JWA Tournament: Common Skills Tournament Feb 2023

NOTE – At the time of writing, this information was announced as the following. Though there is always the possibility of a Ludia flub, we have prepared this article as this week was originally intended to run.

Hello explorers!! Luke AKA Lucus1355 here welcoming you to another “Tournament Talk”.

This week’s tournament is the 1st of 4 weeks in the Aenocyonyx Alliance Championship. What are we expecting? Well, it’s to be a Skill Tournament featuring just the Common Creatures.

Any restrictions? Nope. All clear there.

The rewards are Coins. Glorious, glorious Coins!! Who doesn’t need more of those!

So, without further ado, let’s have a closer look at this tournaments format and rewards.

This tournament will be a 4 on 4 battle, with the win going to the first person to knock out 3 of the opponent’s creatures. In the case that both sides lose their 3rd creature in the same turn, then it will be declared a tie. In addition, all creatures will be set to level 26 and will have no stat boosts. Other than that, there will be no further restrictions.

With all this in mind, there will be available to use:

• All 42 Common Creatures

With the rewards being Coins. These will be important to fuse and level up your plethora of creatures to do well and better in all areas of the game; from tournaments, assisting with campaign battles and missions, to the Isla Events, raids and in the Arenas themselves. So, be sure to try your hardest and build a team to take down the likely foes you may face.

These are the number of Coins you'll be able to get for each placement:

Well let’s start at the very tippity top with the armour-plated Armadillo that is Glyptodon. Glyptodon boasts the highest armour of all the Common creatures bar one. However, what separates Glyptodon from the other armoured creatures is the damage that it can dish out. It is the only creature in this tournament to have ‘Resilient Rampage’, imposing vulnerability and causing 2000 points of damage; dulled only by armour or shields. If this is combined with vulnerability from using Glyptodon ‘Superior Vulnerability’ on the previous turn, even armour or shields may not be enough.

Next up, we’re switching class from resilient to cunning. Enter the Eremotherium. It is the slowest cunning creature in the Common rarity and doesn’t boast a high attack stat either, but do not let this fool you. After using its priority ‘Camouflage’, Eremotherium becomes one of the quickest, if not the quickest creature in this tournament format; plus, it also gains a 75% chance to dodge 67% of attacks and reduces the opponent’s damage. What’s more is that its low damage stat is there for a reason, because each time Eremotherium is hit, its ‘Maximal Counter-Attack’ causes 1050 damage. Stats aren’t everything.

Now for one of the fastest creatures in the format; Velociraptor. Standing at 132 speed it is the fastest in the field, other than the Deinonychus. However, Velociraptor has the highest damaging move in this tournament with its ‘High Pounce’ looking to cause 3100 damage straight from the get go. Ouch!! Even with dodge and shields, it’s risky going against this creature at the wrong time.

From speed to resilience. Ophiacodon has 4x immunity: damage over time, stun, speed reductions and vulnerability. That’s just for starters. Ophiacodon has a 40% chance to crit, is one of the faster fierce creatures in the tournament and has 4350 health. Lastly, it has the biggest ‘fierce’ move of all Common creatures, bypassing armour with a crunching 2800 damage. This making it one of the best, if not the best fierce to use in this tournament.

You’ll need resilience when taking down the next 2 creature as they are both very similar in abilities: Sarcosuchus and Suchomimus. Both of these creatures have very similar stats and both can impose damage over time, causing their opponents to lose 33% of their max health for 3 turns. They also both have ‘No Escape’, stopping most opponents from escaping for 1 turn. So how do they differ?

Sarcosuchus a little less attack but is a little faster than Suchomimus. Sarcosuchus also has 10% armour and is 50% resistant to being vulnerable. Finally, while Sarcosuchus has a simple ‘Strike’ ability, Suchomimus has ‘Fierce Strike’, bypassing armour and breaking shields. Your choice as to which suits your team and the opponents you’re facing best.

Phorusrhacos laughs in the face of opponents that have ‘No Escape’. It’s immune to swap prevention and it’s swap in ability, ‘Swap In Dodge’ allows Phorusrhacos to have a 100% chance to dodge 67% of incoming attacks. Once in battle, Phorusrhacos then uses ‘Sidestep’ to completely cleanse itself, increase its speed and once more, have a 100% chance to dodge 67% of incoming attacks. If Phorusrhacos hasn’t been knocked out yet, then it will deliver 3000 points of damage in the form of its ‘Raking Claws’ ability, removing dodge and cloak effects also. ‘Terror bird’ by name, ‘terror bird’ by nature.

The last creature in this list is a gigantic armoured herbivore that possess as a tough swap-in nut to crack. On swap in, Brontotherium gains shields able to block 50% of damage for 2 turns/2 attacks. With this on top of its 20% armour, makes this creature a tough wall to climb for anything non-fierce. Once in battle, Brontotherium is able to put more shields up, but only for 1 turn. Its 2nd and last ability known as ‘Resilient Impact’ cleanses Brontotherium’s reduced damage, removes the opponents, cloak, dodge and speed increases, and will impose vulnerability on the target. Moves wisely when this creature comes charging into battle.

So, those are 8 of the best Common creatures that you should be looking to use or should be going to see a lot of this weekend in this, the up-and-coming Common Tournament. However, you may feel that your team needs, is lacking in and or has too much of something. If that’s the case, then why not try the creatures below;

Honourable Mentions:

Dimetrodon Gen 2 / Deinonychus / Deinocheirus / Triceratops Gen 2 / Dracorex Gen 2

Allosaurus / Dimorphodon / Tarbosaurus / Einiosaurus / Coelurosauravus / Tanycolagreus

Irritator Gen 2 / Amphicyon

Well, that’s the end of this article and the start of your team building. OR, maybe you already have your team sussed and just reading for comparison or to get ideas of how to move up the tournament table a little more. Whatever your plan, the very best of luck to you! May even see one of us on the battlefield!! If you have any questions or strategies of your own, join our Discord and get in the discussion today!

And leaving you with that, from Luke here at GamePress, thank you for reading and have a great weekend!!