This time 50 battles will be a little different. Instead of creating some new teams I’ll be using Bleed teams that I already know and love. I want to see which one does the best. For as long as I’ve been using Bleed teams Snarly and the Infested Bear Cub have been my core team. I then add either another Bleeder or Mauler. The strategy is simple: put up Bleed and use Blood In The Water (BITW from here on) or Maul. Let’s get to Bleeding!
Team 1
H/P Blighted Squirrel (Woodchipper, Crouch, Rabid Strike/Stampede)
H/P Infested Bear Cub (Diseased Bite, Hibernate, Maul)
H/P Snarly (Rip, Surge, Blood In The Water)
Two times Undead and some great synergy with Bleeding.
Loss: Anubisath Idol, Darkmoon Tonk, Unborn Valk’yr
Good job starting out with a loss. Bleeding requires a lot swapping, which Minefield really mess up. It was still close, the Idol had 400hp at the end.
Win: Direhorn Runt, Pygmy Direhorn, Stunted Direhorn
In your face triple Direhorns! I was able to get off one BITW and two Mauls on Bleeding Direhorns. That’s some serious damage. The Undead racial times two made it hard for me to go down.
Win: Scourged Whelpling, Gregarious Grell, Arctic Fox Kit
My opponent didn’t take Bleeding seriously, got hit with a BITW and a Bleeding Maul. In the end the Grell was difficult with its faster Dodge and Cauterize, but it couldn’t outheal/Dodge the Rabid Strike.
Win: Wild Jade Hatchling, Fiendish Imp, Netherspace Abyssal
The Lightning helped me a lot. Having a Surge against the Nether Gates helped also. The big, beefy, Undead bear is proving hard to take down at the end of a fight. I switched Rabid Strike to Stampede just for the hell of it and I got a Lightning team. Lucky.
Win: Nexus Whelpling, Fel Flame, Scourged Whelpling
The Fel Flame stayed in while Bleeding. The Nexus Whelpling missed a Mana Surge. Snarly took them both out. The Scourged Whelpling was easy after that, even after I missed a Maul.
Loss: Wild Jade Hatchling, Clockwork Gnome, Terrible Turnip
Against any Lightning team you have to play it right, and I played it right. The Turnip had 500 hp and Shattered Defenses, I sent in a Diseased Bite for the win. Miss. I ended up losing. Losing like that is never fun, what can you do but shrug it off.
Win: Sprite Darter Hatchling, Toothy, Darkmoon Rabbit
I feel kind of sad whenever I see a B/B Darkmoon Rabbit. They probably paid a lot for it, but a slow rabbit is somewhat lame in PvP.
Win: Fiendish Imp, Scourged Whelpling, Pterrordax Hatchling
Another victory over one of my battlegroup’s regulars. The Imp missed a Nether Gate. My opponent swapped as they should have when the Whelpling was Bleeding, only to realize that the Pterrordax was still Bleeding. They ran after taking the big hit.
Win: Peanut, Sinister Squashling, Disgusting Oozeling
I thought it was a good choice to leave my Bear in to eat a Stun Seed and then swap out, but the darn thing crit and wasted my Undead turn. Ended up being very close with my Squirrel barely surviving the Oozeling for the win.
Win: Lil’ Ragnaros, Fel Flame, Phoenix Hatchling
A conflag team can dish out some serious damage. But so can a Bleeding team. Snarly took out the Fel Flame and got in a Surge on the Phoenix, my Squirrel finished the Phoenix and chipped away at Rag, a Bleeding Maul wrapped it up.
Record: 8-1-1
Assessment: Before this I didn’t think of the Blighted Squirrel as one of my better Bleeders. I’ve changed my mind, it did great. Not only that, it’s fun to use. Nice job zombie Squirrel!
Team 2 (Bleeding Mechanic)
H/P Anodized Robo Cob (Bite, Repair, Maul)
H/P Infested Bear Cub (Diseased Bite, Hibernate, Maul)
H/P Snarly (Rip, Surge, Blood In The Water)
One Rip and three moves that benefit from it.
Win: Unborn Val’kyr, Onyxxian Whelpling, Kun-Lai Runt
A lot of swapping as expected, the BITW hit a Bleeding Kun-Lai Runt, the Infested Bear’s Maul hit a Bleeding Valk. My Mech never made it out.
Loss: Fel Flame, Emerald Turtle, Tiny Harvester
I swapped too much on the Turtle, which allowed it to get some heals off. This team just showed up out of nowhere on my meta and did fairly well for a day or two, then I never saw it again.
Win: Fel Flame, Scourged Whelpling, Giant Bone Spider
There was only one Bleeding hit, Snarly got the Scourged Whelpling with a BITW. In the end it was the 1300hp Infested Cub versus the 900 hp Fel Flame. I had to hit Maul and Diseased Bite two times, which is scary relying on a 90% accuracy move.
Win: Gahz’rooki, Wildhammer Gryphon Hatchling, Corefire Imp
I was winning but it still close at the end. Until Gahz’rooki missed three out of four of its last attacks. It must’ve been using Tail Slap.
Loss: Qiraji Guardling, Ash Spiderling, Clockwork Gnome
Oh lovely Sandstorm, you will forever be a thorn in my side. Even after doing 50 Battles with Sandstorm I will talk crap about it.
Win: Electrified Razortooth, Fledgling Nether Ray, Scourged Whelpling
The Scourged Whelpling swapped when it was Bleeding so it wouldn’t get hit by BITW. After I swapped out Snarly for my Undead Bear it came back in, still Bleeding. I guess my opponent didn’t know about Maul. While I was waiting for the Scourged Whelpling to expire I Hibernated, which I don’t do much. I didn’t even use the Mech bear.
Win: Fiendish Imp, Crawling Claw, Kun-Lai Runt
I switched to Demolish just to change things up a bit, two out of four hit the Imp, I finished it off with a Maul. In the end it was the Bleeding Runt one on one with my Undead Bear. My Diseased Bites hit.
Win: Crow, Qiraji Guardling, Borean Marmont
I think that’s the first time I ever battled a Marmont. What is it with the Sandstorms today? I pulled out the win, but there were so many misses. Snarly connected a BITW to end the battle.
Win: Terrible Turnip, Crested Owl, Unborn Val’kyr
As much as I dislike Sons of the Living Root I have to say this was a fun battle, well-played by both players. I was able to use Hibernate two times to get past Sons. I had the foresight and timing to backline Snarly for the killing blow on the Turnip. It was pretty close. The Mech bear didn’t do much again except for soak the third sons. Stop leeching off my core Bleeders!
Loss: Pygmy Direhorn, Flayer Youngling, Blighthawk
Shakes finger at the Mech bear. I should disband this team after this battle. I was doing well with Snarly and my Undead bear as usual, but I needed the Mech bear to come in and finish off that stupid Direhorn, and it missed a 95% Maul. It hasn’t done much these entire ten battles.
Record: 7-3
Assessment: The Mech bear seems like a decent match since it adds another Maul to the team. But in the first slot it has the choice of another Beast attack (which I don’t need) or Demolish (which I don’t like using). Playing these battles has made me realize I have no need for this team. I’ll keep it around for the off chance that I want to do some Demolish spam, but it probably won’t see much use after this.
Team 3 (Bleeding Nuts)
H/P Grizzly Squirrel (Woodchipper, Crouch, Stampede)
H/P Infested Bear Cub (Diseased Bite, Hibernate, Maul)
H/P Snarly (Rip, Surge, Blood In The Water)
This team adds a Critter with a Bleed to the core group.
Win: Qiraji Guardling, Ash Spiderling, Celestial Dragon
Stampeding an Ash Spiderling while Brittle Webbed, bad. Mauling with Bleed, good.
Draw: Gilnean Raven, Gilnean Raven, Ghostly Skull
I love when my opponent misses under their own weather and I don’t. Finally someone who knew to swap when they were Bleeding.
Win: Anubisath Idol, Unborn Val’kyr, Leopard Tree Frog
Sandstorm, good times. This battle took my Undead move to win it. The Frog brought me to 0 hp but my Diseased Bite hit.
Win: Direhorn Runt, Clockwork Gnome, Unborn Val’kyr
Another Direhorn falls to some Bleeders, I could get used to this. It started Squirrel vs. Valk, after Woodchipper and Stampede the Direhorn came in. I was locked into Stampede, but that’s pretty much what I expected. The Direhorn Charged twice to kill the Squirrel, but Shattered Defenses was up. I Surged for 400+ damage, the Direhorn swapped out but later came back in to get a BITW with no Bleed up. Ok, I admit that was kind of desperate. It paid off though. The Bear was able to finish off a Bleeding Gnome thanks to no Diseased Bite misses.
Loss: Frosty, Lost of Lordaeron, Spirit Crab
That is one nasty Crab. I’m glad he’s usually on my side. Well played by my opponent.
Win: Anubisath Idol, Emerald Proto-Whelp, Corefire Imp
So should I be proud that rng decided my opponent should miss more than me? Win or lose Sandstorm is lame. I’m really glad that it’s getting a minor nerf in 5.4.
Win: Lil XT, Pandaren Water Spirit, Kun-Lai Runt
The Water Spirit took a BITW, ouch. The Kun-Lai Runt was easily dispatched with a Bleeding Maul and a Bite. I even pressed the wrong button on Lil’ XT at the end. Since I’ve been documenting my battles for this blog that’s the third time that has happened. I’m starting to think I have serious motor skill issues of which I’ve been previously unaware.
Win: Lil’ Ragnaros, Stunted Direhorn, Amber Moth
The Moth owned my Squirrel, bad. My Bear cam in to finifh off the Moth but I’m already really far behind. Then Rag came out, I switched to Snarly and put on the Bleed, Rag used sons. I put back in the Bear, Rag was still bleeding so the Maul hit him for 740 damage when he emerged, Rag missed and died, all of the sudden it’s a game again. My Bear got two uninterrupted bites on the Direhorn, Snarly came in with a Bleed. I had 640 hp, for the Direhorn it was a kill or die situation. I survived the Charge, a Bleeding BITW finished it off.
Loss: Anubisath Idol, Stunted Direhorn, Fiendish Imp
I’m seeing a lot of these Sandstorm/Trihorn Shield comps today. They’re absolutely decimating me. As usual, I have to remember that I make the choice to run a lot of different pets and teams that aren’t the top-tier, and it’s fun. If winning at all costs is what was fun for me then I would probably run an Idol and two Direhorns. That would make for such a boring blog. 5000 Battles: Sandstorm and Trihorn shield. No thanks.
Record: 7-2-1
And here I thought that this was one of my poorer Bleeding teams. I can deal with seven out of ten wins. I don’t think that the speed on the Grizzly Squirrel was ever that useful. If I wanted to improve this team
Team 4 (Bleeding Shock)
H/P Electrified Razortooth (Rip, Blood In The Water, Lightning Shield)
H/P Infested Bear Cub (Diseased Bite, Hibernate, Maul)
H/P Snarly (Rip, Surge, Blood In The Water)
Two Rips, Two BITWs, and a Maul for this team.
Win: Stunted Direhorn, Scourged Whelpling, Wild Jade Hatchling
Sometime people just always do the obvious. What would you expect from this team? Lightning + Cyclone to start. That’s what they did, even though they were Bleeding when they cast Cyclone, which allowed me to hit the dragon with a BITW. In comes the Scourged Whelpling to cast Dreadful Breath. Oh no, AoE Lightning damage. But oh yeah, its locked into a three round move. The Whelpling was massacred by a Maul. The dragon came back in to get Surged. I was able to get one Surge off the Direhorn, but the Charges killed Snarly and the Razortooth. I was saved by the Undead racial, the Direhorn brought me to 0 hp, but I killed it the same turn.
Win: Son of Animus, Scalded Basilisk Hatchling, Unborn Val’kyr
My opponent mistimed Snarly’s death and was Haunting when it happened, bye bye ghost. The Basilisk got a Bleeding Maul to take it down. Animus was fairly easy to take down with the Bear and Razortooth.
Win: Gahz’rooki, Wildhammer Gryphon Hatchling, Corefire Imp
This was a close one. I thought I was in trouble with the Corefire Imp backlining with Immolation, but it was Bleeding, which out-damaged the heals. It died on the backline, saving me from some damage and from having to face it again.
Win: Wild Jade Hatchling, Celestial Dragon, Clockwork Gnome
This Lightning team remembered that I had DoTs too late, by the time the Celestial dragon came out the change the weather the Electrified Razortooth’s Bleed killed the Jade Hatchling in the back. The Gnome actually did a good job against the Infested Cub, but in the end only brought it only to 99 hp.
Win: Anubisath Idol, Fiendish Imp, Stunted Direhorn.
This combo has beaten me many times lately, time for some payback. The Idol tried to Deflect my BITWs at the obvious times, so I was able to hold off and hit two of them. I made the choice to Hibernate during the Trihorn Shield, it helped get the win.
Loss: Fiendish Imp, Spawn of G’Nathus, Chrominius
After the last win how could I lose to this team? I didn’t leave a pet to soak the damage from Surge of Power so it took out my Bear for the win, that’s how.
Win: Clockwork Gnome, Kun-Lai Runt, Speedy
Speedy stunned me, but other than that it was easy. People love to take BITW and Maul while Bleeding.
Win: Direhorn Runt, Kun-Lai Runt, Kun-Lai Runt
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a Direhorn go down so efficiently. Rip, Surge, BITW, Surge. I managed to Surge both interrupt attempts. Not the best play from my opponent, but it’s still nice to see those Beasts go down. Snarly put the Bleed on one of the Runts before he died, a Bleeding Maul pretty much sealed the deal.
Loss: Direhorn Runt, Anubisath Idol, Blossoming Ancient
I’ve been doing well against Direhorns with Bleed teams, but not this time. Too many interrupts and Sandstorm misses. My Razortooth got off one Rip, that was it.
Win: Fiendish Imp, Scourged Whelpling, Scourged Whelpling
This one was nice because this is the team that knocked me out of Challenge Mode today. The Infested Bear Cub wreaked havoc on the Whelplings, it was able to deliver a Bleeding Maul to both of them, and Tail Sweep was weak against the bear.
Record: 8-2
Assessment: Any team that can go 3-1 against Direhorns is alright by me! Tied for wins with Team 1.
Team 5 (Bleeding Trap)
P/P Curious Wolvar Pup (Punch, Snap Trap, Maul)
H/P Infested Bear Cub (Diseased Bite, Hibernate, Maul)
H/P Snarly (Rip, Surge, Blood In The Water)
Win: Crow, Anubisath Idol, Direhorn Runt
I call this person my “lolnemesis” because they generally play bad yet still sometimes win when the rng from Sandstorm and Darkness goes their way. This time I was extremely lucky. There was no way to mitigate the Nocturnal Strike so I started off with a Trap and hoped to get lucky. I did, no Nocturnal Strike thanks to the Trap going off when I needed it. Add a few well-timed lucky crits and I had plenty of hp on my Undead bear when I won.
Loss: Fluxfire Feline, Darkmoon Tonk, Pygmy Direhorn
I started off skipping a turn, I was trying to get a good camera angle and thought I already pressed my move. It’s just a Fluxfire Feline, who cares? I don’t know if that one turn made a huge difference, but in the end the battle was headed for a draw and I missed a Diseased Bite.
Win: Fiendish Imp, Corefire Imp, Fungal Abomination
It was kind of annoying that I put my low hp Snarly in to take the Stun Seed, but I got Gated out, then the Wolvar came in and had to take the Stun. It didn’t matter, in the end Diseased Bite was too much for the Humanoids.
Draw: Magical Crawdad, Plains Monitor, Frosty
In the end I let myself get stuck with my Bear Cub vs. the Crawdad, whose main Undead attack is weak versus the Aquatic. I just couldn’t take it down fast enough. It didn’t have Wish or I wouldn’t have been able to take it down at all.
Draw: Lost of Lordaeron, Harbinger of Flame, Giant Bone Spider
As I mentioned above, the Infested Bear Cub and Snarly have been my core Bleeders for a long time. One negative about using the Infested Bear Cub regularly is having a 90% main attack. Yet another game I had wrapped up and my Diseased Bite misses a killshot. That’s the price we pat in 5.3 for heavy hitting attacks.
Loss: Chrominius, Fiendish imp, Spawn of G’Nathus
Three Diseased Bite misses. Yikes. I just realized that this person had beaten me before. Good job at having success with Spawn of G’Nathus.
Win: Creepy Crate, Lil’ Smokey, Filthling
This seemed like a Minefield swap team. But then my opponent put down a Minefield and never forced the swap. Snarly was the tank, outlasting the first Minefield. How did that happen? My opponent swapped a lot and neither the Filthling nor Crate could do much damage to the croc. My zombie Cub finished it off, there was no need for the Wolvar Pup.
Win: Darkmoon Zeppelin, Enchanted Broom, Darkmoon Monkey
This time I needed the Pup. Its trap went off on the Zeppelin, helping me gain the upper hand. Earlier in the battle the Darkmoon Monkey took a Bleeding BITW.
Win: Direhorn Runt, Fiendish Imp, Giant Bone Spider
I wish I could say I beat this top team with my master strategizing, but the Imp missed both of its Nether Gates. And my Trap went off at good times. As if to try and even things out, the rng gods decided I should miss a Bleeding Maul on the Spider to take it to 0 hp. I was pretty far ahead at that point so it didn’t matter as much.
Loss: Pygmy Direhorn, Flayer Youngling, Scourged Whelpling
Rng giveth and rng taketh away. The last game rng loved me, this time the Whelpling cast Darkness and I couldn’t take it down due to two misses Mauls. The Wolvar had a Trap down against the Flayer, but it never went off. I used a Flayer and Direhorn combo a lot when 5.3 first arrived, it does well. This person uses it well imo. I should mention that this battle started off as Snarly versus Direhorn and Snarly won the one on one match-up, again.
Record: 5-3-2
I’m a little surprised that this team did the worst out of all the teams. Curious Wolvar Pup is a powerful pet that would seem to add a lot to the Snarly/Infested Bear combo.
Overall Record: 35-11-4
Overall Assessment: Snarly and the Infested Bear Cub are the core group and were generally the stars of the show. If I wanted to make these teams more competitive I could either add a second Snarly or Infested Cub, or even drop the third Bleeder and fill out the team in a more creative way. These teams finished in the following order:
1. Bleeding Blight (Blighted Squirrel), 8-1-1
2. Bleeding Shock (Electrified Razortooth), 8-2
3. Bleeding Nuts (Grizzly Squirrel), 7-2-1
4. Bleeding Mechanic (Anodized Robo Cub), 7-3
5. Bleeding Trap (Curious Wolvar Pup), 5-3-2
It seems that having an extra Bleeding application does better than having an extra move that benefits from Bleeding. Which makes sense, as Bleeding only lasts five rounds, why have three different moves that can benefit from it like the teams that finished last (one Rip, one BITW, two Mauls). If I want to maximize the moves that benefit I’ll have to do more swapping. The top three teams have two Bleeders and two moves that benefit from it, so it’s easier to get the Bleeding effect on the opponent.
Published July 2013, Patch 5.3
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