User:Blueeighthnote/Metagame Analysis/Earth Teams (January 2018)

Earth teams are known for its versatility. With the high HP they possess, and the sheer number of useful members, earth teams have a lot of resources making a well-built team.

If there is ever a few points that one may criticize Earth teams, it would be the lower damage output. While certain boosting members exist, such as the permanent buffs of Iron Fan and Circe, it is very difficult to burst high damage continuously without them. Thankfully, with the high survival abilities of an Earth team, stalling in front of enemies is usually not an issue.

Currently, the primary leaders are Izanagi, Haza (, Samael , Hideyoshi , Uncle Tuu , and VR Belle.

Izanagi
Undisputed top Earth leader, without heavy restrictions it can burst damage, solve boards, and utilize both offense and recovery with auto-generation of Earth and Heart. Because it is so stable, The team is easily customizable and can be tailored to anyone's needs, and the only downside would be its slightly lower multiplier.


 * Multiplier - 16x (on paper), 32x (practical usage, accounting Heart equals Earth effect): Automatically generating Earth and Heart is the key to Izanagi's success, and it is the sole reason that 32x is considered to be the actual multiplier that represents its strength.

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 * Metagame Status - Stable: Even with the recent stages pressuring many old leaders, Izanagi can still step up to those threats. As long as the stage does not require continuous bursting and allow defensive actions, Izanagi can thrive no matter how uneasy the situation is. Matryoshka or Shyplant is key to defensive play, while Circe or Iron Fan is key to offensive play, though the team can still be effective without them.

Abaddon
In terms of bursting damage it is not losing to Nobunaga much, but during usual spinning, it is less consistent in damage. While there are no team building restrictions, the low HP will plague the team's growth, while the average recovery of Fire attribute, in general, is not helping the team much.


 * Multiplier - 20.25x (usual spinning, multiply 2x when attributive effects are included), 66x (triggering Fire x1.8^2 effect): The multiplier may seem to be on par with Nobunaga, but it is fairly inconsistent, since only one attribute has Fire effect in the former, and no attributive effects in the latter.


 * Metagame Status - Unpopular Choice: Abaddon's active skill, while great, has a fairly long CD with no facilities on acquiring more Fire runestones. Due to difficulty in team composition, it is generally not as popular as Nobunaga, unless the player can utilize Abaddon's strengths.

Fire Yan
No team restrictions and fairly high damage after activating buffs. Debuted as a Black Diamond Card, the leader lifespan of her is over by late 2017. She only provides Light & Dark runestones having 50% effect of Fire. She is currently considered to be outclassed by Nobunaga, even though Nobunaga teams have race restrictions.


 * Multiplier - 20.25x (raw), 40.5x (accounting attributive effects): The multiplier is losing to most of the leaders above, and therefore no longer commonly seen.


 * Metagame Status - Outclassed: Even with Fire Yan's active skill being a buff, it is not enough to sustain a team as a leader, due to her having no other special traits other than utilizing three types of runestones (Fire, Light, and Dark) as offensive measures. It is still a good team member, though very hard to get and unable to fit in Nobunaga teams.

Jackie
Another high multiplier team. Jackie's usage has slightly returned after undergoing Virtual Rebirth and fixing the unstable multiplier. The team is slightly unconventional due to utilizing Demons, but a well-constructed team can still compete in recent stages. Despite so, the low HP of Demons is quite undesirable, compounded by low recovery of Fire attribute, demanding the team to burst more often than others.


 * Multiplier - 36x (raw), 54x (for Demons after adding Umbrella): Umbrella is mandatory for the team's success. Without it, there is no team boost while making Demons' HP even worse.


 * Metagame Status - Unpopular Choice: The team does not use any attributive effects, making "seize-fire" possible if the board has no fire runestones. While this can affect the team's performance, the ability to construct a high-multiplier team allows Jackie to compete with other leaders.

Chessia
Free of restrictions, and a solid leader. Chessia's multiplier is starting to show her age, as most of the old leaders have "evolved" to a much higher multiplier than Chessia. Despite this, the team skill of Heart removal is interesting, while Fire attribute having Heart effect is beneficial, making it one of the few teams with potential in some semblance of acceptable recovery.


 * Multiplier - 33.2x (4 types dissolved), 40x (practical usage, accounting Heart removal): It is unbelievable that a 33.2x multiplier would one day be considered lacking. Despite this, it is still better than secondary leaders below this list.


 * Metagame Status - Slipping down: The reason for slipping down is that its multiplier is no longer enough to compete with certain high pressure stages. With certain bosses having 20 million HP or more, Chessia is now prone to pressure. Still, a good active skill converting the whole board is still a valuable asset, and unlike most Fire leaders, it is capable of recovering in front of some CD1 enemies.

Amaterasu
Originally an unorthodox leader, using -10CD team skills to its advantage. It has gone many places as a fast-pass leader, a stall team's ally, but there is a revived interest in utilizing her as a proper fire leader. It is very unconventional, as utilizing all her strengths requires a -CD DIY craft, solid members of CD10, and a proper plan. Still, a normal player can still form a proper stall-burst team with her with an intricate strategy.


 * Multiplier - 20.25x (usual), 126x (bursting, 15+ runestones of any attribute): The multiplier is ridiculous when the bursting requirement is met, though a craft or active skill will be used in the process.


 * Metagame Status - Revival: The introduction of Perseus and AR Aries allowed Amaterasu to recement her position as a Fire leader. Still, it is uncommon to see Dual Amaterasu appearing in new Ultimate stages, as the high pressure often restricts usage of Amaterasu. Only a dedicated player can utilize her potential to the fullest.