As we go through the final hours of Yaba’s Pickle sale (Phase 1), I have executed my plans I made at the beginning of this new Promo Card. I didn't want to spend my money on it at that time. I expected cryptocurrency prices to be higher around the end of Phase 1. When looking at the past month, I have made a very good call. The advantage of having Yaba’s Pickle for Battles during this month does not exceed the value of increased cryptocurrency prices we have seen IMO.

BLURT + STEEM Helped The Purchase

I have been cross posting my content onto the other two blockchains as it is very little effort and it brings more visibility and backlinks to the topics I talk about. A side effect of this is collecting some extra Rewards over times that can come in handy for a quick expenditure.

Depositing BLURT into HIVE-Engine is the best path to take profits on BLURT in my situation. The old accounts on HIVE already have a BLURT account and they may even have some BLURT left. The prices have not changed massively relative to HIVE.

I had not Powered Down BLURT the way I did withe Justin Sun controlled STEEM. It will take a few more weeks to fully take profits and I am fine with that. It appears that the real bull market is finally starting to have its run. So far we have only seen $BTC show some gains and even those are not anything significant once the expansion of M2 is factored in. We should see retail interest at some point. Projects with real users and real revenue are the safer bets I want to bet on.

The price of STEEM has been even more stable than BLURT's price relative to HIVE. This alone should be enough reason to be introspective and work on changing how HIVE has been operating, especially when it comes to marketing and onboarding. Outside of what @splinterlands and @leofinance has done, we have not seen enough onboarding of users.

Alchemy + Midnight Potions

I have not used Midnight Potions on anything so far. I have a decent chance at a Gold Foil and I already have more than enough Alchemy Potions at my disposal. What I need are the Midnight Potions bought from the Market as I don't have any Aura production going on at the moment.

Buying Yabanius’s Pickle

The DEC spent on the Card is split 50/50 between Steem Monsters Inc. and the SPS DAO. Although I would have had a better deal going straight to the Market, I am happy to help the DAO and the company while getting a chance at a Gold Foil or Black Foil.

I was eligible to purchase upto 126 Cards. I do not have the funds to do that due to other projects I am focusing on. I have been out of dry powder for years thanks to the bear market. I can afford to get Yaba's Pickle to Level 3. I made sure to use all the Potions.

Results of The Purchase

I can say that my minimum expectations were met. I think this is the most average result one could get statistically speaking. These results are completely okay.

Keep in mind that both Gold Foil and Black Foil Cards are not available during the upcoming Phases. More information can be found on the official announcement.

• Gold Foil Fortune Draw Starts: July 29th
• Black Foil Auction Begins: September 23rd

Both events create utility for Praetoria by making the Fortune Draws and Auction Marks into player created items which themselves need Aura which is created by players.

Market Value + Combining Cards

The remaining Regular Foil Cards could be combined into 3 separate Cards without leaving out extra 1 BCX Cards. These extra Card become useful for Survival Mode. I might even have to purchase a Wagon Kit to get these Cards into Conclave Arcana Conflicts.

Total Value of $3.34 from Cards

The current market value of $3.34 in DEC is 3722. Even without considering the expense on Potions, I have lost money by engaging in Yabanius’s Pickle and having average luck. I am fine with this as 50% of the DEC go to SPS DAO where I have a Dolphin sized stake in.

Tasoshi Drakamoto Upgrade

This is one of the best upgrades I have seen to a Card. Painforge alone make the Card finally taking a look at. With Mana cost going down by 25%, we have a very good Unit that can come in Handy for those who have 250 VOUCHERs to spare per Card. I would need Tasoshi Drakamoto at least at Level 3 to become useful in most Battles. Your requirements may vary.

I expect Q4 of 2025 and Q1 of 2026 to be some great times for onboarding new players. We have most of the things we need ready. There is a new upcoming Mode and improvements for the mobile app. After that we will be in a positions to spend more generously with marketing. I will be happy to make some swing trades during these times. I would like to end up with an even bigger stake than I do during the eventual bear market (whenever it comes).

Happy Gaming! Happy Investing!