'Goddess of Victory: NIKKE' Champion Arena and Solo Raid have both concluded. The Solo Raid saw the new units, Brid: Silent Track (hereinafter Clid) and Diesel: Winter Suites (hereinafter Cldiesel), achieve a 100% pick rate. Joining them in the shotgun squad was Soline: Frost Ticket (hereinafter Clsoline). It seems the Infinity Rail squad is truly dominating the meta.

Solo Raid Top 50 Ranker NIKKE Pick Rate Ranking

※ Based on data from the 'Solo Raid (Alteisen)' held from December 11 to December 18, featuring the squads of the Top 50 rankers.
※ The collection criteria are based on NIKKEs used in squads that achieved over 4.5 billion damage.
※ There may be slight discrepancies with current ranker decks.

The Solo Raid Alteisen has finished with great success. As rankers pushed their damage output significantly, we set the benchmark at 4.5 billion damage. The 3% cutoff for this raid was a staggering 19.8 billion. With scores flirting with the 20 billion mark, the final day was a nail-biter, leaving many players with mixed emotions on December 18.

The most popular units among all rankers included Little Mermaid, Miranda, Mast: Romantic Maid, Clid, Crown, Rapi: Red Hood, and Mihara: Bonding Chain (hereinafter Ohara), along with Cldiesel. The two newcomers have proven their worth immediately.

Meanwhile, Clsoline, who arrived just before the raid, became a staple for shotgun decks. While only about 50% of rankers used a shotgun composition to break the 4.5 billion barrier, that doesn't mean the archetype is weak; rather, it’s finally complete. Clsoline brings a much-needed 'Burst cooldown reduction' to the shotgun pool, allowing players to sync perfectly with the buffs from the buffer, Tia, and eliminate downtime during Full Burst.

Clid, with her ability to apply a 'damage taken increase debuff against wind code enemies,' has solidified her spot as the Burst 2 unit for wind-weak Solo Raids. Expect to see her frequently in future encounters where fire-weakness isn't the only factor.

Let's take a look at the squad of our champion, 嚼嚼嚼小豆泥嚼嚼, who snatched the top spot in the final moments. The key differentiator was the strategic use of Emma: Tactical Upgrade and Eunhwa: Tactical Upgrade, a sharp contrast to the Nayuta and Ade: Agent Bunny setups used by others.

The winning composition was 'Emma: Tactical Upgrade - Cldiesel - Ada - Rouge - Eunhwa: Tactical Upgrade.' When Emma and Eunhwa are paired, they trigger increased damage against ignored defense and projectile explosion damage buffs—synergies that Ada fully exploits. Cldiesel also benefited from the explosion damage boost, likely padding the final score.

The sustained damage dealer, Ohara, was paired with Maxwell and Rosanna: Chic Ocean. Maxwell served as the utility pick for attack buffs and 'pierce damage + burst generation' taps, helping the squad secure 3rd place in total damage.

Rei, the limited collaboration character who supports fire-code allies, also made a rare appearance. She anchored the 'Alice - Grave - Liter - Rei - Modernia' deck. While Modernia has struggled to stay in the top-tier meta against recent powerhouses, she remains a powerhouse in fire-weak Solo Raids, helping this squad secure 2nd place.

Champion Arena Top 8 Ranker NIKKE Pick Rate

※ Based on 40 squads from the 'Champion Arena' Top 8 rankers from December 4 to December 17.
※ Please note that the aggregation group changes every season.

Shotguns were the undisputed kings of the Champion Arena Season 18. Drake and Soda: Twinkling Bunny achieved a 100% pick rate. Vesti: Tactical Upgrade, despite her absence in the Solo Raid, reigned supreme in the Arena with a pick rate near 90%.

Burst 3 units saw the most action, with six units beyond the two shotgun staples. The rise of Laplace (with Treasure) and Ohara was the highlight. Despite the machine gun type being traditionally disadvantageous in the Arena, Ohara has cemented her place thanks to her persistent damage on death and related utility. Laplace, with her high base stats and wide area of effect, was also a force to be reckoned with.

Let's look at the squad of Rim Eun, one of this season's semifinalists. After finishing in the main tournament last season, Rim Eun returned with a vengeance to reach the top 4. While the run ended there, there’s always next season.

Rim Eun's record in the Top 8 and Semifinals was a rollercoaster. The 3rd squad, 'Mokdan - Noah - Helm - Red Hood - Emilia,' was the only one to go undefeated, sweeping mirror matches and Guren decks. However, other squads hit their hard counters, leading to an unfortunate exit. The 4th shotgun squad was completely neutralized by the 'Cinderella + Ohara' combo twice. Hopefully, we see them back in the finals next season.

Solo Raid Meta Analysis

Infinity Rail squad members join the Solo Raid

While many NIKKEs performed well in the Solo Raid Alteisen, the presence of newcomers Clid, Cldiesel, and Clsoline was undeniable. Clid and Cldiesel utilized their weapon types—shotguns and launchers—to exploit wind weaknesses, setting new damage ceilings. Clsoline's role as a Burst cooldown reducer for shotgun decks ensures she will remain a permanent fixture in our rotations.

Clsoline is a permanent unit, but Cldiesel and Clid are limited-time winter recruits. Cldiesel’s recruitment ends on December 25, and Clid’s on December 31. I highly recommend picking up at least one copy of each, as they are primed to dominate future fire-weak Solo Raids.

User Poll - Which character do you want to see as the New Year NIKKE?

Our last poll focused on mini-game scores. The results showed that '80,000-90,000 points' took 1st place, followed by '100,000+ points' in 2nd. Given the game’s roots in the classic apple-tossing mechanic, it seems we have many hidden experts among us. 3rd place went to the '90,000-100,000' bracket.

As we bid farewell to 2024 and prepare for the 2025 'Year of the Blue Snake,' players are buzzing about the identity of the New Year NIKKE. Historically, these limited units arrive with top-tier performance and rich narrative events. With characters like Anis at the forefront of recent stories, who would you like to see? Cast your vote, and we’ll reveal the results in next week’s Meca Ranking.