Matthew525011 on Aug 11, 2019 wrote:

Want to know the most commonly used companions by the PvP community? Read on to find out Logan's take! Do you have a personal favorite that missed the list? Let us know.

https://finalbastion.com/pirate101-guides/p101-companion-guides/top-10-used-companions-in-pvp/

Matthew525011 on Aug 20, 2019 wrote:

Simply put, melee privateer companions in general are very lackluster in PvP. Swashbucklers comps have high base dodge, Buck comps have Turn the Tide and (more often than not) Vengeance strike 3. Melee privy comps have none of these, so they're stuck with medium-low weapon power and a fairly bad stat line. Their biggest upside in general is that other melee classes have very low will, so they can only output good damage if they get lucky chains. Thus, to have more than niche viability, a melee privy unit (I'd argue that this is true in general, particularly in relation to this list) needs to have outstanding secondary powers. Dispel Magic isn't that great when it's on a companion. The most relevant things it can remove are:

• The curse effect from Assassin's Shroud (not the poison itself, or any poisons)
• Movement reduces
• Accuracy reduces
• Spell power reduces (vs witch only)

Starting from the top, Assassin's Shroud is unlikely to be used in the early game. March is almost certainly going to be dead by the time it is used. And, if she's not dead at that point, one of two things is true: the privy wasted too many forts and heals on March, thus making it impossible to save the pirate in the late game OR the privy took a lot of damage in the early game and is likely to lose as a result of this damage.

Bringing March to stop a single Emmet/Exeter reduce seems like bad value. The top tier slow isn't so devastating that you'd have to devote a companion slot to an otherwise mediocre companion to counter it

Bringing it to remove the initial set of buck reduces is normally the main place I see March, but even that isn't particularly powerful or worthwhile. The Privy pirate isn't particularly reliant on chaining, so having a reduced pirate in the early game isn't a big deal. As for stopping reduces on the other companions, I think there are better ways to stop them or lessen their impact. Ratbeard with Hold the Line and Repel Boarders 3 is the optimal approach. Furthermore, to be able to use the Dispel Magic, March obviously has to survive the attack. With the raw power of the buck pirate and companions, this is far from guaranteed.

Finally, if a witch is able to get a spell power reduce off, you would be adjacent to them (or you blundered and are on a straight line or diagonal within their range) and eviscerating them with witch hunter during those 5 turns. In addition, the witch pirate isn't a huge offensive threat, assuming you're playing with rules, so slapping a fort on your pirate and waiting out the reduce (or just running away) is sufficient.

So, March's Dispel isn't all that special (it's an OK power, but nothing to ride home about.) Her will buff is the least impactful of the inhuman resources companions' buffs, as the privy pirate, unlike the Musket/Buck/Buckler pirate, will not be directly attacking much in the early game. Finally, her epic selection is pretty meh. Sure, she can get repel 3, but Ratbeard is generally a better choice when you want a repel unit, as he's much tankier and has better supporting powers. She can get good offensive epics, but with zeal, any unit a privateer brings can chain effectively if it attacks the right targets.

All in all, March is a very mediocre companion. She has niche viability, absolutely, but she's nowhere near as good as Fan/Pete/Chantal, who are staple companions and are brought by their owners in almost every matchup. Fan/Pete/Chantal are easily A or A+ tier companions, while March is a B.