JWA Tournament: Rare/Epic No Swap Skill Tournament

Hello everyone. It’s tournament time again, and this week we have an interesting one. We have a legendary/epic/rare event with NO SWAPPERS. No swap in stun, no swap in slow, no swap in bleed. Nothing. This has its pros and cons, but it’s my job to help you this weekend with what is good and what you should avoid. With that being said, let’s jump right in.

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

This tournament has rare, epic, and legendary hybrids without swapping abilities. This is a brand new format and this type of tournament is a welcome change by many players like myself to mix things up a bit. The rewards are boosts, so you'll want these. 

First up, let’s discuss the BANNED creature list. We have some useless creatures like Procerathomimus or Koolabourgiana which see little to no use in this type of format, but then we see some big players also go. Enteloceros, Ankylomoloch, Argenteryx, Megalotops, Megistocurus, Scorpios Rex, and Sinokotaraptor are big names that are not allowed this weekend. These creatures have a big impact on the meta and can allow some creatures to rise up and claim new roles in their absence. But with the important creatures that are banned out of the way, let’s look at the biggest players around.

First up is none other than Coelhaast. This was one of the big three threats that wasn’t banned. Yay. This legendary was kept in check thanks to tanks like Ankylomoloch and Enteloceros. However, they are both banned this weekend, so this opens many more doors. And on top of that, with no swappers, automatic swappers are in high demand, and this creature is going to be valued heavily. Due to its good base damage, bulk as a flock, extreme speed, and great kit, Coelhaast is a very tough legendary to take down. However, this time around it also has a weakness. Many swappers could save it in a bad scenario against something like Carnotarkus, but now that they are gone, the Coelhaast player has to choose between sacking Coelhaast or letting whatever comes in take a hit. And if you were to counter this thing, the best answer is Carnotarkus as it can 2 hit kill Coelhaast unless it manually swaps out. Other counters include Ankylodicurus, Dsungaia,and Mammotherium, but it can automatically swap on these guys. 

Mammotherium is charging back into the fray as the best resilient around. And with no swappers to ruin its day, Mammotherium’s lower hp isn’t as big of an issue anymore. On top of that, with its ferocity and high base damage, Mammotherium will come in and hit hard, especially if it gets a revenge kill on something. And when it’s on low hp, it has dig in and ferocity on top of that damage to almost heal back to full hp. This is a creature that is going to be hard to stop. Luckily there are some creatures out there like Allosinosaurus and Scutophicyon to bust through it and take it down.

Another creature that’s here to deal big damage is Carnotarkus. Carnotarkus is one of the best all-rounders out there with a combination of all classes rolled into one. It can take down the biggest fierce creatures around like Allosinosaurus while also dealing with speedy cunnings like Coelhaast or the toughest of tanks like Ankylodicurus. With its tools, Carnotarkus is a powerful lead as there aren’t many creatures out there that would want to walk in on this beast. To take it down, Mammotherium has just enough offense and bulk to keep it away, but a crit from Carnotarkus can doom Mammotherium. Luckily you can whittle this thing down into submission, but it may cost an arm and a leg. 

Next up is an old dog that has learned a few new tricks. Scutophicyon is back with the disappearance of these newer creatures. With this format being very 1v1 heavy, Scutophicyon can really shine thanks to no escape. This way it can take down some big threats like Mammotherium or come in to pick off a variety of different creatures, which it can do thanks to its revenge abilities.On revenge, it can either play offense with revenge fierce impact or defense with revenge protection And with 118 speed, it is fast enough that it kills most slower creatures while having decelerating rampage to help against those faster than it. And with slow, stun, and vulnerability resistance, it is able to maintain that priority. To take down this dog, creatures that can burst through it like Carnotarkus or Allosinosaurus can do the trick while faster cunnings like Eremoceros can use camouflage and rampage it into submission.

Slowly wandering back into the limelight is Eremoceros. With its good speed tier, good resistances, and defensive moveset, Eremoceros is a pain to remove from the field. It has a great get-off-me in camouflage, which synergizes well with its deceleration resistance. Dig in is another way for it to stall out a big hit or gain a speed advantage while also regenerating hp in return. Cunning rampage is a good offensive tool and can also work as a defensive tool when combined with evasion. And shielded decelerating strike helps against the resilience that are able to bypass that dodge. Eremoceros may not win every matchup, but it will never get shut down, and in a 1v1 environment like this, that is important. If you want to take down this beast, you probably want to bring Mammotherium in. It may struggle with those shields, but Mammotherium has just enough firepower to brute force its way through Eremoceros.

Next on the list is someone that hasn’t seen the top ranks in a VERY long time. With all these other higher tiered creatures gone and Mammotherium looking like a big problem, it’s up to Allosinosaurus to help shut it down. With high base damage, 2 impacts that bypass armor, and instant charge, Allosinosaurus has a lot of firepower. And on top of that, it has solid bulk to back it up. It’s a standard fierce creature, but with creatures like Argenteryx and Megalotops out of the picture, it has a chance to stretch its legs and get out there. As for taking it down, Coelhaast and Carnotarkus can handle the job. It’s slower and weak to distraction, and both of these creatures can use distraction to soak up those big hits.

Next up is Rinchicyon. With high speed, good resistances, and on escape collision, Rinchicyon can hit hard, especially with instant buff and its shattering impact. Devious strike is also a big help on it when it comes to soaking up hits. And on top of that it has an automatic swap or a rampage. Take your pick. And if you want to swap out on Rinchicyon, you have to deal with on escape collision, which is something nothing wants to deal with. If you want to take out this screaming furball, Grylenken and Coelhaast are there to help you. With their anti-evasion abilities as well as high speed and swap deterring abilities, they can keep Rinchicyon in check.

Speaking of the Crockatoo, Grylenken is easily the most punishing of all the swap punishers in the format with on escape obstruction. It’s to the point where it can function as a swapper with that move on swap predictions. It also has great output, an automatic swap, and a priority move. And at 129 speed, it sits above the important speed tier that Mammotherium gets to when sped up. This thing is a good revenge killer and something that should be incredibly feared when set up. If you want to fight this thing, you need shields and bulk. It may be able to fight Mammotherium, but it cannot win. 

Flying in next is another creature with an automatic swap. Pteraquetzal is one tough flier that can dish out a lot of damage. With shields, an armor piercing counter, nullifying impact, and superiority strike, it can handle a little bit of everything. And unlike its parent Pteranodon, this guy actually has some meat on its bones with over 4000 hp. It can just sit on the field and spam those shields while the counter chips away. And this is made easier with its higher speed stat. Overall a solid pick. If you want to beat this thing, Allosinosaurus can bust right through with an impact and instant charge.

Another creature to watch out for is Diplovenator. Like Pteraquetzal, it has many ways of softening blows and dealing damage with its counter, although this time it trades a bit of defense for more offense. It has distracting impact, cunning rampage, and instant distraction to have those counters eat away at you. And on top of that, it’s immune to distraction and stuns, so no avoiding that full shattering counter. And like Pteraquetzal, it has good bulk and a good matchup spread. If you do want to take this thing down, when in doubt, Mammotherium. It can cleanse that distraction and just hit this guy hard.

Dinally, we’ll end on Ankylodicurus. With high armor, good offensive pressure, and a kit revolving around speed control, this thing can handle almost anything pretty well. It can slow you down, only to dish out  a vulnerability-boosted rampage. And Ankylodicurus sits at a good enough speed tier to be slower than those creatures that are in range of a 2-shot like Diplovenator. If you want something that is really tanky with a lot of burst damage, this is your creature. If you want to take it down, use something like Allosinosaurus or Scutophicyon. They’ll eat right through it.

That’s really it for this weekend. There are a bunch of new creatures to experiment with in a meta free of these swappers. Majundaboa, Spinonyx, Dodocevia, and Rajakylosaur are other options that look really good in this sort of meta. However with these new formats, things are still a bit fuzzy until we actually play them. I thank you all for reading and I wish you all the best of luck. Also make sure you get out there and dart all those epics this weekend. Have a great weekend.