Five Wins Or Bust
I’m looking for some fast wins tonight.
Battle 1 (All Buzz Cons)
Fiendish Imp, Warbot, Fledgling Buzzard
vs. Chi-Chi, Clockwork Gnome, Gooey Sha-Ling
I don’t know if it’s a wise choice mathematically but I usually start with a Warbot against Chi-Chi and take the Fire Quills while I lay a Minefield. Sometimes opponents are even kind enough to cast Wild Magic on me. This poor Chi-Chi user cast Ethereal at the wrong times and got hit with two Nether Gates. Maybe it’s time for an add-on? Three Minefields were put down over the course of the battle, that’s a lot of damage.
Record: 1-0
Battle 2 (Axis Of Ceva)
Lil’ Ragnaros, Death Adder Hatchling, Mulgore Hatchling
vs. Mr. Wiggles, Tundra Penguin, Blighthawk
This is an over tuned team with Magma Trap and the Death Adder Hatchling. Add to that the fact that this was a good match-up damage type wise and this was a no contest. The trap denying the Blighthawk’s undead round didn’t help. I said I wanted fast wins but didn’t intend on selling my pet battle soul. I’ll tone it down a bit.
Record: 2-0
Battle 3: (Elemawhatnows)
Dread Hatchling, Scourged Whelpling, Gilnean Raven
vs. Singing Sunflower, Anubisath Idol, Anubisath Idol
Oh no, Sunlight! What will I ever do? Oh wait… one Call Darkness, two Call Darkness, three Call Darkness. This was still a close battle due to the Anubisath Idols hitting strings of 70% Crushes. There were some mind games involved around when to cast the weather but I found out that both idols had Stoneskin. Then there were some more mind games around when the idols would cast Deflection. It didn’t matter with the Dread Hatchling because Shadow Talon hits so hard I just spammed it until the Anubisath Idol it was facing burned its Deflection before I used Call Darkness.
Record: 3-0
Battle 4: Winds Of Change
Jademist Dancer, Tiny Twister, Snarly
vs. Fossilized Hatchling, Voodoo Figurine, Clockwork Gnome
I’ve been wanting to use more “guest teams” since so many people have such great ideas. Now seems like a good enough time to start. This team was submitted by Josh on 1/9/14. He had some ideas about using other pets than the Blighthawk for CloneDance teams. While I was a little (not too much, though) apprehensive about running two elementals I have to say I love the Tiny Twister. I shelved it after the Murkalot/Kovok threat died down but I really need to dust it off. Cyclone along with a 289 speed Bash is good times. This battle was closer than it should have been because I thought the Fossilized Hatchling would have BONESTORM and the the Voodoo Figurine would have Sear Magic, but neither assumption was correct. I made a few bad choices around those assumptions, namely I kept the Jademist Dancer in when I shouldn’t have because I thought it would die on the back line to AoE. It didn’t matter, by the time the Snarly came in to finish the mech gnome it had only had about 500 hp.
Record: 4-0
Battle 5: House Of Turnips
Terrible Turnip, Corefire Imp, Warbot
vs. Spring Rabbit, Arctic Hare, Bandicoon
All of my elemental damage against these critters, where’s a beast when you need one? This team was suggested by Ronninn on 2/7/14. These critters really made me work for this win. My opponent used Dodge and Burrow whenever they were off CD so it was easy to make the right calls. I made sure that there was a Minefield down after each of the first two pets was killed so my small time elemental damage wouldn’t have to do too much work. The most annoying part was missing a Missile kill shot right before Dodge came off CD, sigh. The Warbot is still as fabulous as ever in 5.4, in fact I’ve been going to it more and more when I want a fast win or revenge (I can be petty :)).
Record 5-0
There are a lot of guest teams that I’ll get to eventually, if I didn’t get to yours don’t worry, I’m sure I will. Thanks for all the comments and ideas, I appreciate them and keep em’ coming!
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Well, that kind of looks like my first appearance on your blog. Doubt there are too many Mr. Wiggles / Tundra Penguin / Blighthawk teams running around, and the description of the battle resonates. Sorry I didn’t put up more of a fight.
It’s been a fun team to mess around with, but it does have some weaknesses.
There’s really not much you could have done. My team included two pets with over tuned moves and I had strong attacks against you. In my opinion both traps and the Death Adder Hatchling need some tweaking. Sorry you were on the opposite end of me selling my soul.
Wow, you couldn’t have had a worse match up, kind of good that the Warbot was around for that. A beast would have been really nice to match up against.
I could have played it better. I saw the adder and Rags and assumed you were a nub (the hatchling did cause me to raise a Spockian eyebrow and question this assessment). You outplayed me with your adder b/c I underestimated your skill.
My Uncanny Luck team does have some moving parts. It’s been fun to play, and often does well against Valks, adders and mech dragonlings. The penguin 2-shot an Idol once (it had taken a tick or 2 of cyclone).
The problem I find with this team is that it requires too many switches (the other problem is that there are so many beast attacks out there that Mr. Wiggles, even with crouch, often gets thrashed). I’ve been looking for a pet with a feign type mechanic that would beneft from Uncanny Luck, but haven’t found anything. Suggestions?
I’ve had some success with Mr Wiggles and the Treasure Goblin. Magic Sword is always a crit, but suffers with a 75% accuracy. Getting that accuracy boost lets it absolutely destroy flying pets, and then portal out when the buff wears off. The only problem is that you aren’t benefitting from the 25% crit boost from the buff, because your crit chance is already 100%. But with the heavy anti-flyer damage, it opens up a lot of options for your third that you might balk at in this era of Nocturnal Strike. I love the team with Snarly as a sweeper. Nothing is sweeter than the tears of an enemy who swaps to juke BitW, and then realizes too late that Uncanny Luck guarantees the hit anyway.
I’ve had some serious fun with Mr Wiggles, myself. People totally underestimate it. Even smart players will stay in against it when they shouldn’t because they think it’s just a buff pet and an easy kill. I’ve started using it as an anti-Idol on teams vulnerable to them. Uncanny Luck and Diseased Bite will wreck an idol through a sandstorm. Even Stomp can beat down an Idol and come out noticeably ahead, with Crouch and their own Sandstorm eating most of the Crush damage.
Thanks for the feedback.
The treasure goblin sounds perfect, as I consider fliers almost certain doom for the team. I feel I have to face them with the blighthawk, and it often ends up costing me my corpse consume. That said, I don’t have the goblin (or any other pet that can’t be tamed in game).
I sometimes use an owl instead of the blighthawk (for buffed cyclone and nocturnal strike). I’ve also tried Disco’s Imperial Eagle (for buffed cyclone and lift-off). Problem with both is they often eat a hit swapping in, and seem to lose their racial buff fast. Cyclone is almost required due to all the decoy pets I face.
I have used a croc in the 3rd spot. It’s better then the penguin once uncanny luck drops off. The penguin tho can spam it’s “bitw” with the buff up. Slippery ice is nice, and it sweeps well with surge. I’ve used the anodized bear cub in this slot too, but it leaves me w/o an aquatic for Val’kyr soaking.
I’m really enjoying D3, so I figured the CE was well worth it even without the awesome pet, but that goblin totally pulls its weight. Maybe not 20 bucks worth, and definitely not 60 bucks worth, if you’re not a D3 player, but I definitely don’t regret it. It combos well with DoTs too, by inflicting Greedy and Wild Magic. Sear Magic is also great fun for wiping bleeds, delayed nukes, and damage debuffs, but it also wipes off stuff like Uncanny Luck and Celestial Blessing, so Wild Magic is usually the way to go if you’re using him for a combo.
When I CloneDance (Which I still call it even when I’m Uncanny Lucking it instead of Rain Dancing) I always lead with the Cyclone, and then swap to the buff pet. Buffing first means that you lose two turns of the buff modifying the Cyclone. You’re already losing one on the swap, but the Cyclone happens at the end of the turn, so it benefits from the buff the turn the buff goes up. You essentially get 5 turns of Lucky Cyclone instead of three, and with the pig in the fight, you can refresh the buff freely because Uncanny Luck has no cooldown. You will still take a hit on the swap if Mr Wiggles is still alive when the Cyclone drops off, and you want to refresh it, but at that point your opponent should already be crippled by the backline damage, and a second Cyclone is just gravy. Mr Wiggles also has more survivability than most Cyclone pets because of Crouch, so he will usually come out a lot better in a one-on-one fight.
I actually use the Dragonbone Hatchling for my Cyclone. It’s got decent stats, and Adrenaline Rush usually lasts longer than the last 50% of its HP, so when push comes to shove, I can keep faster than most opponents for Thrash to the bitter end (And drop a Cyclone parting gift before the killshot!) But I agree that it’s fragile. Even when I’m using the Jademist Dancer, I cyclone and swap immediately, to try and preserve it for later. I’ve taken to using pets that can heal for my third when the meta gets particularly cruel, to try and keep it around.
Again, I appreciate the time taken to respond. I’m enjoying the conversation.
Ya, I guess its Clonedance. My goal is to build a team around the Uncanny Luck ability rather than making a weaker version of a strong meta team. I’ve tried taking the clone out of it. But every time I do the decoy pets queue up like its a red-carpet premier.
I do find it much more interesting to play. (Traditional Clonedance feels pretty braindead to me). From my point of view, the difference between the 2 buffs (rain dance vs. uncanny luck) shifts the damage emphasis from the cyclone to the direct attacks.
I often don’t open with Cyclone (because I’m often opening against a Val’kyr). Maybe that’s doing it wrong.
When I do open with Cyclone it feels like I’m 4 turns in b/f I can actually start doing damage (one of my big complaints about the team … swapping).
I did consider the Dragonbone (well, the Buzzard was the one I had levelled). I liked the Owl or Eagle better b/c Uncanny Luck was potentially helping 2 abilities. I also absolutely loath Slicing Wind. I will reconsider tho. I can see how Adrenaline Rush could really help.
Just to add … the best non-clone version I’ve tried is Mr. Wiggles / Toothy / Anodized Bear Cub. It’s quite fun too. But decoy is so hard on it. The tears as you watch rounds of your Uncanny Luck get fed into that stupid target dummy.
Cyclone benefits significantly more from the Dance/Luck buffs than anything else. Because it behaves like a DoT, you can put the buff up when it’s already there and benefit from it for an extra turn (or two, if you consider the swap) and unlike other dots, it benefits from the hit chance offered. If you compare Demolish, Demolish hits for about 600. Meanwhile, the cyclone has a solid chance to hit every enemy for 150-ish damage, on top of whatever attack you’re already throwing out, like a 400-damage Hoof.
If it’s that prevalent on your meta, you might want to consider changing your strategy completely and making a “Decoy Counter Team” with a bunch of Stampede moves to snipe those mech dragonlings. Something like a Swarm Firefly, a Hunting Party Raptor, and an Inflation Bling. Throw out DoTs, and boost the damage with Black Claw and the Shattered Defenses debuff. It’ll do solid against the average team, behaving a lot like Disco’s “Acorn Berserkers” team, but the Stampede abilities will trash the decoy, and still land that third hit to put up the debuff. Idols and other shielders would totally wreck it, though.