My Axie Scholarship Team Analysis
It has been 2 months since I started playing axie infinity using a scholar account. Lots of things had happened during my 2 months in game. These 2 months have been filled with high and low moments, from reaching 1800 mmr to depressing server issues. But I feel very blessed to have been able to play Axie Infinity.
In these 2 months, I have commandeered 3 cute but fierce Axies. Composed of a Plant, Beast and Aqua Axie, I struggled to reach a good enough ranking. Honestly speaking, it was due to luck as to how I reached 1800 mmr. Let me explain why:
The Tanky Plant
My tank is a Pure Plant Axie. It is capable of taking hits due to its high shielded skills from 3 of its parts. It fulfills its role as a tank perfectly.
It has a mouth part which is capable of healing but is rather specific with its effect. Vegan Diet from Herbivore mouth (Heals based on damage to Plant Axie only) is only capable of healing when used against a Plant Axie. It has saved me lot of times in Arena but when compared with Zigzag (Heal based on damage), it lacks the versatility since its healing sustain can even be used on Adventure. I rate this 7/10, it has decent shield and damage but it is hindered by the specific requirement.
The Prickly trap from Cactus horn is a great damage source. It deals greater damage when used at the last turn. This effect applies all the time due to my Axie’s low speed. Unfortunately, this skill also has its flaws. In my opinion, it lacks shields. The plant is a tank so having a very low shield makes the tank vulnerable. 10/10, this skill is meta for plants.
On its back is one of the best parts for a tank, Pumpkin. With its massive 110 shield, this skill has turned around my battle against players that try to save up on energy. Having a card generation as part of the skill is just a bonus in my opinion since shields are meant to be broken. I give this skill 10/10. If I were to find an alternative, it would be Hermit (Aqua back Part) or Red Ear/Bulkwark.
Hatsune is the cute leek part. It derived its name from Hatsune Miku character and her relation to leek/negi (This is my own opinion BTW). The Hatsune tail is a great counter against Bird Axies due to its ability to disable ranged attacks. It has high shield and modest damage but this is fine. I rate this skill 10/10 for its cuteness.
The Termi-Eater Beast
My Beast Axie may not be the best but it is capable of defeating Termi-Reptiles 1-versus-1. Others may dread those reptiles but I wish to fight them all the time. But fighting against Aqua and Bird Axies? I do not want to meet them at all.
My beast is not pure. It does not have the meta/popular skills such as Ronin back and Imp horn. It has 1 plant part as its horn, Prickly Trap from Cactus horn. Due to its speed (faster than tanks but slower than other damage dealers), it is unable to unleash the skill’s full potential. It low shields makes it impossible to survive a combo from Aqua at Bird Axis. I rate this 6/10 for this Axie. It has tons of damage but is unable to burst tanks.
If you look closely on its mouth, you will definitely find it lovely. Piercing Sound from Goda mouth is a useful energy manipulation skill. It destroys energy, gives moderate shield and damage. It is useful against Nimo tail aqua due to their inherent speed. Paired with the Luna Absord from Cottontail tail, I am able to put advantage against my opponent energy wise. I rate this 10/10 would definitely use on a beast Axie again.
Finally there is Juggling Balls from the Furball back part. This skill has damage but being a multi-hit skill has caused me plenty of losses. Multi-hit attacks separates the massive 120 damage in 3 turns. When used against an enemy in Last Stand, it can perfectly stop the enemy from creating an upheaval. However if it was my Axie that is in Last Stand, each ball will consume one bar of the said status dealing low damage against my enemy. Another disadvantage is that whenever my Axies are poisoned, each ball triggers the status effect! I am also having mixed feeling when I trigger the critical effect. Each of the ball has its own chance to land a critical strike! Sound amazing but it greatly diminishes the damage that it could have dealt if it was only a single strike. I rate this skill 5/10. Good for adventure but lacking in Arena.
The Sustain-Steal Aqua
Here comes another non-pure axie. This aqua that I have been using as my midline have its own good and bad days. It has Night Steal from Rice tail part which ups my Energy Manipulation game. This skill is great against enemies that try to pass the round as well as Nimo-Aquas but is better suited for slower Axies. Against plant Axies with Vegetal Bite from Serious, the stolen energy is quickly stolen back. This skill has moderate damage but has lacking shield which could have been better for sustain-heal Axies. I rate this skill 6/10. This skill is better suited for slower Axies.
Rose Bud oh Rose Bud, why art thou in an aqua Axie? Healing Aroma from Rose Bud had its uses. It heals 120 HP and gives a moderate shield of 40. It would have been great skill on a tank but lacks synergy on my Aqua. It has saved my Axie a couple of times but it severely reduces the damage output. Paired with moderate-low shields of other cards, it is unable to help turn around the battle aside from buying time for a round or two. I rate this skill 4/10, there are better cards out there for an aqua.
Anemone is a great skill. It deals a decent damage, shields moderately and heals. Quite a great bargain right? Sound good but it would have been better if I had two of it in my Axie, one in the head and another in its back. I rate this card 7/10 for its utility and kinda-alright synery with rose bud.
Lastly we have, Risky Fish. It deals damage and buffs attack whenever if it hits a Reptile, Plant or Dusk Axies. The attack buff is very much welcome due to the lacking damage it can deal against those Axies. This buff is countered though by the reptile skill Iguana. Very straightforward skill, I rate it 8/10. It has damage and buff but no utility.
TEAMS I AM STRONG AGAINST
The team I am using is strong against Plant-Beast-Reptile Team, Plant-Reptile-Reptile and other Reptile Termi-reptile Teams. This applies to teams that aim to slow and cause other debuffs to my team. As my Axies are relatively slow, using slow on my Axie is redundant and lacks effectiveness. Having a zero(0) energy card Luna Absorb counters the stuns of Termi-reptiles. Proper timing and order of skills is needed but due to their lower damage, I am able to contend against them.
TEAMS I AM WEAK AGAINST
My Axies have very low win rate against Plant-Aqua-Aqua Teams. With the increasing number of double aqua teams in-game, I am struggling to increase my rank. Coupled with my slower aqua, I am unable to turn the battle. Pure aqua Axie teams are capable of bursting down my beast and aqua when my Plant tank goes down. I even struggle against a single aqua with my two remaining Axies. Only by making my plant last long enough am I capable of winning against this team composition.
TEAMS I AM NEUTRAL AGAINST
There are other team compositions I have fought but one of the most popular is the Plant-Beast-Bird Team. A bird with Dark Swoop is quite formidable in defeating my aqua axie (my fastest) in a single round. It can be hard to read enemy’s next move due to the presence of the opponent’s beast Axie. Due to my Plant’s weakness of Beast cards, I am incapable of surviving a Ronin + Imp Combination since it shreds my HP like butter. However if I was able to predict my opponent’s moves or if the enemy Bird keeps on using Darkswoop, my plant Axie is more than capable to deal damage and win against the other Axies.
Conclusion
My Axies have their own strengths and weaknesses. If I were to choose my own Axies, I would definitely replace my aqua Axie with a bulkier rreptile Axie that is capable of defeating double aqua teams. Furthermore, I would choose a different card composition for my beast it would be Ronin + Imp skills or Dual Blade + Confident to increase its bursting potential. Fortunately my plant Axie has served me quite well and I would definitely not think twice to use one with the same cards.
Read My Other GUIDES:
SLP to Cash Part 1 : Ronin Guide
SLP to Cash Part 2 : Trading SLP in Binance and Uniswap