Axie Infinity is a complex and strategical game, and so involves a range of strategies within the game aiming to provide the most effective means in defeating the opponent's Axies to win the game. Thus choosing the right Axies to match a strategy is essential in playing Axie Infinity to the best ability, though some cuts are acceptable due to the high prices associated with beginning the game of Axie Infinity. This post will go through factors needed to be considered in choosing the right strategy for playing Axie Infinity competitively, particularly focusing on the cards to choose for an Axie.
Axie Parts
Axies are made up of six body parts defined through their dominant (D) genes: eyes, ears, horn, mouth and tail. Such parts are also embedded within the Axie's recessive (R1) and minor recessive (R2) genes but only come up when breeding the Axie with another within the child born. The moves that an Axie make come from their back, mouth, horn and tail, with the other 2 contributing to the Axie's appearance and stats. Below are the additional stats given to an Axie due to each part they hold, adding on top of their base stats defined through their class. Note that all have different effects with none coming with the skill, meaning that the skill stat comes entirely out from the Axie's class and each adds a total of 4 stat points.
That means that the quality of an Axie in terms of battling should only be focused on the dominant gene's it holds, illustrated through the visual appearance they hold. In a budget Axie team, the 2 other body parts not defining the moves for the Axie can also be ignored if it means finding a cheaper Axie for battle since they only affect the stats of the Axie, not the moves that significantly contributes to the use of the Axie. Below is an example of how the appearance of an Axie is defined for their dominant gene and card move if it contributes to one. In this case, it is a goldfish tail for an Aqua classed Axie, making the move 'Swift Escape.'
Buffs & Debuffs
In the example above, it would be noticed that within the card there is a symbol beside the description encased in a circle. For goldfish, it is a boot with a blue up arrow. The symbol within the circle for each move is a buff/debuff that will affect either the Axie or opponent's attacked Axie, depending on whether it is a buff or debuff, which plays a considerable role in the value of the move. Below is a table of the buffs and debuffs available within Axie Infinity. There are only 3 buffs, but 13 debuffs.
Also note that some buffs/debuffs are stackable, meaning that their effect can be added more than once. With goldfish, it is a 'Speed Up' buff that gives an additional 20% speed for the next round. Since it is stackable, that means playing two goldfish moves will give a 40% buff, three moves 60%, and so on, which is useful for an Aqua Axie that typically aims at being the first Axie to act within a battle. It would be quite worthwhile to take a look at the buffs/debuffs associated with moves since it can subtlety help within a strategy.
Choosing Axie Cards
Similarly to many other card games, there are 'good' cards and 'bad' cards. Deciding which is a 'good' or 'bad' card can be difficult, especially with beginners who likely have no idea of the meta and strategies within the current state of Axie Infinity. Axie.Zone, a fan-based site dedicated to Axie Infinity, is a useful guide in telling which Axie cards are better than others. It classes the cards in the typical S/A/B/C/D/E/F tier structure, S being the best and F being the worst. However, note that the value of cards for the tier list does not account for the combination of cards that creates better value, focusing on its individual. Below are the S tiered cards.
Either way, it is a useful guide for Axie Infinity beginners, better than nothing.
Looking At Axies For Current Meta
The card tier list comes from the website axie.zone, which is also a useful website for other tools within Axie Infinity, including a breeding calculator. Axie.Zone also includes a season leaderboard showing the top-ranked Axie players. Taking a look at some of the best and trying to work out strategies or common characteristics between the best of the best can help with finding the right Axies, knowing that the pros are using similar Axies. Currently, the leaderboard is working, so patience would be needed until the leaderboard comes online. It is shown below and can be visited here: https://axie.zone/leaderboard.
There is also PvP statistics about the class usage of Axies based on seasons, which is useful in choosing what classed Axies for a team. The statistics also has part usage, certain classes, able to be focused. The statistics of the most recent season, season 17, is shown below. Notice that the most used class is the plant class, likely since it is the most 'tankiest' Axie class, thus able to soak the most health in a battle to allow the Axies behind to attack safely. Plant-classed Axies come second place with the highest win rate for PvP matches, following behind Aquas. The statistics website can be visited here: https://axie.zone/pvp-statistics.
Axie.Zone also contains an Axie Marketplace helper showing the stats of Axies and rating its usefulness in the current meta of Axie Infinity. It is shown below and can be visited here: https://axie.zone/finder.
Final Words
Axie Infinity is a complex game and the decision between who wins and loses comes largely based on the strategy an Axie player adopts. Having no strategy would likely see a great loss rate for the player while having at least some idea of strategy will help alleviate the issue. Axie strategies are based on Axies, and so finding the right Axies is essential for making the desired Axie strategy. For beginners, Axie.Zone is a great website for finding the right Axies for a strategy, though it does need to be noted that there are some liabilities in its calculations.
Disclaimer: The information above is not financial advice and is for educational and entertaining purposes. All information is of my personal opinion and is based on the research I have made. Any information on this article should not be mistaken as fact, and any decision with crypto means you need to DYOR (Do Your Own Research)
Thumbnail Source: https://cryptodaily.co.uk/2021/03/axie-infinity-nft