Every Axie card has its pros and cons. What makes all of them similar is that they serve different purposes in battle.

Some cards can be better or worse than others, and a player should know best what Axie cards they hold. So in this guide, I’ll talk about how to tell if Axie Infinity cards are good or bad.

What Are Axie Cards/Abilities?

Axie Cards are the abilities that you execute in combat. They are the game’s primary combat mechanism, so you fight other players or bots with the cards of your Axies.

Each Axie comes with six body parts, and 4 of them dictate which cards an Axie has. Take this Aqua for example:

You can see that it has four different cards from 4 other body parts. These are the cards that you will play when fighting opponents.

All Axie cards have different purposes. They can attack, defend, slow, poison, etc.

If you haven’t read about Axie Infinity abilities and cards, check these articles out:

Axie Infinity Card List

Ultimate Guide to Axie Cards And Effects

How to Know if the Axie Cards are Good

Meta Axies

It’s a good practice to be aware of the current meta Axies of the season. These Axies dominate PvP matches because of how strong their cards are.

In Season 18, one of the most notorious meta Axies is the Terminator Reptile. Commonly known as the beast (or Reptile in this case) of duels, this Axie dominated matches of ALL MMR (Matchmaking Rating) ranges.

You can check out a guide about common meta Axies here: Axie Infinity: What Are Common Meta Axies?

Cards Must Have Synergy

Most cards aren’t strong individually. Each one is a piece of a whole, so all of them need synergy to win.

Mystic Rush and Allergic Reaction are the weapons of a Terminator. If you take a look at the cards, you’ll notice that one relies on the other.

This shows how two Axie cards complement each other. It’s important to view an Axie as a whole because you can see how the cards can work together and benefit the player.

Mystic Rush applies Speed- which is a debuff. Allergic Reaction gets an additional 30% damage against debuffed targets. 

To realize the maximum potential of Allergic Reaction, it needs Mystic Rush to debuff the target. Allergic Reaction can then deal massive amounts of damage.

How to Know if the Axie Cards are Bad

Dead Cards in Axies

A card should help the Axie fulfill its role, either as a tank or a damage dealer. If it doesn’t, then we consider that a dead card.

Dead cards are abilities that are entirely useless to an Axie’s role in battle. 

To know if a card is dead, you have to assess what it contributes to an Axie. Just for fun, see if you can identify the dead cards in this image before reading further:

Here you have a Bird-class Axie with four different cards:

1. None of the cards are Bird-class, so it lacks an extra 10% damage
2. Bird Axies should deal lots of damage, but this one lacks firepower
3. Gas Unleash is for tanks because it poisons while defending, but a Bird Axie isn’t a tank type.
4. Teal Shell is a defensive card which isn’t what a Bird Axie needs
5. Morale has no use because it has nothing to contribute to this Axie (no damage, low shield, no helpful buffs/debuffs)

By looking at this Axie, you can quickly tell that all the cards are dead. So always make sure that all of your Axie’s cards are beneficial to its role in battle.

Cards Can Be Situationally Bad

Axie abilities can’t win all scenarios. Some cards can be inferior to others, depending on the situation. It doesn’t only apply to bad cards because good ones can also be situationally bad.

Gravel Ant is a Bug-class card that can disable ALL of a target’s melee cards. Here is an excellent example of how a card can be situationally bad.

If a Bird Axie went against a Gravel Ant user, the latter is likely to lose. There’s nothing for Gravel Ant to disable because Bird-class cards are typically ranged.

Although that’s the case, people take a risk and still use Gravel Ant in Arena. Like I’ve said, sometimes it’ll work, sometimes it won’t.

A lot of Axie cards have conditions like the Gravel Ant. Players adapt their builds to counter popular ones (e.g., Terminators became popular in Season 18, so players built Gravel Ant Axies to counter them).

Always study the common Axies and what cards work to counter them. That way, you can win in more matches.

Learn From Top Players

You have to know how to use your cards in PvP, or else they’ll be a chink in your armor. The best places to learn card usage are from the top players of Axie Infinity.

Top players post their arena gameplays on social media platforms. Players get the chance to watch and learn from some of the best in the community.

An example of a Youtube-based content creator is Axie on the Moon, otherwise known as ElijahCTG. He talks about his in-game tactics and assessments of popular Axies on his channels.

You can check out his youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTIT3s7MSLYnNAnvsbv8m_A

Conclusion

All cards can be good or bad. In reality, you can never really tell if they will consistently work for you or not. The key to winning isn’t always in your Axies because victory mainly relies on your tactics and strategy and the interaction between your Axies and your opponent’s Axies.

You have to know how and when to use your cards correctly. The slightest error in how you play your cards can lead you to a loss.

Though sometimes, there will be tricky situations where you simply can’t win. Axie Infinity’s arena matches are still card games with a considerable element of luck. 

What do YOU think about the topic? Did I miss anything about this dead or meta cards? Comment it down below!