LKP's Axie Log #3: I ate DOUBLE AQUAs for dinner + Enemy Bird Committed Suicide

One of the most popular team compositions in Axie Infinity is the AAP (Aqua+Aqua+Plant). In my experience in the 1500-1600's mmr bracket I could say (in a rough estimate) that at least one third of the opponents I battle a day are AAPs or double aquas. Although I do not win always against an AAP opponent, this team composition is the most comfortable one for me to battle with. Having a chops aqua myself and encountering a good number of them daily. I think I roughly grasp how this team works. As they say, you need to learn about your enemy to win a battle against them.

People love AAP for two reasons: one is that they are fast and two they deal tons of raw damage. They might be slower than birds (without spd boost) but they do have decent health that help them sustain some damage. There are lots of combination that you'd see but the most common I encounter in battles are the following:

For the midline, nimo aquas are really prevalent. The tail card nimo is like the bread and butter of this build. This zero cost card when timed really well can help in securing some extra energy for the late game showdown. The more energy you have in the late game, the more options you can execute.

For the back part I've seen goldfish most often and risky fish for the mouth. With gold fish can outspeed other pure aquas. I'm not sure if they can outspeed a bird as I do not have one in my team. Correct me if I'm wrong but think it's possible with just one boost. Pure birds have 61 speed while pure aquas (or some with bird parts) have a max speed of 57, if my memory is correct from watching youtube videos I think they'll go over 61 speed after using goldfish. Their horn cards are usually orandas or shoal star which is good in case of 2 v 1 against double aquas as I have catapult on my reptile.

Most backlines I encountered are almost similar to midline aquas just change the tail from nimo to koi. They are annoying in the late game because most of the time you're up against someone with plenty of energy and have 4 cards with more than 100+ damage each. And of course, always have the initiative to attack first.

Although they are quite troublesome because of that speed and power my reptile can sustain a few rounds of heavy damage. Actually, I find those double anemone aquas more annoying. And also don't forget those not so speedy hybrid aquas with high damage bug and beast cards. Those are nightmare for my current lineup.

Battle Entry

So, there was this guy randombrute I had a chat with and he suggested that I switch my frontline tank with my midline aqua. I tried it last night and today. Heck! I even do battle with this experimental setup with energy cost this day. The changes isn't much but I noticed some that might be helpful in the future. For example, the execution of Axie kiss. My aqua with beast parts are slower than most. With 53 speed and only 402 health I might get taken out in the first round with 3 high damage cards. But, I have plenty of shielding if I timed it right I might be able to cast that lethal mark from Axie kiss. I think I have it there in the video. :)

If I sacrifice my aqua for their tank it would be a huge advantage for me, especially against teams with double aquas as mid and backline.

With affinity advantage and the just the right energy I can demolish them even at 2 v 1 mid game. It's a different story if they have defensive cards like sponge or something like double anemone. I can still win against those but it's alot difficult. Usually against those teams even with 2x tiny dino + 2 other cards after round 5 they would still be left with 10-20ish hp and then they would heal. What a headache! I can only win if I saved enough energy from the earlier rounds.

Glass canon builds like this is my type of enemy. Even without Tiny Dino, I can do double catapult to reflect 100% damage from orandas and shoal star and finish them after their turn.

I hate beasts. They have plenty of ways to gain, steal and destroy energy. What's more they can demolish my plant and reptile with those pesky critical strikes. I almost never win against backline beast but midline is a different story. I have a chance but it's very tricky. I need to eliminate the beast and go 1 v 1 with what's in the back even if left with zero energy. I'd say I'm lucky if most of their cards are 70-ish damage cards but those like double nut is a pain in the ass.

In late game birds with range damage cards have very little chance to win against something bulky with catapult. Of course, it's a different story with melee cards but if I have indian star my reptile can pretty much counter most birds. In this round notice that I only needed to put up 2x catapult + 2 additional cards. I usually go for bone sail just to be sure. It would be painful if it crits. The birdie attacked me with 4 range cards and even without retaliating he died by reflect damage.

And that's all for today. I'm doing this at 1:00 a.m. in the morning let me sleep now fellow axie aficionados . See you next time!

Ciao~