Loss Filters of 10 Retired EAs and Lessons
Contents
- Filters of the Former EAs and What Happened Next
- Lessons
- 1. A "filter that avoids past losses" is not, on its own, evidence of an edge
- 2. Python backtests and live MT5 are different things
- 3. What is universally useful is "defensive" design
- Current Lineup (Figures Published on This Site, as of 2026-10-11; Max DD Is Relative)
Loss-Avoidance Filters of 10 Former EAs — Why We Retired Them All and What We Learned
⚠ Fully revised on 2026-09-25: The first edition (2026-05-26) compared the loss-avoidance filters of the ten EAs we published at the time (MEGAMAX / THUNDER BTC / HYDRA ETH / PHOENIX SOL / AUSSIE DAILY / SCALPRO / MOMENTUM JPY / BLAZE GOLD / GOLD hedge-recovery and others) and presented them as "a group of strategies proven by 10-year backtests." After subsequent live MT5 verification and other checks, all ten of these EAs are no longer published. We have rewritten this article as a record of the filter designs and the lessons learned from them. For our current EAs, see the EA list & ranking.
This is the operator of fxea365.com. Below, the filters of each EA introduced in the first edition and what happened to them afterward are summarized in a single table.
Filters of the Former EAs and What Happened Next
| EA | Main filters | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| MEGAMAX EA | Time of day, volatility (ATR ratio), trend alignment, spread cap, win-streak scaling | PF 0.58, max DD 99.97% on live MT5 → retired |
| THUNDER BTC EA | ATR expansion, EMA trend-following, candle-body breakout of the 12-bar high/low, wide SL | Retired |
| HYDRA ETH EA | Same design as THUNDER (period and buffer tuned for ETH) | PF 0.70 on live MT5 → retired |
| PHOENIX SOL EA | ATR expansion, 48-bar high/low breakout, no EMA | PF 0.58, DD about 95% on live MT5 → retired |
| AUSSIE DAILY EA | Time of day (8:00–20:00), two-stage exit, cap on open positions | Retired |
| SCALPRO EA | Touch outside the Bollinger Bands, short holding time, ATR-based SL | Failed out-of-sample (OOS) testing → retired |
| MOMENTUM JPY EA | EMA trend confirmation, waiting for an RSI pullback | Retired |
| BLAZE GOLD EA | Selective trend-following, ATR trailing | Failed the real-tick audit → retired (consolidated into GOLD KING) |
| GOLD hedge-recovery EA | Adjusts the break-even price with opposite-direction hedges (averaging-down type) | Retired because the structure breaks down over the long term |
Note: For details of each EA's verification, see the EA live-verification article.
Lessons
1. A "filter that avoids past losses" is not, on its own, evidence of an edge
Every EA used conditions to exclude situations that had produced many losses in past backtests. The more conditions were added, the better the past results looked, but in many cases that was just fitting past chance, and it did not reproduce on unseen periods.
2. Python backtests and live MT5 are different things
Many of the EAs whose results collapsed had been designed and evaluated with Python backtests. When spread fluctuations, execution, and tick-by-tick price movements were reproduced in the MT5 Strategy Tester, the results changed dramatically.
3. What is universally useful is "defensive" design
- Stop-loss distance matched to ATR (the range of price movement)
- Skipping trades when the spread widens
- Avoiding averaging down and increasing lot size on winning streaks
Regardless of how good or bad a strategy is, these remain valid as basics for keeping losses from growing.
Current Lineup (Figures Published on This Site, as of 2026-10-11; Max DD Is Relative)
| EA | Symbol/TF | PF | Max DD | Trades | Test period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DONCHIAN ENGINE | USDJPY H1 | 1.50 | 10.8% | 631 | 9.4 years |
| GOLD VIPER | XAUUSD M30 | 1.64 | 30.3% | 10,340 | 7.7 years |
| BITCOIN COMET | BTCUSD H4 | 1.72 | 31.2% | 775 | 8 years |
| ATLAS | 5 assets H1/H4 | 1.48 | 26.3% | 1,193 | 7.5 years |
Note: Test periods and conditions differ between EAs, so the figures cannot be compared directly. Check the latest figures in the EA list & ranking. Backtests do not guarantee future profits.
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