Rock Paper Scissors:

I’m still very much a noob at Splinterlands, having gotten a late start only last month. I tend to be in Novice or Bronze III but made my way to Bronze II in the most recent season and earned a tiny bit of DEC. Yay me. I’ve started dabbling in renting and buying a few cards.

But there are some very basic strategic decisions that remain a mystery to me. In particular, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various splinters.

A few things that I think I’ve figured out, but please feel free to correct me:
Overall, Earth might be the weakest splinter, unless you’re using Mylor Crowling as your summoner, then it’s at least decent.
At very low manas, Death is often a good option.
Life is a bit of a mystery to me. Always deploy a healer, even at low mana?

But that’s about the extent of my strategic thinking. When battle conditions are displayed, I freeze up for a few moments, like a deer in the headlights. Then I notice the clock ticking down. Think man, think!

Even with generic rules, I often struggle deciding which splinter to use given my opponent’s five most recent battles. Is there an easyish way to make a not-stupid decision? A Rock Paper Scissors equivalent? If my opponent has played X a lot recently, Y might be a good choice for me? Please comment below.

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:

Brave launches browser-native crypto wallet to combat fake extensions

Director Quentin Tarantino Sued by Miramax Over ‘Pulp Fiction’ NFTs

The lawsuit is complicated by the fact that the NFTs are “secret,” meaning that the tokens are programmed so that only their owners can view the deleted scenes. The studio is suing the director over content that it hasn’t seen.

All It Takes is a Bit of Volume?:

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Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Pfizer Will Allow Its Covid Pill to Made and Sold Cheaply in Poor Countries

Vaccine Boosters Coming for All Adults

The Biden administration is expected to begin the process of expanding the booster authorization to all adults as early as this week.
America’s booster campaign got off to an underwhelming start, potentially leaving millions of vulnerable people at risk as the holidays approach.

Politics:

New Details On Flynn And Powell’s Batshit Attempts To Get Military To Overturn Election

Mnuchin Weighed Invoking 25th Amendment

After the January 6 insurrection, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke with other Cabinet members about attempting to remove Donald Trump from office through the 25th Amendment, MSNBC reports.
But the idea was “quickly jettisoned” once Mnuchin recognized how difficult the path would be, especially since Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao were resigning.

Biden tried to push Putin aside. The Russian isn’t having it.

Trump’s Last Defense Secretary Pretended to Be Insane

Christopher Miller, who became acting secretary of defense following the firing of Mark Esper, sought to dissuade former President Donald Trump from attacking Iran by acting like a ‘fucking madman’ and walking Trump through just how destructive such an attack would be,” Insider reports.
Said Miller: “I would play the fucking Madman. And everybody else would be like, ‘All right, he’s the new guy. He’s fucking insane. Don’t listen to him.’ I was like, ‘Hey, if we are going to do this shit, let’s do it.'”

A white man carrying an AR-15 is less likely to be shot by the police than a black man carrying a cell phone.

— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) November 15, 2021

California Rep. Jackie Speier, survivor of Jonestown massacre, to retire from Congress

Unauthorized Migration Across Border Falls Again

After a major influx of migrants overwhelmed the southwestern border throughout much of the spring and summer, unauthorized crossings in October were down for the third straight month.

Poland border crisis: Migrants tear-gassed trying to cross from Belarus

Serendipity:

Three reasons more charities are giving people cash (And one reason not to).

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