JWA Tournament: Common Skill - 1.7.2021

This weekend we have a bit of a treat. It's been a while since we had a tournament that only allows commons, and a lot has changed in that time. Today, I'm going to go through some commons that I think stand out to help you make a tournament team for this weekend.

Before we jump into the creatures, first let's go over the Tournament itself.

The rewards for this Tournament are COINS - THOUSANDS OF THEM! You'll be needing these coins to level up your creatures to do well in Advantage Tournaments and in the Arena, so be sure to get your creatures battling in this Tournament. These are the numbers of coins you'll be able to get for each placement:

Starting off with the resilients, we have one that stands above the rest despite its short stature. Glyptodon is easily one of the best commons thanks to its bulk and high damage output. Superior vulnerability is a powerful move, and when combined with resilient rampage, the opponent is always vulnerable. And unless you're immune to deceleration, Glyptodon is always going to be outspeeding you and getting ready to hit you with that rampage. This is going to be a must have.

Want to take down Glyptodon? Ophiacodon is your best bet as it can 2-shot Glyptodon while also being immune to slow. Allosaurus takes a rampage, but also gets the job done as well.

Another resilient that looks really good is Brontotherium. Brontotherium is a bulky creature thanks to its hp, shields, and armor. In fact, it can swap in and gain a shield to soften incoming blows while also dishing out decent damage in return. It sits at a decent speed tier at 108 speed, which allows it to outspeed all the really relevant fierce as well as some other important creatures this weekend. And the only way to get the jump on this thing is to be faster or speed up past it, with the latter option not working out that well with resilient impact under its belt. With its defenses and output, Brontotherium makes a strong addition to any team. 

Want to take down Brontotherium? Use something like Allosaurus and Opiacodon, the latter of which can speedtie it and 2-shot it whereas Allosaurus will always 2-shot it guaranteed.

Next up is Lythronax. With constant shields and a counter, Lythronax is a resilient that refuses to go down easily. It's slow, but has priority shields to get itself situated before it can start to spam shields with shielded taunting strike. And for resilients, it's counter can also bypass armor. Lythronax is a solid common that can make quite an impact this weekend.

Want to take down Lythronax? Allosaurus is your best bet. It's the only creature around that can 2-shot it without being put in swapper range.

There are a couple other resilients out there like Euoplocephalus, who has the highest win quality of all the resilients, or Miragaia, who has a really good matchup spread and falls in the top 5 in MattE's Sim results. Scolosaurus and Hatzegopteryx are other decent options, but these 3 resilients are the ones to look out for.

Next up we have fierce creatures, and unfortunately, not many are that great. First up is Allosaurus. With high hp and attack, this guy hits hard with fierce strike and impact. It also has a decent 20% critical hit chance while also boasting a 50% vulnerability resistance. While it usually is just a 1v1 type of creature, Allosaurus will always put a dent in anything no matter what it is.

Want to take down Allosaurus? Eremotherium or Coelurosauravus are your best bets. Velociraptor also is always guaranteed, but it is in swapper range no matter what after turn 1.

Another fierce you really have to look out for is Ophiacodon. With good damage, a rampage, and a whopping 4 immunities, Ophiacodon is looking like a great pick for this weekend. It can also outspeed the biggest resilients as well as most of the other fierce minus a few. However, those faster fierce do not fare much better either against this common unless you're Nundasuchus, and even then if Ophiacodon is set up, Nundasuchus can still easily go down as Ophiacodon has a 40% critical hit chance, which can do 3500 on a rampage. While it needs to have a bit more luck to reach Allosaurus levels of output, it has the critical hit chance and immunities to make up for that and is a good candidate for any team.

Want to take down Ophiacodon? Eremotherium is your safest bet as Ophiacodon isn't immune to distraction anymore and also struggles with evasion. Coelurosauravus is also another great counter and can easily take down this little terror.

Finally, we have Sarcosuchus and Suchomimus. These 2 are great at just removing something from the field thanks to the deadly combination of lethal wound and no escape. Sarcosuchus has the advantage of being bulkier whereas Suchomimus can deal with armor and also is slower than almost everything, preventing the opponent from swapping while you swap out. Both of these fierce are pretty strong and can just take a creature on the field that you do not like and just take it down with them, potentially allowing something of yours to sweep freely.

There are other good fierce options out there like Nundasuchus and Tarbosaurus, but these have more issues than Allosaurus or Ophiacodon. Nundasuchus has great speed and deadly output, but is put in swapper range too easily. Tarbosaurus is a weaker Allosaurus that has a higher critical hit chance, which just isn't really worth a team slot. Purussaurus gen 2 has good output and can work against swappers really well, however the bleeders get the job done better.

Next up we have the cunnings, and there are some new big faces around here. But the classic staple of these tournaments still clings on. Velociraptor may not be the only 132 speed creature anymore, but it is easily better than its common cousin thanks to that deadly turn 1 damage. Many creatures like Nundasuchus and Miragaia go down in viability due to Velociraptor being able to just wipe them off the face of the earth without them being able to dish out any damage in return. And on top of that, you cannot distract that pounce either, which can put Eremotherium in a bad spot if it fails to dodge. Velociraptor is the classic hit can run type of creature. It uses pounce, then gets out of there ASAP. Watch out for this veteran.

Want to take down Velociraptor? Almost any bulky resilient will do. Brontotherium can easily swap in on a pounce thanks to its swap in defense and 1-shot it in return with an impact. Coelurosauravus can also easily take it down while deterring it from swapping with its on escape. Also, if Velociraptor takes any hit, it's usually dead to a Triceratops gen 2/Irritator gen 2/Einiosaurus swap. This thing can easily kill you, but is also pretty easy to kill.

Next up is a common that used to make a splash in rare tournaments with all the fierce running around. Eremotherium is a defensive common that can also boast a good offense. While it may be slow, it can make up for that with camouflage allowing it to become one of the fastest creatures on the field. And when it speeds past you, it can hit you with a cunning rampage. And while it has to cycle between camouflage and cunning rampage, it can still deal damage every turn with its counter. If you cannot cleanse distraction or bypass evasion, you're in trouble.

Want to take down this sloth. Luckily it is pretty predictable and you can easily swap in something like Glyptodon or Brontotherium in turn 1 and take it down. Eremotherium may have a defensive kit, but it doesn't have a lot of bulk. Triceratops gen 2 and Einiosaurus can easily stun it and use their resilient moves to annoy it while Irritator gen 2 can bypass evasion on the swap and easily pick it off.

Finally we have our first flocks in a common tournament ever, and the best flock around is easily Coelurosauravus. These lizards are going to be a pain to deal with as every creature with a group move is pretty lousy. Coelurosauravus has good speed, good bulk for a flock, decent offense, some good resistances, and team synergy. It can take down most fierce as well as come in and annoy almost any creature of any class. And if it's in a bad matchup? It can run away. And when at 2 members, Coelurosauravus can come back in and rally heal like Compsognathus. Also do not think about swapping out on this guy, as it has alert roost to keep itself safe while being immune to stun. Overall a really dangerous cunning and something to look out for.

Want to take down Coelurosauravus? Unfortunately there aren't too many great counters as it can always run away, but it has a weakness when it swaps back in. It is pinned after the swap and it's crucial to remove them ASAP. Glyptodon or Velociraptor are your best options for removing these lizards after they swap in. Also if you are in a really tight spot, Irritator gen 2 has the potential to kill a member on the swap, but it needs a critical hit.

There are a couple other good cunnings out there with some decent niches. Sinosauropteryx is a good cunning with good output, but no rally heal unfortunately. Dilophosaurus and Deinocheirus are also decent commons with good output, but they are not worth a slot when Velociraptor can get the job done better.

Finally we have the swappers. There are 4 creatures with swap in damage: Dracorex gen 2, Einiosaurus, Irritator gen 2, and Triceratops gen 2. Out of all these, Triceratops gen 2 is easily the best. It has the best swap in move while also boasting decent bulk for a swapper and a rampage turn 1. It can also outspeed many of the top creatures while dishing out damage to those faster than it. Next best is probably Irritator gen 2 as it can easily deal with evasion on the swap, which is good for Coelurosauravus and Eremotherium while also being immune to slow, which is good against something like Glyptodon. And with ferocious strike and shattering strike, it can also have a strong presence on the field. Finally you have Einiosaurus and Dracorex gen 2. Both are OK, however I would say Einiosaurus is the better pick as it can swap in, heal, and swap out in one turn while also being able to annoy some creatures like Eremotherium. Dracorex gen 2 is alright, but has some serous issues. It can't do 1000 to Glyptodon on the swap, can't deal with evasion on the swap, cannot outspeed the other swappers, and is unable to do much on the field after turn 1. To take down Triceratops gen 2, use Allosaurus, Velociraptor, or Ophiacodon to 2-shot it when it's pinned on the field. For Irritator gen 2, again Allosaurus and Ophiacodon can make short work of it. For Einiosaurus, a trapper like Sarcosuchus or Suchomimus works really well against these 2 as it can run away after turn 1. As for Dracorex gen 2, a lot of creatures like Eremotherium, Glyptodon, Allosaurus, Brontotherium, and Ophiacodon can all make short work of it, but they do take a bit of damage in the process.

That's the common tournament. It's nice to have a change, however this tournament isn't that exciting as the creatures only have a maximum of 3 moves. However this is a good change from the standard rares and epics. It's also going to be interesting to see what the advantage tournament looks like next week. I thank you all for reading and I wish everyone the best of luck.