Formation Counters and Formations by Purpose
Building a formation means reading their ratio and picking yours. The counter table, the banned pairings that lose the fight outright, the six formation categories, and the heroes that break a 60/40.
What this document is
A single combined write-up of that channel's per-generation formation videos. The full per-generation joiner table lives in the rally formation and ratio master table; what is collected here is the part that table does not cover — ① counter formations · ② banned formations · ③ the six formation categories by purpose.
Because the classes counter each other, building a formation means "look at their ratio, then pick yours". Every line of reasoning in the counter table below comes out of the three roles above.
① Counter formation table their defence → your rally
| Their defence | Recommended counter (rally) | Reasoning | 🚫 Banned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50/20/30 | 40/40/20 or 30/20/50 | 40/40/20: 40 Infantry absorb, 40 Lancers snipe the back, 20 Marksmen work the front. 30/20/50: 50 Marksmen for a quick kill | 60/40 |
| 60/40 ⚠️ | 40/20/40 + multi-rally | Very hard to counter. 3–4 simultaneous rallies is the standard answer. There are hero counters too (see ④) | 50/50 · 49/49 |
| 70/30 | multi-rally | No particular ratio counters it. Apply pressure with multiple rallies | 50/50 |
| 40/60 | 50/50 or 60/40 | A very strong defence (Sunfire Castle, Polar Terror). 50 Infantry hold the front while 50 Lancers delete the 60 Marksmen | 50/20/30 |
| 60/30/10 | 40/20/40 (double or triple) | A single rally fails → you need at least 2–3 | — |
💡 The counter logic in short
They load up on Marksmen → add Lancers to snipe them. They stack Infantry and turtle → go for a fast Marksman kill or multiple rallies. 60/40 is the "universal defence" — you cannot break it without hero counters or several rallies.
② Banned formations "run this and you lose"
❌ A banned formation = one that loses against a specific opponent
Even a good formation becomes banned when the matchup runs against it. The ratios in the last column above are ones you should never use against that opponent.
- 50/50 is powerful but not universal — use it against 60/40 or 70/30 and their Lancers erase your Marksmen first, and you lose the fight you should have won.
- 50/20/30 against a 40/60 is banned.
③ Additive vs multiplicative joiners, and the two kinds of widget
⚙️ Joiner buffs — additive (+) vs multiplicative (×)
How joiner buffs combine depends on their effect bucket. Within a bucket they add (+); across buckets they multiply (×) — and multiplication is worth more, so the more different buckets you mix, the higher the total damage.
For example: 4 × Jessie = 2.0 × 1 = 100%, whereas 2 × Jessie + 2 × Seo-yoon = 1.5 × 1.5 = 2.25 = 125%. Do not pile joiners into a bucket the leader has already filled — spread across other buckets.
⚠️ The video's "diminishing returns" is the wrong explanation
The video frames this as "diminishing returns — 4 Jessies = ~85%". The conclusion is right but the cause is wrong. The game does not penalise you for duplicate heroes; you simply forgo the multiplicative gain by stacking one bucket, which costs you in relative terms. The "85%" and "46%" are the creator's rough numbers, not the actual formula.
| Widget type | Use | Typical heroes |
|---|---|---|
| Rally widget offensive | Attack, rallies, defence breaking | Alonso · Greg · Hendrik |
| Garrison widget defensive | Defence, garrisoning | Bradley · Zinman |
⚠️ A defensive formation needs defensive widgets (swap Greg ↔ Zinman/Bradley, Bradley ↔ Hendrik). ※ Greg is an unusual Marksman — the others give Lethality and Attack, and he alone gives Health (25%) → which is why he shows up even in 0%-Marksman defences, purely as a health buff.
④ The six formation categories by purpose
| Purpose | Typical ratio | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Full offence | 30/20/50 · 49/49 | Rallies and city burning. Mostly for whales |
| Hybrid | 50/20/30 · 40/20/40 | Rally and garrison in one. For when you take a building and have no time to build a garrison |
| Full defence | 60/40 · 60/20/20 · 70/10/20 | Pure defence |
| Semi-offensive | 30/40/30 · 40/10/50 | Leaning offensive. Occasionally used on player cities, the Foundry and so on |
| Super defensive | 40/60 | From Gen7. Very strong, and it works at the Polar Terror and Sunfire Castle |
| Defence breaking | 60/40 · 50/50 | From Gen7–8. Exists specifically to break a 40/60 super defence |
⑤ Formation summary by generation the leaders and changes the video highlights (full joiners are in the master table)
| Gen | Full offence | Hybrid | Full defence | New / notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen1 | 30/20/50 Jeronimo + Molly + Zinman whales, city burning | 50/20/30 Natalia + Molly + Zinman Natalia = a defensive skill | 60/20/20 · 60/30/10 (60/40 is not available this early) | — |
| Gen2 | 40/20/40 Jeronimo + Molly + Alonso Alonso = rally widget, Lethality up | 50/20/30 Natalia + Philly + Alonso | 60/40 unlocks Flint + Philly + Zinman | 60/40 becomes possible from Gen2 |
| Gen3 | 49/49 Jeronimo + Mia + Alonso Mia = the best Lancer | 50/20/30 Natalia + Philly + Greg | 60/40 Logan + Philly + Greg | Greg = the Marksman who gives Health |
| Gen4 | 49/49 Jeronimo + Mia + Alonso | 50/20/30 · 40/20/40 + Lynn defensive widget, works both ways | 60/40 (0% Marksman) … + Greg (for the health) | With 0% Marksmen, health matters more than their stats |
| Gen5 | 49/49 Jeronimo + Mia + Gwen | 50/20/30 Norah works as a joiner | 60/40 · 70/30 Hector + Norah + Zinman/Greg | Semi-offensive 30/40/30 Jeronimo + Reina + Greg Reina = Lancer boost, PvP |
| Gen6 | 49/49 | Wu Ming joins | 60/40 | Semi-offensive 40/10/50 Hector + Renee + Wayne lots of Marksmen raises Wayne's damage |
| Gen7 ⚠️ | 49/49 | — | 70/10/20 60/40 is retired — the enemy's Bradley breaks it | Super defensive 40/60 arrives: Edith + Philly + Bradley (Polar Terror) |
| Gen8 | 49/49 Jeronimo + Mia + Bradley | — | Gatot + Sonya + Bradley | Defence breaking arrives: against a 40/60 → 60/40 Jeronimo + Gordon + Hendrik |
| Gen9 | Jeronimo + Mia + Bradley | Magnus · Xura Marksmen who work both ways | — | Super defensive Gatot + Philly + Xura / breaking Jeronimo + Fred + Hendrik |
| Gen10 | Jeronimo + Fred + Blanchette | — | — | Blanchette arrives. Both super defence and breaking work at the Polar Terror (40/60 holds, 60/40 counters it) |
| Gen11 | No change | Same | Same | Eleonora · Lloyd · Rufus (a top-tier Marksman) |
| Gen12 | Hervor · Karol · Ligeia | Same | Same | For offence and breaking, Rufus > Ligeia |
⑥ Heroes that break 60/40, and the 40/60 super defence
⚔️ The heroes that break 60/40 and 70/30
Bradley (Gen7 Marksman) · Karol (Gen12 Lancer) · Vulcanus (Gen13 Marksman) counter a 60/40 defence. From Gen7 both you and your opponents run Bradley, so your own 60/40 stops holding → move your full defence to a safer 70/10/20.
🛡️ The 40/60 super defence
Very strong at the Polar Terror and Sunfire Castle — effectively the only formation that reliably holds a monster building. With 0% Lancers, Lancer stats are irrelevant → field a hero you only need the defensive skill from, like Philly (Mia is weak on defence).
Breaking it: answer a 40/60 with 60/40 or 50/50. At the Polar Terror, a Lancer boost (Gordon → Fred) is what makes the 40% Lancers count.
⑦ The strongest joiner set whale alliances only
👑 Gatot · Wu Ming · Ahmose · Patrick (one each)
Three Infantry defence heroes plus Patrick, built specifically as garrison (defensive) joiners. It only works in a whale alliance where everyone owns these heroes. An ordinary alliance uses a realistic combination from the master table, such as "2 Jessie + 2 Seo-yoon".
✅ In one line
Read their defensive ratio and pick your counter, but never touch the 🚫banned pairings (50/50 into a 60 or 70 defence; 50/20/30 into a 40/60). Break 60/40 with multiple rallies plus Bradley, Karol or Vulcanus, and break a 40/60 super defence with 60/40 or 50/50. From Gen7, full defence moves from 60/40 to 70/10/20, and the 40/60 super defence is for the Polar Terror. Widgets: defensive ones on defence (Bradley, Zinman), rally ones on offence (Hendrik, Alonso, Greg).
For the full per-generation joiner table and the participant damage maths, see the rally formation and ratio master table.
Hero and class matching cross-checked against whiteoutdata and wosheroes (2026-07-21). Vulcanus = Gen13 Marksman.
Note (2026-07-31): the Korean source's 빙원괴수 is the Polar Terror.