Ranking of 4* characters
Brief Introduction
The girls are evaluated based on 2 scales–the raw power of the girl and the meta-relative relevance of the girl.
The below ranking is based on 80-7 max characters performing in plat-legend level with all mlb memoirs available.
S Rank
Aruru: SS-SS
Easiest character to rank in the current environment. Her AP2 is a very good countermeasure against multi-gut Michiru/Shizuha in late game environment. Her AP3 and CA makes her the most dangerous character in the current meta. There is virtually no team that will not significantly benefitted by an Aruru.
Recommended Setup: All except perhaps multitank (but if you have Aruru why do you want to build multitank anyways?)
Michiru: S-SS
Michiru is an answer to multiple questions. Her high MDEF allows her to stand against Phanana and Halloruko, while a 25k hp allows her to take some damage from Tamao and Futaba before dying as well. Her Anthem (which really should be AP3) neutralises Yachiyo and the ~5k DEF+MDEF barriers is basically a 10k hp buffer (since in many cases the MDEF barrier will absorb an AOE while the DEF barrier will absorb the FA). Since Akira is rarely seen in legend, Michiru faces almost no nemesis and thus scoring an SS in meta.
Recommended Setup: All except when you have a weak backline that is prone to AOE
Maya: S-S
Maya is still impregnable to most physical attackers. Now that she stands behind Michiru, her AP3 becomes a bit more relevant when in rare occasions fighting against Akira. Her AP3 at late game is decisive. Getting her CA on quickly and lowering opponent’s ACT for ~20% will ensure the survival of your Yachiyo. For a period of time her existence is threatened by Phanana and BK Ruko, but now even with Futaba coming into the picture, moon is still doing badly, and Maya is still running around taunting everyone.
Recommended Setup: All except when you are using 104 formation.
Yachiyo: S-A (updated 20181226)
Do not expect Yachiyo to survive long enough to participate FA. She is simply way too fragile to survive even with multiple guts (which is not feasible anyways). The new cards, especially IChiE has marked Yachiyo dead already. Even if Yachiyo outspeeds IChiE, you are really wasting her CA on dodges and is not feasible anyways.
Yachiyo remains the best AOE in terms of AOEing, but with Michiru coming into play, often she is forced to release her CA prematurely before Aruru buff. When facing the multitank ACT debuff setup, a Yachiyo CA can sometimes deal only 3k per character, which is disappointing at best, considering she will not last after 4 turns. She is still holding onto S-S by virtue of being the best AOE in the game, but she is no longer the first name on everyone’s list.
Recommended Setup: AOE
A Rank
Phanana: A-B (updated 20181226)
Choppers are still not feasible in PVP.
Phanana is the best single-target antitank we have in the game, but personally, I think she should be a standard benchmark of what an antitank should be like—very high attack, can virtually destroy a tank when having elemental advantage, and can deal ~13k to regular tanks. She used to be very good in terms of meta, but since Yukko’s presence and the formation of cloud cannon, she just can’t find a place in top teams when Yukko gets into 18 of top 20 teams. If we are getting an ice antitank that is actually usable and is on the same level as Phanana, then I can see the emergence of Phanana—ice antitank—Kuro/Mahiru setup to destroy 104/113 setups. But for now, Phanana only makes into B in terms of meta.
Recommended Setup: All except AOE team
Junna: A-B (updated 20181226)
Oddly with the introduction of new Ice 4*s and buffing of old Ice 4*, Junna suddenly becomes feasible in PVP. However, she can possibly be the target of IChiE and even though Junna has elemental advantage, thats still 6k, more than half of her HP, randering her dead before CA.
Junna is the second best AOE in the game hands down. 2-hit CA and AOE AP3 makes her very powerful. But wind is being heavily oppressed right now and there is simply no way for Junna to reclaim her relevance before ice actually comes into the field. In all fairness she is still a very good character, but her meta ranking will only drop further and further until new ice 4* (which is perhaps tomorrow)
Recommended Setup: AOE
B Rank
Yuyuko: B-SS
Yuyuko is one of the most versatile characters in the game. At 15k hp, she is one of the most beefy AOE in the game. Her ACT is good enough for her to fight in late game, while her speed at 1578, which makes her the second fastest character in the game, allows her to hit before virtually anyone. Her CA is 5-hit with a lower multiplier, which means she is not that good of a brawler than the likes of Junna and Yachiyo. But the 5-hit makes her very good at dealing with multi-dodge and guts—which is super useful after FA. Personally, the best time to use a Yukko CA is Turn 4 AP2—and no one can really stop you from doing it.
Recommended Setup: All, though not really first pick on many setups
Shizuha: B-S (updated 20181226)
IChiE really changes things up. IChiE has similar stat with Shizuha, which means both will survive FA in most instances. When they face each other, it will be a one-side slaughter as IChiE is too powerful for Shizuha.
Is Shizuha really that good of a card? Granted that her hp is really high for a midliner (nearly 20k), but her ACT, speed, MDEF is mediocre at best. Yet with that HP and very high DEF (965), she can still stand with ~40% hp after taking a FA and ask the age-old question: “If I have a full-hp Junna and opponent has a 30%hp Shizuha, when is the best time for me to concede?” She is arguably the Queen of Late-game, but her dominance is mainly attributed to the dominance of flower, which is subject to change soon.
Recommended Setup: All
Windchie: B-A (updated 20181226)
Windchie is more and more useful nowadays as she is beefy, decent AOE, and her CA speed debuff is crucial for teams to get a head start for FA. Among the 3 most common wind units Windchie is the most difficult one to handle.
Ichie is similar to Junna that her CA is not as powerful against multi-flower setup. However, at 15k hp and built in gut, she is another good midliners to provide a second line of defence for AOE setups. Most importantly, with her CA lowering speed, you are almost guaranteed to FA before your opponent, and have a chance to outspeed even if you have 1 member short. All in all, Ichie is a good benchmark of what a decent 4* should be like.
Recommended Setup: Mostly AOE.
Santa Mahiru: B-A (updated 20181226)
Santa Mahiru is the Ice AOE that we all have been waiting, and she is not bad at all. AP3 gives ~13% DEF/MDEF debuff, AOE gives 300/470 hp recovery (which sadly is not enough to handle LV5 Lalafin/Yachiyo CA), passive of 4 kirameki per turn makes her super useful. She is the first ice 4* that challenges flower setup and she has been super effective on that regard.
Santa Mahiru is the second fastest unit in the game. That means she can outspeed every other AOE, including Yukko. That makes her super handy when you need an AOE at T4 to mop up the field, or at 1v1 during late game.
She is very good. Very very good.
Recommended Setup: AOE, but sometimes in anti-tank teams since many antitanks have both Michiru and Shizuha.
IChIE: B-B (updated 20181226)
IChiE is a very interesting design. She attacks the lowest DEF (which mostly is Yachiyo or Yukko, or some other backline AOE). A 5-hit single person CA after some AOEs would usually mean taking down the unit entirely.The awkward part of her is that she is slower than everyone but Maya, which mean you really need to make sure you either bring Windchie to have a chance to get a head start, or get an numerical advantage before CA.
She has similar stat to Shizuha, which means she can and most likely will stay for post-FA. Since wind characters are not know for persistence, she will be pretty good against other late fighters, especially Shizuha.
We will consider her as a B-B for now but we expect that to change if she performs well.
Aladdin Kuro: B-C
Strangely fast for a slasher (but Mahiru being a slasher as well is even faster anyways). Very good CA with a bad passive. She is pretty good but current meta makes her quite ineffective when play against 113 with Michiru/Maya and Shizuha in the middle. Again, an ice (or even dream) antitank will be a very good pathrazer that Kuro needs to move in.
Recommended Setup: Antitanks+Slashers
Futaba: B-C
Futaba is very awkward. Currently she has the highest converted power in the game, but she feels very mediocre. She has a decent CA and charging AP2, but even with elemental advantage she still cannot oneshot Maya—which is just not good enough for a moon antitank (at least BK Ruko will stun Maya for a period of time). She has quite a bit of health, but under cloud cannon you don’t really expect much from her anyways. All in all she looks good but somehow still disappointing.
Recommended Setup: Multitank replacement for Shizuha?
Halloruko: B-C (updated 20181226)
Ice AOE is a thing now. Good luck Ruko with that MDEF.
Halloruko could have been a A-A if her AP2 charges. She can CA before Michiru which makes her extremely vulnerable against other antitanks following up. She is not as good as Shizuha in late game mostly because of her low MDEF, but she isn’t too bad for an antitank.
Recommended Setup: Antitanks+Slashers
C Rank
Akira: C-C (updated 20181226)
Even though Hikari got more rework in this update, Akira is the real champion of this update. She now has two of the most powerful passives in the game. +4 Kirameki makes her charges up quick, and gut makes her able to stand after taking Junna and Ichie’s CA. Her AP3 now gives precision before attacking, though not really useful unless late game versus Shizuha. Being able to work with Santa Mahiru and/or IChiE makes Akira a lot more playable (well, she was utterly unusable before, so thats not much really).
Karen: C-D (updated 20181226)
Good luck for a fragile AOE standing at frontline against Kuro.
Karen could have made a comeback along with Yukko and Aruru, until Kuro comes and practically kills off her dream. Being a frontliner does not help her case at all, and a surprisingly low ACT for an AOE, mediocre DEF+MDEF for a frontliner makes her average at best. I don’t see how Karen can make a comeback in current meta.
Recommended Setup: if you really need an AOE.
Tamao: C-D (updated 20181226)
Tamao is a bad version of Akira and cosmos attribute is not really helping anyone.
Thanks to her 3* version, her meta ranking has risen back to C. Tamao’s best position is secondary tank to Michiru, and the fastest way for her to get charged is by getting hit. Her CA is good against cloud tanks and somewhat effective against Michiru, but all in all she is a bad antitank.
Recommended Setup: multitank.
BK Ruko: C-D (updated 20181226)
We once thought Ruko could be somewhat equal to Phanana, but with cloud cannon in the picture, having a bit more health and DEF does not make a difference anyways. Phanana is better than Ruko in many ways, and in areas that Ruko is better those areas are not really relevant.
Recommended Setup: Antitanks+Slashers
Mahiru: C-D
Mahiru isn’t that bad if we look at her raw stat. She is the fastest, her AP2 charges, her AP3 gives ~20% ACT buff, and her CA is a multi-hit slasher. But she is not that exciting as a character—her ACT is pretty rough, and her attribute (moon) and the lack of support to slashers do not help her anyways. She could form an interesting duo with Kuro, but without a pathrazer to open it up for the slashers, Mahiru will remain a D in meta.
Recommended Setup: Antitanks+Slashers
Hikari: C-D (updated 20181226)
Hikari got some serious buff in this update. Her dodge+ACT buff now only costs 2, and her AP2 now charges, making her the second 122 character after Michiru. However, she is still not the best option against the main 3 tanks (Akira is better against Michiru, Halloruko against Lalafin, and Hikari has elemental disadvantage against Maya). She is still super prone to Kuro, which is sort of moving up the rank for a little. It remains to be seen how good she is after the update. But for now enjoy her at PVE.
