Golden Opportunities - November 2023
Following Second Dinner’s recent realignment of Snap’s internal economy, gold–and free gold especially–is scarcer than ever. Spending it wisely can make all the difference between fast-tracked progression and cash-strapped depression. Join us now as we look for the true gems among the gold bundles to find the best opportunities to spend Snap’s premium currency. Because this is based on datamined information, details are subject to change.
Impale-se Purchase
In one final trick or treat of the Bloodstone season, Second Dinner released the High stakes bundle more than two weeks ahead of schedule. That means, alas, that it has already come and gone at the time of writing. It still warrants a mention as one of the top five gold bundles ever released in terms of return on investment. Never before have 5,000 tokens come so cheaply; in fact, July’s Cosmic Wildfire is the only other gold bundle that has ever had so many tokens, in that case 6,000 for 7,500 gold. The two bundles were otherwise identical in terms of the 2,000 credits and cosmetics, making Stakes the better value.
If you missed out on High Stakes, there are still two large, high-value gold bundles before the end of the year. Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu in late November and early December comes with 1,000 tokens and a thick stack of 9,000 credits at 6,500 gold; while Sugar, Spice, and Everything Ice in late December is, as presently datamined, positively laden with 6,000 tokens and 7,000 credits at 7,500 gold. If it is released at those numbers, it will be the best gold bundle ever.
High Stakes
Tokens per gold: 0.83
Credits per gold: 0.33
May Contain Pits
Turning now to a more modest bundle, Oops! All Peaches unites a popular artist, popular character, and decent currency return in a package that will appeal to cosmetics buffs. 1,000 tokens and 3,000 credits for 3,500 gold beats the standard rates, but if your first concern is progression, you would be better served hanging on for Second Dinner (the bundle) later in the month and a Token Tuesday, which would net the same for 100 gold less. Even that is not great value. For another comparison, July’s Ring of Fire bundle offered the same tokens and 500 more credits than Oops! All Peaches at the same price.
However, if you don’t have enough Peaches or don’t have enough Deadpools–even kind of boring ones where he’s standing with a hand on his belt and that comic-dubious single-eye squint that I am pretty sure Exiles Morph popularized but has since bled over into Deadpool on his face–here is an opportunity to pick one up without feeling like you are being punished on the currency side. That goes doubly for anyone looking for their first Deadpool, a series 3 card that can meet some success in certain destroy builds.
Oops! All Peaches
Tokens per gold: 0.29
Credits per gold: 0.86
Token Offering
As the recurring bundle that sets the value for tokens relative to gold, Token Tuesday is definitionally middle of the road. Its main upside is that it is usually the cheapest bundle offering tokens, but it pales in comparison to its former glory, and with the better-value gold bundles coming in November and December, Token Tuesday is simply not a good purchase. Save your gold for Artist showcase: Kai Lun Qu; Sugar, Spice, and Everything Ice, or another future bundle with a better rate of return.
Token Tuesday
Tokens per gold: 0.71
In Need of a Boost
Booster Packs have been a regular thing for a long while now, but it is probably best for the game if nobody ever purchases one. 300 gold to get 250 credits is an abysmal exchange, and boosters are so readily available that they are not worth spending any kind of currency on outside of conquest medals. Unless Second Dinner gives booster packs a massive boost in value, do not buy them.
Booster Pack
Credits per gold: 0.83
The Iceman Coneth
You might expect Second Dinner’s eponymous bundle to deliver stunning cosmetics, bountiful currencies, and never-before-seen value, but, well, you’d be wrong. What we get instead is a tidy little bundle that falls into the “good but not great” bucket. 3,000 credits for 2,000 gold is not a bad rate of return, but there are better alternatives. You could instead buy both November Ticket 3 and December’s Rip and Tear to come away with 3,400 credits at the cost of 2,100 gold, for example.
As an early-series card with an evergreen on-reveal ability, Iceman has a seemingly permanent niche in the metagame, so it never hurts to have a few presentable variants on hand. And that is ultimately what Second Dinner (the bundle) boils down to, whether you are interested in the fun variant, because it otherwise toes the line between just okay and recommendable.
Second Dinner
Credits per gold: 1.5
Return Ticket
Since gold conquest tickets represent only the barest head start on the path to either scoring an infinity border or collecting enough medals for all of the worthwhile rewards, it is hard to value one very highly. As a result, this November 2023 Ticket 3 is more or less a simple currency exchange. At the normal shop rate, 900 gold would convert to 1,125 credits, so the 1,400 here makes for a pretty good value. It’s not a must-buy, but it is a good option if you are looking to pick up some credits.
November 2023 Ticket 3
Credits per gold: 1.56
Showpiece
Returning now to another mammoth bundle mentioned earlier, we focus our attention on Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu. 9,000 credits is not just the most this month, it is the most ever in a bundle costing less than 7,500 gold. It is also the only gold bundle in November offering two variants, including a series 3, and they can even be played in the same deck with a decent amount of synergy. With that come 1,000 tokens, enough boosters to take both cards to infinite twice, a conquest ticket, and avatars.
We would be remiss not to comment on the art itself. There is a real, hand-painted quality on display that adds depth to the luscious colors and emotive composition. These characters have never looked better, so you will likely keep playing the Kai variants for a long time to come.
Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu
Tokens per gold: 0.15
Credits per gold: 1.38
Some Mysteries are Better Left Unsolved
Though not actually releasing until December, November 2023 Mystery 5 rounds out November’s assortment of mystery bundles, and boy, is it unappealing. For 2,000 gold, you get 1,000 tokens, 500 credits, and a premium mystery variant. Those currencies would cost 1,800 gold at baseline rates. While 200 gold for a premium variant looks good next to the shop price of 800, consider that most good bundles offer a discount on currencies before you even consider cosmetics. September’s Avast Ye, Admiral! supplied 1,000 tokens and 600 credits for 1,600 gold, and even that wasn’t top-tier value.
November 2023 Mystery 5
Tokens per gold: 0.5
Credits per gold: 0.25
The Golden Mean
As we saw looking ahead last month, November brings us some great, high-value bundles the likes of which we haven’t seen in some time. High Stakes and the Kai showcase are both well worth it for the return in currencies, and they put some lovely artwork on top of it. November Ticket 3 and Second Dinner fall just outside of the range of strongly recommendable bundles, but they are still both better than any gold bundle released in September or October, and even Oops! All Peaches is justifiable if the art appeals to you. Just remember that there are more great options coming in December, so choose your purchases wisely.
Best tokens per gold
- High Stakes (0.83)
- Token Tuesday (0.71)
- November 2023 Mystery 5 (0.5)
- Oops! All Peaches (0.29)
- Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu (0.15)
Best credits per gold
- November 2023 Ticket 3 (1.56)
- Second Dinner (1.5)
- Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu (1.38)
- Permanent shop rate (1.25)
- Oops! All Peaches (0.86)
Best overall currencies per gold*
- High Stakes (1.80)
- Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu (1.66)
- November 2023 Ticket 3 (1.56)
- Second Dinner (1.51)
- Oops! All Peaches (1.36)
*Expressed as credits per gold, valuing tokens at 1.75 credits based on the Token Tuesday rate of 1 token for 1.4 gold and the shop rate of 1 gold for 1.25 credits, and adding 25 credits for each new card and variant
We hope that illuminates the gold market for you and hope you will join us again in about a month for a review of December’s gold bundles!