Aristeia! - Team Analysis - Deepwater Dragons 4 Otono Cup

In the PreSeason League and for the Otono Cup here in Auckland, New Zealand, we decided to run with the Carano Mod, meaning that we would each be playing with a fixed team of four Aristos. While the opportunity to change the team once was offered during the League, I stuck with my initial choice, and took the same four Aristos into the Otono Cup tournament

The decision to use the Carano Mod was both to encourage newer players, with the idea being that learning just four Aristos would be easier, and to encourage painting of our teams. It worked well on both levels and while I know it's the least popular Mod at the moment I sincerely hope it isn't dropped as I see it as an excellent tool for growing a meta which simply hasn't been fully appreciated yet.


My decision to stick with the same Team for the Otono Cup was partly driven by a desire for continuity between the PreSeason League and the Cup, to treat it as a capstone event to the PreSeason. The other part of it was experience with the team and a genuine belief that they would be effective in the three Scenarios we would be playing in the event, Assault, King of the Hill and Carnage.

Overall timing and positioning strategies within the team are simple, with Maximus, Valkyrie and Mendoza sticking together as a squad while Dart ranges away. Generally Dart isn't needed for scoring, but she's effective when brought in late with Ambush.

Generally speaking activating Maximus early and advancing him into the zone for the rest of the team to follow up works well as an opening play (when opponents will largely be out of range of the rest of the Team) or in later turns when you have eliminated active threats.

Valkyrie and Mendoza will usually be mid-order activations, with Valkyrie moving up to eliminate whichever Aristo the opponent sent in to match Maximus, while Mendoza follows to heal and finish off that target if it survived the initial assault. Dart, on the other hand, will nearly always want to activate late and pick off a target of opportunity inside the Scoring Zone if necessary or a key support outside it.

Assault

Maximus: Block, Scram
Valkyrie: Odin's Breath, Frostburn
Mendoza: Tabula Rasa, Hic Et Nuc
Dart: Ambush, Surprise Factor

Overall game plan: Win first turn with overwhelming attacks and then last with Tactics, draw when possible in mid game, closing the deal with Dart.

King of the Hill

Maximus: Block, Scram
Valkyrie: Ice Wall, Odin's Breath
Mendoza: Tabula Rasa, Hic Et Nuc
Dart: Ambush, Batrachotoxin

Overall game plan: Get Maximus and Mendoza into the center together and then hit and run with Valkyrie and Dart for points and to prevent opponent stacking.

Carnage

Maximus: Block, Adamantine
Valkyrie: Ice Wall, Valkyrie's Cry
Mendoza: Tabula Rasa, Hic Et Nuc
Dart: Batrachotoxin, Predatory Instinct

Overall game plan: Score the zones where possible but focus on damage output and keep pushing out healing with Mendoza, go for repeat small kills and avoid Tanks unless Marks force us to instead focus fire.

Both the Block from Maximus and Ice Wall from Valkyrie feed directly into both Valkyrie and Dart's damage output. Mendoza is notable as the only Aristo with the same Tactic selection throughout the
event, with Tabula Rasa and Hic Et Nuc just being overwhelmingly better except in very narrow team and scenario matchups.

Carnage is the Scenario with the most unique set of selections, as mobility and manipulation are less relevant while abilities which can be translated into direct damage are at a premium. This also brings out the strength of the defensive dice buffs and the likes of Adamantine.

Overall this build has proven to be much deadlier than either I, or my opponents, expected. It has pulled well ahead on Frags in many games, as well as forcing opponents to deal with missed activations and poor positioning from re-spawning.

On the other hand it is not as mobile as I would like, and it can be vulnerable to opponents with effective Status based approaches. Mendoza is an excellent healer, but he is not strong at state management. It can also suffer from really dedicated ranged Striker capabilities, due to the aforementioned lack of sterling mobility and also absence of Smoke.

For more on my thoughts about Maximus head here.

For more on my thoughts about Valkyrie head here.

For more on my thoughts about Mendoza head here.

For more on my thoughts about Dart head here.

While there are some changes I'm considering, this base team has proven to be very effective. I look forward to the Otono Cup tomorrow and I'll have a review up for the event in the next few days. Hopefully I remember to get plenty of photos for the games (which will decide if that's one article or three).

After that we will have a discussion about expanding this set of four Aristos out to a bench of eight, as that's going to be the setup for the upcoming Seasonal League.

Wish us luck!