Archetype Usage, Win Rates, and Matchups

[Reposted from my Axie blog - https://paragraph.xyz/@lunacian - if you like the post, consider collecting it on Paragraph.xyz.]

Season 9 has started with a good amount of pre-season testing. Hopefully this should translate to a more balanced meta for all 3 Eras this Season.

I must apologise for the lack of updates as life got busy. I will try my best to continue with providing the information for the meta report but please excuse me for the less detailed discussions compared to before.

tldr:

• Over 60k players in the first few days of Season 9

• Balance meta so far with Turnip at the top for now

Player Base Statistics

Seems like Play to Rice is working!? We have over 63k players already for only a few days into the Season but of course most players are at very low bracket probably to get wins for the rice. Another reason could be Coinbase x Ronin!? Whatever the reason, it is good to have more players playing the game.

Archetype Usage

Overall archetype usage

Only 2 players at 1900+ VStar and Turnip seems to be the way to go in the Rare Era. It provides a lot of value, but from my experience, Turnip may fall off in the other Eras just because Runes and Charms are more important in the other Eras.

Poison and Feather are still the most popular archetypes. We also see many archetypes being viable at Challenger, which is a good sign. Of course it is only a few days into the Era, so we will have to see how the meta evolves.

Archetype Win Rates and Matchups

Overall Archetype Win Rates

Quite a number of archetypes are doing well at the top in terms of win rates including Turnip, Anemone, Sponge, Sustain, Glorious Mane, Triple Owl, Poison, Feather, and Fury Aggro. Spikes, Leafy, Jinx, Goo, Topaz, and other archetypes are finding it difficult to climb at the moment.

Archetype Matchups

Turnip is not without its weakness. It seems to struggle against Sponge (OTK), Fury Aggro (Burst DMG), and Topaz (Consistent late game damage with Shielding). Poison is having a tough time against Fury Aggro and Turnip.

Overall it is a nice matchup spread where every archetype has some strengths and weaknesses. It will be particular fun to see how the top players adapt to the changing meta.

Conclusion

A strong and promising start to Season 9 in terms of both player base number and the state of the meta. Could it be the start of the next wave for Axie?

Thank you so much for your support! If you have any comments and/or suggestions, please feel free comment or reach out to me on X (Twitter) or Discord @mauriceccy.

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