JWA Tournament: Epic/Legendary Hybrid Skill - 11.5.2021

It’s tournament time again, and if I’m being honest, this month kind of stinks because throughout the whole month, we have to suffer through a specific creature that I’ll get to in a bit, but it’s the start of the Antarctovenator month. In order to get as much as you can, it’s my job to help you choose the best team that works for you. So, let’s jump into it.

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:

First up, we have the rare hybrids, which all are not that great with the exception of 2. Suchotator is probably the best rare hybrid with its good output, great stats, and a diverse kit. Lethal wound can take care of those pesky flocks and nullifying impact can help remove all the evasion and speedup effects that plague this tournament. Superiority strike helps it gain the speed advantage while instant distraction allows Suchotator to stall out with bleed applied. The only other rare hybrid to consider is Purrolyth. While more deadly in the advantage tournament next weekend, Purrolyth is still a good pick if you don’t have many legendaries or good epics. With shields, ferocity, rending counters, and healing, Purrolyth has many different abilities that help it close out that final creature. While these 2 rares are really good, rares are not something to pick if you have better options.

Next up are the epics, and last legendary/epic event, the best 2 creatures in the format were in fact, epics. First up is potentially one of the greatest epics of all time: Argenteryx. Once you get past that initial turn 1, Argenteryx is hard to stop to the point where they can easily reverse 3-0 a team. And don’t get me started on the mirror matchups that rival Testacornibus mirrors when it comes to levels of frustration. With 2 rampages, a rally heal available at 2 members, a swap move, and an on escape rally heal with evasion, this thing only needs 1 more thing to be really broken: stun immunity. This is its biggest weakness along with heavy armor. Why is Suchotator better than Purrolyth? Argenteryx. This thing shapes the meta around it. Want to counter Argenteryx? Take a look at the other insane epic which most considered to be second best in the last legendary/epic tournament.

The biggest threat to Argenteryx is Megalotops. With Megalotops’s many distraction effects and evasion effects, it can tank Argenteryx for a good amount of hits. And not only can it deal with those rats with wings, but it can also deal with a wide variety of creatures like Scorpius Rex and Indoraptor gen 2 with potentially the best strike in the game: determined strike. You cleanse bleed and distraction, remove ferocity, apply distraction, remove critical chances, remove speedup effects, distract, bypass evasion, and apply vulnerability all with one hit. I still remember when some people complained that cautious strike did too much. And this is just the basic move. It also has access to cautious rampage and camouflage, which can reduce enemy damage to 1/6 its original amount. And with that defense, it also has a counter that bypasses armor. You also don’t want to swap out on this guy thanks to its on escape camouflage allowing it to outspeed the competition. And if Argenteryx ever comes in, just swap in Megalotops because it will stun every time (at full hp) thanks to stunning alert allowing it to swap in for free against anything weak to stuns. Use Megalotops. If you are unlucky to come face to face with slothsuto, make sure you have a creature with resilient and superiority effects as well as good armor or shields. Creatures like Ankylodicurus, Brontolasmus, or Rajakylosaurus work wonders against this guy. Woolly Rhino can also be a good option with equal speed and Megalotops not having any stun resistance.

Moving on with epics, we have Ankylodicurus. This tank is here for one reason: the two epics above. With its many vulnerability effects and slowing effects, Ankylodicurus can tank both creatures while also dealing massive damage to both in return. It can also deal somewhat well with other threats like Indoraptor gen 2 and the newly buffed Grylenken. This meta is very oppressive to fierce creatures with the many flocks, so Ankylodicurus is a great pick for any team.

There are other good epics. Brontolasmus is a very solid pick and can lay the hurt on even the bulkiest of creatures like Ankylodicurus while also being able to deal quite well with Megalotops and Argenteryx. Majundaboa is a bit of a sleeper too with the ability to take out both top epics and can really discourage swappers with dust cloud. The same is true with Erlikogamma. Erlikogamma has positive matchups with both Megalotops and Argenteryx as well as having good synergy. Finally, the newly-buffed Dimodactylus could make a bit of a splash this event. With good synergy, trapping abilities, as well as a new counter, it can really make a dent into those epic birds, especially with something like Megalotops behind it. While the big 2 are epics, most of the creatures you’ll see at the top are legendaries.

First, we’ll start off with a big creature in a small package. Coelhaast is fast, has good output, and can easily bypass evasion with its precise abilities. And with precise impact and run, it has great synergy with the 2 epics. Coelhaast can also keep coming back and healing and running again and again. Want to take down Coelhaast, use Megalotops to punish it swapping or Carnotarkus to make short work of it.

Next up is the solid powerhouse Mammotherium. With persistent ferocious strike and resilient impact paired with 1500 attack, this rhino can really lay the hurt on anything. And with dig in, it can also regenerate a lot of hp while outspeeding major threats like Argenteryx and Eremoceros. And with bellow to help it heal stall, Mammotherium will stick around for quite some time. And to top it all off, Mammotherium has stun immunity, which is always nice to have. Want to take down Mammotherium? Use Carnotarkus and its shields and big damage to wear it down. Also, with its low hp, it is vulnerable to some swappers like Megistocurus.

Carnotarkus always has a way of wandering into the big leagues in a legendary format. With decent bulk, long protection, instant distraction, and a greater rending counter, Carnotarkus is able to play defense and offense. And for those pesky flocks, it has group decelerating rampage to make short work of them along with superiority strike to bypass their evasion effects. Carnotarkus is just a solid all-rounder of a pick. Want to take down Carnotarkus? Eremoceros can wear it down pretty well and Megalotops can also take chunks out of it. Megistocurus can easily pick off a Carnotarkus due to its lower base hp.

Speaking of breaking shields, the best swapper around this format is the armadoggo, Megistocurus. With its swap move and high damage, Megistocurus will always have some sort of role here. And with the ability to go toe to toe with creatures like Carnotarkus and Mammotherium, Megistocurus can be dangerous on and off the field, especially in the late game thanks to no escape and resilient impact. This guy will be a common sight, so be ready for it. If you want to take it down, use something like Grylenken to keep it on the field or Argenteryx to discourage it from swapping.

Moving on we have Eremoceros. Slothdeer will always have some sort of relevance with its defensive playstyle with the attack to handle most if the flocks in this event. It can wear things down while also staying relatively on top of things with camouflage and dig in. Eremoceros rarely doesn’t have the speed advantage and is ready to hit you with a cunning rampage. Want to take Slothdeer down? Just use Megistocurus. Eremoceros relies on a campy defensive playstyle, so once you get it in range, just swap in the armadoggo and it’ll be gone in a pinch.

Moving on with another deer hybrid, we have Enteloceros. Enteloceros looks incredibly promising with a kit akin to its other legendary deer counterpart Eremoceros, but more offensively. It has enough damage to take out a member of the important flocks with a strike and has a revenge shattering rampage that can hit through flocks, but due to its speed this won’t normally be the case. It can use dig in and mutual fury to gain the jump on some opponents and can also swap in and slow you. And with a good set of resistances and decent bulk, Enteloceros looks promising. Want to take down Enteloceros? Carnotarkus can easily eat through its defenses while distracting and tanking its offenses.

Indoraptor gen 2 will always be relevant as long as flocks are. With enough damage to take out a member, high speed and cautious strike to tank their damage, and good resistances, Indoraptor gen 2 is the bane of any flock. It can also be good against other cunnings being able to sneakily speed past them and then hit them with an impact for some big damage. Want to take down Indoraptor gen 2? Use any tank really. Ankylodicurus and Mammotherium can easily make short work of it.

With the newest patch came a couple buffs to a couple legendaries. Dsungaia’s buff was almost irrelevant as it went from a lousy legendary to a less lousy legendary. Grylenken is a different story, however. With stunning obstruction, nothing wants to swap out on this bird. And with 129 speed, Grylenken is usually faster than the competition. While it does have a poor turn 1, it is enough to take down most flocks and can also easily allow Grylenken to set up on something like a Megistocurus. And with a running move, Grylenken can allow for some deadly team synergy. Want to take down Grylenken? Ankylodicurus can easily 2-shot this Crocatoo while tanking its hits with its armor and shields. 

That’s really all for the legendaries. There are a few other honorable mentions as well, such as Ankyntrosaurus and Rajakylosaurus, which both used their anti-evasive abilities and bulk to deal with the flocks. Speaking of flocks, Sinokotaraptor looks like an interesting pick and can potentially work. If you want another swapper, Dracoceratops and Monostegotops both have strengths and weaknesses that could be a good fit for the team. Phorusaura is always going to have some relevance due to instant rampage always being a threat to any creature. Scorpius Rex  may do better in legendary-only events, but there are still many creatures in this event it can handle. And finally, Diplovenator can be a surprising opponent to come across with its anti-cunning abilities as well as ways to deal with the resilients in this event.

That's all for this weekend. Hopefully you don't run into too many Argenteryx mirror matchups, because that is the worst thing about tournaments allowing epic hybrids (barring Testacornibus mirrors). But other than that, this tournament could shape up differently with a few new faces on the block and others becoming better in the meta. Hopefully the RNG goes in your favor and don't forget to dart all your rares today. Happy playing!