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Buying My First Axie! PLANT TANK!
About 2 weeks ago I bought my first Axie. This happened when prices were quickly going up so fast due to the doubled requirement of AXS. SLP was shooting up! Furthermore, AXS was shooting up as well. At that time I felt that I might get left out of the ship to the moon!
“I need to have my own Axie or else, I might not be able to buy any in the future!”
At the same time, my friend kept telling me: “Bro! The price of an Axie team will surely be the same as that of a car!”. These words kept echoing in my head. It took me a few hours thinking about what to do but in the end I decided to buy an Axie. So I decided to be a little brave (also read as reckless). I traded all my SLP into ETH in Binance. Fortunately, prices of SLP were really high as well at that time. To know more on how I traded my SLP to ETH, check this guide: Ronin Bridge Guide & Binance/Uniswap Guide.
How I choose an Axie
Choosing an Axie requires proper research and understanding the game. To ensure higher earnings from the game, it is better to invest in better Axies that could win a lot of matches in Arena. Here are some tips on how to choose an Axie:
Determine the Role of the Axie in the Team
An Axie team is composed of a Tank, a support, as well as a damage dealer/DPS. Tanks require cards with high amount of shields(100+) as well as high HP(50+). Supports can either be another tank, a utility Axie with status ailments, a damage dealer and many more. I prefer my support to be in the durable side since it will be the last line of defense before my damage dealer. While the DPS should be able to deal damage as well as survive the last stretch of the battle.
Determine the necessary Skills you wish to have in an Axie.
We also need to list some alternatives that could replace the skills we might need. To check if the build you wish is available and within you budget, it is best to directly check the marketplace and filter your requirements.
My Requirements
The first thing that I wanted was to buy a durable Plant tank Axie that could be used both for Adventure and Arena. But at the same time I need to choose an Axie that is within my limited budget. It has to have zero(0) breed count as well so that I can have my own scholars in the future or sell its offspring if necessary. At the same time, it must have some purity in it as well of about 60-70%. This is the most I can buy due to limited funds. So I had to check its recessive genes using Freaks’s Axie Extension if those genes could are useful. As much as possible I avoid skills such as strawberry shortcake, balloon and multiple zero energy cards in the Axie.
My Choice
TADA! INTRODUCING MY LOVELY AXIE (still thinking of a name). He wish to say "Hello" to all humans and non humans in Hive!
Genes
It is not that bad, but not that excellent at the same time. Hopefully I will get Snail Shell and Cerastes if I don't end with a tank as an offspring. Then I could use it as a tanky backliner. Cerastes would be awesome since plants are quite slow.
Choice Explanation
The Plant Axie will serve as a tank or a damage soaker so it requires a high shield. In my current scholarship, my tank is has October Treat from Pumpkin so this was my number one choice. As alternative I was looking for Hermit back part due to its ability to counter critical hits especially from Ronin Beasts. Some other option that I thought of was Bulkwark and Slippery Shell. Both are reptile Axie parts that give tons of shields. Furthermore Bulkwark is able to reflect 40% of the melee damage caused by the opponent.
Pumpkin
Hermit
Bulkwark
I wanted to find a plant with Drain Bite from Zigzag mouth due to its use both in Adventure and Arena to increase my Axie’s survivability. But due to the high prices I went for my second option. I chose Vegetal Bite from the Serious mouth part. This skill is quite useful in Arena to steal energy. With the right timing, I will be able to increase my advantage and make my enemies to always be on their toes. To make it more effective, I chose the plant Axie with the lowest speed I could find. This will ensure that even if my energy gets stolen, I can still get it back.
Vegetal Bite
Drain Bite
For its horn, I deliberated over damage versus heals. Both has their own advantages both in arena and adventure. But my friend advised me to get damage to quickly finish adventure. So I decided one with Wooden Stab from Beech horn part. Compared with Prickly Trap from **Cactus **horn part, this Wooden Stab has bigger shields (40 vs 20). Furthermore, its effect is quite easy to trigger and does not require the Axie to be the slower one. Another popular horn being used is Disguise from Leaf Bug horn part. It is capable of supplying energy whenever it is used as a combo with a plant card which a tank has a lot. I did not chose this since it lacks the defense and damage aside from the fact that this build is meant for Arena.
Wooden Stab
Alternative
Prickly Trap
Disguise
Healing Aroma
Lastly, I decided on Spicy Surprise from Hot Butt. Recently, I have been fighting lots of Plant tanks with Vegetal Bite. To counter this I decided to choose a tank with the ability to disable the threat of having my energy stolen in the early portion of a battle. Some other alternative that I thought of were Carrot Hammer as well Hatsune. Both skills give great utility. Carrot for the Energy gains while ranged disable from Hatsune. I made a review of Hatsune which was used in the tank Axie I use in my current scholarship.
Hot Butt
Alternatives:
Leek Leek
Carrot Hammer
Conclusion
I may have bought this Axie at an expensive price of 0.3 ETH(it is now 0.21 ETH in the market) but I am still happy. Some may say that I was stupid enough to buy an Axie when prices were high but for me, I will regain what I invested in the future…. Alright, honestly I may be a bit feeling stupid right now. Just a little bit. But who cares! Once AXS prices go down, I plan to breed this Axie with my friends! At the very least, Axie still has a bright future ahead. So eventually I will get returns for my investment. This is not a financial advice though(I have always wantedd to say this line).
Time to save up some SLP again for my next axies.~
Read My Other GUIDES:
SLP to Cash Part 1 : Ronin Guide
SLP to Cash Part 2 : Trading SLP in Binance and Uniswap