Welcome back to another [Meca Ranking] session for Seven Knights Re:BIRTH (hereafter SKRB). The new original hero, Seonran, has been absolutely tearing it up across the board. From the Arena and Upper Arena to the heat of Guild Wars, Seonran is everywhere. Even in PvE raid content, Seonran's influence is undeniable—honestly, you'd have a harder time finding a place where Seonran isn't making an impact. Naturally, the biggest winners here are the Offense-build teams; with Seonran providing extra firepower, the pick rates for related heroes have soared. Let’s dive into the specifics with the latest team composition statistics.

Offense teams surge to 72.3% with Seonran! Magic teams hit 0%

Seonran is currently leading the pack in overall pick rates, debuting with a staggering 67% pick rate right out of the gate. Naturally, this has boosted the presence of fellow heroes like Dellons, Kyle Heron, Orca, and Lu Bu. In particular, apart from Lu Bu, the other three have seen their pick rates climb by over 46 percentage points.

It’s worth noting that we’ve seen a string of high-performance Offense-type heroes lately, leaving players with the 'happy problem' of deciding who to draft and who to bench. When Orca arrived, Teo was left out; this time, players have chosen Seonran over Landgrid. Consequently, Landgrid has slumped to 10th place with a 26.7% pick rate, distancing itself from the top-tier Offense heroes. If this trend continues, Landgrid will likely drop off the charts entirely, just like Teo did.

Meanwhile, Defense and Magic teams are struggling to withstand the onslaught, effectively being pushed to the sidelines. Key heroes for Defense teams have seen their pick rates plummet by around 20%, widening the gap significantly. Worse yet, Magic teams—which dropped off the chart last week—have vanished completely. With Lina sitting at 12th place, the spots from 13th downwards are essentially empty. In short, the current Arena meta is dominated by these top 12 heroes; until something changes, it’s going to be a mirror-match fest for Offense teams.

Multi-dealer meta: 'Default' and 'Balance' formations take the lead

The surge in Offense team stats has naturally reshaped formations. With the strategy of placing Orca and Kyle Heron in the front to support three main damage dealers becoming the standard, the 'Default' formation has seen a massive spike. It jumped 39 percentage points in just one week, now threatening the dominance of the 'Balance' formation. The biggest casualty is the 'Protection' formation, which plummeted by 21.7 percentage points, now used by a mere 1.3% of top-tier players.

As for pets, 'Zeo' has surged by a massive 47 percentage points, firmly establishing itself as the meta-defining choice to suppress Defense teams. Zeo is also essential for gaining an edge in Offense mirror matches. Since Seonran’s passive relies on having higher attack stats than the opponent, Zeo’s attack-buffing effect is vital. It’s the go-to pet for winning the 'Seonran vs. Seonran' standoff.

Upper Arena Defense Team Pick Rate Analysis

※ Upper Arena defense team stats were compiled as of 10:00 AM on July 29.
※ Data tracks the defense team compositions of the top 100 players in the 'Top Ranking' tab.
※ Current defense team info may differ slightly from the provided data.

The impact of Seonran’s release is clearly visible in the top 100 defense team stats in the Upper Arena. Offense team pick rates jumped by 32 percentage points, with Seonran boasting an 89% pick rate within those parties. Mirroring the standard Arena, Landgrid has been swapped out for Seonran in the best-of-five lineup, and Defense team pick rates have seen a similar 25-point decline.

One interesting takeaway is the 'Instant Death' deck. While it couldn't escape the decline, it is barely holding on, unlike the Magic decks in the regular Arena. Given that the Upper Arena is often about preventing opponents from climbing, it has managed to maintain a respectable 4% pick rate.

Real-time Arena Analysis Lab

The new season of the Real-time Arena is officially underway. Since the ranking structure favors volume of battles over win rate alone, the gap between top players widened early on. We took a closer look at the ban-pick strategy of 'Sophl' from the Ludi Legion, who is currently chasing the top spot.

The 3-team composition covers all bases: Offense, Magic, and Defense. Sophl has optimized all 15 hero slots with top-tier performers, pairing them with the right pets. Looking at the battle logs, Sophl uses the Magic team most frequently, likely concluding that avoiding the dominant Offense meta is the rational path. To handle the remaining Magic and Defense teams, Sophl employs the classic 'S-P-P' skill rotation.

Success with this Magic team hinges on securing the first strike. While speed is important, focusing solely on speed stats can sacrifice core utility, so finding the right balance is key. Judging by how Sophl consistently seizes the first turn even in Magic mirror matches, it’s safe to assume the speed settings are quite high.

Once the initiative is taken, the execution is straightforward. Sophl uses Skuld to lock down enemy skills with cooldown increases, followed by Freya’s AoE life-conversion and buff removal to finish them off. The main variable is Freya getting hit with crowd control; as shown in the data above, improvisation is mandatory here.

Sophl usually breaks the deadlock using Reginleif. This allows for AoE damage and 'Paralysis' while cleansing allied debuffs, turning the tide of mid-to-late game skirmishes. The final step is to immediately use Skuld’s 'Secret of the Constellation' once it comes off cooldown, followed by Omok’s 'Guardian Spirit' or Freya’s buff removal to seal the victory.