In the Common grade, the first stage you encounter in Total War, you simply need to deploy your two strongest teams. Usually, players choose a attack deck and a magic deck. However, since magic decks are currently underperforming compared to attack and defense decks this season, some adventurers have been spotted using a defense deck in the Common grade instead.

Real competition begins at the Rare grade, where you need three teams. From this point on, the standard structure of a attack deck, a magic deck, and a defense deck is established. A balanced approach is to build one of each. This season, Seonran has joined the fray with excellent performance; a standard attack deck now features Awakened Dellons, Awakened Seonran, and Lu Bu in the back row, with Karl Heron and Awakened Orca in the front. The preferred pet is Zeo.

You can also use Landgrid instead of Lu Bu. This offers the advantage of being slightly more favorable against defense decks and makes it easier to manage speed-attack settings. Note that when using Seonran, many players adjust her speed-attack stat to be the fourth highest on the team to avoid wasting the advantage.

The magic deck remains the same as last season, featuring Awakened Skuld, Freya, Milla, Reginleif, and Omok. A slight variation is placing Freya in the front row rather than the back. Yeonhee, whose potential revival was a point of interest following her remake, is unfortunately still considered somewhat ambiguous. With such a diverse pool of magic units—including Awakened Sylvesta, who is hard to break through—it seems worth waiting to see how the meta develops.

For defense decks, Awakened Rudy, Awakened Klemis, and Landgrid typically anchor the front row for durability, with Palanus and Awakened Aris in the back. Lu is the standard pet choice. Notably, this season has seen a resurgence of 'Effect Resistance' defense decks; we will examine those combinations below.

From the Unique grade, you need to actively manage your win rate. You will now need four teams, adding an instant death deck to the standard attack, magic, and defense lineup. Your performance in the Unique grade is crucial if you are aiming for the Legend grade. With the Total War season nearing its end, many adventurers are likely competing in this tier.

The attack and magic decks don't differ much from the Rare grade. Depending on your roster, you might swap Lu Bu for Landgrid, or use Awakened Sylvesta in Omok's spot in the magic deck. If you haven't fully leveled Zeo or Yu, you can use Irin or Yeonji, though they may be slightly less efficient.

I'd like to introduce a different defense deck combination. Popular among top-tier players, this setup replaces Landgrid with Lina and uses Pike as the pet to maximize effect resistance. Equipment settings are adjusted accordingly. This approach allows you to fight stably without being hindered by status effects. In this setup, Rudy is usually moved to the back in a protective formation. However, it requires additional investment, such as Lina's exclusive equipment; if you aren't prepared, the standard Landgrid defense deck remains a viable and effective choice.

Instant death deck combinations vary by preference. Mist, Kris, Rosie, and Aquila, along with the pet Melpa, are staples, while the final slot is filled by Juri, Ghelidus, or Nia. Nia isn't used much lately, but if you find it difficult to level up old Seven Knights heroes, she is your only alternative. Juri introduces the variable of blocking revivals and makes it easier to maintain existing speed-attack settings. The universal-type Ghelidus inherently suffers a slight speed-attack penalty, so he is usually included when building a more durable, 'internal-stability' focused instant death deck.

In the highest tier, Legend, you must field five teams. The core of the attack, magic, defense, and instant death decks remains similar to the Unique grade. However, the 5-team composition varies significantly based on individual equipment, hero growth, and exclusive equipment levels. While there were once standard configurations for all five teams, this season shows distinct individual differences.

The attack, magic, defense, and instant death decks are largely unchanged from the Unique grade. As before, you can swap Lu Bu and Landgrid in the attack deck based on preference. In the defense deck, top-tier players are opting for effect-resistance builds, while those less prepared continue to use Landgrid. The ceiling for effect-resistance defense decks is arguably higher.

In the Legend grade, the focus is on the 5th team. Rankers using effect-resistance defense decks often fill the 5th slot with a 'universal deck' that utilizes the Landgrid left over from the defense team. This setup places Landgrid in the front row, combined with Son Goku—who still boasts excellent stats—the universal-type Seven Knight Ghelidus, Guan Yu, and Elysia. Lu is the preferred pet. Guan Yu is often highlighted as a defense deck component because he possesses several useful support options, including ally debuff removal.

Other adventurers fill the 5th team by splitting their magic or attack decks. If you aren't using an effect-resistance defense deck, Landgrid is usually in your main defense team, making it difficult to run a separate universal deck. In such cases, players often build a magic deck centered around Awakened Sylvesta or attempt to split their attack deck using remaining offensive heroes. Candidates for magic decks include Rin, Melkir, the remade Yeonhee, Juri, or Sung Jin-woo, and sometimes Landgrid is mixed into magic decks to serve as a 'totem.

When splitting a attack deck, Awakened Seonran is typically assigned the role of main damage dealer. Since Lu Bu and Seonran have overlapping passives, they are distributed across different teams. While you could make Lu Bu the main damage dealer for the 5th team, the current trend is to strengthen the 5th team with Awakened Seonran for better overall balance. The example below uses Kyle and Payer, but Teo is also a viable card, and Elysia can be mixed into attack decks as well.