Upgrading Summoners is a pain. Renting Leveled Summoners is a pain.
As a newcomer, you've likely had to rent plenty of expensive summoners and you're starting to get sick of it... Maybe you want a few cheap summoners that are still relevant to play with.
Look no further, here's a small guide on Upgrading Summoners: The best budget summoners for a new player to acquire.
Dragon Splinter = Versatility
My Favorite Summoner for a budget summoner is Kretch Tallevor
An Epic Reward Card, he is still currently dropping from Daily Quests! This is keeping him cheap, with his 3 Mana cost, and No Abilities he is an underwhelming choice for competitive / meta picks. That, however, is exactly what makes him a good choice for new players.
He costs about 4.30 a card, and because he is an Epic card, his Level 1 is capable of using Level 2 Commons, and he only requires 4 instead of 5 Cards to upgrade. This makes him equivalent in cost to upgrading Qid Yuff or Vera, the cheapest summoners currently in the game.
But Kretch is far more useful than those two, in that he's a Dragon summoner, meaning he can be paired with any Splinter, and he can use Level 3 Commons in any splinter. This alone makes him arguably the best newcomer's budget card period. No contest.
You're not getting specialization, or game breaking meta here. You're getting versatility, and freedom. You're now free to rent any cheap Gold Foil, any cheap Level 3 card, and you can expect to use them immediately in any situation where Dragon is allowed.
I hope he continues to be a newcomer friendly, budget card, even after he goes out of print, but I fear he will not end up being affordable or cheap for long.
Continuing the Versatility focus:
Delwyn Dragonscale continues this trend, costing about $5, he is another cheap dragon splinter who offers a different bonus from Kretch. He requires only 3 Cards to upgrade to Level 2, however, he is a Common Summoner, and this means he only gets access to Level 2 Commons and Level 2 Rares at Level 2, and at Level 3, he gains the normal spread, 3, 2, 2, 1. This costs 5 Cards.
The real value of Delwyn is that he is an affordable way for a new player to continue to upgrade and utilizing magic heavy teams, like Water, Fire, and Death. He is essentially a slightly more expensive Alric, being easier and much cheaper to level means you can use him in higher ranks, and his +1 Magic gives him slightly more specialization than Kretch.
I would argue that this card is the better option, between Kretch & Delwyn, if you are a magic-centric player who likes to use magic cards across all Splinters.
Death trumps Death
Contessa is actually my favorite Death summoner out of the two starting summoners. This is a weird choice on my part, I think many would disagree with me here, but Contessa's -1 Range usually ends up being more useful than Zintak's -1 Melee, especially when fighting other Death teams, as Contessa gimps many of Death's strongest hitters, which are all ranged.
At $5, Contessa is a good option for many new players looking to main Death, and, unlike many of the other 'bottom' tier Summoners, offers an ability that is regularly capitalized on against nearly any team. In particular, Contessa is a good budget choice against Yodin's and Selenia Sky.
Contessa takes 5 cards to upgrade to Level 2, bringing her to 3, 2, 2, 1.
Contessa also happens to be the main summoner I consistently rent on the cheap each season, and I tend to vary my other choices based on what's affordable.
Take to the Skies
Another Dragon, coming in at $6 per BCX, Brighton is an odd pick for many different situations, but Flying is a deceptively powerful ability which will put some of your victories in the hands of RNG. You see, Flying grants +15% Dodge chance against all non-flying enemies regardless of speed. Also, Brighton Bloom (with a competitive team) is nearly an automatic win in Earthquake rounds, and having an ez no brain win for Earthquakes is a very nice thing to have. Pair him with an Almo Cambio during Earthquake Poison rounds and now you auto-win those as well! (This becomes less and less true as you rank up though)
Ultimately, this makes Brighton the most situational on the list, but it also gives the same level of versatility that Kretch and Delwyn give, in being a Dragon summoner.
A Tie for Fire and Life
My two favorite budget summoners for their respective types, Lorna Shine & Pyre. They offer a lot of versatility, and are almost exactly the same price, and as such, I genuinely could not pick between the two. At $7.40, Lorna Shine has the advantage of being cheaper, her ability offers utility in Earthquake & Poison Rounds, Low Mana Life, and is just situationally a very powerful ability. Pyre on the other hand, costs more, at $9.40, but offers a much more straightforward and consistently powerful ability in +1 Speed, allowing him to regularly trump similar Malric teams, and also provides its units with the ability to attack first, and gives them increased dodge, which makes every card on his team ever so slightly more tanky if they happen to hit a dodge.
For the Patient
Wait until Chaos Legion for your chance to get some cheaper budget summoners which may offer new strategies that fall more in line with your plans.
Sign Up for Splinterlands now!
Never played? Interested in getting in on the action? Want to find out what all the fuss is about for these battles, or maybe you've seen a bunch about SPS? You can play the game 100% for free initially, without earning currency. If you like it, you pay $10 to get in on the action by buying a Spellbook! You'll make that 10 dollars back in less than a month at current prices. If you sign up, feel free to message or comment and I might hook you up with some free starting cards, or delegate a card to you for a week!
Join me on Splinterlands, if you use my link, I'll send you 100 DEC when you sign up and get a spellbook, (as long as you show up as referred) which should help you get started via renting! I'll also include you in future giveaways and delegations!