Basics live in Core Systems, actual comps in Recommended Squads. This page digs into the thing sitting between them: counters.
My power was clearly higher, and my hospital still filled up first. That was early-season SvS, when an air mono chewed straight through my tank squad. On paper it wasn’t a fight I could lose — but the rate our troops melted was completely different. The flip side: I’ve also beaten a missile player who out-powered me, head on. The difference between those two fights was one thing. The counter triangle. I went back and actually studied it after that, and this page is the result.
The triangle
Tank > Missile > Air > Tank. “Beats” only runs one way around the circle.
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<text x="310" y="49" text-anchor="middle" font-weight="700" font-size="15">Tank</text>
<text x="310" y="68" text-anchor="middle" font-size="11.5" fill="var(--muted)">front row · damage reduction</text>
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<text x="130" y="227" text-anchor="middle" font-weight="700" font-size="15">Missile</text>
<text x="130" y="246" text-anchor="middle" font-size="11.5" fill="var(--muted)">five damage dealers</text>
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<text x="490" y="227" text-anchor="middle" font-weight="700" font-size="15">Aircraft</text>
<text x="490" y="246" text-anchor="middle" font-size="11.5" fill="var(--muted)">single-target burst · control</text>
<text x="196" y="132" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" fill="var(--muted)">tank wins</text>
<text x="310" y="222" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" fill="var(--muted)">missile wins</text>
<text x="424" y="132" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" fill="var(--muted)">air wins</text>
<text x="310" y="288" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12.5" fill="var(--accent)">Arrow points at the loser. The winning side takes 20% less damage.</text>- Tank → strong vs Missile / weak vs Air
- Missile → strong vs Air / weak vs Tank
- Air → strong vs Tank / weak vs Missile
Each class guide explains why the five heroes in that line are shaped the way they are: Tank · Aircraft · Missile.
The effect — 20% less damage taken
The side with the advantage takes 20% less damage. The part that matters most here: a counter is less damage taken, not more damage dealt. I ran around for a while assuming “counter = my hits land harder,” and that’s just the wrong direction. If your class beats theirs, you get hit less. Once you read it that way, the damage-reduction meta around Murphy and Williams stops looking like a separate thing — the power in this game is concentrated on whoever gets hit less.
With equal stats, the matchup alone decides the fight. My air-squad disaster above was exactly that case.
What decides damage
In order of application:
- Counter (±20% damage taken) — applied first.
- Troop/hero stats — level, stars, gear, exclusive weapon, awakening.
- Team buffs/debuffs — Murphy/Williams reduction, Marshall’s crit-vulnerability, etc.
So yes, a bad matchup can be flipped with damage reduction, debuffs, and a stat gap — I don’t auto-lose every time I see air. But the reverse is also true: lean on the counter alone while ignoring stats and buffs, and you’ll lose fights you were supposed to win.
How this plays out in practice
Short version: scout first. Check the enemy’s main troop type and bring the countering mono — that’s most of counter play right there. They run air, you send missile. Early on I once charged in solo without scouting, without waiting for the rally, and lost the entire march. Since then it’s been scout, decide, commit — in that order, every single time, like a ritual.
When you’re the one being countered, you’ve got two options. Fight through it with damage reduction (Murphy/Williams) and shields, or don’t force it — pull back and regroup. As a tank main, when I run into air, I pick the second option more often than not. That’s not pride, it’s troop economics.
For rallies, the leader’s class and buffs often set the terms for everyone, so the standard play is putting up a high-counter, high-buff leader. My alliance starts every rally by deciding whose squad leads before anything else.
Why mono is strong (tied to counters)
Five of the same class means the EW Lv20 +7.5% applies to all five, plus the capital mono bonus after occupation. And running a single class keeps your counter play clean — you always know exactly what you beat and what beats you. Mixed comps lose the bonuses and muddy that math. I still haven’t found a reason to leave tank mono. Actual lineups continue in Recommended Squads.
To close, the lessons I paid for: don’t ignore counters and trust raw stats — 20% is bigger than it looks. Don’t run mixed and throw away both the mono bonus and clean counters. And don’t enter without scouting. That third one cost me the most.
Unofficial fan-site content · no partnership or sponsorship with the developer · figures can change with patches.
By: lastwarhub.com
