Everyone loves having strong war offense teams to smash through enemy rooms in Marvel Strike Force. But powerful attacks don’t always win wars – that requires some sturdy defense teams, too.
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Setting up your war defense in Marvel Strike Force isn’t as easy as it used to be. There are dozens of teams to choose from, and some will always be more viable than others. Let’s look at our pick of top 10 teams for war defense that will give your opponents a headache if nothing else.
Make sure to also read our article on the best Marvel Strike Force War Attack Teams!
Table of Contents:
- Infestation
- Gamma
- Young Avengers
- Darkhold
- Heroes for Hire
- Marauders with Emma Frost
- Hero Asgardian
- Black Order
- Infinity Watch
- Knowhere
Top 10 War Defense Teams in Marvel Strike Force
Infestation
The Infestation team is a spiritual successor to Heroes for Hire pre-Weapon X and Dark Hunter counters. Built specifically for war defense, Infestation is downright frustrating – a bad thing if you’re the one attacking them, but amazing when they’re on your defense.
Infestation represents a breath of fresh air for old characters who didn’t have much use in war. Black Widow, Yellow Jacket, Ant-Man, and Swarm have received reworks to fit into the team and gain synergies with the only new hero on the team – Spider-Man (Big Time). This mighty newcomer applies Immunity, Evade, Stealth, and speed-ups to allies while wreaking havoc on the enemy’s Armor.
The old characters become real powerhouses in the Infestation team. As a result, you get one of the fastest war defense teams that can also pack quite a punch and evade attacks all day long. It’s quite common for attacking players to down-punch Infestation teams with 30-50% more power, and the result isn’t certain even in those cases.
Gamma
Until Gamma receives a massive nerf, this team will find itself at the top of every War and Crucible list. Equally powerful in offense and defense, Gamma will easily annihilate most attackers while leaving little room for strategic moves. If your Gamma team is at 1M power or more, it might as well be a brick wall.
With Hulk in the tank role (and She-Hulk doubling as the second tank), Abomination’s debuffs, and Brawn’s status-stealing and healing, attackers will have the impossible task of picking their targets in the right order. And then there’s Red Hulk. As soon as the Horseman leader of the team unlocks his Ultimate, it’s practically game over.
Only a handful of teams can counter Gamma, with the mirror team being the most common option. However, battling Gamma with Gamma will come down to individual character power, meaning a technically less powerful defense team could come on top even in this scenario. Setting the Hulks as a War defense team will more likely force your opponent to spend two attacks to deal with them.
Young Avengers
When talking about annoying War defense teams, Young Avengers come up very often, and for a good reason. Attackers tackling this team with an average offense solution will be sent packing before they even get the hang of what’s going on. You’re probably already familiar with how well Ms. Marvel tanks and Squirrel Girl heals and debuffs, but the addition of Echo and Kate Bishop are what makes this team pure trouble for War attackers.
Kate Bishop applies Blind while Echo counters every attack on any Young Avenger member. If you’ve got these two properly set up, they’ll make the enemy’s health dwindle in a heartbeat. Finally, America Chavez is there for raw damage output, which is why some players opt to replace her with a more versatile character.
If you want to try out some Young Avenger variants, swapping America for Spider-Man (Miles) is always a viable solution, although he now functions better as a part of the Web Warriors team. Doctor Octopus may be a better choice since he can be quite formidable when leveled up, and there’s no point in keeping him in the subpar Sinister Six team.
Darkhold
Another meta team on par with Gamma, Darkhold offers a sturdy defense in Alliance War, although this team isn’t as impenetrable as those we’ve covered so far. The team will add more strain to the attackers, especially if they’re forced to spend their hardest hitters on previous nodes. To that end, Darkhold will be efficient in its original lineup – Morgan Le Fay, Scarlet Witch, Wong, Strange (Heartless), and Agatha Harkness.
However, if you want to make Darkhold even more trouble in War defense, you could replace Scarlet Witch. The most common candidate for this maneuver is Dormammu, who even has a variant of the team named after him – Dormhold. Other options include Emma Frost or Apocalypse.
While the original team will give many attackers a run for their money, these variants can prove much more lethal. If you’re planning on making Darkhold a cornerstone of your War defense, switching out Scarlet Witch might get you there.
Heroes for Hire
Heroes for Hire used to be all the rage of War defense back in the day. Now, this team can be beaten reliably with two possible counters: Weapon X and Dark Hunter. Still, that doesn’t mean H4H is obsolete in Alliance War.
Some players feel like there’s no point in putting H4H in their rooms since the team has counters practically designed to beat them. However, that’s a wrong way of looking at the matter. Consider this: If you don’t have H4H in defense, you’re leaving the opponent’s scary and aggressive Weapon X team free to crush another team.
Marauders with Emma Frost
Marauders are sometimes overlooked in Alliance War discussions, at least lately. The team used to be a genuinely scary sight for attackers when it received a War-oriented update. And while the Marauders aren’t quite the powerhouse they used to be, there’s plenty of scariness left from those days of glory.
Truth be told, Marauders must be leveled up high to present a serious obstacle to War attackers. This is true whether you combine them with Emma Frost or not, particularly when talking about Mister Sinister. His clones and healing abilities will scale with the character’s level, so keeping him leveled up and powerful will always be a good choice.
Hero Asgardian
As powerful as they are in the comics and MCU, Asgardians spent a lot of time as a joke in Marvel Strike Force, especially when considering Alliance War. So when the team received an upgrade – both in terms of abilities and new members – everybody thought it was about time.
Now, the Hero Asgardian team represents such a robust War defense solution that many players won’t even attempt to attack them. From constant buff-debuff combos to straight-up dealing massive damage, this team will take care of business fast, often forcing opponents to spend (at least) two attacks to beat it.
Black Order
Ever since Thanos & friends were updated for War purposes, Black Order has become a very specific team. Nobody wants to admit they are now actually good, but players rarely get the courage to take them on.
Black Order starts with Immunity, Safeguard, and several other buffs – and that’s before Thanos and Ebony Maw have their first turns. After that happens, most opponents will have a short, unsuccessful fight before them.
Infinity Watch
Infinity Watch somewhat fell out of favor as a meta team, but they’re still nothing to scoff at. With three out of five team members starting with Revive Once, and the whole team gaining Immunity and Safeguard right from the start, no attacker will have the upper hand here.
You might’ve seen less of Infinity Watch in War defense nowadays, but that’s not because the team isn’t useful in repelling attacks. Rather, many players now opt to keep the team in store for offense, since Infinity Watch can still punch through many other lineups.
Knowhere
Knowhere is a peculiar team for this list. Nova and his galactic crew receive buffs in War, but those are general rather than focused on defense. In that regard, Knowhere is similar to, for instance, Gamma, and some will rather use the team to attack.
However, putting Knowhere on your War defense might be a genius choice for the very reason mentioned above. This team doesn’t really have a counter unless we’re talking about massive punch-downs. Therefore, attackers will have to spend their Knowhere teams to beat yours. Best of all, success on the offensive side won’t be guaranteed even in those cases.
Marvel Strike Force is an ever-evolving game, so this top 10 lineup won’t remain the same forever. Still, placing the teams from our list on your War defense will ensure the best outcome in the current War seasons. Try out our suggestions and watch your opponents squirm.
