I backed this game on Kickstarter, but when it first released I got bored with it pretty quickly.

After the Forgotten World DLC came out, I decided to start over from the beginning and absolutely fell in love. I've spent probably close to 200 hours just trying out new team builds. I don't consider myself a team-building expert, but I did want to document some of the teams that I have used successfully, as well as noting some teams or monsters which didn't work out.

I am just going to give an overview of the monsters in each team and how to best use them. I am not going to give a lot of specifics about skill point allocation or equipment, as those are usually pretty easy to figure out on your own, and they're also subject to personal preference.

I usually build for general-use PVE, meaning a mix of normal enemies, Champions, Keeper Battles, and the Infinity Arena. I will note when a team works better or worse at one of those four scenarios. I haven't done any PVP so I don't know for certain how any of these teams would perform there, but it seems like it would be similar to Keeper Battles.

I have used these monsters in multiple teams, and they’ve always been effective.

Ice Blob:

• This little guy is a really good Shielder and Debuffer, and while he’ll almost never be the MVP in terms of damage, he is an excellent support monster. I prefer Dark Shift on him, but Light Shift also works.
  
• He will do well in almost any team, but he works best in Debuff-based teams. He likes to have teammates who can apply a lot of Chill to go with his Congeal, but even in teams where he is the only source of Chill he will still be effective.
  
• Yowie is a really good partner for Ice Blob because Yowie is a strong tank and Healer, plus he brings the Fatal Upkeep Aura to increase Debuff damage on enemies. Put the two of them with almost any strong attacker and it will be an effective team.

Imori:

• This stabby boi is a phenomenal Debuffer, but he also has pretty good Crit damage, pretty good Bleed damage, and a good variety of elemental attacks available so he can more easily exploit enemy weaknesses. Dark Shift is the way to go because it plays to his strengths as a Debuffer.
  
• Like Ice Blob, he works best in Debuff-based teams, but should still do well in other teams. He can apply Chill/Congeal, Burn, and Poison. His one weakness is that he is quite squishy, but despite that I’ve never had any particular difficulty keeping him alive.
  
• Vasuki is a really good partner for Imori because Vasuki is also a really good Debuffer and he brings the Fatal Upkeep Aura to increase Debuff damage on enemies. They both have the Acid Spit Aura, which stacks with itself to give each of them two extra chances per hit to apply Burn or Poison, on top of all the other Debuff abilities they already have. In addition to being a good attacker/Debuffer, Vasuki can also Heal or Shield a little bit. Put the two of them with almost any strong Shielder or Healer and it will be an effective team.

Dracomer:

• Dracomer is a phenomenal Buffer, but he’s also a strong attacker in his own right, so after buffing first round he will usually switch to attacking in the second round and later. However, he’s not as self-sufficient as some other monsters and prefers to have a good partner who can help him spread his Buffs. Light Shift, Dark Shift, and Unshifted all work well on him, but I think I like Light Shift the best.
  
• Dracomer starts by using Full Offense on himself, which thanks to his passive abilities will share those Buffs with the rest of the team, as well as applying a large amount of Shields to the team. He works best with a partner who can spread those Buffs even further with abilities like Shared Might, Shared Sorcery, Duality, etc. It also helps to have abilities like Multi Might, Multi Sorcery, Multi Glory, etc., in the team. Sun Pendants, if available, are really useful for increasing the amount of Shields on the team, because the Pendants generate an extra Shield for each Buff.
  
• The best partner I found for Dracomer is Draconov, and it’s fitting that they’re both dragons. I tried out a whole bunch of other monsters to see who else would work well with Dracomer, and the next best ones after Draconov were Thanatos, Bard, and Akhlut (see Flight of Dragons and Vorpal Blades for some of the other combinations I tried). I can put Dracomer + Draconov/Thanatos/Akhlut with almost any strong attacker and it will be an effective team, but Bard + Dracomer works best with a physical attacker and won’t be quite as good in a team with a magical attacker unless that attacker has Brains Over Brawn.

Kame:

• I like turtles![knowyourmeme.com] This spiky Reptile can potentially fill multiple roles as a Shielder, Buffer, or attacker. He can’t be built for all of those roles at the same time because he doesn’t have enough skill points, but can usually fill two of the three. I like to use him as a Buffer and Shielder, and I prefer Light Shift on him for the extra Charge stacks.
  
• His Buffs work best in a team with physical attackers, and won’t be as good in a team with magical attackers unless they have Brains Over Brawn. In addition to the extra Charge stacks from his Light Shift passive, he can also provide Charge stacks with Load Up.
  
• Bard is a really good partner for Kame because Bard is a strong Healer (with a tiny bit of Shielding ability as well) and they have complementary Buffs. Put them with almost any strong physical attacker and it will be an effective team.

Akhlut:

• Like Kame, Akhlut is a very flexible monster who can potentially fill multiple roles. He can work as a Healer, Buffer, or attacker, although he’s not quite as good at Buffing or Healing as some others. Dark Shift is obviously the best option for a Bleed-focused team, while for non-Bleed teams any Shift should work.
  
• Depending on how Akhlut is built he can be a primary attacker or he can be a support monster who attacks sometimes. I have used him both ways and he has always been effective. He brings a lot to almost any team he’s in, because in addition to the Buffs, Heals, and Bleed damage, he also brings Chill and Congeal for Debuff teams.
  
• Vodinoy is a really good partner for Akhlut because their Bleed-based abilities synergize really well. The combination of Bleed Out + Splatter + Scent of Blood + Deep Wounds + Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator + Hunt x2 is really good. Put them with almost any strong Shielder and it will be an effective team.

Targoat:

• Targoat is a really strong Shielder and is really good at giving out Charge stacks. He’s a good Buffer as well, but his main strength is Shielding. I think Light Shift is the best option for him because of the Charge synergy, but Dark Shift is also pretty good.
  
• Targoat works best in a team which synergizes well with Charge stacks, but even in teams without specific Charge synergies he still does pretty well. He will usually start battles by using Sustain, then use Shield each round after that.
  
• Caraglow is a strong Healer, and makes a really good partner for Targoat because they are both good at giving out Charge stacks and have complementary Buffs. Put them with almost any strong physical attacker (or a magical attacker with Brains Over Brawn) and it will be an effective team. A magical attacker without Brains Over Brawn should still do pretty well, but won’t be quite as strong because they won't get as much benefit from Caraglow's Riot.

Primary monsters:

• Ice Blob (Dark)
  
• Blob (Dark)
  
• Lava Blob (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Rainbow Blob (Dark)
  
• King Blob (Dark)
  
• Ice Blob (Light)

Explanation:

• This is a Debuff-based team. I used this team to defeat most of the Legendary Keepers, most of whom I was able to beat on my first try.
  
• Ice Blob handles Shield duties in this team, and he also provides Chill and Congeal.
  
• Blob spends the first round Buffing then spends subsequent rounds either Healing or attacking, as needed.
  
• Lava Blob is the main damage dealer. He has very good Debuff potential, as well as pretty good Crit damage. He can also remove enemy Buffs with Cleansing Flame.
  
• Sometimes I will use Rainbow Blob instead of Lava Blob. Compared to Lava Blob, Rainbow is still a good Debuffer, but has less Crit potential in exchange for a wider variety of elemental attacks, making it easier to exploit enemy weaknesses.
  
• I will sometimes switch out Blob for King Blob. King has very good Heals and Buffs, but his attacks are pretty weak. He does have some Debuffs, and he also brings the Fatal Upkeep Aura to increase Debuff damage on enemies, but mostly his attacks are just there for building the combo counter. I evolved him from a Tar Blob so he would have Overheal, which is very useful for any Healer.
  
• When I was fighting the Legendary Keepers, I found that if I lost my Ice Blob then the rest of the team would struggle because Ice Blob's Shields and Congeal are so useful. I added the second Ice Blob as backup in case the first one dies.

Possible substitutions:

• For Blob, Lava Blob, and Rainbow Blob, I have used Light Shift on them in the past and it works really well, but I think Dark Shift is just a tiny bit stronger.

Rejected monsters:

• I used Tar Blob (Dark) in this team for a long time before finally deciding to drop him. He is a combination Healer and attacker, but overall I prefer Blob or King Blob in the Healer role. Tar Blob does have Blood Drive, which synergizes well with the large number of Debuffs on the team, but without Bleed Out or Splatter to complement Blood Drive, it's not as strong as it could be.

Primary monsters:

• Ucan (Dark)
  
• Akhlut (Dark)
  
• Vodinoy (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Kame (Dark)
  
• Grummy (Light)
  
• Thornish (Dark)

Explanation:

• This is a Bleed-focused team, with some Debuffs. Akhlut and Vodinoy are the core of the team. The combination of Bleed Out + Splatter + Scent of Blood + Deep Wounds + Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator + Hunt x2 is really good.
  
• Vodinoy is the combo finisher, while Akhlut spends the first round Buffing then spends subsequent rounds either Healing or attacking, as needed. When I first started using this team, I would sometimes have Vodinoy use Full Protect, but I eventually reset his skills to get rid of Full Protect and just focus on attack moves, stat boosts, and Auras. By using stat-boost passives like Defense Overload, Life Overload, and Mana Overload, I was able to boost Vodinoy's Attack stat to crazy high levels. Having two instances of Critical Base is also really good because it means Vodinoy doesn't have to use any Crit Chance gear, freeing up his equipment choices.
  
• The other four monsters in the team are there to provide Shields. All four are Aquatic monsters, which means they can benefit from Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator, but it doesn’t really matter that much because they spend the majority of their turns Buffing or Shielding rather than attacking.
  
• Of the four, I found I liked Ucan the best because he can Heal and remove Debuffs as well as Shield and Buff. I use Dark Shift on him, but Light Shift is also really good.
  
• After Ucan, I probably use Kame the most. He’s a very strong Shielder and Buffer, but unfortunately he can’t Heal or remove Debuffs like Ucan can. I have used both Light Shift and Dark Shift on him and both work very well, but I decided to stick with Dark Shift here because I was already using Light Shift in a couple other teams.
  
• The last two monsters, Grummy and Thornish, are probably my least used but are still quite good. Grummy can apply a variety of Debuffs, as well as removing Debuffs from my team. Thornish makes a good tank by drawing enemy hits with abilities like Taunt and Protect, and then punishing those hits with abilities like Reflect, Fish Scales, and Poison Glands.
  
• This team is pretty susceptible to Debuffs, because the only Debuff removal abilities it has are Ucan’s Restore and Grummy’s Restoring Shield. I use a Purifying Wand on Grummy, and that helps a little bit. Additionally, this team has very few magic attacks, but still does pretty well even against teams resistant to physical attacks.

Possible substitutions:

• I used Rathops (Dark) for quite a while, and he worked really well in this team because in addition to providing Shields, he could also apply a lot of Bleed damage and Debuffs. He’s not an Aquatic monster, so he doesn’t benefit from Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator, but he made up for it with his Skirmish Aura, which gives both him and Akhlut another way to apply Bleed.
  
• I used Frosty (Light) in this team for a long time before eventually replacing him with Kame (Dark). He’s a good Shielder and good at applying Chill to go with Akhlut’s Congeal. He’s not an Aquatic monster, so he doesn’t benefit from Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator, but it didn’t matter because he spent most of his time Shielding instead of attacking.
  
• Ice Blob (Dark) is a phenomenal Shielder and Debuffer who works well in almost any team. I used him in this team for a little while and liked it. He’s not an Aquatic monster, so he doesn’t benefit from Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator, but it didn’t matter because he spent most of his time Shielding instead of attacking.
  
• I used Dracomer (Light) for a little while as a Shielder and Buffer, and it worked really well. Dracomer is a phenomenal Buffer, of course, and Akhlut makes a pretty good partner for him. Dracomer is also Aquatic and a strong attacker, so he benefits a lot from Lord of the Deep + Aquatic Predator.
  
• Because Akhlut and Vodinoy are the core of the team, if either one of them goes down then the team starts to fall apart. In really tough fights, such as the Legendary Keepers, it’s not a bad idea to bring backups of one or both of Akhlut and Vodinoy.

Rejected monsters:

• I used Shockhopper (Dark) in this team for a little while. It was okay, but because Shockhopper is a Healer and not a Shielder, the team felt a bit squishier than normal. On the upside, Shockhopper can use Restore and Mass Restore to reduce the team’s weakness to Debuffs. If I were to try Shockhopper again, I would switch him to Light Shift so that he is even better at removing Debuffs.
  
• I also used G’rulu (Light) for a little while, hoping that he would help reduce the team’s weakness to Debuffs, but he was basically just a worse version of Shockhopper and wasn’t a good fit for the team.

Primary monsters:

• Goblin Miner (Light)
  
• Goblin King (Dark)
  
• Goblin Pilot (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Goblin Warlock (Light)
  
• Goblin Brute (Light)
  
• Goblin Pilot (Dark)

Explanation:

• This team is built around Goblin Pilot (Light) and the insane damage potential of Volatile Shield. The Goblin-specific auras are nice, and the team also has some Debuffs, but it's mostly about the Pilot.
  
• In addition to the damage from Volatile Shield, Goblin Pilot (Light) is good at accumulating Charge stacks. Not only do the Charge stacks increase damage on their own, but the Charged Up Shift Passive makes Charge stacks even stronger, and if the Pilot is at 15 or more stacks then he gets a huge boost to his Magic stat from Supercharged.
  
• Against normal enemies, I found Goblin Miner, Goblin King, and Goblin Pilot (Light) to be the best combination. Miner Shields, King Buffs, and Pilot deals damage. This setup lacks a strong Healer (G. King can Heal a little bit), but I found it didn’t need a Healer.
  
• Against Champions, I will usually use Goblin Miner, Goblin Warlock, and Goblin Pilot. Miner Shields, Warlock Buffs or Heals, and Pilot deals damage.
  
• Goblin Brute is a pretty good Shielder, and makes an acceptable substitute for Goblin Miner or Goblin Warlock. Goblin Pilot (Dark) acts as a combination Shielder/Buffer/attacker and can also substitute for G. Miner or G. Warlock.

Possible substitutions:

• For a long time, I used a second Goblin Miner (Light) before replacing him with Goblin Pilot (Dark). The second G. Miner was mostly for backup in case the first died. Also, using Miner, Miner, and Pilot was pretty good against Champions.
  
• According to this Steam guide, some really good non-Goblin options to try are Targoat, Oculus, and Kame. I tried each of them out, and Targoat and Kame were both great, but I didn’t really like Oculus.

Rejected monsters:

• I used Goblin Hood (Dark) for a little while. He’s an effective Debuffer and combo builder, but he can’t Heal or Shield, and the team always felt more squishy every time I used him.

Primary monsters:

• Imori (Dark)
  
• Vasuki (Dark)
  
• Kame (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Krakaturtle (Light)
  
• Salahammer (Light)
  
• Rathops (Dark)

Explanation:

• This is a Debuff-based team. Both Imori and Vasuki have good Debuffing ability to start with, but then on top of that they both have the Acid Spit Aura which makes all Reptiles in the party (which is the whole party) even better at Debuffing.
  
• Imori acts as the combo finisher. In addition to his phenomenal Debuffing, he has pretty good Crit damage and Bleed damage. Imori’s one weakness is that he is very squishy, but despite that I’ve never had any particular difficulty keeping him alive.
  
• Vasuki is a strong attacker and Debuffer who can also use some Shields and Heals. Because of Double Strike, Proliferate, and Curse Chain, Vasuki is insanely good at building combo for Imori. When using Hades (one of his Ultimate Skills), he regularly gets more than 25 hits, and a few times I've seen him get 35 hits in a single attack[i.imgur.com]. Once (and only once), I saw him get 38 hits in a single attack.
  
• The four other monsters are all good Shielders. I probably use Kame the most, because he has pretty good damage and Buffs, and he also improves the team’s Healing and Shielding with the Carapace Aura. I went with Light Shift for the extra Charge stacks. Unfortunately, he only has one Debuffing ability of his own (Spiky Defense), so he relies pretty heavily on the Acid Spit Aura for his Debuffs.
  
• The three backup monsters are all good enough that I can swap them in and out pretty freely without compromising the team’s effectiveness. Krakaturtle is pretty good at applying Debuffs, especially Burn, and can also remove Debuffs from my team with his Light Shift passive. Salahammer is really good at applying Charge stacks and Buffs, and I went with Light Shift so he would be even better at Buffing. Rathops has good Bleed damage and Debuffs, and he also improves Bleed potential for the rest of the team with the Skirmish and Splatter Auras. However, Rathops can't use Buffs like the other backup monsters can, so he generally favors a more aggressive style compared to the others.
  
• In most battles, Vasuki will use Fire Shield first round then switch to Healing or attacking after that, while the third team member Buffs first round then switches to Shielding or attacking after that. If I’m feeling like I want to end the battle quickly, or if I’m using Rathops who can’t Buff, then I will have the third team member use Shields first round, while Vasuki attacks, usually with Hades.

Possible substitutions:

• I used Dracomer (Light) for a little while as a Shielder and Buffer, and it worked really well. Dracomer is a phenomenal Buffer, of course, but he’s also a pretty strong attacker and was really effective in this team. He’s not a Reptile, so he doesn’t benefit from the Acid Spit Aura, but it didn’t seem to matter much.
  
• Because Vasuki and Imori are the core of the team, if either one of them goes down then the team starts to fall apart. In really tough fights, such as the Legendary Keepers, it’s not a bad idea to bring backups of one or both of Vasuki and Imori.

Rejected monsters:

• I tried using several other Dragons besides Dracomer, because they are also Reptiles. Most of them were okay but not great. It seems like Dragons work best in a team with other Dragons, as in Flight of Dragons (see below).
  
• I first tried Draconov (Neutral) and Dracogran (Neutral) as Shielders, but they didn't work out because 'Nov is more of a Buffer than a Shielder, and 'Gran works better as an attacker.
  
• Next I tried Dracozul (Dark) as a combination Buffer and Shielder (using his Shielding Buff passive), but I didn’t like it very much. Like ‘Gran, it seems ‘Zul works better as an attacker than as a support monster.
  
• Lastly, I tried Ninki and Ninki Nanka as Healers/Buffers/attackers, with Vasuki providing Shields. They worked okay because their Buffs provided a lot of passive healing, but they weren’t great because overall the team was still squishier than if I had a strong Shielder in that third spot. It also meant that Vasuki had to spent most of his time Shielding instead of attacking.

Primary monsters:

• Draconov (Light)
  
• Dracomer (Light)
  
• Dracogran (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Dracozul (Light)
  
• Draconoir (Light)
  
• Dracomer (Dark)

Explanation:

• This is a Buff-based team. It uses a ton of stacking Buffs and the various "Heroic" abilities to turn the whole team into gods. It also has some Debuffs, but it’s mostly about the Buffs.
  
• Dracomer is the core of the team, with Draconov as his partner. The second Dracomer is there in case the first one dies, or he can take Draconov’s place if ‘Nov dies.
  
• Dracomer starts off by using Full Offense on himself, which thanks to his passive abilities will share those Buffs with the rest of the team, as well as applying a large amount of Shields to the team. Draconov then follows up with Phalanx, Miracle, or Forge, depending on what I think I need at the time. Between the two of them, this usually results in 30+ Buffs across the whole team and a good amount of Shields. From the second round on, 'Nov keeps supporting the team with Buffs, Heals, or Shields, while 'Mer switches to attacking. I used Dark Shift on both of them for a long time before switching to Light Shift and deciding I liked it better.
  
• Sun Pendants are really useful for this team, as they generate a Shield for each Buff received. By adding Sun Pendants to the large amount of Shields already being applied by Dracomer's passives, it's very easy to max out the whole team's Shields first round.
  
• Dracogran acts as the primary damage dealer because he has really high base damage and Crit damage. ‘Gran can also use some Shields and Buffs, but he’s not very good at either of those roles and works better as an attacker. For a long time I used him Unshifted with a Gray Pearl, but I eventually changed him to Light Shift and liked it better.
  
• Depending on what enemies I’m facing, I will swap out Dracogran for Dracozul or Draconoir. 'Zul and 'Noir are both very strong attackers, but the reason they are backup monsters is because they're both just a tiny bit weaker than 'Gran. 'Zul's Dragon Mastery Aura makes the team better at Debuffing, while 'Noir has really strong Crits and is good at applying Blind stacks. They are both Light Shifted so they can use an extra accessory.
  
• Overall the team is pretty durable. However, because all of the team members are weak against physical attacks, they can get overwhelmed by a team of very strong physical attackers.
  
• Usually, enemies who can remove Buffs (using abilities like Cleansing Flame, etc.) will cause problems for Buff-based teams like this one. But I've found it's not a problem for this team because the team has so many Buffs that the enemy’s Buff removal just can’t keep up. However, if one of my monsters dies, it is a huge blow because I will lose all of the Buffs on that monster.

Possible substitutions:

• I tried out a whole bunch of monsters as possible replacements for Draconov, to see which ones could compare to the combination of Draconov + Dracomer. The only ones that I really liked were Thanatos, Bard, and Akhlut. I ended up using Thanatos and Bard in Vorpal Blades (see below).
  
• I’ve been thinking about trading out one of the three backup monsters and replacing it with a second Draconov for in case the first one dies. I haven’t tried it yet, but it seems like it would be useful for Keeper Battles.

Rejected monsters:

• I used Glowdra in this team for a while. She’s a pretty strong attacker, but she’s just not quite as strong as the other team members. She’s also completely focused on magical attacks, while the rest of the team all have a balance of magical and physical attacks.
  
• As noted above, I tried out a lot of possible replacements for Draconov. The first ones I tried were Ninki and Ninki Nanka, because they are both Dragons. They worked okay, but weren’t as good as Draconov. After that, I tried Beetloid, Dodo, Druid Oak, Frosty, Goblin King, Kanko, Krakaturtle, Manticorb, Mega Rock, Megataur, Minitaur, Nautilid, Ucan, Vaero, and Vertraag. Druid Oak and Mega Rock were not good at all. The rest of them were pretty good, but not quite as good as Draconov + Dracomer.

Primary monsters:

• Thanatos (Dark)
  
• Dracomer (Neutral)
  
• Blade Widow (Dark)

Secondary monsters:

• Kame (Light)
  
• Bard (Light)
  
• Catzerker (Dark)

Explanation:

• I like Blade Widow’s monster design and I really wanted to use her, but she’s honestly not super impressive on her own, so I needed to build a good team to support her. I also really like Catzerker (he’s my favorite monster design), and Catzerker’s skill set is pretty similar to Blade Widow’s, so I figured that any team which works well for BW would also work for ‘Zerker.
  
• This is a Buff-based team that wants to stack as many Buffs as possible on Blade Widow or Catzerker so they can go to town. I started with a base of Draconov + Dracomer because they work so well together in Flight of Dragons. After testing a bunch of different combinations of monsters (see below for some of those combos), I eventually switched out Draconov for Thanatos, and then settled on Kame and Bard as the last two team members.
  
• Looking at Blade Widow’s skills, it seems like she wants to be built around Bleed damage and Charge stacks, but doing so is actually a trap. When I tried building around doing lots of Bleed damage (using an ally with Bleed Out, Deep Wounds, etc.), it really wasn't effective (at least not for Blade Widow; some monsters like Vodinoy can make good use of Bleed). When I tried building around accumulating Charge stacks, that was a lot better than focusing on Bleed, but still not great. I had the most success when I just focused on Buffs and Crit damage, with any Bleed damage or Charge stacks as a nice side benefit and not the focus.
  
• For Blade Widow, I tested all three different versions and it seems like Dark Shift works the best in most situations. Light Shift is really good, just not quite as good as Dark Shift. I also tried BW (Neutral) with a Gray Pearl, and she is about the same as or maybe slightly worse than BW (Dark). For Catzerker, it seems like Dark Shift is also the best option for him, although Light Shift and Neutral (with Gray Pearl) are both almost as good.
  
• When using Thanatos + Dracomer, Dracomer starts by using Full Offense on himself, which because of his passives shares a whole bunch of Buffs and Shields with the rest of the team. Thanatos then follows up by using Full Offense on Dracomer again. From the second round on, Thanatos keeps supporting the team with Buffs or Heals while 'Mer switches to attacking. The combination of Thanatos + Dracomer is a little bit squishier than Draconov + Dracomer because Thanatos lacks a full-party Shield skill like Draconov’s Forge, but overall it’s only a slight difference in survivability.
  
• When using Kame + Bard, Kame uses Phalanx first round then Shields or attacks after that, while Bard uses Riot first round then Heals or attacks after that. Like Dracomer, both Kame and Bard have passive abilities like Buffing Shield and Mighty Boost which apply a Shield for every Buff.
  
• Sun Pendants are really useful for this team, as they generate a Shield for each Buff received. By adding Sun Pendants to the large amount of Shields already being applied by passive skills, it's very easy to max out the whole team's Shields first round.
  
• I tried swapping the support monsters around, playing mix-and-match with them. Dracomer + Bard is really good, comparable to Thanatos + Dracomer or Kame + Bard. Dracomer + Kame, Thanatos + Kame, and Thanatos + Bard are all pretty good, but not quite as good as the other options.
  
• This team works well against most enemies, but it does struggle against enemies resistant to physical attacks. It’s also not the most durable; it’s definitely not a “glass cannon” team, especially with Sun Pendants, but it does struggle a bit in endurance fights like Keeper Battles or the Infinity Arena.
  
• Usually, enemies who can remove Buffs (using abilities like Cleansing Flame, etc.) will cause problems for Buff-based teams like this one. But I've found it's not a problem for this team because the enemy’s Buff removal just can’t keep up with this team’s Buff application. However, losing a team member is a huge blow because then I lose all of the Buffs on that monster.

Possible substitutions:

• Draconov is always a good choice for pairing with Dracomer. Any Shift will work, and I used Dark Shift for a very long time in Flight of Dragons, but I think Light Shift is probably the best option for most teams.
  
• Targoat (Light) is a really good Buffer and Shielder. I tried using Targoat + Bard and Targoat + Kame, and they are both pretty good options, but they shift the team a little bit more towards defense instead of offense. This makes it harder to nuke enemies down quickly, but it’s also more reliable in some situations, like the Infinity Arena. Targoat can also throw out a lot of Charge stacks, which makes Blade Widow (Light) a pretty good option here because of Charged Up, although I still prefer BW (Dark).
  
• I used Akhlut (Dark) for a while, paired with either Dracomer or Kame, and he worked really well. Akhlut has Bleed Out and Scent of Blood, and while trying to build this team around Bleed damage is a trap, these abilities are still a nice little side-bonus because they synergize well with both Blade Widow and Catzerker.
  
• Asura (Dark) is a strong physical attacker. I used him in this team for a little while in place of BW/Catzerker and he worked very well.
  
• I used Beetloid (Light) + Glowfly (Light) for a little while, and they worked really well as a support pair. However, I could only use them with Blade Widow, because BW has Brawn Over Brains and Catzerker does not. Both Beetloid and Glowfly are good at giving out Charge stacks, which made Blade Widow (Light) a pretty good option here because of Charged Up, and I eventually ended up using the three of them together in Lightning Bugs (see below).

Rejected monsters:

• When I was trying to maximize the Bleed damage from Blade Widow, before I decided that it was a trap, I used Diavola (Dark) in various combinations with other support monsters. The team’s offense suffered, and the extra bleed damage from Bleed Out wasn’t enough to make up for it.
  
• Kanko (Light) is a good Buffer, and he worked pretty well when paired with Dracomer. However, using him made the team more squishy than normal because he lacks good Shielding or Healing.
  
• Minitaur (Light) is pretty good, but like with Kanko, using Minitaur made the team more squishy. It’s worth noting that Blade Widow and Catzerker both benefited from Minitaur’s Weaponry passive, but BW got more benefit from it than Catzerker did because BW (Dark) has Dual Wield.
  
• I used Megataur (Light) for a little bit, swapping him in for one of the other support monsters. He worked pretty well, but just wasn’t as good as other options.

Primary monsters:

• Ice Blob (Dark)
  
• Shockhopper (Dark)
  
• Spectral Wolf (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Yowie (Dark)
  
• Akhlut (Light)
  
• Arachlich (Dark)

Explanation:

• Ice Blob is already one of my favorite monsters. I was experimenting with different teams for him and came up with this Chill-focused team. Every monster has multiple ways to apply Chill, every monster can apply multiple stacks of Chill, and multiple monsters have access to Congeal.
  
• Ice Blob is the Shielder, as always, while Shockhopper is a combination Healer/attacker. Spectral Wolf is the main attacker, although I will sometimes swap in Akhlut or Arachlich as an attacker.
  
• First round, Ice Blob does his thing then Shockhopper follows up with Blizzard (one of his Ultimate Skills). Thanks to Shockhopper’s passives, like Curse Chain and Proliferate, Blizzard will usually apply 3-5 stacks of Chill to each enemy while generating a lot of combo. Spectral Wolf will usually finish off with Ice Storm, but might use one of his other attacks if I think I can do more damage that way.
  
• Yowie can take over for Shockhopper as the Healer, and of course the combination of Ice Blob + Yowie is always going to be good. Compared to Shockhopper, Yowie is not as good at spreading Chill to the enemy team or removing Debuffs from my team, but he does have other advantages. He is very tanky and durable; he can reduce my team’s Mana consumption using abilities like Glorycast, Jolly Spirit, and Mana Upkeep; he can draw hits with Taunt and then punish those hits with Icy Skin; and he has Fatal Upkeep to increase the Congeal damage on enemies.
  
• Akhlut acts as a primary attacker in this team, in contrast to his role in Lords of the Deep where he acts as a combination Healer/Buffer/attacker. I went with Light Shift here because I was already using Dark Shift in Lords of the Deep, but Dark Shift and Unshifted (using a Gray Pearl) both work well in this team. Akhlut’s Light Shift ability, Lifelink, when combined with Auto Heal almost eliminates the need for a dedicated Healer, letting Shockhopper and Yowie spend more time attacking and less time Healing.
  
• Lastly, we have Arachlich (Dark), who is a strong attacker and good at applying Chill, Poison, and Blind. After my unsuccessful attempts to use him in Blood Mages (see below), I was hesitant to use him here, but when I finally tried him out I was surprised by his performance. In addition to applying Debuffs and Blind, he also has Blood Drive for extra Bleed damage. I tried out Akhlut (Dark) as a Healer/Buffer/attacker in combination with Arachlich, because Bleed Out goes great with Blood Drive, and it worked well but wasn’t noticeably better than using Shockhopper or Yowie in the Healer role.
  
• This team is really strong, and even against enemies who are resistant to Water or Debuffs it still does pretty well. Against normal enemies, it can usually wipe them in two rounds. In Keeper Battles or the Infinity Arena it does really well. It can 5 star almost any Champion, but struggles to 6 star them unless they are weak to Water or Debuffs.

Possible substitutions:

• I used Imori (Dark) in this team for a little while. He is a phenomenal Debuffer who works well in most teams, and this team was no exception. While he’s not as good at applying Chill, he makes up for it by being able to apply Burn and Poison.
  
• Frosty (Light) is a good Shielder and good at applying Chill. I used him in this team and he worked well, but I feel like he’s a slight downgrade compared to Ice Blob. Also, Frosty has to be grouped with Akhlut or Yowie, because they have Congeal and he does not.
  
• I used Dracozul in this team for a long time before eventually replacing him with Arachlich. He is a strong attacker and good at applying Chill, but he has the same elemental coverage as Spectral Wolf, so there was a little bit of redundancy there. I went with Unshifted (using a Gray Pearl) because I was already using Dracozul (Light) in Flight of Dragons, but any Shift should work.
  
• Just like in Team Blobert, I found that if I lost my Ice Blob then the rest of the team would struggle because Ice Blob's Shields are so useful. When fighting the Legendary Keepers, it would be a good idea to bring a second Ice Blob as backup in case the first one dies.

Rejected monsters:

• I tried Qilin (Light) in this team as a Healer. She was okay, but she wasn’t as good at applying Chill and just generally seemed a worse fit for the team compared to Shockhopper and Yowie.
  
• I tried Goblin Hood (Dark) in this team as an attacker, because he’s pretty good at applying Chill and can also apply Burn. He wasn’t terrible, but just wasn’t as good as other options.
  
• I tried Spectre (Dark) in this team as an attacker, because he’s a pretty good Debuffer. He wasn’t terrible, but just wasn’t as good as other options.
  
• I tried Mogwai (Dark) as an attacker, and he was pretty good but not great. He was really good at doing direct damage, but wasn’t very good at applying Chill stacks.

Primary monsters:

• Targoat (Light)
  
• Caraglow (Light)
  
• Brutus (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Megataur (Light)
  
• Ucan (Light)
  
• Rathops (Light)

Explanation:

• Everyone knows how strong Brutus is, so he needs no introduction. This is just my attempt to build a good team for him.
  
• Targoat is a strong Shielder and Caraglow is a really good Healer. They are both decent at Buffing and both really good at giving out Charge stacks. Their job is to keep the team alive and give Charge stacks to Brutus.
  
• The way a typical battle goes is in the first round Targoat will use Sustain, Caraglow will use Riot, and Brutus will use Power Focus. Second round, Targoat will Shield, Caraglow will Heal anyone who is injured, or if no one is injured then just Heal Brutus for the extra Charge stacks. Brutus then uses either Flurry of Blows/Ram Charge to wipe the enemy team or Heavy Punch/Godly Strikes to deal massive damage to a Champion, possibly one-shotting them.
  
• Megataur will sometimes take over for Caraglow. Megataur is a weaker Healer than Caraglow, but a much better Buffer. He also has the Stampede Aura, which is a pretty big damage boost for Brutus.
  
• Ucan can also be subbed in for Caraglow. He’s a weaker Healer than Caraglow and a weaker Buffer than Megataur, but I still feel like he is a really good fit for the team. First round he will Buff, and second round he will Heal or attack, as needed. A Long Slash from Ucan will soften up the enemy team enough that Brutus’ Flurry of Blows is basically guaranteed to wipe them.
  
• Rathops is a pretty good Shielder and can be subbed in for Targoat. Compared to Targoat, Rathops can’t Buff and is not as good at giving out Charge stacks, but he makes up for it in other ways. He is a strong Debuffer and brings a lot of Bleed damage to the team, both from his own attacks and by giving the Skirmish and Splatter Auras to the rest of the team. I went with Light Shift because I was already using Dark Shift in JAWS, but either one should work. Overall, Targoat is the more defense-oriented choice while Rathops is the more offense-oriented one.

Possible substitutions:

• Akhlut (Dark) is a good Healer/Buffer/attacker. He worked really well in this team, but I ended up not making him a permanent team member because I was already using Akhlut (Dark) in Lords of the Deep and Akhlut (Light) in Maximum Overchill. I also experimented with using Ucan as a Shielder in place of Targoat, so it was Ucan + Akhlut + (attacker), just like in Lords of the Deep, and that worked okay.
  
• I tried using some non-Beast monsters for a little while as replacements for Targoat. I used Kame (Light), Beetloid (Light), and Goblin Miner (Light), and all three of them were very effective, but one downside is that because they aren’t Beasts, Brutus’ King of Beasts Aura doesn’t apply to them. All three of them are good Shielders and good at giving out Charge stacks, plus they can also Buff, although Kame and Beetloid are a bit better at Buffing than G. Miner. The fact that Beetloid gives out Sorcery instead of Might wasn’t a problem because Brutus has Brawn Over Brains.

Rejected monsters:

• I tried a handful of other monsters in the Healer/Buffer role. Dodo (Light), Gryphonix (Light), Sycophantom (Light), Tanuki (Light), and Yowie (Dark) were all pretty good, but just not as good as other options.

Primary monsters:

• Beetloid (Light)
  
• Glowfly (Light)
  
• Oculus (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Manticorb (Dark)
  
• Spectral Eagle (Dark)
  
• Blade Widow (Light)

Explanation:

• This originally started as a Shock-focused team. As I tested out different monsters it ended up evolving to focus more on Charge stacks, but it still has a good amount of Shock. It’s also very magic-heavy with few physical attacks.
  
• Beetloid and Glowfly are the core of the team. They are both good Buffers and both really good at giving out Charge stacks. Beetloid is in charge of Shielding and Glowfly is in charge of Healing.
  
• Oculus is the primary attacker. Looking at Oculus’ skills, it looks like he wants to be a combination Healer/attacker, but when I set up his skills for pure attack he was surprisingly strong.
  
• The three backup monsters (Manticorb, Spectral Eagle, and Blade Widow) are all strong attackers who can be swapped in for Oculus. Manticorb focuses on magical attacks, like Oculus does. Eagle has a mix of physical and magical attacks, but performs better when focused on just the magical ones. Blade Widow has all physical attacks and should be swapped in when fighting magic-resistant enemies, plus she has Brawn Over Brains to take advantage of the large number of Sorcery stacks.
  
• Light Shift on Blade Widow is really good here because Beetloid and Glowfly are really good at giving out Charge stacks. In Vorpal Blades, Dark Shift is stronger because there’s not as much Charge synergy there, but here Light Shift is stronger because of all the Charge synergy. BW (Dark) with two weapons will still be a little bit stronger offensively than BW (Light), while BW (Dark) with a weapon and a Heavy Shield will still be a little bit stronger defensively than BW (Light), but BW (Light) is slightly better overall because she balances attack and defense while also reducing Mana Costs.

Possible substitutions:

• I tried out Shockhopper (Dark) as a combination Healer/attacker for a little while and he was pretty good. He brought a good amount of Chill to the team, but since there’s no one with Congeal in this team his Chill stacks weren’t as good as they could be.
  
• I used Spinner in this team for a while before switching him out for Blade Widow. Spinner works well in this team because he has a lot of synergies with Beetloid and Glowfly. He has some physical attacks for dealing with magic-resistant enemies, but since he doesn’t have Brawn Over Brains like BW does, he works better with magical attacks instead of physical. I used Dark Shift on him, but Light Shift is also good because of the Charge synergies.

Rejected monsters:

• Because this started out as a Shock-focused team, I auditioned a lot of Shock-focused monsters, including Crackle Knight, Glowdra, Promethean, and Qilin. I wasn’t impressed with any of them.
  
• After I started to move away from Shock, I tried out Mad Lord (Light) as an attacker. He wasn’t bad, but just wasn’t as good as other options.
  
• Lastly, I tried using Koi (Light) as a Healer for a while. He has some synergies with Charge stacks so I thought he would be a good fit, but he just wasn’t as good as Glowfly.

Primary monsters:

• Yowie (Dark)
  
• Ice Blob (Dark)
  
• Imori (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Vasuki (Dark)
  
• Spectral Eagle (Dark)
  
• Catzerker (Dark)

Explanation:

• I used this team from around level 32 or so until they all hit the max level of 42. Even though I have a bunch of other teams to choose from now, I will still occasionally come back to this one because I liked it so much.
  
• This was mostly a Debuff-based team, with a good amount of Chill/Congeal, Burn, and Poison, plus a little bit of Bleed.
  
• Ice Blob was in charge of Shields, while Yowie used Buffs and Heals. They both had Congeal; only one of them actually needs it, but I liked having both of them with it for redundancy in case one of them dies.
  
• The main damage-dealer was Imori, who is a phenomenal Debuffer but also has pretty good Crit damage and Bleed damage. In addition, Imori has a good variety of elemental attacks available, making it easier to exploit enemy weaknesses. Lastly, Imori can use Congeal, and I would usually spend a skill point on it even though it is redundant with Ice Blob and Yowie. Imori’s one weakness is that he is very squishy, but despite that I never had any particular difficulty keeping him alive.
  
• Ice Blob, Yowie, and Imori were the default for this team, but if I was feeling more aggressive then I would swap out Yowie for Vasuki. The combination of Ice Blob, Vasuki, and Imori was very strong offensively, but had fewer Buffs and was a little bit squishier.
  
• Vasuki is similar to Imori in that he is a great Debuffer, but he isn’t quite as strong offensively as Imori because Vasuki lacks Bleed damage and has fewer elemental types available. However, Vasuki is more versatile than Imori because Vasuki can Heal and remove Debuffs with Mass Restore, or act as a backup Shielder with Fire Shield. It's also worth noting that Vasuki and Imori make each other better at Debuffing because of their Acid Spit Auras.
  
• Lastly, Vasuki is insanely good at building combo because of Double Strike and Proliferate. I don’t remember seeing it with this team, but with my JAWS team (see above), I have seen Vasuki get as many as 38 hits in a single attack.
  
• The last two team members, Spectral Eagle and Catzerker, were not quite as effective as the rest of the team, but I still used them simply because I love their monster designs so much. Unlike Imori and Vasuki, Spectral Eagle and Catzerker are not Debuffers, but are instead focused on high Crit damage and either Charge stacks (Spectral Eagle) or Bleed damage (Catzerker).

Primary monsters:

• Aurumtail (Dark)
  
• Aurumtail (Light)
  
• Aurumtail (Neutral)

Explanation:

• This team is used for farming money. While it’s great for that purpose, it’s not great for general use.
  
• All three monsters have Gold Sense x4 and Glitter. Glitter is actually a Unique Aura, which would normally mean only one monster needs it, but because of the way the skill trees are set up all three monsters need it in order to get all of the Gold Sense available.

Primary monsters:

• Fungi (Light)
  
• Fungi (Light)
  
• Troll (Light)

Explanation:

• "Can you feel your heart burning? Can you feel the struggle within? The fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. You cannot kill me in a way that matters."
  
• This is a team I found online. It is a boss-killing team, and not great for general use. Link to reddit guide.
  
• Basically the idea is to have the two Fungi stack as many Debuffs as possible while building as much combo as possible, then have Troll use either Poison Eater or Boulder Toss to ATTACK ITS WEAK POINT FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE.
  
• Fungi have two instances each of Dominance, which increases damage against Debuffed enemies. Fungi also have high-hit-count abilities like Beating, as well as several abilities which add extra hits, making it easy for them to increase the combo counter.
  
• Troll has one instance of Dominance, plus Armor Break and Broken Immunity. He also has Giant Bane and Death Blow to increase damage even further.

Primary monsters:

• Diavola (Dark)
  
• Diavola (Light)
  
• Diavola (Neutral)

Explanation:

• This was a combination Bleed/Debuff team. It would neuter the opponents by stacking a lot of Weakness on them, then finish them off with tons of Bleed stacks and a little bit of Burn and Poison.
  
• One Diavola was in charge of Shields, one was in charge of Buffs, and the last one was the main attacker. The Shielder and Buffer would do their thing for the first two rounds, then switch to attacking in the third round.
  
• I used the Unshifted one as my attacker so she could use a Gray Pearl, and she would use Spore Cloud for the first two rounds to lay down a bunch of Weakness. In the third round, if the enemies were strong against Earth then she would switch to Solar Rays or Solar Burst to finish them off; otherwise she’d stick with Spore Cloud.
  
• The team could generate Bleed stacks by attacking, of course, but it could also generate Bleed when being attacked, thanks to the Thorns ability and the Thorn Tendril weapon (I only had two Thorn Tendrils at the time, but if I had had a third then I definitely would have used it).
  
• This team was great against normal enemies and in Keeper Battles, but it wasn’t great against Champions. It could defeat most Champions, but it struggled to get 5 stars against most of them and definitely wouldn't be able to get 6 stars against most of them.

Primary monsters:

• Diavola (Dark)
  
• Arachlich (Dark)
  
• Goblin Hood (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Argiope (Light)

Explanation:

• Arachlich is a pretty good Debuffer, plus he has Congeal and Blood Drive. I thought that it would be effective to use Diavola (who has Bleed Out) as a Shielder, and use Arachlich and Goblin Hood to generate Chill/Burn/Poison to go along with Blood Drive, but it wasn’t as effective as I hoped. I also thought that having Arachlich use Occult Power on Goblin Hood would be good, but I ended up not liking it because Goblin Hood works better as a combo builder than as a combo finisher.
  
• Argiope can generate a lot of Charge stacks on herself using Lifesteal plus Bite or Poison Eater. I thought that that would make her a good combo finisher, but it wasn’t as effective as I thought it would be.

Primary monsters:

• Stolby (Dark)
  
• Sutsune (Dark)
  
• Arachlich (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Grummy (Dark)
  
• Diavola (Light)
  
• Shockhopper (Dark)

Explanation:

• This team was an evolved version of Blood Spiders, and it was a combination Bleed/Debuff team. Everyone on the team was either Occult or Mage (or both) to take advantage of Blood Magic.
  
• Arachlich and Sutsune were the core of the team. Bleed Out + Blood Magic + Splatter + Blood Drive + Congeal was a pretty good combination of abilities, but it took a while to accumulate enough Bleed stacks to start killing off enemies. It was definitely a slow-grow team, and the goal was more or less to just stay alive long enough for the Bleed damage and Debuffs to do their job.
  
• I eventually settled on Stolby, Sutsune, and Arachlich as the main team. Arachlich was the combo finisher while Sutsune and Stolby mostly just Healed and removed Debuffs. Sutsune could also remove enemy Buffs with Cleansing Flame and give them to herself with Buff Steal.
  
• I would sometimes swap out Stolby for one of the backup monsters. Diavola and Grummy were pretty good Shielders, while Shockhopper was a pretty good Healer.
  
• Diavola (Dark) has Bleed Out, which is redundant with Sutsune’s Bleed Out, so that’s why I used Light Shift on her. If I had felt like I wanted some redundancy in case Sutsune died then I could have switched Diavola to Dark.
  
• This team was okay, but just wasn’t as strong as my other teams. Arachlich and Shockhopper eventually found a home in Maximum Overchill, and they work much better there than they did here.

Possible substitutions:

• Ice Blob (Dark) is a phenomenal Shielder and Debuffer who works well in almost any team. I used him in this team for a little while and liked it. Ice Blob is not Occult or Mage and so he didn’t benefit from Blood Magic, but it didn’t seem to matter much.
  
• Imori (Dark) is a phenomenal attacker and Debuffer who works well in most teams. I used him in this team for a little while and liked it, although it meant that I had to reset Arachlich’s skills and move him into more of a support role. Imori is not Occult or Mage and so he didn’t benefit from Blood Magic, but it didn’t seem to matter much.

Rejected monsters:

• My original idea was to have Spinner (Light) instead of Stolby in the primary team. Spinner has the potential to generate a lot of Bleed stacks and Charge stacks, but the team was far too squishy. When I switched to Stolby, the team was still pretty squishy, but not as bad as when Spinner was in the primary team. Spinner (Dark) has Bleed Out, which is redundant with Sutsune’s Bleed Out, so that’s why I used Light Shift on him.

Primary monsters:

• Fumagus (Light)
  
• Sutsune (Dark)
  
• Manticorb (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Troll (Dark)
  
• Oculus (Light)
  
• Mad Eye (Dark)

Explanation:

• I really liked the idea of the Blood Mages team, even if the execution was lacking, so I wanted to give it another try. I also really wanted to use Manticorb and was trying to find a good team for him. Sadly, the Blood Mages concept just didn’t work as well as I hoped it would.
  
• I brought Fumagus as a Shielder, but he could also Heal to take some of the pressure off of Sutsune, he could apply Debuffs to the enemy team, he could remove Debuffs from my team, and he could remove Buffs from the enemy team (as well as giving them to himself, thanks to Sutsune’s Buff Steal Aura).
  
• With the addition of Fumagus, the team was much less squishy than Version 1, but it still took far too long to kill enemies. Most battles with normal enemies would last 4-5 rounds when my other teams could finish them in 2-3 rounds, and I was only getting 4 stars per battle instead of 5-6.
  
• I also tried out Troll, Oculus, and Mad Eye in this team. They all worked pretty well, but they weren’t noticeably better than Manticorb or Fumagus.

Primary monsters:

• Beetloid (Light)
  
• Glowdra (Light)
  
• Manticorb (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Beetloid (Dark)
  
• Goblin King (Dark)
  
• Manticorb (Light)

Explanation:

• I really wanted to use Manticorb but I was struggling to find a good team for him. After trying to use him in Blood Mages, I searched the internet for suggestions and experimented with some different combinations before eventually settling on this team. The goal of the team was to stack a whole bunch of Sorcery on Manticorb so he could kill stuff better.
  
• Beetloid (Light) and Manticorb (Dark) were the core of the team. Beetloid was a combination Buffer/Shielder, using Buffing Shield and Arcane Shield to do both at the same time. Manticorb was the combo finisher, and had a good variety of attacks for exploiting elemental weaknesses.
  
• Glowdra was a combination Buffer/attacker. She's pretty strong on her own, but she's also good at building combo for Manticorb.
  
• I would frequently swap out Glowdra for one of the backup monsters. Using Beetloid (Dark) was the most defense-oriented option, and was good for endurance battles like Keeper Battles or the Infinity Arena. Using Manticorb (Light) was more offense-oriented, similar to using Glowdra.
  
• Lastly, Goblin King brought physical attacks for dealing with enemies who are strong against magic. In such cases, G. King would often take over as combo finisher, while Manticorb (Dark) built combo for the King.
  
• Overall, this team was pretty good, but just not as strong as some of my other teams. Manticorb and Beetloid eventually found a home in Lightning Bugs, and they work much better there than they did here.

Possible substitutions:

• I used Elderjel in this team for a while, and he was pretty strong. Elderjel took over as the combo finisher, with Manticorb moving to a supporting role as Buffer and combo builder. I used both Dark Shift and Neutral, and they both worked pretty well.

Rejected monsters:

• I tried a few other monsters, including Caraglow (Light), Thanatos (Dark), and Draconov (Dark), but none of them were a good fit for the team.

Primary monsters:

• Vertraag (Dark) #1
  
• Terradrile (Light)
  
• Terradrile (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Vertraag (Dark) #2
  
• Rampede (Dark)
  
• Rampede (Light)

Explanation:

• With this team, I was experimenting with various Ancient monsters to see if I could make a viable team.
  
• Vertraag #1 was a Buffer and Healer, while Terradrile (Light) was a Buffer and Shielder. The four other monsters were all attackers.
  
• I started with Vertraag #1, Terradrile (Light), and Terradrile (Dark). Terradrile has Volatile Shield and Supercharged. I had great success with these abilities on Goblin Pilot, so I thought that Terradrile (Dark) would do well as an attacker, but it actually kind of sucked.
  
• When I brought in Vertraag #2 as an attacker, that worked okay. The two Vertraags were nigh-unkillable because Mana Potential reduced the incoming damage by such a large amount, but despite the damage bonus from Mana Potential it still took too long to defeat enemies.
  
• I tried the two different Rampedes, hoping that a more “traditional” attacker would work better where unorthodox attackers like Terradrile and Vertraag had failed. It was underwhelming.
  
• Overall the team just wasn’t very good compared to my other teams.

Rejected monsters:

• I swapped out Vertraag #1 for a little while to try using Tar Blob as a Healer. I hoped that his Debuffs and Blood Drive ability would work well with Rampede’s Bleed Out, but it was underwhelming.

Primary monsters:

• Thanatos (Dark)
  
• Frosty (Light)
  
• Specter (Dark)

Explanation:

• For this team, I was just experimenting with some Spirit monsters to see if I could use Frosty’s Spirit Strength Aura to its fullest.
  
• This was not a bad team by any means, but it just wasn’t as strong as my other teams. The biggest problem was that it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a Buff-based team or a Debuff-based team. As a Buff-based team, it was inferior to other Buff-based teams like Flight of Dragons or Vorpal Blades. As a Debuff-based team, it was inferior to other Debuff-based teams like Team Blobert or JAWS.

Primary monsters:

• Spectral Toad (Light)
  
• Spectral Eagle (Dark)

Backup monsters:

• Beetloid (Light)
  
• Kame (Light)
  
• Ucan (Dark)
  
• Spectral Wolf (Light)

Explanation:

• Spectral Toad is a strong Healer and Buffer, and I wanted to try building a team around him.
  
• Spectral Eagle was the primary damage dealer, but sometimes I would swap in Spectral Wolf as damage dealer instead.
  
• Beetloid, Kame, and Ucan were all Shielders/Buffers. Additionally, Beetloid, Kame, and Toad were all pretty good at giving out Charge stacks, which Eagle likes.
  
• This was not a bad team by any means, but it just wasn’t as strong as my other teams.

Rejected monsters:

• I used Vertraag as my Healer for a little while, swapping out Spectral Toad. Light Shift can passively remove Debuffs, while Dark Shift is nigh-unkillable thanks to Mana Potential, but overall Vertraag just wasn’t as good as Toad.

Primary monsters:

• Gryphonix (Light)
  
• Gryphonix (Neutral)
  
• Polterofen (Light)

Backup monsters:

• Magmapillar (Light)

Explanation:

• I really like Gryphonix’s monster design and wanted to find a good team for him. Because I have had so much success with other Debuff teams like Team Blobert, JAWS, and Maximum Overchill, I wanted to see if I could make a pure Burn team work. My idea was to make the best use of Phoenix Heritage by using two or more Gryphonices at once, and stack a ton of Burn on enemies. It ended up being terrible. Okay, maybe not terrible, but definitely worse than my other teams.
  
• The Light Gryphonix was my Healer while the Neutral Gryphonix (with a Gray Pearl) was my attacker. Polterofen worked pretty well as a Shielder, as did Magmapillar. I also tried out Polterofen as an attacker for a little while, using Unstable Shield, and he was okay at it but not great.

Rejected monsters:

• I originally used Gryphonix (Dark) as my attacker instead of Gryphonix (Neutral), but he was extremely weak. I’m convinced that Slow Burn is bugged and doesn’t work correctly, because even with 50+ Charge stacks my Gryphonix still had extremely weak attacks.
  
• I tried Draconoir (Light) as an attacker. He doesn’t have any Burn of his own, but he is an Aerial monster so he could benefit from Phoenix Heritage, but he wasn’t very good in this team compared to his performance in Flight of Dragons.
  
• I tried Magmamoth (Dark) as a Shielder for a little while. He was worse than either Polterofen or Magmapillar at the Shielder role.