}

Last season, grinding from Bronze to Silver was challenging because I was fairly new to the game. I had to learn the game mechanics, effects of different skills, and ways to acquire cards. In Bronze, it all boiled down to who had the better cards (since most of the Bronze players are new). Once you're in Silver, you'll be in a different world. You'll be facing higher level versions of your basic summons, more challenging rule sets, and strategies that are really different from Bronze league.

Most of the things I'll be sharing are already shared by more experienced players/streamers out there, but I'd like to highlight the more important things (that I also learned from them):

1. Get a vision of your target league and plan your progression

Silver league limits

When you click the League Details button in the battle menu, you'll see the current league you're in and the summoner limits. You'll need to ask yourself:

"Do you want to stay and dominate in Bronze?"

"Do you want to level up and fight on the lower Silver league?"

"Do I have enough DEC to rent cards for the next league?"

Asking yourself which league you'll want to play in will give you an idea which cards to rent for the next season. This will also determine if it fits your renting budget.

2. Get higher level summoners based on your budget

If you want to advance to the higher levels of the Silver league, you'll first need to level up the summoners you use. Unfortunately, the basic rare summoners we're given are usually more expensive when renting in higher levels. To get around this problem, try renting out cheaper but higher leveled summoners, or summoners that are of higher rarity. Having enough levels in your summoner will allow you access to higher leveled versions of your summons. Check out the stats of each summoner to get a grasp of the allowed maxed level of summons.

3. Know when your summons will unlock their next ability

In most cases, leveling up a summon from level 1 to level 2 will only unlock speed or health. It's beneficial in some rulesets, but if unlocking the level 3 version will unlock a new ability for a lower cost, it would be a lot useful and cost-effective (in terms of DEC). Make sure that your summoner also matches the level of the summon to maximize their effect. When renting out a card, try looking for higher levels when you don't see a level that meets your criteria. Sometimes the rent is cheaper than the actual level you're after.

4. Familiarize yourself with the rule sets

As long as you have the fundamentals right, you only need to adjust accordingly. Here's a list of the rule sets in Splinterlands:

https://splinterlands.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Rule_Sets

Tips for some of the most annoying rule sets (for me):

a. Earthquake Rule set: Flying ability negates the rule set. However, watch out for summons that have the Snare ability (as it removes the Flying ability). If you don't have the summoner that gives the Flying ability, you may want to stock up on armor as the Earthquake debuff is treated as melee damage.

b. Noxious Fumes Rule set: Immunity and Resurrection negates the poison debuff given at the start of turn. Healing also negates the 2 poison damage per turn. If you don't have the any of the abilities mentioned before, I would recommend that you rely on the high HP summons.

c. Back to Basics Rule set: You will most likely rely on your summoner skills here. I recommend using legendary summoners since they usually give 3 abilities. If you don't have better summoners, use tougher (more armor + HP) and faster summons (as each speed difference will give % chance to dodge the Ranged or Melee attack).

d. Super Sneak Rule set: Having 2 tanks is key in this rule set. Sniping your opponent's support summons is also advised in this rule set.

5. Anticipate your opponents

If you're playing many games in your league level, chances are you'll fight the same opponent again when you reach a certain rating. Basing your strategy on your opponent's previous picks is not fool-proof. They might be doing a quest or they're just baiting you. The best thing to do is to snipe your opponent's card pool. Check out their legendary cards and card levels. You'll most likely get their playing pattern from there (since it's natural to pick out your best cards if you're unaware of your opponent's pool). Choose the best summoner ability based on what your opponent might pick.

6. Position is key

Can't stress this enough. Don't place your main damage dealer if your opponent likes to sneak. Don't place your support before your tank if your opponent has the blast ability. Don't make your opponent snipe your support because you placed them in front of your non-melee summons. The list can go on and on. In most cases, if you and your opponent have equal card pool, your card placement will determine who wins or who loses. Take this scenario for example:

https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_9068bac2d66b4dcffbcbdbca49c16a9d&ref=sliv33

That's it for now. Hope to see you in-game!