Starting in Splinterlands know your cards.

All Splinterlands cards have two types: Summoners and Monsters. Summoners are "the commanders" of the fighting monsters.

Regardless of type, they share some fundamental attributes.

Foil: A gold foil signifies a higher rarity. If you are not planning to become a collector, those are only valuable to you as potential sale items.
Sliver: It is a special element that defines the affinity of a card. It plays a bigger role in the context of missions and battle conditions (we'll cover that a bit later). For Summoners, Splinters limit the selection of monsters they can command.
Mana: Reflects the power of the card and is essential for team building.
Level: Increasing the level can lead to new skills or an increase in STATISTICS. To level up a card, you must merge the same Monster or Summoner cards into one.
Rarity: The rarer it is, the more profitable the sale!
Skills: Skills or special effects. Summoners often boost your cards or afflict the enemy negatively. For monsters, the list of abilities is quite extensive, you can read more about them here.

Monster cards also have STATISTICS. These include:

Speed: How fast your characters are in combat.
Damage: Your monsters can deal melee, ranged, and magic damage. The last two types can only be made from the second line of the formation, so position your Monsters wisely. Pay attention to their abilities - for some monsters, this rule may not apply.
Toughness: Some of your monsters can take more attacks without losing life, and you have Toughness to thank for that!
Life: Your monsters are not immortal. If their life ends quickly, they are out of the battle.