WarcraftPets Forum

Okay, this was veeery hard to compile for me. I settled with forcing myself to include the pets i use the most.

1. S/S [pet]Alpine Foxling[/pet]
Incredibly well-placed in the meta right now, and has one of the best enablers in [ability]Dazzling Dance[/ability]. This is the full package.
2. P/S [pet]Rebellious Imp[/pet]
I've always enjoyed making teams which applied DOTs, then swapped out, preferably while dodging. After having to settle for [pet]Trashy[/pet] and [pet]Jadefire Spirit[/pet] for a while, along comes this guy, and oh boy has he changed my teambuilding process - to the point that i might actually overuse him.
3. S/S [pet]Wicked Soul[/pet]
Who am i lying to? This pet is cheap and overused, but i can't stop using it because it both because it enables so many strategies AND has an awesome teamheal.
4. [pet]Celestial Calf[/pet]
A pet whose main job is to "reset" another pet back to full, while having the added bonus of usually completely soloing Sunny Day teams, it enables strategies that would be completely impossible without it. Hope there will be a cheaper alternative in BfA so more people can enjoy it.
5. S/S [pet]Qiraji Guardling[/pet]
The fast Anubisath Idol. Everyone knows how many strategies get stopped by Sandstorm, although it requires to be built around to work well. The 325-speed stun is just the icing on the cake.
6. H/H [pet]Sporeling Sprout[/pet]
I got a thing for humanoids, okay? This is the real tank. 1725hp, crouch for survivability, a plethora of choices for backline healing - this mushroom will slowly grind you to dust.
7. [pet]Wyrmy Tunkins[/pet]
Might as well add more humanoids. Simply the best pet to speed-buff in the game. You're not going to win a 1v1 against a faster Wyrmy Tunkins.
8. P/P [pet]Autumnal Sproutling[/pet]
Another tank, this guy will eat your haunt and laugh about it, healing under Darkness and dodging your [ability]Nocturnal Strike[/ability]. And when you finally got it down, it'll simply waltz to the backline, come back for another round later and brag about it.
9. [pet]Squirky[/pet]
Now you're just showing off, humanoids. Probably the second-best pet to speed-buff. Incredible stalling potential if it is faster, also kills Sunny Day.
10. H/P or H/H [pet]Iron Starlette[/pet]
By far the best one-shot killer. Nothing even comes close, all thanks to [ability]Powerball[/ability]. A well-played Starlette is a threat to even the most powerful pets. Except Teroclaw.
11. [pet]Enchanted Pen[/pet]
My primary pet to switch into after dotting up an enemy. Forboding Curse is just too satisfying to say no.
12. [pet]Pygmy Owl[/pet]
I don't expect anyone else to have this on his or her list, but i've been lobbying for it pretty hard. Naturally faster than a Teroclaw Hatchling, with a built-in heal and damage potential that rivals Bone Serpent. Don't be on the wrong side of it after [ability]Preen[/ability]. Choo Choo!
13. P/B [pet]Infernal Pyreclaw[/pet]
One of the many new good AOE pets that came with RwL5. Not the most powerful, as i consider [pet]Twilight Clutch-Sister[/pet] to be among the very best pets in the game right now, but pretty damn close, and comes with a built-in speed buff.
14. P/P [pet]Warbot[/pet]
Is it possible i like tanks? Well, this one throws Mines as an added bonus.
15. [pet]Court Scribe[/pet]
I have someone on my meta who pretty much always played this and often beat me with it, so i tried it out myself. Now i'm in love. Has a lot of viable moves and can punish synergy teams with Consume Magic, swappy teams with Curse of Doom, one-shots by magic racial and humanoids by existing.
16. [pet]Vengeful Porcupette[/pet]
It just has to be on the list. I don't particularly enjoy playing it, but it's just too powerful and an answer to too much of the metagame to ignore. Interestingly, i almost never see it in the queues.
17. P/S [pet]Highlands Turkey[/pet]
Great for teams that require build-up due to a fast sleep effect. If your opponent doesn't know that the sleep stays for two rounds unless hit, which happens quite often unless you play it a lot in your queues, you can get very unfair starts. If it had a better base attack, this would be way higher on my list.
18. [pet]Infinite Hatchling[/pet]
The first pet that can really rival Blighthawk as the best Cyclone provider, all while bringing the most powerful speed-buff ever in [ability]Temporal Anomaly[/ability] (although it's way easier to play around compared to Dazzling Dance.)
19 [pet]Ban-Fu, Cub of Ban-Lu[/pet]
When i got my monk pet, i didn't think it would be as powerful as it is. The high speed turns the predictable steamroller that is Xu-Fu into a force to be reckoned with, because rather than guessing when it's a good time to use your Prowl/Heal combo, you now just know.
20. H/S [pet]Dung Beetle[/pet]
For nineteen pets, i told you why they are strong in PVP. For this one, i'll just say that it's incredibly satisfying to beat up real pets with a pet named [pet]Dung Beetle[/pet].

Okay, that was quite the text. Pretty sure i forgot many worthy entries, but as you said, it's not about power, but about favorites, and i handled it that way - the list would look completely different otherwise.

I started this list a while ago, but left it. I suppose I may as well get it posted, but I'm still not happy with it. This is much harder that the usual arguments about the "best" pets. Preference and sentiment applies. So these are my old reliables, the first ones I turn to and the ones I feel good about when I slot them. So, a predictable and boring selection. I don't play much now, and when I do it's mostly a very brief foray into the PvP queue, so my list is probably a bit biased in that direction.

1. [pet]Anubisath Idol[/pet].
I can't remember exactly when I got my first Idol, but I know I farmed it. It must have been soon after I maxed my first team in 5.4, and the Idol was so good against the Pandaria tamers I loved it immediately. Even now I always feel good when I am slotting an Idol. PvE, PvP, Sandstorm or Stoneskin, Deflection or Quake, I'm never in doubt about it. If Undeads weren't so prevalent in PvP, I would use it more. I love the design, apart from Demolish. It's a perfect simple tanky pet.

2. [pet]Alpine Foxling[/pet] (S/S)
used to be even better before the devs removed the option of Howl-Flurry-Flurry, which vanquished many villains back in the dark days of Graves and the Evul Undead (feat. MPD), but even now, it's another pet I never regret. A crucial part of my favourite PvP team of Fox, Crab, Moth, it always earns its place.

3. [pet]Emperor Crab[/pet] (P/P)
like the Idol, is a comfort pet. I like and use the slot options a lot.

4. [pet]Moth[/pet].
Take your pick. H/P Gilded Moth is my default, but of course I also use specific breeds when indicated, and I do love Flamering Moth with the heal for PvP. I'm generally not crazy about adding RNG, but I regard the stun on Moth Dust as just a bonus.

5. [pet]Unborn Val'kyr[/pet].
Partly because it took so long to camp back in Mists before the current quick respawns, partly because I knew it was key to many strats when I first got it, and partly because I love the appearance. My original was a grey B/B, and as I battled I was praying it wouldn't suicide. I immediately invested in a Blue stone for it - 5000 gold, I think, which was not cheap for me back then.

6. [pet]Blighted Squirrel[/pet] (H/P).
My original Bleed & Stampede pet. To this day, I still use it in preference to Ikky, with a Valk and/or a Sen'jin Fetish. The great thing about the Blighted Squirrel is that it can guarantee to leave the opposing pet with two rounds of Shattered Defences for a follow-up nuke session. I now know that Infected Squirrel is often better for the same purpose, but I still use my old reliable, even when Crouch is not needed.

7. [pet]Teroclaw Hatchling[/pet].
Sorry. Don't hate me! Yes, it's OP in PvP at the moment, and I would support a slight clip of its wings with a breed change to H/S. But it's not totally obnoxious, like Graves was and Bone Serpent is, and it will drop at least a PvP tier when - not if - Blizzard buff AoE again. Remember, it was around in the dark days of Graves, and was useless in that meta. But day-um, I love the design. Every option in every slot is usable, like one of those things you see on TV ads that turns into another thing when you move bits around. We need more pets with that quality.

8. [pet]Iron Starlette[/pet].
I love it for its effectiveness. I hate it for its single-mindedness, its one-tricksiness.

9. [pet]Blighthawk[/pet].
After all this time, I still don't know on any given day whether I will feel like slotting Consume Corpse or Ghostly Bite. Most often a H breed with Consume Corpse.

10. [pet]Murkalot[/pet].
No, not what you're thinking. I had him before I started battling, and I loved his animations and sounds. He was the leader of my first team to 25. I really enjoyed getting the enemy down to a point where Falling Murloc would end the battle. These days, with a BFB, he serves as my character-XP grinding stalwart when I want an alt to pick up half-a-level or so nuking wild pets. I still love his animations and sounds.

11. [pet]Spectral Spinner[/pet] (S/S).
I love the Blind. I love the cheap shot that follows, and with all the Darkness around these days, it provides an extra bit of head-game. And even when I can't swap it out to await another innings, it does a surprising amount of damage before it goes down.

12. [pet]Purple Puffer[/pet].
When the skies are clear of Flyers, its huge power makes this a sweet wrecking ball.

13. [pet]Son of Sethe[/pet].
Another Love/Hate case. If I'm Charlie Brown, Son of Sethe is the football. I love the idea of the pet, and I keep wanting to make a good PvP team with it, but that low healthpool just keeps whisking the ball away at the last second. I still keep trying, though. WTB H/P or H/H.

14. [pet]Spring Rabbit[/pet].
My first real rabbit. When I was starting, I traded family Blue stones with a very helpful battler, and he wanted to trade a Blue Critter stone. I mentioned I had a Green Spring Rabbit, and he said it would serve me well. Eventually, when I figured out how to use it right, it did.

15. [pet]Nightshade Sproutling[/pet] (S/S).
Did I mention I love Blinds? Also enjoy the option of Darkness vs. Heals.

16-Whatever. And now, in no particular order, a set of pets I can't decide between, either from sentiment or interestingness or usefulness:
[pet]Ban-Fu, Cub of Ban-Lu[/pet]
[pet]Hyjal Wisp[/pet]
[pet]Infinite Hatchling[/pet]
[pet]Jademist Dancer[/pet]
[pet]Legs[/pet]
[pet]Mechanical Axebeak[/pet]
[pet]Stardust[/pet]
[pet]Vengeful Porcupette[/pet]
[pet]Willy[/pet]
[pet]Wyrmy Tunkins[/pet]

I feel obliged to comment on this thread since I have strong connections with my favorite pets, I will not go into detail on each one only that these are the pets I spent a lot of time getting or was excited about getting. Also some of these pets i used in so many teams since MoP

1. [pet]Corrupted Nest Guardian[/pet]. Definitely my favorite pet of all time, wasn't until I got it from HfC in WoD that it hit nr. 1 but I doubt there will be any pet to replace it.

2. [pet]Chi-Chi, Hatchling of Chi-Ji[/pet]. First pet I got from the Celestial tournament, felt like such a reward, had him summoned almost always when raiding SoO and into WoD, had way less feelings about the other celestial pets.

3. [pet]Kovok[/pet]. Yes I abused the hell out of this pet before it got nerfed back in MoP but I loved the little guy and still do, unique model and ability setup what more can you ask for

4. [pet]Nerubian Swarmer[/pet].

5. [pet]Son of Sethe[/pet]

6. [pet]Ruby Droplet[/pet] Very similar to Son of Sethe, I am fond of Drain Blood.

7. [pet]Quiraj Guardling[/pet] One of the first "stable" pets i got and leveled to 25 back in MoP, and used it many strats.

8. [pet]Race MiniZep[/pet]. My old favorite pet, before all the others this one used to be nr.1 but has fallen in the shadows of others now.

9. [pet]Skunky Alemental[/pet]. I think I killed the boss on the Timeless Isle a 100 times before getting the pet. I was so happy about it that I named it after a local beer brand I was drinking called Gull (which means gold) which happened to fit the pet really well.

10.[pet] Spineclaw Crab[/pet]. Been using this one against elementals since it dropped for me in MoP, still works like a charm.

11. [pet]Argi[/pet]

12.[pet]Discarded Experiment[/pet]

13. [pet]Mr. Wiggles[/pet]

14. [pet]Dandelion Frolicker[/pet]

15. [pet]Sister of Temptation[/pet]

16. [pet]Servant of Demidos[/pet]

17. [pet]Nightmare Whelpling[/pet]

18. [pet]Brightpaw[/pet]

19. [pet]Grommloc[/pet]

20. [pet]Stormwing[/pet]

Signed, SillyV

Favorites in terms of novelty:

1. Crazy Carrot.
Awkward yet very diverse moveset. Can go tanky using Ironbark, Aged Yolk, and Blistering Cold backline healing with Plagued Blood or stun for Acid Rain setup and pummel with a humanoid attack.

2. Netherspace Abyssal.
The only dot and swap magic pet there is as well as the only one with Explode. Its defensive racial, force swap, and power breeds complement its Immolation backline healing very well.

3. Trunks.
A 50% attack can be a game changer but not as much as when it has terrifying Moonlight synergy on a pet with Moonfire and extreme power investment. Trunks' slow speed makes it difficult to weather counter as it can drop its weather at the end of the first turn and potentially one shot at the start of the second. This can be bonkers when paired with Uncanny Luck.

4. Micronax.
It's not often I get excited about mechs given most of their movesets seem to be the same bland 12 or so moves recycled ad nauseum so I just had to have this little guy for its unique dot and feign setup and Howlbomb potential. Hella nice stats, too!

5. Cursed Birman.
Decent Moonlight synergy although its true power lies in its combo. Spirit Spikes' feedback damage is buffed by Prowl without consuming it allowing you to double dip against slower pets.

6. Ancient Nest Guardian.
Speaking of double dipping, Feathered Frenzy will buff the damage of Entangling Roots as well as that of the following attack. This and the Corrupted Nest Guardian are the only mechs with a type transform.

7. Gulp Froglet.
The only aquatic able to apply Shattered Defenses and the only one with Corpse Explosion. I used both to great effect against the Family Fighter bosses.

8. Clockwork Gnome.
A classic, Build Turret is fearsome under the correct conditions. The gnome has a nice variety of damage types to boot!

9. Kirin Tor Familiar.
The odd combo of Arcane Storm and Rot has strong synergy with the Frostwolf Ghostpup and mana wyrms.

10. Enchanted Broom.
Strong synergy with traps; sweep in a high health pet then Clean-Up to trigger. The broom came in handy for the Magic Brawler achievement as the only magic pet with Sandstorm.

11. Azure Crane Chick.
The only flier with Cleansing Rain as well as an aquatic attack. Its high power breed is awesome for its arsenal: Quills with the racial active then switch gears to Surge when it drops.

12. Sneaky Marmot.
The 3 round CD Blinding Powder was originally only available to the mediocre spores. That short cooldown puts this critter’s evasion potential higher than a rabbit’s. Plus it has a humanoid basic attack and Smoke Bomb.

13. Falcosaurs.
Falcosaur Swarm is the only swarm ability that lasts 2 rounds without incurring a cooldown. Contrary to the tooltip, the crit buff is not limited to the active pet allowing for some absurd combo attacks. Damage reduction buffs are also rare for fliers in general.

14. Twilight Clutch-Sister.
Twilight Fire and dragonkin racial with the overbudgeted Twilight Meteorite – yeesh!

15. Pocket Cannon.
Them shots.

16. Tiny Blue Carp.
Not one but two attacks with Arcane Winds synergy, and Healing Stream just waiting for the day we finally get that aquatic with Arcane Storm.

17. Elekk Plushie.
Get rekt, scrub.

18. Hatespark the Tiny.
The only pet with pure Burning synergy. Others can get a Burning attack with Conflagrate or Deep Burn but not both.

19. Wolpertinger.
The only pet that can have attacks that CC in all three slots.

20. Boneshard.
The only pet that can have Bonestorm in all three slots.

Hi,

Things have changed so much, that it's hard to simply think of a favorite these days, unless you are talking some pvp stuff, that I can't do. I don't pet battle as much as I used to when I needed to level pets and such, and get all the fights done in Argus and all that ... and in those fights, almost none of these were involved, to give you an idea how things change, and how Blizzard keeps tabs on what we say, see and do.

All in all, here we go:

Anubisath Idol
Unborn Val'kyr (both types)
Teroclaw Hatchling
Iron Starlette (both types)
Nexus Whelpling
Nether Fae Whelpling

I'm not sure that my choices are that much different than other folks. I check what to use for pet battles, and sometimes I swap them around some.

Favorite combos are all Rabbits in a couple of fights, all Fishies in a couple of fights, all the Bloodgazers together, all the Zandalari's together, all the Bonestorm'rs together and such.

This was really fun to decide which pets were my favourite especially when limited to only 20! Most of these pets are from playing PVP as I don't especially do much PVE. There is one from PVE but it still does well in the queue.

1. Wicked Soul
This was probably the easiest and most obvious choice for me. This pet was just released when i started really getting into PVP so as a beginner it was very easy for me to throw this on a team to make it viable. You have the free swap with Haunt and a team heal its gonna do well on a lot of strats. I do think that having a Haunt on a pet this fast really does make it hard for newer players or sub meta teams facing this guy which I'm not a fan of especially. That said it can really contribute when you do face those guys playing the easy pets like Bone Serpents or Idols.

2. Shimmering Aquafly
This pet is great and I'm not sure why I don't face that many of these. It does suffer vs Darkness or Dragons but other than that its a great stall and support pet. As this pet is good for stalling you can utilise the off heal to any aquatics you might be running as well. It will 1v1 a Teroclaw but if you play someone who doesn't swap theirs to the backl ine for the HoT then your probably going to win anyway. I'm actually expecting this pet to fill the Teroclaw bracket once its hot with the nerf bat.

3. Fel-Afflicted Skyfin
This guy has one big weakness, its slower than the Teroclaw but other than that this guy will nearly always get a trade with your opponent. The ideal outcome is to get the dot up on the whole enemy team but this only really happens when you face a haunt pet on the opener. I actually used this for some of the PVE i was doing recently and it does a really good job there too. I kinda feel its a bit or a marmite pet though as either you love it or hate it. I'm in the love side.

4. Alpine Foxling
A pet that counters two of the most OP pets you will face in the meta whats not to love. Dazzling Dance is probably one of the best abilities on game as it makes that OK pet and turns in into a monster. There's alot of teams that reply on speed which this also messes up. It also has Crouch which on a fast pet last for essentially 4 rounds. You have to really go with the S/S breed to get the best out of it in most circumstances.

5. Benax
So finally a pet that isn't up there as a tier 1. This guy is cool to tank with as it has high health, a bubble, field effect and decent power. Funnily enough I often couple this guy with the Aquafly so the off heals can often give this pet a few hundred extra HP to rinse and repeat bubbling and swarm of flies. There's a really nice tactic this pet can pull off vs Haunters by bubbling the round you take the Haunt. Then you can get your Swarm of Flies up then back line saving a charge or bubble for the swap back into battle.

6 Frostfur Rat
Fast, with flurry, crouch and a weather effect yeah this is a good pet. This pet is the scourge of Undead and Elemental pets in the meta. You do have to watch out for faster pets and shields but the Darkness gives the opportunity to get a decent attack off and ruin alot of those healing strats. the 341 speed rat is definitely my favourite and I don't really see any reason to use other breeds.

7 Nether Faerie Dragon
This pet has a lot of self synergy and can take control of a match if its faster and gets racial procs going with its ramp up. Moonlight is a fun weather that is a little under represented in the meta imo but theres alot of pets you can pair up and perform well. There's an alternate build where cyclone is swapped in. Getting up the dodge into cyclone into a hit buff works really well and without a counter puts you in a strong position to win the game. It also looks pretty sweet which is just a bonus for this pet.

8. Jademist Dancer
I think this pet should be higher on my list as in PVP there is loads of strats you can run Clone Dance, Weather, Aoe, Ability crit/hit buffs and pure burst. Its also my go to for any PVE encounter where there's elemental pets. The S/S in the best overall breed as it has a rather unusual 317 speed. The Jademist will also put in a good performance vs the T0 duo.

9 Nexus Whelpling
I should really have said Stormborne as it has the better ability range but this list is about personal favourites so its gotta be Nexus all the way. Funnily enough I'm pretty lazy when it comes to PVE encounters and if I can run multiple of these i will. Although this pet does not get on here purely due to its PVE performances, many a time I have cleaned up a whole opponents team in 3 consecutive rounds. The level of burst these guys can put out especially with the Dragonkin racial can be pretty insane. I'd recommend the P/S breed if you PVP as its a little harder to play around with a fraction more speed.

10. Sneaky Marmot
There was a time in my meta where this pet was literally everywhere. I feel it was my own fault as there was a few weeks where I spammed teams using this pet and it was just a matter of time before it appeared on other players teams. The Marmot has evasion for days and two builds that you can run. The first build is defensive and uses basic attack, blind and Smoke Bomb and the second build is offensive and uses basic attack, blind and Burrow. Neither of these builds is especially better than the other but i prefer the offensive build. S/S is generally going to be the best but P/P is interesting.

11. Fledgeling Kingfeather
I think I'm the only one running this on a 90% tier 1 team. Its a truly unknown pet to alot of people but having the flying racial, multi attack speed based ability, Adrenaline Rush and Cyclone on a pet with 341 power is really really good. Normally you will at least trade this pet for an opponents pet plus get up a hard hitting cyclone. I used to run the Dragonbone Hatchling all the time but the model and stats of the Kingfeather are soo much better. It also destroys teams of Critters that can be a pita sometimes.

12. Arcane Gorger
A pretty new pet that's not been out too long and one I have barely seen anyone use. It has an amazing move set though Flurry, Amp Magic and Mana Surge at 325 speed. You have to pretty much run this pet with Arcane Winds otherwise its not especially viable. This pet is rather fragile as well so don't get into a slogging match. I'm really glad that this model has been used on a decent pet all those other Wrymns are pretty trash.

13. Spirit Crab
I cannot remember the number of times this pet has destroyed Teroclaw Hatchlings for me. Its such a good feeling when you can beat those kind of players with this humble crab. I run alot of wild caught only teams and this having Rot opens up soo many strategies. Its really cool that this pet also combines very well with frogs which leads to lots of possibilities. Theres a lot of strategies you can use with this pet and I think every slot is actually viable. I do nearly always run surge though its an invaluable ability.

14. Twilight
OMG this game is pay to win! Twilight is certainly unique and if it always hits can take control and put you ahead in a game very quickly. So when this pet doesn't hit it can be super frustrating and depending on what misses possibly game deciding. This was definitely a fad pet that was all over the meta for about 2 weeks before it disappeared again. Darkness pets aren't always my favourite play style as Darkness>Nocturnal strike etc isn't especially immersive. The thing that swung it for this pet being on the list was it just out speeds the Bone Serpent so sorry try hards when facing this you'll have to run something other than a bully BS comp.

15 Knockoff Bling
This was the first big purchase I made for my pet collection and this is a really fun themed one. Having the combo of Mines and Stampede is really devastating and one I used to run with Haunt almost exclusively. I've recently started using it along with Call Lightning and its every effective as well. The model of this pet is one of my favourites too looks like a really cool its like this pet is barely making it.

16.Iron Starlette
If this guy isn't soloing PVE battles then its one shotting players in the queue. In PVP hands down the best build is Powerball all you guys who run Toxic Smoke are missing out. This pet is a bit of a gimmick for sure and magic pets are a nightmare for it. When I'm in doubt and need a hard hitter this pet is my first choice. Its also made it onto my favourite team this expac which is at 95% with over 100 wins.

17.Autumnal Sprout
Way back when I did my tier 1 list this guy was on there although it wasn't for a little bit longer before this 'secret pet' started becoming more well known. Everyone now knows that this pet is a bit of a tank similar to the Teroclaw but unaffected by weather. Initially I ran it on Darkness teams as something different and a way to still heal. I've also had a lot of success with the S/S version of this now as its very stally and can heal on the backline too. This pet is another on my all star 95% win ratio comp.

18.Qiraji Guardling
For this guy to be really effective it needs to be faster unless its facing critter damage. This is my favourite Sandstorm user and is better than using every beginners favourite the Idol, not because its a better pet but more that is harder to play well. Another wild caught pet that i really love using as they are pets available to everyone and are limited to specific gated requirements. This is the third pet on my all star team and is probably the forgotten pet.

19. Warbot
My favourite Minefield user and also a decent tank to boot. I used to really like this pet but I don't know if the meta has changed gradually but its not been effective as it used to be. Its still very good however and certainly one of the best Mechanicals. I love how this pet can shred Beasts either head to head or when they swap in for the 1k Minefield.

20. Wrymy Tumkins
Wrymy is only soo good at the moment as Jar of Smelly Liquid is an overpowered ability. Its over budget so does much more damage than it should. Its still really fun to play and not silly OP (TCS, BS, TCH). If you can get a speed buff up however this guy goes from very good to one of the best pets in the game. Basically you can have Jar of Smelly Liquid damage & speed debuff up the whole time. This makes Wrymy able to go toe to toe with strong counters, Iv'e 1v1'd Bone Serpents before.

Hope you like the list and my insight as to why I enjoy playing it.

All of my favorite pets come from PvP.

20. P/P Darkshore Cub - I’ve always loved bleeding synergy, and throughout the history of PvP bleed teams have been some of my “go-to” teams for wins. This little bear wasn’t initially one of my favorite bleeders, but it’s 260 speed combined with Bash eventually won me over. Not to mention 325 power + Maul + bleeding + beast racial = crazy damage. As an added bonus it’s sleek look makes it one of my favorite bear models.

19 P/P Imperial Eagle Chick - So how’s that rabbit doing? Oh, it’s dead. Rabbits used to be a more common threat, and this flyer was my favorite way to deal with them.

18 H/H Lost Of Lordaeron - I have a few teams designed for dealing with triple flyers, which were a thing even before the achievement. Most of them include this pet. This ghost can last a long time on the front line while is spams Arcane Explosion, killing backline flyers while I laugh. Seriously, I don’t like triple flyers.

17 H/P Blighted Squirrel - While it’s cousin the Infected Squirrel was once a crowd favorite, the shielding and undead racial on the Blighted Squirrel meant it could often take out a pet, then leave the next pet with a debuff or a bleed.

16 Macabre Marionette - I like to play around with field effects and heals like Plagued Blood and Touch of the Animus, this pet has two. When Graves/MPD was everywhere I have pleasant memories of this guy taking down decoys left and right. Also a good fit on a lightning team. Also likes to party.

15 H/S Tiny Twister - No, it’s not just hear for the segue, the twister is a blast on lightning teams, and this pet is my main man when it comes to calling down the storm. The slot one move could be better, but at least Wild Winds has some lightning synergy. A 289 speed Bash should not be ignored, especially when you’re taking lightning ticks.

14 S/S Golden Dragonhawk Hatchling - The 357 speed silver version was my go-to Fluxfire Feline killer when the FFF was making everyone pull their hair out. However, the golden version with its 309 speed ended up on a lot more teams in the long run. Conflagrate on a burning target along with the dragonkin racial pumps out the damage. Not to mention its split damage gives mechs a headache.

13 Twilight Fiendling - My favorite “for the lols” pet. At one point the community came to somewhat of a consensus that this was the worst PvP pet. Which means you can play it with no pressure to win, and any wins make you feel like a pet battling superhero.

12 H/P Infested Bear Cub - Another bleed pet that has done right by me. A beefy undead that can dish out a reasonably powerful Maul. The undead cub was once Snarly’s main parter it crime. It would have been higher on the list if I didn’t have so many memories of Infected Claw missing idols for the kill when hit rate was a thing.

11 H/S Tiny Bog Beast - I really liked this pet’s model so I tried to make it work. It turned out that the 289 speed Clobber could be useful. The other moves aren’t that great though, so I usually paired this pet with my heavy hitters, which led to a lot of fun battles and wins. Probably my best memory is going 27-0 with the imp and mask combo.

10 S/S Mongoose Pup - With only 1237 health you have to be really careful. Dive and Survival can help it alive. So many times the pup sat on the backline with 1 health, then came out to pop Survival and finish for the win. Sadly, when the AoE fest that was WoD came along it was no longer safe to hang out on the back line with 1 health, so this pet stopped seeing as much use.

9 Leviathan Hatchling - This is one of my current favorite pets. I love Primal Cry, but was not always a huge fan of raptors or direhorns. An aquatic with Primal Cry was just what I needed. With a good variety of an AoE, a DoT and na ormal attack this has been one of my mainstays in Legion. Taking weak damage from Wicked Souls is lovely.

8 Warbot - Throw down some mines, put up some armor, shoot them with high powered missiles. This pet, combined with the Fiendish Imp, was a part of my all time favorite combo. Trying to outlast those mines? Sorry, gonna gate you out. Sadly, Graves’ ability to clear the field made mines a no-no in WoD. Also, when the hit rate damage model was changed to the high/low damage model the expected value of Missile damage took a big nerf. I still use this pet a lot, but it’s nowhere near as good as it used to be.

7 S/S Prairie Mouse - I learned to love this pet in MoP, but it became a true super hero in WoD. The mouse is a bona fide MPD killer. It’s faster, it puts a strong DoT up on mechs, it takes down decoys in one turn. Strong damage against undead and Survival to stay alive are also awesome. Good little mouse!

6 Snarly - Someone once described my website as “the Spirit Crab and bleed teams”. At that time they weren’t entirely wrong. I absolute love bleeding synergy, and Snarly is my favorite bleed pet. Use Rip to apply the bleed and your opponent has two choices: stay in and take 650 damage from Blood In The Water or swap. Swapping means the pet continues to take damage on the back line and there’s still a 50% for Blood In The Water to hit the front pet. Combine Snarly with a Maul pet and you have one of the best synergies in the game.

5 Sen’jin Fetish - Once there was a limerick contest on Warcraft Pets. I think my entry sums up how I feel about this pet:

“Countering the meta is vital
There’s valks there’s death adders there’s idols
But my troll voodoo mask
Is so up to the task
That for me Blizz will create a new title”

In 5.4 (my favorite meta) the two super villains were valks and adders. The mask countered them both with a well timed Sear Magic. Some of the most rewarding moments were timing it right to cleanse the blind, Haunt and Curse of Doom in one fell swoop. Still a decent pet.

4 S/S Robo-Chick - Probably one the first pets I used that showed me the joy of using less popular pets to great success. A damage buff, a speed buff, a multi attack and a nuke all in one move set gives the chick a way to deal with a lot of situations. Out-speeding flyers and unleashing Wind-Up on idols always come to mind when I think of this pet. I recently started using it again.

3 S/S Fiendish Imp - Before 5.3 three dropped I already loved the Corefire Imp, but it was immediately replaced with the Fiendish Imp. A 333 speed pet with a swap. Healing itself and doing damage on the back line. The only highest tier pet that I use regularly. Paired with the Sen’jin Fetish or the Warbot the imp creates an automatic super duo.

2 H/S Scalded Basilisk Hatchling - Imprison, attack, play dead. Once the beast racial has procced your multi attack is hitting for 175, meaning a sure 350 damage if you’re faster and a chance at 525. I don’t how many battles that I just sat back, knowing I’d won because I have the basilisk ready to come out to use Crystal Prison then Thrash twice. This pet has a serious weakness against anything when it is slower, so it has the interesting quality of going from godmode to uselessness very quickly if it’s not faster.

1 H/H Spirit Crab - This was the best PvP pet pre-5.3 in my opinion. With 1887 health and the undead racial who cares if it has 195 speed. In fact, that’s a good thing because there are no wasted stats on speed. The 292 power is great for something having that much health. Firing off so many 345 damage Snaps throughout the course of a battle was awesome even if it did miss 5% of the time. When the meta was swamped with pre-nerf direhorns this pet was still pulling its weight. Sadly, it got hit with two nerfs. When the damage went to the high/low model Snap was given a flat damage of 312. It made a big difference. Then the undead nerf happened and the Spirit Crab was great no more.

Honorable Mentions
When I first made this list I initially ended up with more than 20. These are the pets that didn’t make the cut:

Jademist Dancer
Emerald Shale Hatchling
Scourged Whelpling
Flayer Youngling
Ghastly Kid
Nightshade Sproutling
Wyrmy Tunkins
Rabbit
Rabid Nut Varmint 5000

I love the list Disco, definitely shows the length of time you’ve been playing with the variety.