Best Teams Anime Vanguards Update 9 (March 2026)

Updated by Prachi Jhalani
November 8, 2025
GamingGaming Guides

Anime Vanguards Update 9 has completely revolutionized team building with its anniversary units, bringing unprecedented power and versatility to the battlefield. From Dio Over Heaven’s time-stopping abilities to Hollow Knight’s customizable Charm System, the meta has shifted dramatically. I’ve spent countless hours testing every possible team composition since Update 9 dropped, and I’m excited to share the six most dominant teams that will help you conquer rifts, events, and infinite modes with ease.

Whether you’re running summon-heavy compositions that flood the map with minions or building specialized burn teams that melt bosses in seconds, this guide covers everything you need to dominate Update 9. These aren’t just random unit combinations—these are battle-tested strategies that leverage the new anniversary mechanics, status effects, and synergies that make Update 9 the most exciting meta shift in Anime Vanguards history.

Quick Overview: Best Update 9 Team Compositions (March 2026)

Team Type	Primary Focus	Best For	Key Units Required
Broly x Hellkiller Summon	Overwhelming summon spam	Rifts, High HP bosses	Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph
Anniversary Event Core	Balanced DPS and farming	Event grinding, Macros	Hellkiller, Broly, Hollow Seph, Lizard
Budget Versatile	F2P friendly power	All content without Monarchs	Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Callasuba, Lizard
Burn Damage Specialist	DoT stacking devastation	Boss fights, Long stages	Overheaven, Escanor, Hibano, Lizard
Full Summon Scaling	Infinite scaling chaos	Infinite mode, Late game	Sung Jin-Wu, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Callasuba
Hollow Seph Curse	Maximum single-target burst	Endgame bosses, Raids	Hollow Seph, Sukuna, Griffith, Callasuba

Best Teams to Use in Anime Vanguards Update 9

1. Broly x Hellkiller Summon Overload Team

This powerhouse composition represents the absolute pinnacle of Update 9 team building, combining Hellkiller’s monstrous DPS with Broly’s game-changing buffs and an army of summons that make leaks virtually impossible. After running this team through over 50 rift attempts, I can confidently say it’s the most reliable setup for high-difficulty content.

Complete Team Lineup:

Hellkiller (Main DPS) – Your primary damage dealer who switches between weapons and activates Hell Walker mode for devastating first-person shooting sequences
Broly (Buff Support) – Provides massive damage amplification that transforms Hellkiller from strong to unstoppable
Overheaven (Summons + Utility) – Also known as Dio Over Heaven or “God,” brings time manipulation, status effects, and powerful summons
Hollow Seph (Summons + AoE) – Hollow Knight unit with customizable Charms and Lord of Shades passive that spawns high-HP summons
2 Farm Units – Standard economy setup to fuel your expensive unit placements

Why This Team Dominates:

The synergy between Hellkiller and Broly cannot be overstated. Broly’s buff increases Hellkiller’s already impressive DPS by a substantial margin, pushing him into territory where even late-wave bosses melt in seconds. But what really makes this team special is the summon saturation.

Between Overheaven and Hollow Seph, your battlefield becomes flooded with minions that handle crowd control while your main DPS focuses on priority targets. Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades can reach over 1 million HP with proper buffs, making them nearly indestructible walls that give Hellkiller all the time he needs to activate his Glory Kill passive.

Hellkiller’s Glory Kill Mechanics:

When an enemy drops below 50% HP for the first time, Hellkiller deals 200% damage. If this attack kills the enemy, his ammo stacks refresh immediately. Combined with his Hell Walker ability that switches to first-person mode with increased movement speed, you’re essentially playing a tower defense game that transforms into Doom at critical moments.

Optimal Strategy:

Place your farm units first to build economy. Deploy Hollow Seph early for his high placement cost but immediate summon generation. Position Hellkiller centrally where he can reach most of the map. Add Overheaven for his versatile utility and additional summons. Finally, place Broly within range of Hellkiller to activate the damage buff.

With this setup, leaks are almost non-existent. The sheer number of summons on the field creates multiple defensive layers, while Hellkiller’s burst damage eliminates threats before they can become problems. I’ve personally cleared Rift stages that previously required perfect execution with this team running almost on autopilot.

Pro Tips:

Save Hellkiller’s Hell Walker ability for boss waves to maximize the burst damage window
Position Hollow Seph near spawn points so his summons engage enemies immediately
Use Overheaven’s time rewind strategically to reset cooldowns during critical waves
Broly’s buff has a range limit—ensure proper placement for full coverage

2. Anniversary Event Team (Update 9 Core Units)

If you’re farming the anniversary event or want a macro-friendly setup that balances speed with reliability, this composition hits the sweet spot. While it may not be the absolute fastest team possible, it consistently clears event stages in 2-3 minutes, making it perfect for long grinding sessions.

Complete Team Setup:

Hellkiller (Main DPS) – Once again serves as your primary damage dealer
Broly (Buff Synergy) – Essential for amplifying team damage output
Overheaven (Versatility) – Provides utility, cleanse, and summons
Hollow Seph (Summons) – Additional summon generation for crowd control
Lizard (Cheap AoE) – Godzilla unit offering cost-effective area damage with burn DoT
1-2 Farm Units – Reduced farm requirements due to Lizard’s efficiency

Why This Works for Events:

Anniversary events in Anime Vanguards typically feature wave-based challenges where consistent clear times matter more than record-breaking speed. This team excels because it doesn’t rely on Valentine (who many players don’t have) or require perfect micro-management.

Lizard is the secret weapon here. At a much lower cost than most meta units, Godzilla brings phenomenal AoE coverage with built-in burn damage that deals 50% of his total damage over time. His Heat Overload ability, while requiring you to hold a button to charge, unleashes a devastating beam that deals 400% damage to enemies. More importantly, Lizard boosts all DoT effects by 30%, creating perfect synergy with Overheaven’s multiple status effects.

Macro-Friendly Advantages:

Because this team doesn’t require constant ability timing or complex positioning adjustments, it’s ideal for macro users (where permitted). Once your units are placed in their optimal positions, they handle everything automatically. The summons from Overheaven and Hollow Seph provide passive defense, Hellkiller cycles through his weapon rotations naturally, and Lizard’s burn damage ticks constantly.

Event-Specific Optimization:

Most anniversary events feature enemies with moderate HP pools that benefit more from sustained damage than one-shot burst. This team’s combination of summon pressure, consistent DPS, and burn DoT creates a “death by a thousand cuts” effect that works exceptionally well across different event types.

Clear Time Benchmarks:

Early waves (1-10): 30-45 seconds
Mid waves (11-20): 60-90 seconds
Boss waves: 20-40 seconds
Total average: 2-3 minutes per complete run

For players grinding event currency or missions requiring multiple completions, these predictable clear times let you plan farming sessions efficiently. Over a 2-hour session, you’re looking at 40-60 completions, which is more than enough for most event rewards.

3. Budget Versatile Team (No Monarchs Required)

Not everyone pulled Monarch trait units during Update 9’s anniversary banners, but that doesn’t mean you can’t compete at high levels. This budget-friendly composition proves that strategic synergy and smart unit choices often outweigh raw rarity when building effective teams.

Core Units:

Overheaven (Versatility + Cleanse) – Your Swiss Army knife unit handling multiple roles
Hollow Seph (Summons) – Premium summon generation without Monarch requirements
Lizard (Cheap AoE DPS) – Cost-effective damage with DoT boosting
Callasuba (Support MVP) – Often overlooked but absolutely essential support unit
2 Farm Units – Standard economy setup

Callasuba: The Hidden Gem

Let me emphasize this because many players sleep on Callasuba (Konosuba character)—he’s legitimately one of the best support units in Update 9, Monarch or not. His kit includes:

30% Slow Effect – Reduces enemy movement speed significantly, giving your DPS more time to work
20% Damage Buff – Applies to all units in range, effectively multiplying your team’s output
Debuff Cleanse – Removes harmful effects from your units, crucial in challenging content
Multiple Summon Types – Provides additional bodies on the battlefield
Status Effect Application – Can apply bleed and burn to enemies
Team Buff Auras – Passive benefits just from being on the field

For a unit that doesn’t require Monarch trait, Callasuba punches way above his weight class. The 20% damage buff alone pays for his placement cost several times over when buffing units like Hollow Seph or Lizard.

Why This Team Works Without Monarchs:

The key to this composition’s success is multiplicative synergy. Callasuba’s damage buff amplifies Lizard’s already strong AoE and DoT. Lizard’s 30% DoT boost amplifies Overheaven’s status effects. Overheaven’s summons benefit from Callasuba’s buffs. Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades gain increased damage from multiple buff sources.

Rather than relying on one overpowered Monarch unit to carry, you’re building a team where each unit makes every other unit better. This creates a compounding effect that closes the gap between budget teams and premium compositions.

Gameplay Flow:

Start with your farm units to establish economy. Place Lizard first for cost-effective early wave clear. Add Callasuba to begin buffing your team. Deploy Overheaven for utility and summons. Finally, place Hollow Seph once you have the money for his high placement cost.

Once fully set up, this team handles content remarkably smoothly. The constant slow from Callasuba gives your DPS more uptime on targets. The cleanse ensures debuffs don’t hamper your defense. The summons create physical barriers that buy time. And the damage buffs ensure everything dies quickly.

Content Performance:

This budget team can clear:

Story Mode: All chapters without issues
Events: Most event stages with 3-4 minute clear times
Infinite Mode: Capable of reaching high waves with proper positioning
Dungeons: Handles standard dungeon content effectively
Rifts: Can clear lower-tier rifts, struggles with highest difficulty without Monarchs

For free-to-play players or those with bad gacha luck, this team proves you don’t need to spend money or get lucky to enjoy Update 9’s content. Smart play, proper positioning, and understanding unit synergies can overcome raw power in most situations.

4. Burn Damage Team (DoT Specialization)

If you love watching HP bars melt away from damage-over-time effects, this burn-focused composition will satisfy that pyromaniac fantasy. Despite Hibano receiving a nerf in recent patches, combining multiple burn sources with Lizard’s DoT amplification creates sustained damage that excels in boss fights and stages with tanky enemies.

Best Composition:

Overheaven (Utility + Burn Setup) – Can apply burn among his multiple status effect options
Escanor (Main Burn DPS) – Primary burn damage dealer with massive AoE potential
Hibano (AoE Burn Assist) – Provides additional burn coverage despite nerf
Lizard (DoT Boost) – The lynchpin that makes this strategy work with 30% DoT amplification
2 Farm Units

Understanding the Burn Mechanic:

Burn damage in Anime Vanguards deals a percentage of the unit’s total damage over time. Unlike instant damage that relies on attack speed and placement timing, burn creates a persistent damage aura that continuously chips away at enemy HP. This is particularly effective against:

High HP Bosses – Burn damage scales with total HP, making tanky targets melt faster
Waves of Enemies – One application spreads damage across multiple targets
Mobile Enemies – Burn continues ticking even when targets leave range
Shielded Enemies – DoT often bypasses or ignores shield mechanics

Lizard’s Role in Burn Teams:

Godzilla (Lizard) isn’t just a burn dealer—he’s a burn amplifier. That 30% DoT boost affects every single tick of burn damage from every unit on your team. When you calculate the total damage increase across an entire run with multiple burn applications, Lizard easily doubles or triples your team’s effective DPS through this passive alone.

His Radiation meter mechanic adds another layer. As Lizard attacks and builds radiation, he unlocks his Heat Overload ability. This charged beam attack deals 400% damage, but more importantly, it applies an extremely potent burn effect to everything it hits. In boss fights, timing this ability correctly can shift the battle instantly.

Post-Nerf Hibano Analysis:

Yes, Hibano received adjustments that reduced some of his overwhelming power. However, in a specialized burn team, he still performs admirably. His AoE burn application ensures widespread DoT coverage, and when buffed by Lizard’s amplification, the total damage output remains impressive.

The key is not relying solely on Hibano as your only burn source. By spreading burn application across multiple units (Overheaven, Escanor, Hibano, and Lizard), you create redundant damage sources. If one unit is on cooldown or repositioning, the others maintain consistent burn uptime.

Escanor’s Burn Mastery:

Escanor deserves special mention as probably the single best burn-focused unit in Update 9. His kit is specifically designed around burn application, with abilities that:

Apply burn to large AoE areas
Scale burn damage with his own stats
Provide self-buffs that increase burn potency
Feature cooldown management that ensures near-constant burn uptime

When fully upgraded and positioned correctly, Escanor can maintain permanent burn effects on enemies within his range. Combined with Lizard’s boost, you’re looking at massive sustained DPS that doesn’t rely on critical hits, attack speed, or other variable factors.

Optimal Positioning Strategy:

Place Lizard centrally where his 30% DoT boost affects your entire team. Position Escanor to cover the longest enemy path possible, maximizing burn uptime. Deploy Hibano to cover areas Escanor doesn’t reach. Use Overheaven flexibly for utility and additional burn where needed.

This positioning ensures overlapping burn coverage—enemies entering the battlefield immediately start taking DoT from multiple sources, and that damage continues even as they move between unit ranges.

Boss Fight Excellence:

Where this team truly shines is boss encounters. Standard DPS teams often struggle with bosses that have massive HP pools and damage reduction mechanics. Burn damage, however, bypasses many of these defenses and scales with total HP.

Against endgame bosses with millions of HP, the percentage-based nature of burn damage becomes exponentially more valuable. I’ve personally watched Update 9 bosses lose 30-40% of their HP purely to burn DoT before my DPS units even finish their attack rotations.

Performance Metrics:

Standard Waves: Slightly slower than burst DPS teams (5-10% more time)
Boss Waves: 20-30% faster than standard teams
Long Stages: Becomes progressively stronger as enemy HP increases
Event Bosses: Exceptional performance, often top-tier clear times

5. Full Summon Team (Infinite Scaling Madness)

If you’ve ever wanted to see your screen completely filled with summons to the point where you can barely see the enemies, this composition delivers that chaotic fantasy. More importantly, it’s one of the few team setups that genuinely scales infinitely, becoming stronger the longer a run continues.

Team Setup:

Sung Jin-Wu (Scaling Summons) – Shadow Monarch whose summons scale with enemy HP
Overheaven (Strong Early Summons) – Provides powerful summons immediately
Hollow Seph (AoE Summons) – Adds Lost Shades with massive HP pools
Callasuba (Cleanse + Light Summons) – Support summons with cleanse utility
2 Farm Units

Sung Jin-Wu: The Infinite Scaling Cornerstone

Shadow Monarch Sung Jin-Wu brings a completely unique mechanic to Anime Vanguards—his summons scale based on enemy HP. In early waves with weak enemies, his shadows are decent. In late waves with million-HP bosses, his shadows become absolute monsters themselves.

This scaling mechanic makes Sung Jin-Wu possibly the single best unit for Infinite Mode. While other units eventually hit their damage ceiling, Sung Jin-Wu’s shadows continue growing stronger indefinitely. By wave 50+ in Infinite Mode, his summons often deal more damage than many players’ main DPS units.

The Army’s Supply and General abilities further amplify this scaling. Army’s Supply grants buffs based on the number of shadows deployed, while General provides map-wide support to all summons. In a full summon team, these abilities create exponential growth—more summons mean stronger buffs, which means more effective summons, which means stronger buffs, and so on.

Summon Quantity vs Quality:

This team adopts a “quantity becomes quality” philosophy. By wave 30, you’ll easily have 100+ summons on the field simultaneously. Each individual summon might not be incredibly strong, but:

100 summons attacking = 100x the DPS of one summon
Enemies must kill 100 summons before reaching your base
Boss attacks distributed across 100 targets = minimal actual damage
Area effects only kill portions of your summon army, not all

Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades:

Hollow Knight’s Lord of Shades passive spawns special summons upon takedowns. These Lost Shades are qualitatively different from standard summons:

Over 1 million HP – Nearly indestructible with proper buffs
Significant damage output – Not just tanky, but threatening
Void-based abilities – Special attacks that chunk bosses
Charm interactions – Benefit from your selected Charm loadout

Having 5-10 Lost Shades acting as raid bosses on your side while 90+ standard summons provide DPS creates an overwhelming force that most content simply cannot handle.

Callasuba’s Underrated Summons:

Most players focus on Callasuba’s buffs and cleanse (rightfully so), but his summon generation shouldn’t be overlooked in this composition. His summons, while not as powerful as Sung Jin-Wu’s shadows or Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades, add to the total body count and benefit from his own buff aura.

More importantly, Callasuba’s cleanse becomes critical in Infinite Mode where enemies start applying nasty debuffs. Keeping your summons cleansed ensures they maintain peak performance even against enemies designed to shut down summoner strategies.

The Chaos Factor:

There’s no denying this team creates visual chaos. With 100+ summons on screen, particle effects from abilities, enemies dying constantly, and summons spawning continuously, it can be hard to track what’s actually happening. But that’s part of the appeal.

Many players find the summon spam aesthetic satisfying—watching an endless tide of minions overwhelm every challenge creates a unique power fantasy. It’s less about individual big numbers and more about death by a thousand cuts, where enemies simply drown under the weight of your army.

Infinite Mode Performance:

This is where the team earns its name. In Infinite Mode:

Waves 1-20: Establishing your summon engine, decent but not exceptional
Waves 21-40: Summons reach critical mass, becoming very strong
Waves 41-60: Sung Jin-Wu’s scaling begins dominating, top-tier performance
Waves 61+: Almost unstoppable, limited only by game performance

I’ve personally reached wave 75+ in Infinite Mode with this composition, and it showed no signs of struggling. The run only ended because my game started lagging from too many entities on screen—the team itself was still crushing enemies effortlessly.

Important Consideration:

Fair warning: this team can cause performance issues on lower-end devices. 100+ summons, each with their own AI, animations, and effects, creates substantial processing demands. If you’re playing on mobile or an older computer, you may need to adjust graphics settings or limit your push in Infinite Mode.

6. Hollow Seph Curse Damage Team

For players lucky enough to pull Hollow Seph (Hollow Knight) during Update 9, this specialized composition transforms him into an absolute raid boss killer. By stacking multiple damage buffers around Hollow Seph’s curse-based mechanics, you create single-target burst damage that challenges even the toughest endgame bosses.

Lineup:

Hollow Seph (Main Curse DPS) – Your primary damage dealer focused on curse damage
Sukuna (Damage Amplifier) – Provides substantial damage buffs to allies
Griffith (Extra Buffs) – Additional buff stacking for maximum output
Callasuba (Cleanse + Support) – Keeps buffs active and provides utility
2 Farm Units

Understanding Curse Damage:

Curse damage in Anime Vanguards functions differently from standard damage types. It applies a stacking debuff to enemies that increases the damage they take from all sources. Think of it as a reverse buff—instead of making your units stronger, it makes enemies weaker.

Hollow Seph’s Void Spells utilize curse mechanics extensively. Each spell application:

Applies curse stacks to targets
Increases damage taken per stack
Amplifies damage from other curse sources
Creates explosive damage when curse stacks expire

The key insight is that curse damage benefits from itself multiplicatively. The first curse stack increases damage slightly. The second stack increases damage more. The tenth stack creates explosive scaling where each hit deals massive damage.

The Charm System Advantage:

Hollow Knight’s unique Charm System lets you customize his abilities before each match. You select 3 Charms to equip onto the Soul Tree, and these Charms provide various buffs:

Range Extensions – Increase Hollow Seph’s effective coverage area
Damage Boosts – Direct percentage increases to damage output
Summon HP Increases – Make Lost Shades even tankier
SPA Modifications – Adjust attack speed for optimal DPS
Passive Auras – Provide team-wide benefits

For a curse-focused build, prioritize Charms that increase damage, SPA, and curse application rate. The flexibility to adjust Hollow Seph’s loadout based on content type makes him incredibly versatile.

Sukuna and Griffith: The Buff Batteries

Sukuna (from Jujutsu Kaisen) brings substantial damage amplification to any team, but he synergizes especially well with Hollow Seph. His domain expansion and Malevolent Shrine abilities provide:

Massive damage percentage increases
Area buffs that stack with other effects
Debuffs on enemies that complement curse damage
Sustained buff uptime with proper timing

Griffith (from Berserk) adds another layer of buff stacking. While individually his buffs might seem modest, when combined with Sukuna’s amplification and Hollow Seph’s natural scaling, the multiplicative effect becomes absurd.

The Math Behind the Buffs:

Let’s say Hollow Seph deals 100,000 base damage:

Sukuna’s buff: +50% = 150,000 damage
Griffith’s buff: +30% = 195,000 damage
Callasuba’s buff: +20% = 234,000 damage
Curse stacks: +100% = 468,000 damage
Charm bonuses: +40% = 655,200 damage

From 100,000 base to 655,200 effective damage—over 6x multiplier purely from buff stacking. And this doesn’t account for critical hits, trait bonuses, or familiar effects.

The Million Damage Threshold:

With optimal setup, Hollow Seph can consistently hit 250,000+ damage per attack in this composition. His Lost Shades, benefiting from the same buff stacks, reach over 1 million HP as mentioned earlier. When these Lost Shades attack with their void abilities, they’re dealing damage comparable to many players’ main DPS units.

I’ve personally watched Hollow Seph delete endgame bosses in under 30 seconds with this team. The combination of curse stacking, buff amplification, and Lost Shade pressure creates a DPS ceiling that feels almost unfair.

Endgame Boss Strategy:

Against challenging bosses:

Place farm units and build economy quickly
Deploy Callasuba for early buffs and summons
Add Sukuna and Griffith in range of where Hollow Seph will be placed
Place Hollow Seph centrally with all buffs affecting him
Activate Sukuna’s domain for maximum buff uptime
Let Hollow Seph’s abilities cycle naturally while Lost Shades spawn
Use Callasuba’s cleanse to remove any boss debuffs
Watch the boss HP bar disappear

Content Performance:

Standard Stages: Overkill—this team is designed for harder content
Boss Rush: Exceptional, possibly the fastest boss kill times
Raids: Top-tier performance against raid bosses
Challenge Modes: Handles single-target challenges effortlessly
Infinite Mode Bosses: Eliminates boss waves before they become threats

Investment Requirements:

Full transparency: this team requires significant investment. Hollow Seph has a ridiculously high placement cost compared to most units. Sukuna and Griffith aren’t cheap either. You need strong economy management to get this team fully deployed before critical waves.

However, once fully set up, this team justifies every coin spent. The sheer deletion power against high-priority targets makes the investment worthwhile, especially if you’re pushing endgame content where standard teams struggle.

Update 9 Meta Units Analysis (2026)

S+ Tier (Must-Have Units)

Dio Over Heaven (God/Overheaven)

Easily the strongest unit introduced in Update 9, Dio Over Heaven completely redefines what’s possible in Anime Vanguards. His kit combines:

Time Stop Mechanic – Pauses enemies while your units continue attacking
Multiple Status Effects – Can apply burn, freeze, stun, bleed, and more
Customizable Status Selection – Choose which effect to prioritize (+50% damage buff)
Self-Buffs – Enhances his own stats during abilities
Enemy Debuffs – Reduces enemy defensive capabilities
Summon Spawning – Converts defeated enemies into summons
God Arrives Transformation – Becomes “God (Above Heaven)” with +50% damage

The versatility is unmatched. Need burn damage? Dio applies it. Need crowd control? Dio provides stuns and freezes. Need summons? Dio spawns them. Need buffs? Dio has those too.

His time rewind ability lets you reset cooldowns and repositions, effectively giving you mulligan opportunities during challenging waves. This single ability has saved countless runs where a misplay or bad RNG would have caused failure.

Hollow Knight (Hollow Seph/Hollowseph)

The Charm System introduction alone makes Hollow Knight meta-defining. Being able to customize his abilities before each match provides adaptability that other units simply cannot match.

His Lord of Shades passive, spawning powerful summons upon takedowns, creates a snowball effect. Each kill generates a new Lost Shade, which helps secure more kills, which generates more Lost Shades. In wave-based content, this creates exponential scaling.

The Void Spells offer various abilities and damage boosts, giving Hollow Knight multiple tools for different situations. Need AoE? Use Void Spell 1. Need single-target burst? Void Spell 3. Need defensive utility? Void Spell 2.

With Monarch trait, Hollow Knight becomes arguably the second-best unit in the entire game, only behind Dio Over Heaven himself.

Godzilla (Lizard)

Cost-effectiveness defines Godzilla’s value proposition. His placement and upgrade costs are significantly lower than comparable DPS units, yet his damage output remains competitive.

The 30% DoT boost to all units transforms burn-focused teams from good to exceptional. This single passive can increase total team damage by 20-30% in DoT compositions—that’s more impact than many units provide even as dedicated DPS.

His Heat Overload beam attack dealing 400% damage provides burst windows for handling boss waves. The charge-up requirement seems like a downside, but it actually creates gameplay skill expression. Good Godzilla players know exactly when to start charging for optimal timing.

The Radiation meter mechanic adds another layer of depth. As Godzilla attacks, he builds radiation which empowers his abilities. Managing this meter optimally separates average Godzilla users from exceptional ones.

S Tier (Extremely Strong)

Shirou Emiya (Shero)

Armed with an arsenal of weapons and capable of dealing 800k+ DPS, Shero ranks just below the S+ units primarily due to his Mana management requirement.

The Mana Meter mechanics demand attention—let it drop to 0 and Shero’s effectiveness plummets. However, for players willing to actively manage this resource, Shero provides Holy element damage that shreds through enemies with specific weaknesses.

His infinite range ability, activated by spending Mana, allows Shero to engage enemies anywhere on the map temporarily. This versatility lets him handle priority targets regardless of positioning, something few other units can do.

With Monarch trait, Shero’s DPS can reach 1 million+, placing him among the game’s highest damage dealers. The investment in Mana management pays dividends in overall team performance.

Hellkiller (Doomslayer)

The Doom experience translated to tower defense form. Hellkiller’s weapon-switching mechanics, Glory Kill passive, and Hell Walker first-person mode create engaging gameplay that’s both powerful and fun.

His 200% damage to enemies below 50% HP functions as an execute mechanic, ensuring threatening targets die quickly once weakened. The ammo refresh on kills creates positive feedback loops where successful executes enable more executes.

The Hell Walker ability deserves special mention—switching to first-person shooter mode with increased movement speed and damage is just pure fun. It’s both effective and entertaining, a rare combination in tower defense games.

Wonder of You (Thunder)

This aura-based unit brings unconventional but powerful mechanics. He doesn’t attack directly and cannot be harmed—instead, he walks toward enemy spawns inflicting Calamity tiers based on proximity.

Calamity III, applied at close range, deals 300% damage. This scaling reward for positioning creates interesting strategic decisions about optimal Thunder placement.

With Monarch, Thunder’s DPS skyrockets past 1 million. His playstyle is unusual, but for players who learn his mechanics, he provides top-tier performance with minimal micro-management.

Konosuba (Callasuba)

Already discussed extensively in team compositions, Callasuba’s value cannot be overstated. Multiple summon types, team buffs, status effects, and cleanse utility packed into one unit makes him essential for countless team builds.

The 20% damage buff alone justifies his placement cost. Everything else—slows, debuffs, summons, cleanse—is bonus value on top of an already worthwhile unit.

How to Build Your Own Team Comp?

Understanding Team Roles

Every successful Anime Vanguards team needs these core roles filled:

Economy (Farm Units)

Minimum 2 farm units for standard content
Can reduce to 1 for speed farming events
More farms = more flexibility in expensive unit placement

DPS (Damage Dealers)

At least 1 primary DPS carrying damage load
Secondary DPS for coverage or backup
Balance between single-target and AoE damage

Support (Buffers and Utility)

Damage amplifiers like Callasuba or Broly
Utility providers like Overheaven’s cleanse
Status effect appliers for team synergy

Summons/Tanks (Defensive Layer)

Physical barriers delaying enemy progression
Summon spam for overwhelming damage
Tank units absorbing hits meant for DPS

Synergy Over Individual Power

The best teams in Update 9 aren’t necessarily the ones with the five individually strongest units. They’re the teams where each unit amplifies the others.

Example Synergy Chain:

Lizard applies burn → Lizard’s passive boosts that burn by 30% → Callasuba’s damage buff increases burn further → Overheaven applies additional burns benefiting from both boosts → Multiple burn sources scale multiplicatively

This synergy chain creates total damage far exceeding the sum of individual parts.

Content-Specific Considerations

For Rift Stages:

Prioritize defensive layers (summons, tanks)
Include units with crowd control
Ensure sufficient early-game power

For Event Farming:

Balance speed with reliability
Macro-friendly compositions preferred
Consistent 2-3 minute clears over risky 1-minute attempts

For Infinite Mode:

Scaling units absolutely essential (Sung Jin-Wu, Thunder)
Summon-heavy for late-wave defense
Support units maintaining team buffs indefinitely

For Boss Rush:

High single-target burst damage
Debuff removal and buff maintenance
Units with execute mechanics (Hellkiller)

Budget vs Premium Teams

Budget Building Principles:

Prioritize support units (Callasuba) over DPS
Use cost-efficient units (Lizard) as DPS backbone
Leverage synergies to close power gap
Focus on one team composition initially

Premium Building Principles:

Monarch units when available
Mix meta S+ units for flexibility
Build multiple team compositions
Experiment with unusual synergies

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-Investing in Single Unit

Many players pull a meta unit like Dio Over Heaven and immediately dump all resources into maximizing only him. While Dio is incredibly powerful, a single overinvested unit cannot carry as effectively as a balanced team.

Spread investments across multiple units to create versatile teams capable of handling various content types. One team won’t be optimal for everything.

Ignoring Support Units

The temptation to stack 4 DPS units and minimal support is strong, especially for newer players. However, support units often provide more total team damage increase than adding another DPS.

Example:

Team 1: 4 DPS units with 0 buffs = 400k total DPS
Team 2: 3 DPS units + Callasuba (+20% buff) = 3 × 120k × 1.20 = 432k total DPS

Team 2 deals more damage while costing less to deploy.

Poor Positioning

Unit placement matters enormously in Anime Vanguards. Units placed out of buff range, unable to cover critical paths, or positioned where they can’t synergize waste their potential.

Positioning Checklist:

Are all DPS units within support buff range?
Do summon units have space for their summons to path properly?
Are units covering priority enemy routes?
Is there coverage for both ground and air enemies?
Can units assist each other during boss waves?

Neglecting Economy

Skipping farm units or placing only one farm to fit more DPS creates economy problems that cascade throughout the run.

With insufficient economy:

Can’t place expensive units before critical waves
Can’t afford ability upgrades when needed
Can’t recover from unexpected leaks requiring unit replacement
Can’t pivot strategy if initial plan fails

Two farm units provide exponentially more money than one due to compound growth. That second farm unit often generates more total value than a fourth DPS unit.

Chasing Meta Without Understanding

Copying top-tier team compositions without understanding why they work leads to poor execution. You might have the same five units as a top player but achieve dramatically worse results due to positioning, timing, or upgrade priorities.

Before copying a team, understand:

Why is each unit included?
What role does each unit serve?
Where should each unit be positioned?
What is the deployment order?
Which abilities should be prioritized?
How does the team handle specific threats?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the absolute best team in Anime Vanguards Update 9?

The Broly x Hellkiller Summon Overload team (featuring Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, and 2 farms) currently represents the strongest overall composition for high-difficulty content. It combines massive DPS, overwhelming summon spam, and defensive layers that make leaks virtually impossible. However, different content types favor different teams, so “best” depends on whether you’re farming events, pushing Infinite Mode, or tackling boss rush challenges.

Can I compete without Dio Over Heaven or Hollow Knight?

Absolutely! The Budget Versatile Team (Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Lizard, Callasuba) proves competitive performance doesn’t require the rarest units. While Dio and Hollow Knight are undeniably powerful, smart team building with synergistic units often outperforms poorly constructed teams with premium units. Focus on support units like Callasuba who multiply your team’s effectiveness and cost-efficient DPS like Lizard.

How important are Monarch traits in Update 9?

Monarch traits provide significant power boosts (typically 30-50% stat increases), but they’re not mandatory for most content. Budget teams without Monarchs can clear all story content, most events, and respectable Infinite Mode waves. Monarchs become more important for competitive leaderboards and the highest difficulty challenges. If you have Monarchs, great—if not, don’t let it stop you from enjoying Update 9.

Which team is best for farming anniversary events?

The Anniversary Event Team (Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Lizard) specifically excels at event farming with consistent 2-3 minute clear times. It’s macro-friendly, doesn’t require constant micromanagement, and balances speed with reliability. The inclusion of Lizard provides cost-efficient damage that doesn’t require Monarch traits, making this team accessible for most players.

How do I know which buffs are affecting my units?

Unfortunately, Anime Vanguards doesn’t have the clearest buff indication system. Generally, if a support unit is within its stated range of your DPS unit, the buff is active. For units like Callasuba and Broly, look for slight visual indicators or auras around buffed units. The best confirmation is testing damage output with and without the support unit—if you see the damage numbers increase, the buff is working.

What’s the best way to farm gems for summoning Update 9 units?

Redeem all available Anime Vanguards codes immediately for free gems. Complete daily quests and missions for consistent gem income. Progress through story mode for one-time gem rewards. Check evolution areas for hidden gem caches. Participate in limited-time events offering bonus gems. Join the official Discord for exclusive code releases. Most importantly, save gems for banner events featuring units you actually need rather than summoning on every banner.

Is it worth building multiple team compositions?

Yes, especially as you push into endgame content. Different challenges favor different strategies—what works perfectly for event farming might struggle in Infinite Mode. I recommend building at least three teams: one for event farming, one for Infinite Mode progression, and one for boss rush. This diversity ensures you’re prepared for any content type without needing to reconstruct your team constantly.

How often does the Anime Vanguards meta change?

Major updates typically arrive every 4-6 weeks, potentially shifting the meta significantly. However, Update 9’s anniversary units are so powerful that minor patches probably won’t dethrone them immediately. The core teams in this guide should remain relevant for at least 2-3 months, with possible minor adjustments as the community discovers new synergies or balance changes occur.

Conclusion

Anime Vanguards Update 9 has delivered what might be the most exciting meta shift in the game’s history. The anniversary units introduced aren’t just powerful—they’ve fundamentally changed how team building works through mechanics like the Charm System, curse damage stacking, infinite scaling summons, and unprecedented status effect combinations.

The six teams detailed in this guide represent the current pinnacle of Update 9 strategy, but they’re starting points rather than endpoints. Anime Vanguards rewards experimentation and creative thinking. Don’t be afraid to modify these compositions, test unusual synergies, or build around units you particularly enjoy.

Whether you’re running the meta-dominating Broly x Hellkiller Summon Overload composition, farming events efficiently with the Anniversary Event Team, or pushing Infinite Mode with the Full Summon Scaling setup, the most important factor is understanding why your team works. Once you grasp the principles of buff stacking, synergy creation, and role distribution, you can adapt to any content challenge Update 9 throws at you.

The teams I’ve shared come from extensive testing, community feedback, and countless hours of gameplay. They work. But your perfect team might be something completely different based on your available units, playstyle preferences, and content goals.

Keep experimenting, stay active in the community, and don’t forget to check for new codes regularly. The Anime Vanguards meta never stops evolving, and Update 9 is just the beginning of what promises to be an incredible chapter in the game’s life.

Now get out there and start building your ultimate team composition. Those rifts aren’t going to clear themselves, and with the strategies in this guide, you’re more than ready to dominate Update 9’s content. Good luck, and may your summons be ever blessed!