Merlin definitely needs to go to max. You’ll want him for Events.
Since you have Tibs already, I would level Scarlett to max first, then Gormek and maybe Kelile.
I don’t really like Wu on defense, so I would probably switch him for Hu Tao, but I wouldn’t waste any materials ascending Hu any further. If you get Chao or Li Xiu, either would be an upgrade.
You’ll need a healer once you replace Hawkmoon with Scarlett, so level either Melendor or Kasshrek. Kash is a better tank, but only heals adjacent. Mel is squishy, but heals the whole party.
I’d shoot for Sonya (dispel), Tibs (defense debuff), Kash (heal, fire defense), Hu Tao (blind), Scarlett/Gormek/Kelile
You could also go with Sonya, Mel, Tibs, Hu, Scarlett/Gormek/Kelile in that order
Awesome, thanks for the advice! Using Hu Tao instead of Wu Kong makes a lot of sense. I never put 2 and 2 together in that, I’ve faced him on defense teams before, and he’s never really been much of a factor.
Also, and I probably should have put this in originally… I only have the materials to ascend a 4* to the 4th ascension level for 1 red and 1 yellow hero. I will save the mats for yellow and not spend them on Hu Tao, but of the 3 4* reds, I have, which one would you recommend doing the last ascension on?