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The Problem with Pulmonoscorpios

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Introduction

When it comes to the newest nonhybrids, a lot of them have been pretty balanced and some are very fun to use. While not THAT new, I have been using Giganotosaurus in the arena and in the legendary tournament, and while outclassed by a lot of creatures you find in a legendary format or the arena, it’s still able to hold its own and it’s fun to use. Other people that I talked to have been playing around with creatures like Beta, Microraptor, and Moros Intrepidus and have all been really liking them. They all have some good pros and cons that really help them find niches in the epic meta. However, one creature was just released that may have some devastating consequences on the epic meta.

Epic Background

When it comes to the epic meta or the epic/rare meta, you have to cover Argenteryx and Megalotops. These 2 are the absolute kings of this meta without question. When asked about the most annoying creature in an epic all format, the majority of people will say one of these 2. I personally hate Megalotops more, but Argenteryx is not that far behind. These creatures have solid swap in moves, solid on escape moves, and a great field kit to blend with their amazing stats to just dominate these formats. If you drew these both, odds are you were going to win. However, there is also a few things they lack: bleed and stun resistance as well as full pin immunity. This is important as we are going to talk about this newcomer that can do all 3 things at once: Pulmonoscorpios. These little guys are pretty cool as they were about the size of a small dog, dwarfing any real scorpion today. However, they are not as cool in game and threaten the stability of the epic rarity.

Pulmonoscorpios

When you look at the stats, well they suck in some major areas. Pulmonoscorpios is tied for the second lowest hp stat of any epic along with Beta, Oviraptor gen 2, and Blue. You also have a poor attack stat at 1050 damage, which is more than a bunch of epics, but 1050 is the third lowest attack stat in the epic pool after 900 and 1000. However, after that, things begin to pick up. Next up, you have 116 speed which is good. Pulmonoscorpios is also tied with Ankylodicurus for the third highest armor stat in the format, beating out the likes of Brontolasmus and Ankylosaurus. And then we end on a solid 15% critical hit stat, which is very handy in a couple of matchups that I will discuss in a second. However, Pulmonoscorpios is carried by that kit. First up, it’s a flock, so that hp stat isn’t as bad anymore and its bulk is now more comparable to something like Brontolasmus. Next up, it has no escape, which is a useful tool no matter the format. Enfeebling stinger is the basic move, which only deals half the attack stat, but also inflicts 15% bleed is a very good move when paired with the rest of its kit. Obstructing impact is a nice move to also have access to in order to deal solid damage and to better trap creatures with pin resistance. But the next move is what takes this epic and makes it jump from mediocrity to arguably the best epic in the format and the game overall. Enfeebling impact is basically a better toxic quills. It’s not strictly better as it has less bleed damage at only 25% over 2 turns, but it is a guaranteed stun, nullifies, and pins while having a shorter cooldown. This move is the move that defines Pulmonoscorpios. Without it, this epic is nothing. And if that isn’t enough bleed, this epic has a counter which also deals 20% bleed. On top of all this, Pulmonoscorpios is immune to bleed and crit reduction while also having stun and the usual rend resistance.

Unboosted Epic Meta

To get a feel for things, lets start in an unboosted epic format. After browsing through the 87 other epics, I found 6.5 counters to these scorpions. Let’s start off with that .5 bit. Red is able to take these guys on, but due to all the bleed, Red goes down in the process. This first counter needs 2 dodges to win the matchup. Indominus Rex gen 2 just BARELY kills these scorpions with 2 strikes and a cloak then strike. It’s a very poor way of dealing with them I know, but it works. The next counter is more reliable, but also may go down if Pulmonoscorpios gets lucky with that 15% critical hit stat. Diplodocus is the best anti-flock creature in the epic format with its high attack, distraction and stun resistance, and high bulk, but if Pulmonoscorpios gets a critical hit on enfeebling impact, Diplodocus will go down with it, or they will swap to Woolly Rhino while Diplodocus is trapped due to no escape. Our next 3 counters all have a  problem: the fill the same niche (which I will discuss in a future article). Erlikogamma is the strongest of the 3, but in this scenario, it’s actually the weakest of the 3 when facing Pulmonoscorpios. If Pulmonoscorpios gets a critical hit at the right time, it will go down. However Erlikogamma can also run into a swapper, which is helpful. Next up is Velosrhacos. The lava bird can better hold off these guys thanks to both bleed and stun immunity, allowing it to cautiously strike its way to victory. Finally, the last counter is also the weakest of the 3 in an overall meta and the weakest creature of all the creatures mentioned. Procerathomimus has fallen off, but with stun resistance and bleed immunity, it is able to match up well against these pesky invertebrates. The final counter is Giganotosaurus. This epic will get stunned the first hit, but thanks to its bleed resistance, it can take the impact and then fire back with its own impact, taking them all down with one hit. Giganotosaurus is also the BEST counter to these guys as critical obstruction keeps these pests on the field so that Giganotosaurus can deal the final blow while having enough bulk to survive 2 critical hits. That may seem no different than Argenteryx or Megalotops, however these 2 have far more checks in the format than Pulmonoscorpios, and many of them do not fill the same niche. For example, Argenteryx has not only Megalotops and Pulmonoscorpios, but also Amargocephalus, Antarctopelta, Ankylodicurus, Blue, Brachiosaurus, Brontolasmus, Carbonemyes, Diplodocus, Erlikogamma, Majundaboa, Procerathomimus, and Red. Megalotops also shares a lot of these as well along with creatures like Titanoboa, Tiger, and Woolly Rhino. A lot of these creatures make sense, like Titanoboa should counter Megalotops as it has distraction immunity, vulnerability, and precision to take advantage of Megalotops’s lower speed and reliance of dodge and distraction. The same goes for Amargocephalus vs Argenteryx as its counter helps it wait out the dodge on fearless alert turn 1 and then allows it to deal big damage with vulnerability and its group impact while absorbing hits with its high armor stat. But with Pulmonoscorpios, it is not only killing many of the creatures weak to bleed and stun, but also many of the creatures immune to both. Indominus Rex gen 2 just barely comes out on top, and if it doesn’t dodge, it loses. Secondontosaurus and Edaphosaurus are both immune to bleed and stuns, but because they are both slower and obstructing fierce impact only has a CD of 1. Out of the 6 other epic creatures immune to bleed, only 3 kill it. And of the 14 stun immune creatures, only 4 can bring it down. However, there is a silver lining. Pulmonoscorpios is very similar to Diplodocus in the sense that after a matchup, it’s exhausted. You can easily bring in something like Dimodactylus and take it out as these guys are usually reduced to one member. But when they are on the field, they dominate and dominate hard. But while many of these creatures do get better boosted, advantage formats may be where the real issue lies.

Boosted Epic Meta

In an advantage format, things get harder to gauge. People all have different boosts for different things. Someone may build an Argenteryx to better counter Majundaboa while someone else may use Argenteryx to counter other Argenteryx. Person 1 may build Giganotosaurus in a way to better handle Diplodocus while person 2 may go more nitro to handle other Giganotosaurus. But for now, let’s look at Megalotops. Many people run Megalotops at speeds of around 116 or 118 or more even to counter the main creature that it was made to counter: Argenteryx. In an unboosted format, if Megalotops is sped up by camouflage while Argenteryx is sped up with fearless alert, they speedtie. So in order to try and work around this, many players put a good chunk of speed into Megalotops to better take on the much faster Argenteryx which can sit in speeds of 151 or more. This is where Pulmonoscorpios comes in, and the biggest issue with this creature. Let’s just say that right before a battle, I just unlocked Pulmonoscorpios. No boosts, no levels, just unlocked. A level 30 Megalotops at 116 speed or more will go down. Odds are I will lose my Scorpions in the process too, but they will be able to take out that Megalotops. And for the slower Megalotops? Well, I can also swap in that new Pulmonoscorpios, thus speeding up that Megalotops and trapping them. Then I can also take them out as well. THIS is the issue with Pulmonoscorpios. It’s not because they are super strong on an equal playing field, but the fact that a level 11 can take out so many different level 30 max boosted creatures. A 142 Tyrannosaurus Rex will lose. A max boosted Thylacotator will lose. So many epics will lose to this thing it isn’t funny. Brachiosaurus will lose. Ghost will lose. Titanoboa will lose. Pyroraptor, Scutosaurus, and Anurognathus will all lose. In an advantage format, you should not be considering dumping a decent level 30 epic for a level 11 epic, but the fact that it’s not a bad idea is my biggest issue with these epics. That's the problem with these guys. They are strong and can cause serious issues, but shutting down so many creatures when they're only level 11 is what bothers me the most.

Conclusion

In my opinion, these guys should be toned down, but by how much is the question. First up, the on escape. I would use the same on escape Compsognathus has in Alert Swarm, so when they are down to one member, the ability is disabled. Next up would be to take off some attack as this would then allow Secondontosaurus and Edaphosaurus to match up better with it in an unboosted format as well as other potential creatures like Allosaurus gen 2. I really don’t want to gut enfeebling impact as that’s all it has, and I feel like this is enough so that something like a max boosted Ghost or Megalotops doesn’t get shut down by a level 11 Pulmonoscorpios. However, we need to wait and see how well they do in a format that allows them and if they are as bad as we think. I thank you all for reading and good luck in the upcoming advantage tournament.

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About the Author(s)

Hi there, I'm Eduardo. I love catfish, and you're looking at my Bullhead Axel here. Huge fisherman and half the time I'm out the door at 4 a.m. as those fish won't catch themselves. Love to cook and circus peanuts are delicious.