Looking for advice on setting my War defense team, please

Gameplay Help & Tactics
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Hello everyone. I am looking for advice from more advanced players as to which heroes I should set for my War defense team. All of my 4 star heroes listed below are maxed. Some have emblems and costumes (which makes them stronger than they would otherwise be). Only one of my 5 star heroes is maxed (no emblems), and none of the troops that I have are very far along (so they won’t, for instance, help me make slow heroes faster. So here’s what I have, grouped by color:

  • Cyprian; purple; 4 star; max lvl; emblems; avg speed; 742 power (riposte skill that hits 125%);

  • Sabina; purple; 4 star; max lvl; emblems; avg speed; 714 power (healer and enemy debuffer);

  • Rigard; purple; 4 star; max lvl; avg speed; 644 power (healer and cleanser);

  • Zulag; purple; 5 star; avg speed; 674 power (caster and nearby allies regenerate 612 HP over 4 turns, get 40% defense 4 turns; get 76% defense against special skills 4 turns, and summons dark minion for all dark allies);

  • Gullinbursti; yellow; 4 star; max lvl; emblems; slow speed; 762 power (400 HP boost to all allies; hits all enemies after 3 turns for an amount of damage dependent upon damage received);

  • Wu Kong; yellow; 4 star; max lvl; emblems; avg speed; 744 power (gambler’s stance);

  • Mist; yellow; 4 star; max lvl; fast speed; 661 power (hits target and nearby enemies for 175% damage; targets can’t get buffs for 3 turns, have minus 34% defense against special skills for 3 turns, and minus 64% mana generation for 3 turns);

  • Li Xiu; yellow; 4 star; max lvl; avg speed; 640 power (150% damage to all plus 20% mana reduction);

  • Lianna; green; 5 star; fast speed; 655 power (512% damage to one target);

  • Caedmon; green; 4 star; max lvl; fast speed; 678 power (345% damage to one target, and debuff all targets);

  • Almur; green; 4 star; fast speed; max lvl; fast speed; 662 power (150% damage to target and nearby enemies; reduces max health; target and nearby enemies get minus 54% defense against green for 4 turns);

  • Skittleskull; green; 4 star; slow speed; max lvl; 644 power (185% damage to all enemies and minus 34% atk for all enemies for 6 turns);

  • Marjana; red; 5 star; fast speed; max lvl; 755 power (458% damage to one target and burn dmg over 6 turns);

  • Gormek; red; 4 star; average speed; max lvl; 680 power (295% damage to one and minor to others; target and nearby enemies get minus 34% defense for 6 turns;

  • Boril ; blue; 4 star; average speed; max level; emblems; 769 power (125% riposte by him and nearby allies, OR 60% riposte by all because I have his costume leveled up);

  • Kiril; blue; 4 star; average speed; max lvl; 661 power (healer, and he increases allies attack and defense by 30% for 3 turns);

  • Grimm; blue; 4 star; average speed; max lvl; 642 power (295% damage to target and minor damage to neary; minus 34% attack all enemies for 6 turns)

I’ve been using Gullinbursti as the tank with Cyprian and Boril as the flanks and snipers on the wings, but I read that others use a riposte (Boril or Cyprian) as the tank, flanked by healers, and snipers on the wings. Any advice as to which heroes I should use and in what order is greatly appreciated. Fresh eyes are welcomed! Thanks!

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Hello.

Is there any mandatory colour for the tank?

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No. No tank coordination required.

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Ok.

I think that you use a quite passive combination (although Gullinbursti deals damage when his buff finishes).

I’d try this one:

Caedmon - Marjana - Boril - Mist - Rigard

Let me know if it convinces you or not.

With this combo you’d have fast heroes, a counterattacker, a cleanser and a debuffer.

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I would do Rigard - Caedmon - Boril - Mist - Marjana to get the cleansing on both sides before every one else attacks. You may miss out possibly on Mist defensive down if multiple heros get their special at once but it’s hard to arrange the advantage of all the specials of your heros.

Please note that I didn’t look at your list of heros, I just thought I’d add my 2 cents to the line-up that was suggested to you. Hope it helps.

:slight_smile:

-Riverdale

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Lianna mist zulag boril maj

No idea why you would have a healer on wings people, zulag is bit underated as a tank but for that role that is your best option imo.
So I would build around her someway thats what I’d put.

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On Defense the A.I. is playing for you and if multiple heros can run their specials then it goes from left to right. I like to have a cleaner on the left wing so that fires off before my other hero specials. It’s just a personal preference as you can make an argument for any special you prefer to fire off first (like a defensive down) and therefore that hero should be on the left wing.

:slight_smile:

-Riverdale

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If I’m reading the OP’s post right, Zulag and Lianna seem to be at 3/70 going by their power rating and decidedly not suited for defense since they’re worse than 4* at 4/70.

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Hi @Christian77 :slightly_smiling_face:

Thank you for providing so much information upfront in your OP…you’ve obviously spent a good amount of time to craft and organize your thoughts!!

Here are some of my thoughts:

  1. since this is for your war defense team it’s usually a good idea to use a rainbow defense and since the tank color matters not, then you should consider the strongest heroes that are built (designed) for specific purposes and can work together.

For example, and as @Dudeious.Maximus mentioned, healers aren’t purposeful on the wings…they will die too quickly before they can fire off their special skills for healing and that’s a bad thing…

However, you should position a healer where he/she can take a few hits and activate their healing special before being killed. This is best suited on the left flank (imho)…

Typically, fast snipers, hard hitters are on the wings…but that’s just a recommendation… and since you have Almur, he’s useful at left wing because he has elemental defense down, reduces enemy health, and is a fast sniper. I would then use Marj on the right wing and I highly recommend embleming her up to node 7+ to activate her rogue (dodge) specials to survive longer.

@ThePirateKing can verify my thoughts (he is a highly experienced player and has mentored me on this subject) but I believe 7+ is a good start…my marjana is maxed at 20+

For the flanks: you’ve got several options and it ought to depend on your preferences, because this will influence which hero is best suited for your tank position.
…so for example you can have Kiril on left flank and Li Xiu as your tank (her mana reduction is pretty devastating when she fires off, (imho) then Cyprian on Rt. Flank…(so Kiril, Li Xiu, Cyprian)…

OR you can have Gullinbursti on left flank and Boril as the tank, and Cyprian on Rt. Flank

OR RIgs (left flank), Li Xiu as Tank, Boril, or even Grimm on Rt. Flank…

But you have good options and you should test them out to see which ones are best, don’t take my word for it…

@RandaPanduh can provide better insights than I can (she is also a highly experienced player and has mentored me many, many times in the best heroes to use and hero synergy)

  1. Speaking of that, hero synergy is very important since you won’t have much control of your defense once wars start and you’ll also be at the mercy of both opposing teams and they’re strategies as well as the board RNG…

  2. with that in mind, it’s usually prudent to have heroes that compliment each other and/or stack their specials… and avoid heroes that can potentially cancel each other out…

For example: I never use more than two mana reducers for my attack teams because they sometimes cancel each other out…so on a defense team I suggest limiting yourself to one mana reducer (imho)…

So I would avoid using Mist and Li Xiu together, as an example…

  1. BTW: have you seen the 4* and 5* hero positioning guides/charts that @D_DI provides?

They (the charts) are very instrumental in thinking about your current and future hero positioning for all your teams (wars, raids, titans, tourneys, etc.)

Here’s the link to the E&P community forum post on the 4* hero positioning:

Here’s the link to the E&P community forum post on the 5* hero positioning:

My apologies for the redundant info If you already use them, but if you haven’t, it’s incredibly useful and the discussion threads within those two topics are also informative.

  1. lastly, I know you’ve probably heard this before, but troop leveling and emblems are intrinsic to long term winning and success…
    Troop leveling is a grind, but trust me, you’ll see the difference and emblems are critical in order to activate your hero specials/nodes … and this can be the difference in a win or loss…

I hope this helps and best of luck with your war defense team :slightly_smiling_face::sparkles:

Kerrang
:turtle::guitar::turtle:

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Wow! You are awesome! Thanks for taking the time to provide such a thorough response. I think I’m going to have to hit you up with other questions in the future!

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Thank you for giving me your thoughts!

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Thanks for your input!

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Appreciate it. I think I may experiment with Zulag as the tank at times once I get her maxed. Still waiting on ascension materials for that last level.

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You’re welcome @Christian77 :slightly_smiling_face:

And feel free to hit me up anytime!:sparkles:

Kerrang
:turtle::guitar::turtle:

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I’ll pitch in my thoughts here; thanks @Kerrang for the tag :kissing_heart:

I appreciate how descriptive you are. Although, for future reference, I’d suggest sharing a screenshot of your roster instead - as it’ll save you time, and will be easier for us all to spot [visually] which heroes are your strongest (emblem-wise, especially). That, and knowing if you have any costumes for any of these heroes.

[War] Defense:

This’ll depend largely on if your alliance coordinates your defenses (or not). It seems as if it’s the latter, so at the moment your strongest is your best, but something to keep in mind for future reference.

Tank

For tank, you’ll obviously want your beefiest hero placed here (ie high defensive and health stats) with a debilitating effect. Of what you’ve listed, I’d suggest one of the following:

Cyprian, Boril, Zulag (if/when maxed), Gullinbursti, Li Xiu or Gormek

Til Zulag is maxed, I personally think Li Xiu may be your best tank [of these]. However, her power is considerably lower than the others, so til she’s maxed/emblemed, can sub in Gullinbursti or even Mist (if you get her further along, first)

Flank

For flank, you’ll want the most devastating effects and/or healer placed here (ie mana control, defense down, attack up, cleanse, etc); this is where any average/slow heroes can excel [better]:

Grimm, Gormek, Li Xiu, Mist, Sabina, Kiril, Rigard and Skittleskull (+ Boril and Cyprian could do well here, too)

Rigard is one of the most important heroes to level/max/emblem when you’re just starting out - as he’s one of only two TC20 heroes that can cleanse (and only one in 4*). So you wanna power him up ASAP.

& Seeing as how you need a healer if you run Li Xiu/Mist (or any offensive hero) at tank, think he’d make an excellent healer/flank [for you]. However, his power is considerably lower [than the rest] akin to Li Xiu, so for now, I’d sub in Sabina/Cyprian til you can get him up and running

Wings

For wings, you’ll want fast (or VF) offensive heroes - as they charge much quicker with less - so that means:

Mist, Lianna, Caedmon, (not Almur, as elemental droppers only work if you double on a color [defensively]) and Marjana.

Since your Marjana seems maxed, she seems to be the obvious choice for right wing (as your strongest hero). The other wing, once you have more 5* maxed, would go to Lianna. However, til then, Caedmon would work nicely to dispel all buffs and snipe [on left wing]. Mist, actually, would be really great too, but seeing as how your best tanks [currently] are in yellow, that won’t happen for awhile.

Team Suggestions

As mentioned, rainbow will always be the safest bet. No idea if there’s coordination, so going off of the assumption that there isn’t, and it’s a FFA [in color-sake].

My team suggestions would be:

Caedmon(/Lianna)-Grimm-Li Xiu-Rigard-Marjana

Rigard and Grimm are inter-changeable, since both of their effects are important enough where you want them to fire before anyone else. The only reason I prioritized Grimm first was for the extra damage Li Xiu would see if they were to charge at the same time.

However, seeing as how a couple of those aren’t at their best, for now I’d suggest [based on who’s your strongest]:

Caedmon-Boril-Gullinbursti-Cyprian-Marjana

Additional Info

Gotta remember that AL fires from left to right, so you’ll want any cleanses, dispels, attack ups and defense downs on the left.

Also, I wouldn’t suggest running more than two healers on any defense, but ultimately, one is usually enough (even if it’s your tank).

Wouldn’t want too many passive heroes either, so if possible, I’d stick to two to three max (as they make great tile sinks during bad boards).

Personally, I’m really not a fan of counter-attack (different strokes for different folks), so I’d suggest replacing em (with someone more offense/supportive) as soon as possible.

Get Maxed/Emblemed ASAP

Grimm, Kiril, Li Xiu, Mist, Rigard and Gormek

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I truly appreciate you taking the time to help me out. This is some very valuable information. I’m psyched that there are so many helpful people around this forum willing to help out the more novice players!

@Kerrang and @Dudeious.Maximus thanks to you both as well!

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Follow up question for @RandaPanduh @Kerrang and @Dudeious.Maximus if you will indulge me. The next War is a rush attack. I’m definitely going with Gullinbursti as tank, and Boril and Cyprian as the flanks, and Marjana as the right wing. As for left wing, its Caedmon versus Skittleskull in my mind (Lianna is still a work in progress). Caedmon is 678 power (666 atk; 668 defense; 1240 HP), does 345% dmg to single target and I can use him as either a debuff all or cleanse all because I have his costume leveled up. Skittleskull is 644 power (728 atk; 605 defense; 969 HP), and hits all enemies for 185% and weakens all enemies attacks by 34% for 6 turns. No costume for skittle. No emblems for either hero. Which one would you guys use given it is a rush War? Thanks

P.S. to @Kerrang, I took your advice re: putting emblems on Marjana. I had JUST enough to get to the 8th node.

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I’d maybe swap boril with grimm, as your lacking bit of attack think 2 riposte hero’s won’t help you much. I’d run cadeom grimm guillburtsi cyprian maj. But wait to see if others have a different opinion

I’d run normal cadeom as well.

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VF War Defense

Rainbow is still your safest bet

Strongest

Unless you strengthen your great heroes [mentioned above], the setup is gonna stay very similar; there is quite a disparity between your other heroes, leaving you with only one to two options in each color. Therefore, it makes this your strongest go-to [at the moment]:

Marjana-Boril-Gullinbursti-Cyprian-Skittleskull

…but ideally, you really wanna aim to get both Boril, and Cyprian, out of your defense [permanently]. Three passives up front makes it a great tile sink for the opponent.

Most Synergetic

However, if you’re willing to forgo the extra strength you’d get from your stronger, emblemed, albeit less appealing heroes (which I’d recommend, as even with a 100+ TP difference, these heroes are much better/better suited for the task) then I’d suggest:

Marjana-Grimm-Li Xiu-Rigard-Skittleskull

OR

Marjana-Grimm-Gullinbursti-Cyprian-Skittleskull

  • (Don’t love the 2nd one, as that’s two passives up front)

Reasoning (By Color)

Red: Your only true option is Marjana, as she’s a maxed 5* with emblems - so much stronger than most any 4* less they’re @ +20.

Blue: Both Kiril and Grimm are excellent choices; Kiril works great at left flank as a sole healer, but if you’ve already got healing covered, then he’s not necessary. Defense down is devastating, and crucial, and Grimm is truly one of the best [for that]. Placed at left flank, he’ll make all proceeding hits hurt.

Green: Til Lianna is maxed (with emblems), she’s out, for sure. Regardless, Skittleskull is - by far - your best option [in green]; her AoE + attack debuff to all will definitely come in handy for VF rules.

Yellow: Gullinbursti would be really great here, but only as your main/only healer. If healing is sufficiently covered elsewhere, then Li Xiu is the 2nd best option; her AoE + mana cut to all is incredibly debilitating, making her both a great tank, and flank.

Purple: Really lacks offensive firepower choices, basically relegating you into having to use it as purely support (which is unfortunate, as that rules out support heroes in other colors - as less is more [with that]). Which means Rigard must be your main/only healer, but til he’s ready, it’s on Sabina. However, if you decide you wanna run a Gullinbursti, or Kiril, then you kinda haveta opt for a Cyprian instead.

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Hi @Christian77,

Sorry for the late response, I am working extended hours AND from another location that I traveled to, lol! :joy:

Fortunately, both @RandaPanduh and @Dudeious.Maximus were able to provide awesome suggestions and insights! :star_struck:

… I don’t have much more to add except:

  1. I’m glad to here that you emblemed Marjana! I’ve never regretted it :slightly_smiling_face:

  2. given your current roster and the fact that the alliance wars is gonna start soon (thus: no time to make significant adjustments based on what’s been recommended, but you can always start afterwards), I would suggest Skittleskull-Boril-Gullinbursti-Cyprian-Marjana and only because YOLO and since it’s rush attack/VF if skittles and Boril survive long enough to fire off their specials (only 6x tiles), it basically game over for your attacker (imho only)… and I’ve just had better luck with Marj on right wing, but that’s just me…so it’s a matter of your preference.

*and I definitely agree with @RandaPanduh about both Li Xiu and Rigs, especially for future upgrades to your def teams…

  1. lastly since there’s gonna be 2x VF alliance wars, perhaps you should consider trying out different defense team compositions during both wars

And no matter the results: enjoy and have fun!

Best of Luck in wars :sparkles:

Kerrang
:turtle::guitar::turtle:

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