Drain Teams
Originally written by Reika.
Contents
Overview
Drain Teams are built around Rama's Drain Pierce or Demiurge's Supreme Creator Passive Skills.
They are a subgroup of the Anti Pierce Teams, which are composed of one Demon that has an Anti Pierce Skill (Rama/Demiurge/Alilat/Atavaka), which makes the other party Demons, that have draining/repelling attributes, immune to Pierce attacks to those respective Elements.
They are especially strong against Teams that heavily or completely rely on AoE Skills, because they either cannot attack, or they attack and lose Press Turns.
To counter Anti Pierce Teams, the adversary has to down the Demon with the Anti Pierce Skill first, what's usually not so easy for Teams focused on AoE attacks.
Concept
- Drain Pierce and Supreme Creator Passives prevent Piercing skills from working on Drain resistances, while Repel Pierce, False God and War Aid prevent Piercing skills from working on Repel resistances.
- Pierce is very widespread in PvP and on some PvE areas, especially Physical Pierce.
- Running an evasive Anti Pierce Demon + 3 Demons with Drain/Repel Phys attributes or Drain Phys/Repel Phys Passives essentially provides the Team immunity to Physical damage. The same is true for other Elements, but Physical immunity is, usually, more important than all others, because a Demon unable to use an AoE Skill can still make a normal Physical attack, which could be devastating if the Anti Pierce Demon was downed.
- Drain/Repel Pierce protects your Team from being swept by Piercing Skills. Enemies will either attack into it and lose Press Turns, or be forced to choose a different action such as passing. Both work to your advantage.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Many Demons have Drain/Repel resistances, giving you a high degree of control over your team composition.
- As the minimum requirement is having one Drain/Repel Pierce Demon plus one other Drain/Repel Demon, you can form hybrid Teams by combining with other strategies, such as Intimidating Stance Teams.
- Not too reliant on Battle Speed, allowing you to ignore who goes first at the beginning of the Waves.
Cons:
- High entry cost, as Rama, Demiurge and Atavaka are Gacha exclusive Demons, and most of the good Drain/Repel demons are banner exclusives, too. The only exception is Alilat, the only fusible Demon with Anti Pierce and one of the lowest Mag cost 5★ Demons to fuse.
- There's no Drain/Repel resistance against Almighty damage, although that can be somewhat covered by Five Elements, noticing that, unfortunately, Huang Long itself doesn't have any Drain/Repel attribute.
- Anti Pierce Teams only work if the enemies attack with AoE Skills of the Elements the Team can Drain/Repel, otherwise, each will simply target the Demons that are not resistant to its attacks or use AoE that are not drained/repelled by any of Team's Demons.
Team
Now lets go in-depth as to how to build this Team.
Guidelines
- Drain/Repel Teams are not required 3 Drain/Repel demons. It can be simply one Anti Pierce Demon + 1 Drain/Repel Phys demon with 2 non-Drain/non-Repel demons. However, the Team wants at least one Drain/Repel Phys demon.
- Drain/Repel Teams are designed to allow you to survive for at least 1 (or maybe 2) turn, which can often be more than enough to win, depending on your other demons.
- Below the core Anti Pierce Demons subsection are only lists of Drain demons. No suggestion for non-Drain demon is given: a lot of freedom is given for building this team. (They can be revivers or damage dealers or ailment cleanser etc.)
- The Drain demons themselves are diverse: some are tanky and defensive while others are pure attackers. But there is no requirement to have "1 Drain defensive demon + 1 Drain offensive demon" or any combinations because even Rama + low HP Drain Phys demon can prevent a lot of opposing teams to win in 1 Turn.
Core Demons
The only core demon is an Anti Pierce Demon. As of September/2021, four Demons have Anti Pierce Skills, Rama, with Drain Pierce (for Drain Teams), Demiurge, with False God and Supreme Creator (for both Repel and Drain Teams), Alilat, with Repel Pierce (for Repel Teams), and Atavaka, with War Aid (for Repel Teams).
Rama
- Rama is a very flexible unit, capable of acting as a powerful Mage with his signature Brahmastra or a support with discounted Luster Candy.
- He can be built as a Support or Mage, depending on your team. Support build is the most popular.
- For Support builds: Yellow is a popular archetype, as it gives him access to discounted Luster Candy, the strongest non-unique buff in the game. Running him as a support also allows you to focus on survivability, which is important to ensure Drain Pierce is remains active as long as possible.
- For Mage builds: Purple provides him Ice Pierce. Combined with his innate Mabufudyne and decent MAG stat, this lets him act as a powerful Pierce sweeper. This also lets him capitalize on his other unique skill Brahmastra, a devastating Almighty spell that breaks Endures and can be spammed near indefinitely thanks to its MP refund at max level.
- His panels are amazing and definitely worth unlocking:
- Panel 1 gives him raw HP (which support builds appreciate) and extra damage on both his spells (benefiting Mage builds).
- Panel 2 gives him increased Evasion and raw MATK.
- Panel 3 gives him reduced MP cost for all AOE spells. This includes both his attacking spells (6 MP) as well as Luster Candy (5 MP is maxed).
Skills and Brands:
- For Support builds, recommended skills are:
- Evade stacks with his Panel 2 Boost and protects him from Physical skills, most notably Masakado's Occult Flash.
- Enduring Soul gives him an extra layer of protection to keep Drain Pierce active.
- Auto-Tarunda and Auto-Rakuka are useful spells for initial buff control.
- For Mage builds: Butcher increases the damage for both his spells.
- Either Life or Divine Brands work well on him:
- Divine Brands allow him to spam his spells repeatedly, especially if you have Panel 3 unlocked. It also allows you to cast Luster Candy turn 1 going first.
- Life Brands increases his overall survivability.
- Dodge Brands are the recommended sub-set to abuse Evasion.
- You can also go all-in the evade strategy by equipping two sets of Dodge brands. Note that this will not let you cast Luster Candy T1 unless you also have P3 unlocked.
Demiurge
- Currently, the only Demon that can support Repel and Drain Demons at the same time, greatly opening the options for Team building, as both types of demons may be used at the same time.
- He can be built for damage or for evasion, adding either damage when repelling piercing attacks or healing when draining.
- Demiurge's Purple Archetype is immune to Mortal Skills, making it harder to down in PvP.
Atavaka
- Atavaka has the Enemy Annihilation AoE Skill, which debuffs all enemies before inflicting Phys Pierce damage, which is a Chain Effect and, therefore, even if it misses or is countered, the Team doesn't lose Press Turns.
- He has Intimidating Stance in Purple Archetype, punishing the enemy Team even before it starts fighting.
Alilat
- Alilat is one of the cheapest fusible 5★ Demons, so it's relatively easy to get one fully panelled.
Drain Phys Demons
Due to widespread Phys Pierce in PVP, demons with Drain Phys are popular with this strat. It is recommended you run at least one Drain Phys demon to avoid getting sweeped by Phys Pierce. Running three Drain Phys demons with Evasive Rama is a popular strat to wall off Physical teams.
Masakado
- The OG PVP Nightmare, Masakado is a physical powerhouse who gains Drain Phys in Teal.
- Still one of the most powerful demons in the game. Not only does he posses innate Intimidating Stance and Pierce, his signature Occult Flash is a high-damage, high-critical single target Physical skill that inflicts Mortal (instant Death).
- His high Synergy with Rama is one of the reason double Intimidating Stance is so often run alongside Drain Teams.
- Masakado is the closest you'll get to a second core demon for this strat. There is little reason not to use him if you do have him.
Skills and Brands:
- Phys Amp and Epitome of Carnage are good options to boost his damage.
- Great Aim and Epitome of Aggression can be used to patch up his shaky accuracy.
- Auto skills allow him to further support his team. Players who run this build typically use him purely for inflicting Mortal via Occult Flash.
- Usually runs Life brands to compensate for his rather low HP. Aim brands are the recommended sub-set.
Susano-o A
- Susano-o A is a defense-team oriented Physical Nuker that gains Drain Phys in Teal.
- He also naturally Drains Force, allowing him to counter Force sweepers like Baal, Garuda A and Cu Chulainn A.
- His unique passive, Heavenly Valor punishes the enemy for Passing. As such, he is usually used as a dedicated Defense Team demon.
- Violent Slash is a hard-hitting single target Physical attack that grows in power the more it is cast.
- Don't let that description fool you tho: The skill has 150 Base Power initially (equal to Dragon Blade's initial strike), and can be cast T1 even without Divine Brands. This makes him a surprisingly good T1 attacker.
- On the downside, his AGI is on the high side, making him a less suitable partner if you wish to run Intimidating Stance together.
- The best combo demon for Defense Teams. If you run Drain Teams on Defense, definitely try to slot him in!
Skills and Brands:
- Phys Amp and Phys Boost can be used to increase his damage.
- Great Aim and Epitome of Aggression can be used to patch up his shaky accuracy.
- War Brands are usually used to maximize his damage potential. Aim brands are the recommended sub-set.
Asura Lord
- Asura Lord is a single-target Nuker that carries a valuable aura and gains Drain Phys in Teal.
- His unique aura Endless War buffs the critical rate and damage of all your teammates.
- Slaughter All is a fully unblockable Single Target attack that deal ridiculous damage, can crit, bypasses Endures and can be casted T1, either through Divine Brands or Panels.
- It is also of the Almighty-element. This gives you the upperhand in mirror matches, as it lets you freely clap Demons with Drain Phys.
- This also makes it hard to boost his damage further, as Almighty does not have dedicated Boosts and Amp skills. Master Assassin is the best choice.
- On the downside, his AGI is on the high side, making him a less suitable partner if you wish to run Intimidating Stance together.
- Asura Lord is a solid choice if you plan to run three Physical Demons alongside Rama. Not only does he provide Drain Phys to round up a triple Drain Phys party, his aura also greatly benefits your other sweepers.
Skills and Brands:
- Divine, Life and War brands are all acceptable choices for him. Aim brands are the recommended sub-set.
- Divine Brands are mandatory if you wish to cast Slaughter All turn 1 without Panels.
Guan Yu
- Guan Yu is a bulky physical sweeper that gains gains Drain Phys in Teal (notice a pattern here?).
- His signature Dragon Blade does heavy damage to a single target, and chains into an AOE physical sweep.
- His unique passive Loyal God of War heals him and refunds MP upon killing an enemy.
- Paired with his excellent STR, HP and VIT stats, he can quickly snowball off kills and extra Press Turns generated from crits. Not only does Loyal God of War keep him healthy through healing, it allows him to repeatedly spam Dragon Blade from the MP refund.
- His low AGI makes him a suitable candidate for Intimidating Stance. On the flip side, this also gives him accuracy issues.
- Running him in Teal means he loses access to the excellent Null Mortal in purple. This makes him weak to Alice, who can snipe him with Die for Me!
- Guan Yu is an excellent choice for slower Drain Teams, as well as defense teams.
Skills and Brands:
- Phys Amp and Epitome of Carnage can be used to increase his damage.
- Great Aim and Epitome of Aggression can be used to patch up his shaky accuracy.
- Life Brands are usually used to make him tankier. Higher HP also improves Loyal God of War's heal efficiency, as the base heal amount depends on your max HP.
Cu Chulainn A
- Cu Chulainn A is a dual-element physical sweeper who gains Drain Phys in Teal (see a pattern now?).
- Barbed Spear is a piercing Force-element Physical attack that deals multiple hits on all enemies.
- This gives him access to Force-element sweeping, which improves your odds in a mirror match.
- On the other hand, Drain Teams running Susano-o A will completely wall him.
- Culann's Hound gives him an Auto-Charge at the end of the turn, threatening major damage if he is not taken out. This forces your opponent to deal with him and in turn alleviate pressure off your other sweepers.
- Cu Chulainn A is a high risk high return pick. Against teams without Force Anti-Pierce, he can deal massive amounts of damage while forcing the opponent to respond to him. Inversely, teams that do run Force Anti-Pierce will completely invalidate him.
Skills and Brands:
- Force Amp can be used to increase his damage.
- As Accuracy is very important for him (Barbed Spear has 12 chances to miss and lose Press Turns), Great Aim is recommended.
- Due to Barbed Spear's low MP cost, he can run War Brands for increased damage. Aim brands are the recommended sub-set.
Mother Harlot
- Mother Harlot is an Almighty Mage with Drain Phys in (you guessed it) Teal.
- She also drains Elec innately, providing your team additional coverage.
- She has a unique niche being the only relevant Drain Phys demon that relies on Magic.
- This improves your matchup versus the mirror, as you can simply ignore Drain Pierce and just spam Almighty magic.
- Babylon Goblet deals heavy AOE damage and drains 1 MP all enemies. This is very powerful in triple Drain Phys teams, as enemies out of Mana will simply try to auto-attack Rama and miss.
- The MP drain also allows her to spam the attack repeatedly, provided the opponent hasn't run out of MP.
- It also punishes greedy builds that run non-Divine brands, as it messes with their overall MP regeneration.
- Death Lust is a nice bonus when it manages to occasionally charm enemies. You should not build around this passive however, as Babylon Goblet is her main draw.
- Pick her if you feel like balancing out your team. Mother Harlot lets you add Almighty damage to your team's damage options. She is not as explosive as the other sweepers, preferring to slowly grind down her enemies via MP drains.
Skills and Brands:
- Butcher can be used to increase her damage.
- It is recommended to cover up her weakness with Resist Force, as Force is a popular attacking element.
- Life Brands are recommended to increase her overall longevity. This gives her more chances to spam Babylon Goblet.
Hecatoncheires
- Hecatoncheires is a tanky support with (wait for it) Drain Phys in Teal.
- He has Auto-Rakuka in Clear, which is another viable option if you have another Drain Phys demon on your team.
- His unique passive, Guards of Tartarus reduces all AOE damage your team receives by 15%. Combined with his good bulk, he is usually run as a support demon.
- This is especially good to soften up damage from Archangels and V☆ teams.
- Due to his high HP, he is usually left for last. As such, Recarmdra is a great skill for him as it will revive all his fallen teammates in exchange for his life.
- The AI is also smart enough to save MP for it. This makes him one of the better demons for Defense teams.
- Unfortunately, he is weak to two very common attacking elements, Light and Force. Consider covering at least one of them.
- Consider him if you prefer a more defensive approach to PVP. Hecatoncheires is one of the most accessible Drain Phys demons and a very good support.
Skills and Brands:
- As mentioned above, Recarmdra is used in almost every PvP build.
- Enduring Soul can provide him a layer of insurance, helping to ensure he gets to cast Recarmdra. It will also prevent Recarmdra's feedback damage from killing him.
- Auto skills let him further support his team.
- Epitome of Fortitude increases his HP and provides Critical Resistance.
- Wild Instinct provides him even more Critical Resistance, consider this if you constantly face Crit-pass teams like Hero Masakado T1.
- Life Brands are recommended to boost his bulk further. Shield brands can shore up his magic resistance, making him even tankier.
Other Drain Demons
While not as widespread as Physical, Pierce in other elements are also often employed in PVP. The demons below are common Drain techs to counter those elements.
- Drain Fire counters Uriel and Quetzalcoatl A.
- Drain Force counters Baal, Garuda A and Cu Chulainn A.
- Drain Elec counters Nero☆ and Panel 2 Izanami.
- Drain Light counters Gabriel.
- While Dark Pierce sweepers are not common, Drain Dark makes a demon immune to Alice's Die for Me!.
- Drain Ice counters Purple Rama. This is currently the least important element to cover.
Surt
- Drains Fire innately.
- Ragnarok is a very hard-hitting spell that gives you Fire coverage. Versus the mirror, it gives you the option to snipe demons otherwise protected by Drain Pierce.
- Note that this spell does not Pierce! Rama nulls Fire, be careful when faced with the mirror match.
- Clear is the preferred color as it gives him Intimidating Stance. Paired with Masakado, it allows the team to also function as an Intimidating Stance Teams.
Shiva A
- Drains Fire and Elec innately, and Force in Teal.
- Third Eye is an Almighty spell that hits incredibly hard, while giving you another arsenal to bypass Drain Pierce.
Quetzalcoatl A
- Drains Fire innately.
- Ce Acatl provides him a second life and acts as a safety net to speedy T1 Masakado A teams.
Yama
- Drains Fire in Teal.
- Enma's Judgement provides team wide Null Mortal. This is especially useful to protect Rama from being sniped by Alice.
Siegfried
- Drains Phys innately.
- Requires a lot of investment as he only gains Phys Pierce on his second Panel.
- When properly built however, he hits like a truck. Arms Mastery is Great Aim + Phys Amp rolled into one, and it stacks with both of them!
Seraph
- Drains Fire and Light in Teal. This combination makes him a particularly powerful counter to Archangels, as these are their main attacking elements.
- He does not provide much outside of his Drain resistances however. Only use him when making targeted attacks against Archangels.
Finalized Team
To recap, your finalized team should contain Rama and Drain demons of your choice:
Triple Phys Drain Team
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The above team has three Drain Phys demons and Evasive Rama to wall off Physical threats. Susano-o A also doubles as Force Anti-Pierce. Rama is built as a support unit, providing Luster Candy to the party. As the team's main damage source are from physical attacks, Auto-Sukunda is transferred to increase accuracy.
Balanced Drain Team with Intimidating Stance
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A Balanced team consisting of both physical and magic damage, while having three different type of Drains. The team also includes Intimidating Stance as the demons are fairly slow. Combined with Luster Candy, the team is capable of covering all buffs and debuffs.
Checks and Counters
Drain Teams have very flexible builds, as such they can be difficult to fully counter. Some players even choose to tech non-Drain demons in their team that function as counter-counters.
Almighty
Shiva A
Asura Lord
Mother Harlot
Almighty is the only element that cannot be drained. With Almighty, you can ignore Rama and go straight for the main damage demons, completely countering the concept of Drain teams. Be sure to take note of Hecatoncheires though, who will soften AOE damage significantly.
Sniping
In a similar vein, powerful single target attackers can soft-counter Drain Teams by targeting elements they are not immune to. Indrajit is a very notable check, as none of the Physical Sweepers Drain Elec and his Five Elements upon kill allows him to wall Mother Harlot indefinitely. Some players try to get around this by running double Defensive Autos and Life brands on all of their demons, greatly reducing the odds of being sniped.
Mortal
Taking out Rama instantly makes the rest of the team vulnerable to Pierce. Alice is the best candidate for this as she ignores Endures and Rama's Evasion. Some teams tech Yama and Masakado A to protect themselves against Mortal, take note when you see these demons.
Garuda A
This is a hilarious counter for teams that run Susano-o A. With enough Evasion investment, Susano-o A's Heavenly Valor can be dodged, triggering Garuda A's own Brilliant Wings passive. Repeatedly spamming pass will result in Susano-o A killing his own team, after which you can mop up using Gale Talon. Nekomata A is recommended to give your whole party added Evasion.
See also
- Tier List
- Skill List
- Brands
- PVP Team Guide for more Team guides
