Why it isn't more popular? Because it's more recent.

One of the structural mechanics of a site with this type of system is what would be called "first mover advantage" in business. The early bird getrs the ratings.

Early strats, from 2020, accumulate early votes and likes. And people look first at the most popular strats. This strat is from Jul/Aug 2022, and by that time, the top strats had already accumulated their scores, so people just don't bother looking beyond them.

Further, you only have to complete a Family battle once, so people aren't coming back to Family strats and maybe looking to upgrade, so later strats never get much opportunity to "catch up".

So later strats tend to stay low, and not accumulate votes. Especially in lesser-used strats like Family.

OK, now about the strat itself. I tried it twice, with logging. I lost the first, won the second.

I didn't do the whole spreadsheet thing, but my quick impression is that the strat could do with some stat limits.

My first battle, that failed, was with an S/S Squirrel. Yes, I see that the strat specifies S/B, but I don't have an S/B, and I doubt many people do, and there are several alternatives presented without stat requirements.

This strat is like a one-for-one. It expects each one of your pets to beat each one of the opponent's.

The problem was that my S/S Squirrel didn't kill Shelby in time, and left a chunk of Shelby for the bunny to finish off. And like a relay race where the firtst runner is behind, things deteriorated from there.

So the second time, I swapped out my 244 Power S/S Squirrel for a 289 Power P/S Nuts. Still faster than the slow Shelby, and did a lot more damage, finishing Shelby off, and taking Tinyhoof's first attack.

From there, the strat was back on track. For the last leg, I used the most powerful of the regular snails, a H/P Mudshell Conch, and it finished great.

So, this strat didn't have full testing of the various H/P/S stat combos and clear guidance about what works and what doesn't, and that's its weakness. (Ask DragonsAfterDark about having to get and test many stat combos sometime! :P )

It definitely never deserved a one-star rating, but sadly that's what some people do who try a strat once, and find it doesn't work. :( What I wish they would do is leave a comment explaining the breeds and pets they used, and where things went wrong. What they actually do is hit one star or comment "Doesn't work." That really gets under my skin, but it's the reality of internet rating sites.