A Brawl That Taught Me That Reaching the Top Three Isn’t Easy

Greetings, Splinterlands Warriors!

Welcome back to my latest brawl report from my beloved guild, ClaNFT. As always, I come bearing a story. Because in Splinterlands, sometimes what’s more interesting than the rewards is the story born from every battle.

For those who might still be new to the world of Splinterlands, Brawl is a guild-versus-guild battle arena. This is where guild members work together to collect victories and bring their guild’s name up the leaderboard. The rewards are not just Crowns, Merits, and SPS, but also experiences that can’t be bought with DEC or vouchers.

Well, this time’s brawl made me swallow a bit harder.

Not because I got completely crushed in Fray 12. Not because I forgot to submit my team like in some unfortunate moments in the past. In fact, my personal performance wasn’t that bad. What stung a little was when all the calculations were done, our guild still couldn’t make it into the top three.

And believe me, sometimes fourth place feels more painful than last place—because it’s so close to the podium.

As usual, I was once again entrusted with Fray 12. It feels like this position has become my home address. If one day my name gets moved to another fray, I might actually be confused about where to sit.

In this brawl, there were seven battle slots available. Out of those, I managed to secure five wins. Two losses had to be accepted because the strategies I prepared weren’t quite strong enough against opponents who came better prepared.

In addition, there were two automatic wins because the opposing guild didn’t fill their slots. Overall, I contributed 21 points for ClaNFT.

I had hoped that contribution would be enough to help the guild reach the top three. But after all results were counted, ClaNFT only managed to collect 97 wins and had to settle for fourth place.

Honestly, it was disappointing.

Not because the rewards were reduced, but because I know my guildmates had given their best effort. Sometimes in Brawl, you play well—but your opponent just plays slightly better.

Fortunately, the effort still brought decent rewards.

Each fully participating member received:

• 2,550 Merits
• 21.259 SPS directly added to staking

Not bad. At least my SPS increased a bit. If the SPS price ever surges again, maybe I’ll look back at this brawl with a wider smile.

What excites me the most this time, though, isn’t the SPS.

My Merits finally surpassed 15,000.

That amount is actually enough to open 7 Gladius Cases at once. I was tempted to open them immediately. My fingers were itching, and my mind was already imagining a legendary Gladiator card appearing from the pack.

But then, a very human trait kicked in—the curiosity that often makes life more complicated.

I thought, “What if I save just a little more?”

So I decided to hold back. My next target is 20,000 Merits so I can open 10 Gladius Cases at once. That would feel much more exciting. Looks like I’ll need to be patient for at least one more brawl.

Come to think of it, saving Merits is a bit like waiting for harvest season. You know the results may not match expectations, but the waiting process is what makes the moment of opening packs feel special.

For new players, joining an active guild is one of the fastest ways to grow. Because the best strategies are often not found in cards, but in the experiences of other players.

And this brawl reminded me once again that victory isn’t always measured by final standings. Sometimes, victory is when we recognize our own mistakes and become better for the next battle.

So even though ClaNFT had to settle for fourth place, I still came home with lessons learned, additional SPS, more Merits, and of course, the spirit to bounce back in the next brawl.

Hopefully, in the next brawl we can return to the top three. And hopefully, I’ll reach my 20,000 Merits target soon so I can open 10 Gladius Cases at once.

If the results are good, I’ll definitely share the story in the next post.

See you in the arena, Splinterlands warriors. Stay motivated, keep learning, and never underestimate opponents who seem ordinary—because often, they are the ones who send us home with the most valuable lessons.

Talk about Splinterlands,
If you haven't tried out this fantastic game called Splinterlands yet, I invite you to Join.
It's free, but you'll need to invest in a beginning deck or buy gaming cards to gain real assets like cards and tokens.

---

If you already joined the splinterlands, and are looking for a place to grow. We need YOU. We are a chill, social guild looking for a few more active members! If you think you might be a fit, join us in our Discord