The Mo Long counter Advent Calendar - Day 4
The team: Veromos Arnold Mihyang
Usable against: Arnold can be used against any Mo Long comp without a reviver. Then you just tailor your other 2 monsters against the enemy's other 2 monsters. In this battle I use Vero and Mihyang to counter Jeanne and Harmonia. If you want another example of Arnold against a more common team, see my guide here which discusses using Tractor Arnold Triana against Mo Long Ritesh Perna.
How it works: Mo Long's S3 does 70% of his HP, and Arnold's S3 does 30% of his HP. So if Arnold has the same or more HP than Mo Long, this should result in a dead Mo Long. Arnold is runed on nemesis to make sure he gets the turn right after Mo Long uses his S3.
The important thing here is that Arnold needs higher HP than Mo Long for this to work, and that's not an easy task. Mo Long has higher base HP than Arnold, has his own 33% HP lead, and is often given some of the player's best runes. No one is giving Arnold their best runes. It is strongly recommended to use a HP lead for your team as well to help make sure your Arnold has enough HP, so Vero is chosen here for his lead skill almost moreso than the fact that he helps tank Jeanne and deals with her provoke.
I chose Mihyang here as my 3rd monster because I needed healing, a bit of damage (Mihyang is an atk-based healer), and because I have her runed with a destroy set. Jeanne + Harmonia has an incredible amount of sustain and without destroy it is likely that the battle ends in a draw. If the defense had a more damage oriented fire monster like Perna instead of Harmonia, then I would simply use a wind tank like Chasun or Triana in place of Mihyang.
Strategy: Pray for Mo Long to use reckless assault on Arnold and not strip/stun him with his S2. The following 3v2 might be tedious but should be very safe.
Runing considerations:
Arnold - I would recommend at least 160 spd on single nem to be able to cut in safely after a 260 spd Mo Long. People generally overestimate the amount of nem and spd required for Arnold, so here's some (very) rough math for your peace of mind:
- Nemesis rune is 4% ATB for every 7% HP lost. Mo Long does 70% HP so Arnold is gaining 40% ATB.
- That means that Arnold needs about 60% ATB by the time Mo Long reaches 100% ATB, or about 60% of Mo Long's spd. If Mo Long is 260 spd then your Arnold should be about 160 spd.
I also strongly recommend will and shield sets on Arnold to give you an extra layer of protection in case Mo Long uses S2 or procs into S2.
As for HP requirements, you'll want to have at least 45k (before towers and lead), if not close to 50k hp depending on what level of reliability you are shooting for.
Vero - standard fast/tanky support build. Vio is not necessary. Also not a bad idea to build some damage on him (either crit slot 4, or getting some atk/crit off subs).
Mihyang - standard fast/tanky support build with atk since her heal is based off her atk stat, and you want her to contribute some damage. Vio is not necessary.
A destroy set is needed somewhere, doesn't matter which monster it is on.
Seriousness factor: 5/10. Arnold seems to be a popular fan favorite Mo Long counter but personally I stay away from it. Any Mo Long counter that relies on Mo Long using his S3 cannot possibly be reliable. There are too many ways for this to go wrong. Mo Long can use his S2 or proc into S2, stripping/stunning Arnold. Mo Long can hold on to his S3 and use it much later, and in that time Arnold can get weakened/targeted by other monsters, CC'ed, or have his ATB get messed up so nem will no longer cut properly. Mo Long can be runed on a triple HP build and have more HP than Arnold. Mo Long can be runed on Vamp. The list goes on...
With respect to Vero, he's not a straight up Jeanne counter at all. He only reduces the impact of Jeanne's S3 provoke, and sort of tanks her. But Jeanne does more than just provokes enemies, she also heals and cleanses allies. If you take away her provoke she is still contributing more to her team than Vero is. The main consideration that makes Vero do enough to warrant a spot on this team is his HP lead for Arnold.
Day 1: Hraesvelg Huan Rina vs Seara Mo Long Harmonia
Posted Dec 4, 2018, 6:17 PM UTC