Introduction

The PAD Academy REM is returning the Puzzle and Dragons along with several new cards and evolutions to existing Monsters. For the most part, this Collab is on the luxurious side as it offers modest value for the most part and is more for the collecting/pretty girl aspect. However, based on community feedback, Collab Reviews are important and Academy is more interesting than the Waferman Collab and deserves a quick overview.

With that being said, Monster Hunter Collab is coming to NA/EU soon (when, I do not know so don’t ask) along with new 6-star GFE so there is fierce competition for your Magic Stones.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

PAD Academy REM
8 Star base
7 Star base
6 Star base
5 Star base
4 Star base

PAD Academy Collab Rankings – June 25, 2017
S
A
B
C
D

Order shown is not reflective of ranking and you should only look at the tiers

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them

S

The best of the best. These cards compromise a best in slot role on top tier teams. They are largely irreplaceable and tend to offer something unique that cannot be easily replicated. This mostly exists to showcase the jump in power between the rest of the cards available.

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A

All of the cards in this tier bring tremendous value to a variety of teams as either leaders, subs, or inherits that are challenging to mimic elsewhere. For example, Green Odin  remains one of the strongest bind clears and only card that can remove 5 turns of awoken skill binds (outside of Odin Dragon ). It may not be paramount to your success, but is well worth owning overall.

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B

This category indicates cards that have value, but are not as widely used/irreplaceable as the above tier(s). While they may make your life easier and still bring an additional layer of power to your team, they are far from necessary. With that being said, some of these cards could hold the key to your own teams as everyone has different tools to work with.

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C

Cards in the question mark category tend to be those that are a luxury and are often not widely used for the average player. With that being said, they may bring niche value to your monster box or provide an additional option to use. A great example of this is Red Odin  who is a premiere button farming option, but with the addition of Red Tamazo , players at least have a “farmable” poison inherit along with the future implementation of Descend inherits.

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D

This category indicates the bottom of the Puzzle and Dragons barrel. These cards tend to have almost minimal value as they simply do not fit in the current meta and are badly in need of a buff or new evolution to give them viability. With that being said, you should still keep them as they technically have the most potential for improvement.

Cards at a glance

For the most part, the cards featured in the PAD Academy are reskins of existing monsters so a large chunk of their viability is tied to their REM equivalent. However, some have unique twists on their leader skills and the colour swap can open doors for different teams.

8 Star Base

 Kali – A

Despite sharing the same base active skill as Dark Kali , the PAD Academy version is inferior in the grand scheme of things due to her awakenings and lower viability as a sub overall.

Even though Ra Dragon  is faltering in 3P Cosmic Trinity, he is still a formidable leader that somewhat trivializes most other content. Sadly, The Academy Kali does not work as well compared to her REM cousin on his team and her leadership viability is niche overall.

Academy Kali may boast a high ATK multiplier and damage mitigation component, but having to connect 7 wood orbs and have rainbow activation is no easy feat to accomplish.

Finally, the Healer typing does allow her to be used on Kushinadahime , but she is okay at best.

 Orochi – S

The REM Orochi  is ranked as S on my tier list and having a dark reskin was the best colour possible. This is because dark teams tend to reign supreme in this current meta and being able to just transfer a powerful delay AND grant stats is amazing.

However, Academy Orochi can even be used as a powerful sub due to his beneficial awakenings and 1,000 weighted stats. Despite also carrying a delay active, he can be used a a powerful Dark Athena  sub due to his dual SBR  and Time Extend  awakenings. Generally speaking, Dark Athena teams lack these two types of utility and having a triple TPA  card is just icing on the cake. However, the main drawback is a low 1,100 base ATK which heavily relies on TPA matches to deal sufficient damage.

 Sakuya – C

Sakuya has been out of the meta for quite some time and having an 8-star Collab card that mimics the Awoken (not Reincarnated) form is a little insulting. Academy Sakuya is capable of achieving 100x at 10 combos with fire, water, wood, and light matches with no defensive multiplier and low damage control. Furthermore, she is not even bind immune and has the base active skill that does not remove binds. However, the machine typing does at least present some options for future Ragnarok Dragon .

Overall a thoroughly disappointing card but at least her gravity can be inherited. Remember, it is garbage CAN.

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7 Star base

 Lucifer – B

Dashing looks cannot revive this Lucifer’s viability. Outside of three TPA and 2,006 base ATK, Student Council President Lucifer does not achieve much as a sub on a traditional team. This is because the autoheal  awakenings tend to go to waste and his base active serves no purpose outside of having a modestly low cooldown.

However, with all that being said, some players will find merit to using Academy Lucifer as a button option as he can deal 200x of his 2,006 ATK (goes up with latents, pluses, and inherits) to deal modest damage to light encounters. Very niche, but worth mentioning.

Regardless, I still would not vote for him.

 Athena – A

Athena has two different evolutions, but the only difference is a light versus wood sub attribute and glasses/no glasses. Thus, you are generally safe to pick the fashion style you prefer as there are no actual stat or typing differences.

Looks aside, Athena is a powerful card from the Academy REM as she can act as a potent wood sub due to her bind immunity, triple TPA, and low base cooldown. This enables you to transform her into a bind clearing option through Skill Inheritance while retaining offensive stats. However the only caution is her low base HP, but the naturally high RCV can pay off greatly on Ruel  teams. Finally, her healer typing can allow you to use her on Kushinadahime teams.

 Isis – B

Isis also features a split evolution that adds additional artwork to her image, but she actually has a dramatically different leader skill. Her laptop and Starbucks wielding form has less HP/ATK but gains an RCV component while her more plain version has 2x HP/ATK for Healers and Attackers.

Her non-RCV multiplying form grants her 4x HP / 64x ATK for Healers and Attackers which may seem okay on paper, but you have to remember that she gains access to cards like Haku . Generally speaking, cards with TPA and 7 combo  awakenings are able to deal spectacular damage and this can help Isis keep pace with other flashier leaders. Furthermore, Healers are able to equip Dragon Killer  latents which are arguably the best at the moment.

Outside of a leadership role, Academy Isis modest sub potential as a bind clearing option with some offensive capabilities but may often act as a base for a stronger active skill through her 3-turn base cooldown. However, her lack of God typing and no wood coverage does not allow her to fulfill the same role as her REM equivalent on Ra Dragon teams.

Sidenote, being called Beautiful and Intelligent is a wonderful name for a character.

6 star base

 Hathor – B

Hathor is a new addition to the PAD Academy and is a straight reskin of her REM equivalent. Unfortunately, Hathor has niche uses at best and her shining quality is her dual 7 combo awakenings. However, you can inherit her as a 25% gravity to help bypass resolve encounters.

 Susano – A

Susano has always been inferior to Indra due to the lower shielding value, but Susano’s main advantage is being able to shield for 5 turns at 50%. Depending on the team you are running, 50% may or may not be enough damage mitigation, but being able to dance out 5 turns is invaluable in many scenarios. Furthermore, by being dark attribute, he can transfer stats to many popular teams which can help aid you in meeting those HP thresholds. Unfortunately, his low weighted stats and awakenings make him a poor sub choice.

Finally, I am not sure how his outfit is appropriate for school.

 Acala – A

Academy Acala is a complete reskin of the REM equivalent and changes the activation requirements to water and wood crosses. Acala is a formidable colour cross leader who  has a no Skyfall clause, amazing burst potential, and sub flexibility.

However, Acalas suffer from a lower combo count, vulnerability to bind, a poor base active, and being somewhat orb hungry. 2 colour crosses does 182x ATK which is sufficient for most content, but can face constraints when tackling the new 3P dungeons.

The main thing I can see being a small hurdle to using Acala is the need to use the less common Skulds  over Verdandis  along with finding appropriate friends.

5 star bases

 Theurgia – B

Academy Theurgia was once a potent and modestly desired card before options like Krishna  and Elgenubi  came out. This is because Fire lacked a strong orb enhance sub back then. Thus. Krishna and Elgenubi now lower Theurgia’s overall value they are no longer unique.

However, Theurgia has the lowest base cooldown along with an interesting enhancement component which can make for potentially efficient farming due to the the 4 turn base cooldown.

 Sasuke – B

Sasuke has actually gained some relevance since the last PAD Academy due to the future release of Amenominakanushi’s  board changer and the value of Dragon Killers . Through Amenominakanushi’s active, you will have a more reliable board change combo for the unique light to water orb changer.

In regards to Dragon Killer, almost all challenging spawns have the dragon typing and through the power of Meridionalis  farming setups, you may find merit to abuse the Dragon Killer. Unfortuantely, outside of these niche situations, it will be hard to justify Academy Sasuke a slot on most teams.

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4 star bases

     Fairy Tale Girls – C

The five remaining cards in the PAD Academy REM consist of pretty schoolgirl outfits for the fairy tale girls: Red Riding Hood, Snow White , Thumbelina , Cinderella , and Sleeping Beauty . Unfortunately, they are all stuck in their 4 star form and cannot be utilized for Skill Inheritance as an assistant. Their actives have also been adjusted to reflect their Collab status and now clear two turns of binds and deal 99 true damage to a single enemy. This can be quite valuable when dealing with 10 million defense PreDRAs , but you have to keep in mind that you are only able to execute one of them (and actually have to use them as a sub). However, you are able to use these five lovely ladies as a bind clearing sub on their respective mono-colour teams and inherit a different active onto them so you have an option for more utility. However, this is really pushing the envelope as you can almost always find something better to use as a bind clearing option than a 632 weighted stat card with average awakenings.

Conclusion

The PAD Academy is a very top-heavy Collab that really does not offer enough high end value as they are reskins of existing cards. You are often better off with the REM versions or saving stones for more meaningful Collabs that offer something unique.

It is my belief that Collabs should offer something that cannot be easily replicated by the REM to add another layer of diversity to your Monster Box.

However, all of their art is Fantastic and that may be justification enough to roll.

Happy Puzzling!

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