IceBall

IceBall

Overview

Type: Shield

Hit Points ✯✯✰✰✰

Attack Power ✯✯✰✰✰

Mobility ✯✰✰✰✰

Utility ✯✯✯✯✯

Learning Curve ✯✯✯✰✰

IceBall is a ice-attack launching refrigerant tank. It has an extremely unique game play style, being the only tank in the game to use damage-over-time mechanics. It is also one of the only tanks to use bouncing shots, alongside Grub and Lightning. IceBall is somewhat frail and does very little immediate damage to opponents on its turn, but can do massive amounts of damage over multiple turns as its ice status-effect builds up onto its target. Additionally, IceBall is one of just two tanks who can debuff an enemy's movement, the other being Beetle King . The ice damage effect will never knock out an opponent, always leaving them with one HP, meaning that IceBall severely struggles to secure direct knock outs but has an unparalleled ability to set up for perfect games. It cannot generally execute a perfect game on its own, however, and must rely on partner tanks such as Kalsidon, Raygun, or Goss to finish the strategy. Because its primary attacks use bouncing mechanics, it can be map-dependent in the same way as Grub. IceBall's attacks also level up Ice Thor and along with Ice Storm, is one of the only tanks who can naturally summon Ice Thor without the use of clouds.

Shot 1

A single clump of ice is hurled in a standard arc, exploding upon hitting a tank, totem, or land. This will apply two instances of the cold effect, destroy just a small amount of land, and directly deal a small amount of damage, typically around 100-120 points. Additionally, the damage from S1 will contribute towards leveling up Ice Thor.

How the cold status works: Each stack will contain two triggers before expiring, and multiple stacks can be applied over multiple turns and by multiple IceBalls. Each instance of the effect will cause around 35 points of damage each turn it applies, as well as penalize the targets movement ability by a small amount. The cold effect will never destroy a tank and will instead leave it at exactly one HP.

Shot 2

A bouncing clump of ice is launched which will burst four times at each bounce, applying a stack of cold status effect to anything within a small radius of it as it goes. Like with the stacks of S1, each stack will contain two turn's worth of triggers. After expiring, it will explode and destroy a small chunk of land where it rests and deal a minuscule amount of direct damage to anything very close by as it does, around 30-40 HP. S2's primary purpose is to apply large quantities of the cold status effect to targets, either to deplete their HP to be knocked out for a conventional win, or to set up for a perfect game. Unlike S1, S2 will not level up Ice Thor.

Special Shot

SS works much like S2 except that up to 5 stacks might be applied and each stack will contain four turn's worth of triggers instead of two. Additionally, several volleys of shots from Ice Thor will be summoned where each explosion occurs, which will add extra damage and land destruction based on what level Ice Thor is at.

Tips and Techniques

1. In 2v2 Score and ProBattle, some of IceBalls ideal partners for executing planned perfect games are as follows:

In the lead position:

Kalsidon: Kal can both quickly rush-down any one target with its high-damaging S2 and execute the perfect game by scattering its S1 at a high angle towards the targets.

Grub: Grub's S1 has a wide range of placements that can be performed to split the balls for a double hit.

Lightning: the large area of splash damage on Lightning's standard attacks make for a very suitable finisher with this strategy.

Plaz: Has a smaller splash range than Lightning with its S1 but potentially larger range with its S2, depending on terrain.

Ice Storm: Can synergize with IceBall's ability to also use and level Ice Thor, but in regards to perfect game execution, Ice Storm can scatter its S2 from a high angle to do trace amounts of damage over a wide area.

In the drop-in position:

Raygun: S1 can very easily penetrate directly from one target to the other for a low-damage, but consistent double hit to finish the perfect game.

Goss: Goss can spawn near (just behind and under) one target and split the spines of its S1 for a consistent double hit.

Otherwise:

Even absent these specific tanks, items such as dual, dual+, or bombs may be used for a perfect game. Likewise, a number of other tanks have splitting multi-hit attacks which can be used (e.g. Turtle S1, Mage S2, etc.), though they will generally be more challenging to pull off.

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