JWA Tournament: Split Rarity Tournament

So, this is interesting. It's tournament time again ladies and gentlemen, and this time is a bit of a letdown if you ask me. Deck RNG can decide many matches, and if you don't get a good draw in a lopsided format, then you'll be done for. And when it comes to this format, it's probably the most lopsided format yet as it's a split team of 4 commons and 4 rares. So what should you use? Let's find out

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:

So let's get the commons out of the way because those are the easiest. There are really 6 commons to choose from. Let's start off with the common that isn't a bad idea as a lead. Sarcosuchus could be a powerful creature this format as it can turn a 4v4 into a 3v3 while potentially trading a rare for a common, which is a benefit to the Sarcosuchus user. But of these 6, Sarcosuchus is probably the weakest.

Next up we got Brontotherium. Brontotherium is a powerful common with a good swap and decent bulk and offensive stats. It sits at an alright speed tier and can be used to remove many annoying flocks.

Another good common for this format could be Eremotherium. There are a lot more fierce here, so Eremotherium should do a lot better thanks to its very defensive cunning kit. However, that turn 1 can really be taken advantage of.

The best common swapper and a creature you should heavily consider is Triceratops gen 2. While not as good as the rare swappers, it's still pretty nice with an offensive playstyle of swapping in and then firing off a rampage. It's somewhat frail like many commons, but it's still a creature many rares will have to respect.

Glyptodon is one of the best commons in the game, however it may not see much play due to its rare cousin stealing the potential team slot. That being said, Glyptodon is still a powerful common who can take out every rare cunning with ease as well as put a dent in most other rares and commons. The slowing and vulnerability make this a creature to respect.

Finally we have Coelurosauravus. Coelurosauravus is a powerful flock that can constantly switch in and heal like Compsognathus. It also has a synergetic kit with this swap in and impact and run, allowing it to run into a potential swapper while being able to come back in later. This is also helped by the fact that it's immune to stuns and pin. And with distraction, it becomes a lot harder to kill a member. Thankfully with rares however, there are many creatures that can take out a member despite the distraction while also being bulky enough to tank the hits.

Now for the rares, there are a lot more rares to really choose from, so let's get into those. Let's start off with a 1v1 beast in Albertosaur. This chomper is known for its impact into priority impact gameplan. It's got big damage, good resistances, and decent bulk. A very powerful rare that no common can really compare to.

Next up is Andrewsarchus. It's got a powerful impact to rending takedown combo with no escape, high speed, and slow immunity. This is a good trapper, but Coelurosauravus may make its life a little difficult. Also Albertosaur is already a good fierce so Andrew may not fit that slot. 

Archaeopteryx is a decent pick for a flock. It's got evasion, distraction, and critical hit buffs and punishes swapping pretty hard by rally healing. However there are better flocks out there, but Archaeopteryx does the most damage of the flocks.

Compsognathus gen 2 is a better rare flock if you ask me. It may lack the output, but it's got priority, no escape when secure, a swap in rally heal, and a running move. This is a very strong pick for a rare.

Doedicurus is a rare that will be competing with Glyptodon for a team spot. Glyptodon is immune to slow, always ignoring evasion, and can slow turn 1 while Doedicurus has more bulk, is faster, has more damage, and can slow for 2 turns. Doedicurus is very unsafe to switch on, so that's maybe a reason to take it over its common counterpart.

Dracorex is something to definitely look out for being probably the best swapper in the format. It's got the most damage on the swap and has big output on the field. And luckily for Dracorex, no common really fills the same niche. And with 4800 hp, it's not to easy to kill.

Similar to Eremotherium, Megalonyx acts as a defensive cunning and has access to the powerful Cautious Rampage. It also has good output and a turn 1 option compared to its common sloth counterpart. And with on escape Camouflage, this is a creature you do not want to swap out on. However it still competes with it for that team slot similarly to Doedicurus and Glyptodon.

The fastest creature in the format that you'll expect to see is Ornithomimus. With 3 good immunities, Ornithomimus is hard to stop. It's got good synergy and instant distraction to help stall out turn 1. If you want to find a good speedster, Ornithomimus isn't a bad pick.

Purrolyth is another solid rare. It's got no escape, a good counter, ferocity, shields, and healing abilities. It's a beast of a rare and can really tackle most scenarios outside of Albertosaur. Not much really fills its niche.

Next we got Suchotator. This rare is a powerful lead. The lead matchup can easily decide a battle, and Suchotator rarely runs into a bad matchup on the lead. Not much can do the things Suchotator does. Overall something to look out for.

Finally we'll end on Titanoboa gen 2. This thing is another creature that's hard to compare to any common as not many things in either rare or common formats does the things it can do. It's got dust cloud, slowing, and precision abilities to take down those cunnings and swappers. It's also got good immunities and good bulk too.

That's really it for this weekend. There are a couple other good commons out there like Ophiacodon and Allosaurus or other rares like the new Preondactylus that could be good. We just have to wait and see. Unfortunately this is pretty heavy on deck rng and while I like that Ludia is trying new things, I'm not a fan of this kind of format with two rarities that have such a large gap between them. I want a clean and fair tournament and good luck to you all!