Hello everyone and welcome to my 90th analysis, this time featuring Hydratila the Icebringer.
Overview: Once a paragon of hope against the tyranny of the omnipresent General Thetys, Icebringer has had a tragic fall from grace. At least being the only Nemesis with a varying element based on his weapon saves Icebringer from inferiority like most other Nemeses' inferior forms. Icebringer has an impressive moveset, with a 0 CD AOE buff removal, multiple Freeze moves, and access to 0 CD, 0 Stamina moves that give his team Stamina Regeneration. These make him a notable denier, but nonetheless, there is a problem: Hydratila's Trait is nothing like what it used to be, with the disappearance of General Thetys. It became a Freeze Immunity that sometimes restores Stamina depending on the actions of the enemy. His Speed is also not impressive, being even below the threshold of 3476, let alone 3498, and his Base Strength is not enough to be an attacker. Despite these negatives, Icebringer's moveset is more than enough to keep it up and running.
Builds:
Monsters that have access to Group 4 skills will have a slightly different build path. I will list the most viable builds for each Rank since some moves in Group 4 are pivotal to some sets' success. The monster's role will likely remain the same, however, so this won't be exhaustingly long as I won't repeat the same things.
Rank0
Moves:
-Area Unblessed
-Thetys, Page 24
-Arctic Winds
-Polar Fracture
Runes: 3 Speed/3 Team Speed
Mutant Rune options: Speed&Life, Team Speed&Team Life
Relics: Armors and Traps
Build Explanation:
Area Unblessed is a very flexible attack, possessing 35 Base Power and removing all buffs from the enemy team - doing damage and controlling buffs possibly every turn is a very powerful combo that not many monsters can claim to do. Thetys, Page 24 is a spammable attack in every sense; it is unresisted, it has 0 CD and 0 Stamina cost, it gives your team Freeze Immunity and more importantly, Stamina Regeneration (it honestly depends which one is more important, but generally speaking, Stamina Drain is way more common especially with Relics. Yeah, the game has come to a point where it's arguable whether Stamina Regeneration is more important than Freeze Immunity or not). Arctic Winds relies on a coin flip, but it's the best Icebringer has at this point. Lastly, Polar Fracture is used for its guaranteed single target Freeze.
3 Speed with Life Mutations is the standard for a denier. 3 Team Speed is also useful for him since he might be too slow for a denier, plus his moveset isn't fit for a denier at the moment.
Rank1: Icebringer learns "Thetys, Page 32" at this level, a Base 65, unresisted, 0 CD, 0 Stamina Cost move that gives his team Stamina Regeneration.
A denier like Icebringer does not need a damage boost, plus the team Freeze Immunity is more valuable than a Stamina Leak against a single target. Skip this move for now.
Rank2: Icebringer learns "Freeze Manager" at this level, a Base 40 single target Water move that Freezes all enemies and gives your team Freeze Immunity.
Moves:
-Area Unblessed
-Thetys, Page 24/Thetys, Page 32
-Freeze Manager
-Polar Fracture/Arctic Winds
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as above.
Build Explanation:
With Freeze Manager, Icebringer becomes a true denier. Since Freeze Manager provides the team Freeze Immunity that Thetys, Page 24 does, Icebringer can run Thetys, Page 32 now, but 24 stil has merit for being able to refresh the Freeze Immunity should enemies remove it. Arctic Winds can be used in the last slot over Polar Fracture, if you think the coin flip is worth it.
Rank3: Icebringer learns "Frozen Polar Winds" at this level, a Base 65 single target Water move that Freezes all enemies.
Moves:
-Area Unblessed
-Thetys, Page 24/Thetys, Page 32
-Freeze Manager
-Frozen Polar Winds
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as above.
Build Explanation:
This move adds a second AOE deny move to Icebringer's arsenal. It's useful to have it since it's powerful, plus it gives you another swing at monster you might have missed with Freeze Manager, or you don't want to use you Freeze Immunity yet.
Teammate Options: Having tons of Freeze moves leaves Icebringer in a strange spot, since he can't Freeze enemies over and over again due to the Recently Frozen buff. To alleviate this, you can apply Positive Effects Block or Nanovirus to the enemy before denying them, and they won't get the buff. Or, you can use an AOE buff removal with a slower monster after denying. For Teammate options, check out this article.
Countering Hydratila the Icebringer: For Counter options, check out this article.
