January 2015: Son Of Sethe
Instead of a weekly thing this will work much better as a monthly. We’re off to a late start already, but this will be the first month of the competition, January 2015.
This month we have a great pet to work with, what is in my opinion one of the best pets of the new expansion, the Son Of Sethe. With Touch Of The Animus and Plagued Blood to bring the heals this pet can provide some excellent support to its team mates. At least that’s what I’ve been doing. Perhaps you have a different use for it. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what you can come up with!
The end date will be January 31st, please get your teams in sometime this week so I have plenty of time to play them. With three weeks between now and then I should be able to get a lot more battles in than last time.
Just a quick note in case you didn’t notice: Lil’ Bling has been added to the high tier list.
Here’s a quick run down of the rules:
Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. Each win will be worth ten points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top tier list (but on the high tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the week itself.
These extra points are called “team points”.
Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List
If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2
Oh, how could I forget to mention that the winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice!
POTW #2 results
Now let’s see how the Hopling teams from the last competition did.
DoT Off
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
S/B Clockwork Gnome (Metal Fist, Repair, Build Turret)
P/P Jade Oozeling (Absorb, Corrosion, Acidic Goo)
Score: 35 (Record 2-3, 15 team points)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Stitched Pup, Arctic Hare
L: Zangar Crawler, MPD, Jade Oozeling
W: Ghastly Kid, Ikky, Kovok
L: Anubisath Idol, Scourged Whelpling, Blighthawk
W: Father Winter’s Helper, Arctic Hare, Unborn Val’kyr
In both wins the Acidic Goo, Corrosion and Absorb combo was great against the undead pets. It was able to kill the valk on the back line after it ressed. It’s always lovely when that happens. I think I was only able to use Repair once effectively. I’m a Repair noob.
Hope In Decoy
S/S Hopling (Tongue lash, Poison lash, Backflip)
S/S Brown Marmot (Chomp, Crouch, Burrow)
H/H Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar (Missile, Pig Out, Decoy)
Score: 50 (Record 3-2, 20 team points)
L: Direhorn Runt, Pandaren Air Spirit, Darkmoon Tonk
L: Fiendish Imp, Son Of Sethe, Kovok
W: Lil’ Ragnaros, Darkmoon Tonk, Chrominius
W: Snarly, Frostwolf Pup, Dread Hatchling
W: Sky-Bo, Arcane Eye, Nexus Whelpling
After a slow start this team was able to pull out some quality wins. I’m constantly reminded of moves that I used to dismiss due to a low hit rate that are now 100% accuracy (and thus usable). I’m looking at you, Chomp. So many critters are stuck with multiple attacks so it’s great to have one with a regular attack.
Squid Breath
S/S Hopling (tongue lash, sticky goo, breath)
H/P Syd the Squid (water jet, bubble, cleansing rain)
P/B Droplet of Y’Shaarj (swallow, acid rain, breath)
Score: 50 (Record 3-2, 20 team points)
W: Lil’ Bad Wolf, Amber Moth, Onyxian Whelpling
W: KLR, Frigid Frostling, LIl’ Bad Wolf
W: Maggot, Lil’ Tarecgosa, Mini Mindslayer
L: Anubistah Idol, Scourged Whelpling, Blighthawk
L: KLR, Scourged Whelpling, Leopard Tree Frog
This team could have easily went 5-0. The first loss was a close one against a decent player who uses the idol well. The second loss was the result of getting chained stunned by Frog Kiss. I’m really glad this team forced me to go out and buy a Syd the Squid. The prices have gone up since I bought it.
Gluttony
P/P Netherspace Abyssal (Immolate, Immolation, Nether Gate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of Animus, Drain Blood)
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
Score: 60 (Record 4-1, 20 team points)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Bonkers, Ominous Flame
W: Wild Crimson Hatchling, Nordrassil Wisp, Cinder Kitten
W: Warbot, Bandicoon, Electrified Razortooth
L: Lil’ Bling, Gusting Grimoire, Darkmoon Monkey
W: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Nexus Whelpling
I wish I had better notes on how the loss happened, but I don’t. I do remember that I was scared of the Gusting Grimoire putting a Curse Of Doom on Hopling so I played around that. I found out later that it had Meteor Strike instead. That was enough to throw me off the game plan and earn the only loss.
Nemesis of Vek
S/S Hopling(Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
Fossilized Hatchling(Claw, Ancient Blessing, BONESTORM)
Lil’ Bling(SMCKTHAT.EXE, Blingtron Gift Package, Launch Rocket)
Score: 60 (Record 5-0, 10 team points)
W: Three moths
W: Ore Eater, Eye Of Observation, Red Cricket
W: Anubisath Idol, MPD, Lil’ Ragnaros
W: Macabre Mationette, Bonkers, Pandaren Water Spirit
W: Scourged Whelpling, Fossilized Hatchling, Nordrassil Wisp
This was an interesting team to play because I always use the exact opposite move set for Lil’ Bling. I’m afraid that Blingtron Gift Package will heal when I need to damage or vice versa, but that never happened. I can see why this was Vek’s nemesis as it won every battle.
Halitosis
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Dreadful Breath)
P/S Crazy Carrot (Iron Bark, Acid Rain, Bash)
H/H Scourged Whelpling (Tail Sweep, Death and Decay, Dreadful Breath)
Score: 60 (Record 5-0, 10 team points)
W: Terrible Turnip, Kirin Tor Familiar, Onyxian Whelpling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, MPD, Pandaren Earth Spirit
W: Cat, Zooey Snake, Scorpid
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Crimson Shale Hatchling, Anodized Robo Cub
W: Anubistah Idol, Unborn Val’kyr, Gilnean Raven
I was extremely impressed by the Crazy Carrot replacing the Droplet Of Y’Shaarj on a Dreadful Breath team. It’s less fragile thanks to Bash and Iron Bark. It is certainly a pet that I’m going to explore in the future. Grats on going undefeated.
Hopalong Zappity
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
S/S Cogblade Raptor (Batter, Screech, Exposed Wounds)
P/B Hydraling (Tail Slap, Call Lightning, Shell Armor)
Score: 70 (Record 5-0, 20 team points)
W: Nexus Whelpling, Onyxian Whelpling, Iron Starlette
W: RNV 5000, Frog, Scourged Whelpling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Death Adder Hatchling, Lil’ XT
W: Lil’ Deathwing, Baby Ape, Lil’ Ragnaros
W: Weebomination, Droplet Of Y’Shaarj, MPD
Congratulations Liwei on your winning submission! The team score turned out to be the difference between this and the other undefeated teams. The second win was a great victory since there were two Frog Kiss procs. I recently tried to revive the Cogblade Raptor but was unsuccessful, obviously I had it on the wrong team. Winning against an MPD and a Weebomination team was a nice way to go out as the victor. Winning against an DAH and valk was no small feat either. Email or leave a comment with your battle tag and what pet you would like and I’ll gift it to you.
Thanks for all of the teams, I have a new respect for Hopling and some new ideas about how to use the little guy.
Latest Tweets
Oh, fun, a WoD pet. Mine isn’t exactly levelled yet, or maybe I levelled it and just haven’t played with it yet, so this is just a theoretical team this time round:
More Spores
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Lift-off)
P/S Sentinel’s Companion (Peck, Soulrush, Moonfire)
H/S Sporeling Sprout (Charge, Creeping Fungus, Crouch)
I use a H/S Sprout because that is what RNG gave me in a rare quality. A faster Sprout might get away with Jab, and a higher P Sprout might hit harder with Charge.
The basic idea is to use Moonlight to buff your Son’s heals, and also the Creeping Fungus DoT from the Sprout since he doesn’t do much damage on his own. The Sentinel hits reasonably hard with Peck, but with all the AoE teams I’ve been seeing I don’t know how much he will survive on the backline to get a second Moonfire up.
Big gratz Liwei! Nice to see that team do well. Especially against that Weebomination team that could potentially really hurt both the Hopling and low health Raptor a lot.
I must say that Shell Armor is silly good. Having run into this quite a bit lately. You really need big hitting attacks to do any kind of damage. Even with strong attacks like Alpha Strike against the Hydraling or undead attacks against the Ore Eater. I have even had Black Claw on the Hydraling and it feels like I do no damage. The only real solution I have so far(except having truly strong attacks) is to wait it out with avoidance like dodge and try and hit them after the Shell Armor expires. This is luckily a bit easier to do than against the Trihorn Shield from the Direhorns since Hydraling/Ore Eater does not have priority moves.
Was fun to see how good the Gluttony team did. Netherspace Abyssal, who would have thought?
On Lil’ Bling. It is quite interesting to see that all six of Blings moves are viable. Quite versatile and powerful pet.
The Abyssal just goes so well with the Son. Not only is it a dot swapper that can usually get the full benefit of the healing regardless of switchouts and shielding, but it covers the Son quite nicely with resistance to Aquatics, one-shot protection against howl bomb and Supercharge/Prowl, and backrow knockdown of Decoys/Bubbles that impede healing. And of course the Son covers it with dragon resistance and the healing which its passive can allow it to save it for later.
I immediately got addicted after trying my suggested team and apparently it’s infectious because for pretty much the first time after thousands of PvP wins with different teams I’ve been coming up against quite a few copycats. I did come to replace the Hopling though; as satisfying as it was to watch it go from nothing to full off of multiattacks I didn’t have a proper solution to consistent burst and lacked burst of my own. Plus Death Adders, Molten Corgis, and Primal Cry were giving me the business.
So lately I’ve been running…
Torturer’s Tools
P/P Netherspace Abyssal (Immolate, Immolation, Nether Gate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
P/P Ore Eater (Acid Touch, Shell Armor, Body Slam)
The Ore Eater gives me exactly what I needed for this team: a humanoid with a strong defensive, a dot, and sizable burst. Shell armor is indeed all kinds of crazy, and during its downtime I can swap and use Touch with the dot to heal the goren up. The critter resistance in addition allows me to handle just about anything the other two can’t. I wasn’t sure whether S/S might’ve helped out more and am still unable to find one on any AH to test it, but it turns out that the pets I expected to punish me the most for running with low speed such as the Scalded Basilisk Hatchling were far from unmanageable.
After skipping the last pet, I’ll give this one a try.
btw. gratz Liwei for the winning-team
The Undying
P/S Son of Sethe (Plaqued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
P/P Golden Dawn Feather (Quills, Sunlight, Love Potion)
P/S Crazy Carrot (Ironbark, Aged Yolk, Blistering Cold)
The strat is pretty simple. Use sunlight and the heal-abilities like Plaqued Blood, Love Potion or Blistering Cold +TotA / Plaqued Blood to out sustain/ heal most of your enemies-dmg. Aged Yolk and Ironbark give the carrot the ability to tank more hits and remove buffs/ debuffs like Magma trap or Whirlpool. Use Drain Blood as an emergency heal to secure that the son doesn’t die.
edit: be carful not to remove your Blistering Cold with Aged Yolk and please ignore my misspelling of Plagued Blood. *self-facepalm*
I’m really happy to see purely theoretical teams working out so well! I’ve been in a bit of limbo with regards to getting off my backside and actually levelling up some more battle pets to use lately, but this competition is giving me lots of ideas for when I do stop slacking off.
And I’ll be honest, the Hopling was not a pet I ever had respect for at first glance. Appearances can be decieving I suppose :p
My battletag is Cenerae#1841 and if Argi is giftable yet, I’d like a space goat. If not, then I think I’d like some muscle on my roster in form of Lil’ Ragnaros.
In the meantime, I shall begin wracking my brain for something to do with the Son of Sethe.
Apparently I need your email to sent Lil’ Ragnaros as a gift. I thought I would be able to gift Argi since I recall that option being available when I bought it for myself, but now when I try to buy it I get a message that says that I can’t because I already own it. Anyways, you can email at discodoggywow@gmail.com and I will send it to you. It seems like there should be another way, but that’s what the store asked for when I chose the gift option.
No worries. I shall do so! And thank you.
Here’s my entry:
S/B Firewing: Alpha Strike, Sunlight, Murder
S/S Cogblade Raptor: Batter, Screech, Exposed Wounds
P/S Son of Sethe: Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood
Just started PVP battling yesterday. Idea for this came from a team I ran into. KLR, Blooming Ancient, and the Son. Obviously and effectively exploiting all the heals with Sunlight. I had an Emperor Crab on the team with Shell Shield and the HoT to try and deal with bleed teams. I killed the KLR pretty easily, my opponent whittled down the other two pets, but the Son and tree couldn’t scratch the paint on my crab.
This puts some muscle into the same idea. Firewing does way more damage than the Ancient, and Murder becomes much less dangerous exploiting the Son’s debuffs with Sunlight. Cogblade Raptor (a favorite of mine) adds exposed wounds to help Firewing’s Murder hit harder, a slow, and Batter is a nice tool to have. The best part of this is that this team exploits Call Lightning just as well as it exploits Sunlight, especially the Cogblade Raptor. A little Pet Judo.
Welcome to PvP battling! I look forward to trying out your team. I love Scorched Earth too much to ever try Sunlight on Firewing on my own so this will force me to do so.
Hunting Dots
Son of Sethe(Plagued Blood,Touch of the Animus,Drain Blood)
H/S Tiny Bog Beast(Clobber,Lash,Poison Lash)
Zandalari Anklerender(Hunting Party,Primal Cry,Black Claw)
Old favourite Bog Beast can leave Poison ticking for 5 turns. Zandalari for Black Claw threat and to see if the heals can keep this glass cannon alive longer.
Ideal I would like to fit in a Frog as well. 😉 I believe that Swarm of Flies would be a really good match with son of Sethe, since you can’t switch out of it and it hits through stuff like Decoy and below ground etc. I also think Macabre marionette would make a good fit with Death and Decay plus barrage.
Moonshine
Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
S/S Nether Faerie Dragon (Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Moonfire)
S/S Sporeling Sprout (Jab, Creeping Fungus, Crouch)
This one may be a little too spread out to be strong, but essentially the Son of Sethe takes the role of stall wall under Moonlight while helping keep the Sporeling topped up and healthy. The NFD is a reliable weather setter thanks to it’s high speed and evasion move, and it can be a surprisingly decent sweeper too.
A few quick questions about breeds that I don’t have:
@ Celya: I have a P/P, S/S and P/S Sporeling Sprout. Based on your comments I’m using the P/P. If you want me to use one of the other breeds that I have let me know.
@Wiff: I don’t have a P/P Ore Eater. There was on on my main’s realm for 20k and I was waiting for the price to drop but someone either bought it or the seller has taken it elsewhere to sell. I have an S/S and an S/B. Which one would you prefer?
@Bullfeathers: I only have an H/B Firewing right now. I’m keeping my eye out for an S/B, it shouldn’t be too hard to come by or be too expensive.
Yea, I think P/P would be best, the H/S I have lives forever but Charge hits for slightly less than a wet paper towel. Since the upgrade stones are so much easier to come by nowadays, maybe I should go pick up one for myself…
If I get another, I’ll let you know. Of course I had a spare and sold it. I guess worst case I could lend you mine.
I ended up getting one at a decent price on my main’s realm.
Feels like Ore Eaters have gotten even more rare and expensive since the first week. Meanwhile the Nightshade is dirt cheap. >.>
S/S then.
My team:
Alternate Sethe
H/P Fel Flame (Flame Breath, Scorched Earth, Conflagrate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
P/H Teroclaw Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Hawk Eye, Nature’s Ward)
Five different types of damage, good sinergy between SoS and FF, and a good hitter with a healing dot in the TH. I haven’t good success with SoS teams in my meta, but I hope you do.
The name of the team is because you steal my Ore Eater/Fel Flame/Son of Sethe team!!!