 death splinter tanks on the market today!

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Pelacor Deceiver

If you read the previous installment on earth tanks, you might think we're in the 1993 cult classic Groundhog Day. Didn't we already do the max pelacor for $1.90? Yes sort of. But that was Pelacor Mercenary. This is his evil cousin Pelacor Deceiver, and even though he's not quite as awesome, he's definitely worth your time and funds if you're looking to deepen that death tank bench on an extreme budget. Again, I chalk this up more to overprint than to actual value. For 5 mana, and max copy under $2, he's a decent cheap option to go deep bench on for Survival.

Pelacor Deceiver alt art. This one really turned out. Exactly right. I really, really love it 😍

This is another one you can snipe deals on. Keep your eyes open and check the market often. You might be able to snag some for even cheaper than this.

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Crypt Beetle

Here's another one that eveyone knows is a "B-list" tank. In fact, this card is almost like the definition of that term. Regardless though, we gotta be thinking deep. What if you need a death tank in little league? Or low mana battles? Yes, it's a meat puppet, but... also, it's a meat puppet that will take a little damage first. Especially for 3 mana, and $2 for a max core set card, you're still getting great value here.

Crypt Beetle alt art. Another one I'm pretty excited about. I liked the ideas of it having eyes all over its body so it can see it all direction. Try to count how many it has. Warning... you might get dizzy 😵

$2.00 is a great price. Keep an eye out for deals like this and load up. This isn't going to be your go-to tank, but there will be times (little league, low mana, etc.) when you might be just fine throwing out a max Crypt Beetle to hold the line for a little while. Basically, a meat puppet 1st-position rock that protects the rest of your BETTER cards from going onto death cooldown.

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Cursed Windeku 🏆

This has to be one of my favorite cards from the death element. Obviously this card is a little more expensive, so if you're on an extreme budget... you probably should build out your death tank bench with the two cards above first. But, if you can manage this, getting a max core set rare Cursed Windeku for $4.26 is not something you're likely to regret when it comes to surviving Survival. Definitely a level up from the previous two tanks. Possibly closing in on A-list status... maybe A-/B+ but regardless... When considering the other options for death tanks, and the price, I would absolutely splurge on some max copies of this card when you can get deals this good.

This is like, one of my favorite SPL alt art images I've ever made 😍 I want it to be real and I want it everywhere, lol.

This card will cost you a bit more. More than twice as much as the previous two. Is it worth it? That depends on your budget. If you have the gunpowder to go deep on Cursed Windeku for $4.26? I would hit that purchase button as many times as you reasonably can.

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Conclusion

That's it for this installment! If you made it this far, thanks for reading 🙏 The death splinter is one of my favorites, I really loved doing this post. In the next installment, we'll take a look at hidden-value life tanks 😇 An often underestimated source for cards that can "survive" in that 1st-position tank spot---or, at least not die right away!

In the next installment we'll look at a few of the best, most undervalued 😇 life tanks on the market today!

Until then my friends, go out and grab these death tanks. If there's any great deals I missed for Survival, post in the comments. Until the next installment... Until tomorrow then... Survive and stay alive! 💪

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P.S. - As always, all images were generated by me using photoshop w/ firefly generative AI prompting. Except of course the one I pointed out (miniature house in the woods) that came from the photoshop beta load screen.