Team Analysis: Deepwater Dragons
Auckland Aristeia League - Main Season
With the pre-season campaign over and the Otono Cup on the mantle, it's time for the Deepwater Dragons to gear up for the main season down here in the very Heart of the Hyperpower. The New Zealand Aristeia scene has been alive with action, as teams finish their preparations and train their new formations for the challenges ahead.
In the main season of the AAL the teams can finally expand beyond the set 4 imposed by the Carano Mod of the pre-season and the Otono Cup, with this part of the competition instead marked by the Koorie Queen Mod. This means our teams will be able to draw from a bench of 8 Aristos, but one will be banned by our opponent at the beginning of each match.
I've already discussed the Carano Mod Team which I used for the Preseason and Otono Cup comprising of Maximus, Valkyrie, Padre Mendoza and Dart. This team proved highly effective in a wide range of scenarios, although it never had to face something for which it would have been truly miss-,matched, such as Conquest, Capture the Flag or Human Target. With Maximus to soak damage, playing most turns with a double move and seldom attacking and positioned next to Mendoza, who would put out healing for the team, and Valkyrie who would hit and run or hold fast in the Zone to score while Dart sniped from the fringes.
When considering who to add for the extra four Aristos to make up the rest of the bench there were two considerations which I kept in mind. The first was the idea that we would now have bans as a factor in Team building. This would mean that every team combination would risk coming apart if I didn't have alternates to put into the team if a key member got banned. Running with this logic I should be looking at a second Tank (probably Prysm), a second Healing Support (probably Parvati), a second Melee Striker (probably Shona), and a second Ranged Striker (probably Koorie Queen). This would give me redundancy in all four of the key roles which my existing team was build around and allow me to play effectively no matter what ban an opponent chose to drop.
The other approach which I considered was bringing a totally new set of Aristos with abilities which would expand the capabilities of the Team in new and interesting ways. It was this alternative model of how the team might look in the new season which really captured my imagination. If we were going to play a wider range of Scenarios (as is the plan for the Season) then sticking with the same core wasn't going to be suitable for every situation. To enable the Dragons to succeed they needed to have new options, new capabilities and the potential for new and exciting combinations.
One obviously missing component of the original team is speed and scoring capability. The obvious answer to this lack was to look to the princess of pace, Gata herself. Even if the team were not otherwise changed (and it seems likely that Mendoza would be swapped out of the Support slot as well) just switching Max for Gata transforms the scoring ability of the team. However Gata also brings a strong counter for opponents who lean heavily into strong ranged Strikers in the form of her easy Dazzle. This will be a great boon in a Lunah heavy meta.
Next up was a swap which I seriously considered during the pre-season (when we allowed one change to teams part way through) and again in preparation for the Otono Cup. This was the substitution of Dart for Koorie Queen. Much of my early play of Dart was with her as an effective scoring piece but seldom an effective Striker. However as I became more experienced with her that started to turn around. Koorie Queen always seemed like a more versatile ranged Striker and I wanted to add her into the team both to keep building on the Striker/Scorer archetype and to add a different angle on ranged offensive potential, or to double down on a winning strategy.
Eclypse was a tough choice, and was the addition which I have considered and re-considered the most times. I am still very tempted to run Parvati or Hannibal in her place, but now that I've made my choice I'll stick with it through 'till the end of the AGL Season 2. Eclypse makes for an excellent option to enhance the effect of either (or both of) Dart and Koorie Queen while also offering effective State Management (offensive and defensive). She also pairs well with Gata to shut down other ranged focused teams and offers all 'round (albeit fragile) utility.
Last, but certainly not least, is the newest addition to the PanOceanian Aristos, Gaia. This mistress of movement and tentacular terror is not only the best answer to Hexxer (well, other than the Dazzled State or regular trips to the Infirmary), but also an interesting addition to the core team as a substitute for Dart (dropping an entirely close ranged team in behind an opposing team? - HILARIOUS) but also as a supplement to Gata (thanks to placing new Obstacles and moving existing ones) and to Koorie Queen or Dart (pulling ranged Skirmishers out of the fire).
I'll be following up with Aristo Analysis articles on Koorie Queen and Gaia in the very near future. You can also expect to see Scenario analysis articles where I look at how the Deepwater Dragons will tackle the challenge presented, what ban I would expect, how I would build the team, what Tactics I would select and then how we would play.
We should have some more game reports for you soon as well, with regular play in the Season kicking off.
So, what do YOU think about this Dragons team?
Are there any surprises?
Is there anyone you would have picked instead?
Do you think I was right to go with supplementing the team rather than running backups?
Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment