January 11, 2014

Mini Tryouts: Acorn Berserkers
S/S Rabid Nut Varmint 5000 (Thrash, Extra Plating, Rabid Strike)
H/P Infected Squirrel (Stampede, Creeping Fungus, Consume)
S/S Grizzly Squirrel (Scratch, Crouch, Nut Barrage)

I ran this team on 12/22/13 and since then have kept it around for a battle here and there. It has done quite well for a themed team. I figured I’d run it for a few games in the queue and see if it can be consistently good. I’m a bit up in the air bout the Rabid Nut Varmint 5000. I’m not sure if I should use a P/P breed with Overtune or the S/S breed I have listed above. Or even an S/S breed with Overtune. That’s actually how I use my Robo-Chick, but that’s a different story. The speed combined with Extra Plating could mean four out of six rounds taking 50% damage if it’s faster than the opposing pet. The problem is there are some very common pets faster than the 325 speed of the S/S Nut Varmint, namely the S/S Imp, S/S Adder and S/S Hare. Plus, the 325 power of the P/P breed seems really juicy. How about this: if the meta is fast then I’ll switch to Overtune, maybe to a P/P, maybe even to Metal Fist. That’s one diverse little robot.

As far as strategy goes I plan to use Crouch and Extra Plating to stay alive long enough to let the DoTs take their toll. With this many DoTs and multiple attacks an Idol is almost an auto-loss.

Battle 1
vs. Crow, Gilnean Raven, Netherwhelp
You know what would be nice against two flyers? OVERTUNE! Oh well. I still have no idea how but I did manage to win this one. I thought they would start with the Netehrwhelp for some reason so I picked my Nut Varmint to start. The Crow was such a bad match-up. No third hit from Thrash due to being slower and Thrash is weak versus Flyers. I decided to stay in anyways and pop Extra Plating for the Nocturnal Strike then use Rabid Strike. I swapped to the Infected Squirrel then my opponent swapped to the dragon and got hit with Fungus. We swapped quite a lot after this, I really wanted the Varmint versus Netherwhelp while my opponent didn’t. Looking back at the logs I got Creeping Fungus on multiple pets then an almost full health Raven stayed in to die from two Scratches after Stampede. That’s how I pulled it off even with the bad start. Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I’m not entirely sure that applies but as long as I win I’ll stick with the S/S Varmint. I should mention this battle sent Safetydance@Madoran to level 83
Record: 1-0

Battle 2
vs. Core Hound Pup, Fel Flame, Onyxian Whelpling
There were strong attacks all over the opposing team. I decided to start with the Infected Squirrel to Fungus and Stampede. The second turn saw the Fel Flame miss the 95% Conflagrate. Lame. After that the Core Hound Pup came in. I swapped to the Nut Varmint after Stampede had run its course because I got Howled. By the time the Nut Varmint finished the three enemy pets had less than 800 hp combined. Again there was big damage from Shattered Defenses. I hope this theme continues. Please let me continue doing big damage thanks to people not swapping when Shattered.
Record: 2-0

Battle 3
vs. Clockwork Gnome, Viscidus Globule, Darkmoon Zeppelin
Again I started with the Infected Squirrel since I knew it could take down the Zeppelin’s Decoy faster than the other pets. The Zeppelin did indeed start but there was no Decoy, it had Thunderbolt. Fungus, Stampede, Consume then Stampede took out the Zeppelin and got two turns of Stampede against the Viscidus Globule. I brought in the Nut Varmint and again my opponent let me Thrash them while Shattered Defenses were up. All three hit for over 800 damage. Hey, at least they swapped after that. Then the Gnome just couldn’t take out the Nut Varmint due to the Extra Plating. The Gnome and blob ran after the Gnome use its Failsafe. Not bad for a themed team. I still haven’t faced too much serious competition.
Record: 3-0

Battle 4
vs. Stunted Direhorn, Darkmoon Tonk, Fiendish Imp
What was that about serious competition? This is a seriously competitive comp I’m facing with my little squirrels. I started with my Infected Squirrel again figuring I’d force the Nether Gate to the Nut Varmint and have a Rabid Strike versus Burn duel. I’m pretty sure I’d lose that one but why not go out in flames? Then the rng gods thought my opponent’s team was too strong for its own good and caused a Nether Gate miss. Now the Imp has Creeping Fungus and needs to make a decision. Is the Immolation really worth taking a Stampede with a strong DoT on you? They thought so and this is what decided the game (along with the bad rng). Now the Imp is taking 330ish damage per tick. By no means did I feel safe against this powerhouse team. The Direhorn was next, more rng in my favor caused the Consume to crit for 635, which meant 635 in healing for my little pet zombie. The Infected Squirrel took out the Direhorn and was able to get one round of Stampede off against the Tonk. The Nut Varmint ate some mines then came in to Thrash the Tonk then watch a Burn killshot miss when the Imp swapped in. The Imp died and the Tonk ran. I’ll chalk that one up to rng.
Record: 4-0

Battle 5
vs. Blue Dragonhawk Hatchling, Phoenix Hawk Hatchling, Lil’ Ragnaros
A Conflagrate team, nice. This could go either way. My Nut Varmint is going to get owned by the elemental damage but it’s weak against my Grizzly Squirrel. I started with the Grizzly because I’m so used to seeing Rag as a starter throwing down a Magma Trap. Instead the Grizzly had to face a Dragonhawk. I wasn’t sure if I should waste a turn swapping to save my Grizzly Squirrel for Rag or not. I decided to stay in and the pets cancelled each other out (the Dragonhawk took out the Grizzly then died to Nut Barrage). I was hoping to use the Infected Squirrel to beat the next Dragonhawk then get a Stampede off on Rag but it didn’t happen. Another canceling out. It was a nice run, Rag versus a mech, gg. Except… Rag went under with Sons after I popped Extra Plating. Then more misses, both Conflagrate and Sulfuras Smash. Really? Plus the fact that I hit three Thrashes three times in a row. My luck is scaring me, I know it all evens out eventually.
Record: 5-0

Battle 6
vs. Unborn Val’kyr, Blue Clockwork Rocket Bot, Gilded Moth
Maybe I’m on to something here? A Minefield, a Moth and Val’kyr. I would classify this team as competitive. You know they’re going to start with the Val’kyr. No one ever starts with anything else. So I started with the Grizzly who did some serious damage with Nut Barrage, Scratch then Nut Barrage. By serious damage I mean it took the Val’kyr to 0 hp. The Grizzly survived long enough to get a Barrage and Scratch on the Clockwork Bot. The Infected Squirrel was next and my plan was similar to last time. Survive long enough to take out the mech and Stampede the Moth. It worked. It was the Varmint with its weak attacks versus flyers against the Moth so I used Rabid Strike twice to take away the racial then spammed weak Thrash for the win. Extra Plating helped me survive a Dust hit. Sleep didn’t proc.
Record: 6-0

Battle 7
vs. Lil’ Ragnaros, Death Adder Hatchling, Gilnean Raven
Why yes, it is an S/S Adder. I almost won it, Ragnaros survived with only 63 hp. I knew the rng would catch up with me eventually, but why now when I’m facing this scary team? Rag started off versus my Infected Squirrel who was able to get a Fungus and Stampede on Rag. Only so many Conflagrates can miss in one daily, it didn’t happen this time. I could have swapped to the Grizzly to eat the weak damage, but I really wanted to get the debuff up. Rag swapped out for the flyer. After the Conflag it only took one Alpha Strike to bring my Infected Squirrel to 0. After the undead Squirrel expired my living Grizzly Squirrel came out to face the birdie. Two Scratches missed due to Darkness, most importantly the one with Shattered Defenses up. After the bird finally died the snake faced off against the Grizzly Squirrel. I still had enough hp to take a Poison Fang without dying so it was able to get off a Nut Barrage. Hmm. Hope is not lost. Extra Plating is awesome. You would think that the Nut Varmint was easy pickins for the Death Adder but the Varmint survived the encounter. Nut Barrage was a big part of that, but it still seems good. Now Ragnaros was the last pet with 320 hp. Could I pull off this miracle? One Thrash… two Thrashes… and that was it. The game winning third Thrash never hit and this team lost for the first time tonight. With that I’ll call it a night. Even though two wins could be chalked up to rng this team still did really well. Probably one of the best performing themed teams around.
Record: 6-1