This week started off nice and quiet in Splinterlands—until the SPL team dropped a surprise challenge in Discord. Yep, you guessed it, I’m talking about that challenge (⚔️ Gnome Man’s Land Challenge): the near-impossible win condition involving Gnomes, No Silent Archon, No Back to Basics, and a full 99 mana cap. 😅

As soon as I saw it, I thought, Yep, I’m in! I love these types of community challenges. They pull you back into Modern, stretch your creativity, and frankly, they’re just fun to attempt. So I dusted off my deck and jumped in.

A Challenge for the Brave (or the Lucky)

Let me break it down for anyone still thinking about giving it a go:

• You need a 99 mana battle
• The Death element must be available, for the gnome Archon
• Rulesets must not involve Silent Archon or Back to Basics
• And then... your opponent can’t be running a Gnome setup as well

If all those stars align—which feels rarer than pulling a Gold Foil Legendary—then you still have to win with an extremely underpowered lineup. And I mean, like, seriously underpowered.

I actually thought I had the perfect battle early on, but didn’t realize the mana wasn’t 99. Rookie mistake. That’s when I realized how difficult this challenge really is, especially with my current deck at Gold level. The grind is real!

Still, it’s been awesome seeing some players already pull it off—whether it’s luck or skill, congrats to them. These events don’t need massive prize pools or complex logistics to be engaging. A few dollars and a clever challenge? That’s all it takes. Shoutout to @blazekos and team—this is exactly what keeps me logging in day after day.

Enter… Yaba’s Pickle! 🥒

As if the challenge wasn’t exciting enough, we also got details on the upcoming Yaba’s Pickle promo card. And this time, I’m actually in a spot to get a max-level copy, which I’m super hyped about!

A few weeks ago, I boosted my staked SPS to over 400K specifically to be ready for this. The goal? Buy 400 copies of the regular foil version. I’ll sell the gold one I receive and keep the maxed-out regular. If I’m extremely lucky and hit a Black Foil, that would be amazing—but I try to keep my expectations low. Not much of a gambler here. 😄

So what does that plan cost?

• 60K DEC
• 400 BF potions (already stocked up)

That gets me a max-level Pickle, mission accomplished.

The Gambler’s Path: Arcane Tickets & More

There’s also the second option, if you want to go all-in during the Arcane Event:

• 80,000 AURA
• 4,000 VOUCHERS (roughly 100K DEC now)
• 80,000 DEC

If you value AURA via Midnight Potions pricing (80,000 / 40 = 2,000 potions), and one potion is roughly 23 DEC, that puts AURA at around 46K DEC. Add the other costs and you're looking at:

~226K DEC to grab 400 regular foil pickles and Arcane tickets.

Now… for someone like me who does not gamble a lot, that’s a big stretch. I’d rather stick with the straightforward route and secure what I’m after. Still, I might throw in a ticket or two just for the fun of it—feel that rush and immediate regret 😆

Black Foil Auction? Whale Territory

The final phase of this whole Pickle saga is the Black Foil Arcane Auction, and yeah… that’s whale territory. Love the concept, but that 1000 AURA / 50 Voucher / 500 DEC combo is definitely not in my zone.

If you want the full details, including all key dates, check the official post here:
🔗 Yaba's Pickle Release and Arcane Event

Here’s a quick recap of the key dates:
*SPS Snapshot: June 17th @ 11:30 AM ET / 3:30 PM UTC

• Sale Begins: June 24th
• Gold Foil Fortune Draw: July 29th
• Black Foil Auction Begins: September 23rd

So if you're planning to jump in, get that SPS staked before June 17th!

Final Thoughts

Whether you're a low-stakes grinder or a max-stake collector, this Pickle promo has something for everyone. The challenge dropped this week was hard, fun, and just what we needed to spice things up. And the promo card? A smart, accessible way to reward all levels of players.

Shoutout to the Splinterlands team—this is the kind of stuff that keeps the game alive and engaging.

Now excuse me while I keep chasing that Gnome challenge dream. 💤

I’ll see you on the battlefield! 🧙‍♂️⚔️

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