Excuse my long winded reply, but there are a lot of issues here.
1. Regarding vouchers (for DECB) making it essentially "free" to get these, let's consider some actual math here.
I have 1k plots (not even top 25), that's 10M DECB needed to get the survey boosts. 10M DECB / 200 per voucher is 50k vouchers needed. I (used to) have 2M+ SPS staked for a long period of time,(top 25) yet I have nowhere near 50k vouchers.
That's at least partially due to the fact that I've been using those vouchers for their original intended purpose of giving access to "all the cool stuff." But it's certainly NOT essentially free to anyone who hasn't been hodling every voucher they get from staking.
2. These have been talked about a LOT as being an optional thing. Making them double your chances for every better rarity and resource is NOT optional for anyone in their right mind.
3. "We see only upside for SPS token holders from this proposal"
Really? Because I've been unstaking and selling my SPS like a mad man to try and have enough DEC to cover this unexpected expense. Not sure how that translates to something good for SPS holders. Certainly not good for my SPS holding.
4. The people who bought land in the original sale paid anywhere from 7.5k to 20k DEC for their land plots. Those of us who have held our land even through the $1000 peak are arguably your most dedicated supporters. Tacking on an additional 10k DEC(/B) to our purchase cost is extremely disheartening and hurtful to your biggest supporters.
There are other things I could talk about as well, but they've been hashed out in the discord quite a bit, so I'll refrain from writing it all here.
In summary, this is not a good idea. Build an enjoyable engaging land gameplay and you'll get your "DEC to par" dream to come true. Trying this thinly veiled tax on the most exciting thing in the Splinterlands ecosystem is not going to help anything here.
This is a great comment and you won my vote over.
Changed from Yes to No
Just to add context to this 10M DEC-B figure for those reading
10MDEC-B=8M DEC or 50K Vouchers
50K Vouchers is obtained in 1200 days for staking 1M SPS (vouchers only), or 137 days including SPS + GLX rewards 600 or 69 days for 2M etc (at current drop rates, would be obtained faster through past rates)
1M Staked SPS voucher only reward would yield you 1 Plot survey per 29 Hours or per 3hours 20minutes for all rewards
8M DEC = $4950 (at 1k DEC = 0.61875, voucher cost is slightly less)
1K plots = $130,000 (This is based on last market price, which is highly illiquid)
Tax rate is around 3.8% (very subject to price movements)
You can simply times amount of plots owned by $4.95 to get USD amount (current prices, using DEC-B discount).
This is an unethical step towards the small players who have remained loyal throughout the years
To even suggest it is a slap in the face
The only thing I disagree with is the bit at the end, suggesting that Land is the most exciting thing in the ecosystem. We're already 2+ years late on land, and the "overly optimistic" roadmap only has the very very basics scheduled this year, too.
When will we see the immersive experience Nate keeps shilling in the town halls? Let's be real. Not optimistic, let's be real. It is going to be 2026 ish at this rate, if ever.