Gold vs Regular cards - Is Gold worth it?
With cards at a low price and Chaos cards flooding the market for the new future, it may be a great time to improve your decks and add power. Gold foil cards have fallen in price too, with some cards selling for less than a dollar. So, are gold foil cards a better investment than regular cards? Let’s do the math!
For a demonstration, lets look at a specific card, the Chaos Agent. The price of the regular foil card is quite cheap at $0.08 and the foil is $1.40. It’s a common neutral card that can be used to take a hit. With Dodge and Phase at later levels it can possible survive a hit or two. Not bad for a one Mana card.
The Gold foil Chaos Agents starts out at tier 3. Lets evaluate the cost difference for all levels.
Cost
| Tier | Normal Cards | Normal Cost | Gold Cards | Gold Cost | Price Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | $.08 | |||
| 2 | 5 | $.40 | |||
| 3 | 14 | $1.12 | 1 | $1.40 | $0.28 |
| 4 | 30 | $2.40 | 2 | $2.80 | $0.40 |
| 5 | 60 | $4.80 | 5 | $7.00 | $2.20 |
| 6 | 100 | $8.00 | 9 | $12.60 | $4.60 |
| 7 | 150 | $12.00 | 14 | $19.60 | $7.60 |
| 8 | 220 | $17.60 | 20 | $28.00 | $10.40 |
| 9 | 300 | $24.00 | 27 | $37.80 | $13.80 |
| 10 | 400 | $32.00 | 38 | $53.20 | $21.20 |
The higher tier of Chaos Agent you want, the larger the price difference. So are Gold foils worth it? Let’s do some calculations.
Let’s assume you are in Silver 2 or 3, earning on average 10 DEC per battle. Let’s say you battle 25 times a day, winning 12. With DEC costing approximately $.004, this equates to about $0.48/day. If you use the Gold Chaos Agent in 25% of your battles, you will gain an extra 10% DEC in those battles. Using those numbers, you will gain an additional $0.012/day. At that rate you would recoup your costs for your tier 3 Gold Chaos Agent in about 23 days. If you use Chaos Agent pretty consistently, it can be well worth it!
Of course, this assumes a win rate and DEC earning per battle. If your average DEC earning are higher, or you use your Chaos Agent more frequently, you could recoup your costs much faster.
The higher tier you opt for, the longer to recover your cost. If you are a consistent player and in the game for the long term, it might make sense to go ahead and invest in a Gold foil.
Power
Gold foils also have more power than normal cards. If you are a lower to mid tier player, it might be helpful to have some Gold cards to boost your power. The normal card has 5 power per BCX while the Gold foil has 125 power. If you find yourself renting power, it might be worth your effort to pick up some Gold cards!
| Tier | Normal Cards | Normal Power | Gold Cards | Gold Power | Cost Difference | Power Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 14 | 60 | 1 | 125 | $0.28 | 55 |
| 4 | 30 | 150 | 2 | 250 | $0.40 | 100 |
| 5 | 60 | 300 | 5 | 625 | $2.20 | 325 |
| 6 | 100 | 500 | 9 | 1125 | $4.60 | 625 |
| 7 | 150 | 750 | 14 | 1750 | $7.60 | 1000 |
| 8 | 220 | 1100 | 20 | 2500 | $10.40 | 1400 |
| 9 | 300 | 1500 | 27 | 3375 | $13.80 | 1875 |
| 10 | 400 | 2000 | 38 | 4750 | $21.20 | 2750 |
If you don’t care about maxing out your Chaos Agent for game play, you could tier up a Gold foil Chaos Agent to tier 8 cheaper than a tier 10 normal card and get 500 additional power! Not bad!
As an investment
Gold cards are by nature more scarce, so they may appreciate more than normal cards; As an investment, your returns could be significantly higher in the long term. Also, if you decide to not actively use your Gold, you can rent the power. Currently a level 10 Gold rents for $0.36/day and a level 10 normal rents for $0.10. You can recover your costs much faster using Gold foils at these rates!
I’ve created a spreadsheet on Google Docs with more detail that you can use for variations of cards and prices. Play with current numbers and your favorite cards to see what works best! I hope its useful!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MllL5CTBIV11dbjxAswdaI9i48Q-OC09Ky9XrRplhSA/edit?usp=sharing
Conclusion
Gold foils can be a great option in Splinterlands, and in the current market, depending on your playing staying and dedication to the game, can really work out well for you!
Good analyses!
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Thanks! Appreciate the recommendations!
Man, I'm still waitin' for my first GF to start renting. I see them as a great opportunity for funding rentals as a new player until I own enough cards to form my own teams.
I love the cost/value breakdowns you've provided, and I definitely agree that GF's have been implemented in a way that can add value when approached with the right mindset.
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Have fun out there!
I've only got a few GF that I'm renting, and I've had to constantly monitor prices when they don't rent for a day or two. Hate seeing them sit idle.
Thanks for the recommendation on sourcing. I'll have to look that up.
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Excellent post. Will share on my daily Splinterlands Digest and on Twitter.
Thanks for this analysis! Gold Foil card may really be worth to buy. Especially regarding power, they could be worth it!
And what you didn't take into consideration are the SPS rewards, that are coming "soon". You also get 10% more SPS with Gold Foil cards!
Keep up the great work!
Cheers,
@andy-plays
!gif money
Via Tenor
great post i have been saying this for a while now golds are even cheeper.