It is time for the [Meca Ranking] of 'Seven Knights Re:BIRTH' (SKRB). Elysia has made a grand entrance, proving her worth as a solid support for Kyle-led offensive decks. Her debut has sent pick rates for Kyle’s entourage soaring, while compositions unable to weather this storm are seeing their win rates slide. The current PvP meta feels rather peculiar, though; as defensive decks struggle to find a counter, they are pivoting toward Kyle-based builds, triggering a major shift. Let’s dive into the stats and team compositions.

Look who’s back: 'Platon' recovers by 21.7%P

Platon has made a spectacular comeback, hitting a 63% pick rate. That is a 21.7% point jump from last week, landing him in 5th place. The real talking point here is the state of magic-type heroes. The veterans who used to share the spotlight with Platon are barely hanging on at the bottom of the chart, between 12th and 15th place. Even considering his history with defensive decks, a 63% pick rate for Platon seems incredibly high. What is going on?

The answer is deceptively simple: he has joined forces with the Kyle meta. If you look at the formation charts below, the intentions of the top-ranked players become crystal clear. To spoil the secret: they are running the classic offensive formation, placing Platon at the vanguard while the core members of the Kyle team rain down damage from behind. The peak damage output might be lower, but in a climate devoid of defensive decks, it gets the job done. Whether this alliance is a fleeting tactical choice or a new standard remains to be seen.

Balanced Formations, and Where Are the New Pets?

With Platon and Kyle running the show, the balance between offensive and defensive formations has stabilised. Platon’s return has boosted the offensive formation pick rate, essentially cannibalising the share previously held by defensive formations. With a mere 0.4% point difference in their fluctuation, it is safe to say they have simply swapped places.

Meanwhile, the new pets from the latest update have missed their chance to shine. In a meta dominated by defensive play, the 'received healing reduction' effect of 'U' was poised to take over. However, the rise of the 'Elysia-Kyle' duo has significantly narrowed the window for U to be effective.

The same fate has befallen 'Melpaero', which increases the probability of effect application, and the block-specialised 'Karam'. They look good on paper for status-effect-heavy teams like the Kris instant-death deck or Platon magic decks, but they simply feel detached from the current meta.

Best Pick of the Week

Research on Platon continues! 'Platon-Kyle' Balanced Deck

Our Best Pick of the Week goes to the Platon-Kyle alliance. It relies on the 'Kyle-Colt-Kagura' offensive engine, with Platon standing firm at the front. The key difference from traditional offensive decks is survivability. Platon absorbs the brunt of the assault, while Elysia’s passive neutralises dangerous status effects. Furthermore, Kagura provides extra support to keep those offensive heroes breathing.

Platon’s longevity is another boon, especially against Kyle, who relies on high hit counts and finds Platon to be a massive headache. In a meta where you are constantly running into offensive decks, Platon is a solid choice to keep Kyle in check, even if some synergies are a bit loose.

Total War Pick of the Week

20th Round 1st Place 'FLAY'

The glory of 1st place in this Total War goes to 'FLAY'. We’ve selected this as our pick of the week for their creative use of new pets rarely seen in standard PvP. The team lineup from top to bottom is: Karma Defensive - Kyle Offensive - Kris Instant-Death - Platon Magic - Yeonhee Magic. Even though magic-type heroes are rare in the arena, they managed to squeeze two parties into this lineup.

The new pets were integrated into the instant-death and Platon magic teams. The former relies entirely on its instant-death win condition, so 'Melpaero' was swapped in for 'Kree' to boost effect application probability. Since effect application is hard to come by outside of Knox and Rosie’s passives, instant-death decks effectively have no other choice but Melpaero.

Karam was added to the Platon magic team as a replacement for 'Lu'. While its block rate and reduction stats are slightly lower than expected, its ease of equipment setting has led to a surge in popularity in Total War first.

Seven Knights Re:BIRTH User Vote

Our last user vote commemorated the new pet wish summon system and the release of four new legendary pets. The poll asked adventurers which of the new pets they coveted most, but the results suggest it wasn’t such a simple choice.

Aside from Windy taking 1st place, there was a tight race between U and Melpaero. U edged out a lead with 28.9%. Immediately after the update, the demand to counter defensive decks made 'received healing reduction' a high priority. Later participants, however, leaned more toward Melpaero.

Did everyone enjoy the 0.5th-anniversary live stream? The highlight for most viewers was undoubtedly the reveal of the new costumes. Seeing the actual models after only seeing the illustrations previously drew quite a reaction. In the previous popularity poll based on illustrations, Phae took the top spot. I’m curious to see how you feel about the actual in-game models. Please participate in the vote, and we will reveal the results in next week’s Meca Ranking.