SteemMonsters aka Splinterlands just got a major update yesterday which brought the game to a whole nother level which is exactly what thousands of Monster Mavericks have eagerly been anticipating for a while now. I myself am one of them and I must say that with the addition of an in-game currency Dark Energy Crystals (DEC) and its vast utility, the game itself just got a lot more interesting.

I've been an investor in SteemMonsters since day one and this is by far the most exciting development to date. Easily surpassing the excitement around the implementation of automatic tournaments or any other update so far. Dark Energy Crystals have forever changed the dynamics of the game and gave its players a whole new layer of incentives to play, and keep playing till they can't bear to glance at the screen for another second because their eyes are about to pop out from staring at the screen for the past 24 hours.

Or that's at least the effect DEC had on me, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there with this compulsion.

So what's all the fuss about and what can this newly minted token — which overnight became the most traded token on Steem Engine effortlessly surpassing 10k STEEM in 24h volume — be used for?

Potions

• Legendary -> Increases the drop rate of legendary cards from packs and orbs by 25%, 50% and 100% (Alpha booster packs and Promo cards excluded) holds 500 charges (each card burns one charge) and yields a very nice ROI which I can attest to because I have already received three legendary cards from opening around 30 orbs while under the influence of a "Brilliant Legendary Potion".

This was my best opening so far and I instantly sold the legendary cards within for around 50 STEEM.

• Alchemy -> Increases the drop rate of Gold Foil cards from packs and orbs by 25%, 50% and 100% (Alpha booster packs and Promo cards excluded) and just like Legendary potion, it holds 500 charges which get consumed upon each card opening. I haven't tried this one out yet but I suppose it's worth it because the new edition Gold Foils are currently rather expensive on the market.

• Mistery -> Adds a 25%, 50% and a 100% chance of receiving a daily mystery prize. Each potion contains five charges which are consumed at the end of the day.

• Quest -> Gives 1, 2 or 5 additional cards for completing daily quests.

Essence Orbs

Just like a regular pack, within each Orb there are 5 random monsters but they are of the new "WINDS OF CHANGE" edition containing 12 new and powerful monsters. Opening Orbs while drunk on a Legendary potion is by far the most efficient way to go about it as they are quite expensive, priced at 2.5k DEC each.

Skins

Provide a way for players to stand out from the crowd by altering the DNA of their monsters in order to gain certain cosmetic upgrades separating them from basic monsters. This won't in any way, shape, or form increase monsters abilities but will rather give them a unique look to stand out on the battlefield.

I'm not a sucker for skins, nor have I ever been one but I know for a fact that there are quite a lot of players which will take great pride in owning and playing with unique and exclusive skins for their monsters.

Dark Energy Crystals can be obtained through:

• Playing: Each ranked game victory yields X amount of DEC based on your rank, number of Gold Foil, Alpha/Promo cards used in the battle, and DEC capture rate.

This makes it extremely enticing to play the game on a daily basis. While before the update your only objective was to increase your rank to gain more cards at the end of the season, now you can stack DEC through playing in order to buy more Orbs and Potions which makes the whole experience much more fun for everyone.

• Burning cards: Players can burn cards, effectively removing them out of circulation — consequently increasing their price — and in return receive DEC. The rarer the card, the more DEC it yields. Gold Foil cards contain most DEC per card.

Needless to say, I have already burnt through all of my Gold Foil cards.

• Buying on Steem Engine:

While this may not be the most cost-efficient way to obtain DEC, it is surely the fastest and most time-efficient way to get your hands on a lot of those sweet, sweet Dark Energy Crystals. Currently priced at 0.00242 STEEM per DEC, for those who are liquid enough and willing to spend their money on it, buying DEC on Steem Engine is the most convenient way to obtain it.

I already have a couple of open orders ready to be filled any moment now. I could get them filled instantly if I increased my bid a little bit but I'm a cheap bastard and can afford to wait for a day or two to buy them at a cheaper price.

Conclusion

This much-needed update brought about a whole new economy and dynamic to SteemMonsters which was necessary to provide players with long-term incentives for playing the game. It made the game much more interesting to play and opening the packs just got to another level with the introduction of Potions for increasing drop rates.

Burning cards to obtain DEC will add to the long-term sustainability of the entire card market and increase their price rather than it decreasing because of new cards (from opening packs) entering the market.

The only thing that's missing in this whole story is the ability to craft any desired card with DEC. It's strange that @aggroed and @yabapmatt haven't thought of that already, or maybe they have but they are saving that for another update, who knows.

I don't get hyped easily but this addition to what was already my favorite game on Steem just got me hyped about it to the boiling point!