Cosmic Crucible – Team Counters
Intro
When we released the Defensive Team Counters article, your feedback was positive but many of you asked that we divide Counters for Cosmic Crucible and Alliance War. The idea behind that request is that content is more user-friendly and that users don’t have to check if the mentioned counter is good enough for the game mode they are playing at the moment.
Since our goal is to help MSF players as much as we can, We’ve decided to do what you asked and divide the counters. In our Cosmic Crucible-best Defense Teams article, we suggested what teams are justified to be put in CC Defense. Here, we will tell you how to counter those and other popular and/or Meta defenses.
IMPORTANT – the content on this page is not yet finished. You can see all available counters, but the description and combat tactics are not yet written.
Explanation
On each Stage you will see the name of the Defensive team and a list below, with possible counters. At the Top of the page, we have a list of Teams and with a simple click on the team’s name, you will be instantly transferred to their list of counters with a brief explanation for each counter. Next to each counter team, you will see a symbol representing Punch Ups.
Here is the list of symbols:
- 10% Punch Down – â–¼
- Even match up – ⊜
- 5% Punch Up – â–²
- 10% Punch Up – ▲▲
- 20%+ Punch Up – ▲▲▲
Season 4
Season 4 is about to start and it’s about to bring some welcome changes. First, Global Effects didn’t nerf any specific team (like we had last season when Gamma and Darkhold had a -10% penalty to their stats), they only Boosted the New Warriors team, giving them more Crit Chance and Crit Damage per Charged, and Regen when they attack a target with Blind. So the value of the team is increased, but just slightly.
Another refreshing change is that we don’t have any Stages that mention teams, so now you have a lot more options when choosing your defense. And we only have one room that is passed down from the previous season – Building Momentum. But even that one received some changes.
Every counter listed below should function as intended based on our experience and theory-crafting. But as the season goes things will change, we might find some counters work better, others worse, so this page will be constantly updated.
General Counters
First, here’s the list of general counters for the most commonly used Defensive teams. These are not accounting for any stage rules.
- Astonishing X-Men
- Black Order
- Bionic Avengers
- Darkhold+Apocalypse
- Darkhold/Dormhold
- Death Seed
- Dormammu + Heroes for Hire
- Dormammu + Hero Asgardian
- Dormammu + Young Avengers
- Gamma
- Rebirth
- Hero Asguardians
- Infinity Watch
- Invader
- Masters of Evil
- Secret Avengers + Kestrel
- Tangled Web + 2
- Underworld
- Unlimited X-Men
- Wakanda
- War Dogs
- Young Avengers
Astonishing X-Man
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Black Order ▲▲▲
- Bionic Avengers â–¼
- Unlimited X-man ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Eternals+2 ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Skill Raid team ⊜
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Wakanda ▲▲▲
- Weapon X â–²
- Hero Asgardian ▲▲
- Young Avengers â–²
Black Order
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Black Order â–²
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Rebirth
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Rebirth â–²
- Wakanda ▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ▲▲
- Eternals+3 ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Hero Asgardians ▼▼▼
- Raid Skill Team â–¼
Secret Avengers + Kestrel
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Gamma
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲
- Dormhold â–²
- Weapon X ▼▼▼
- Eternals + Dormammu â–¼
- Tangled Web +2 ▲▲
- Dormammu+Apocalypse+Doctor Doom+2 ▲▲
Young Avengers
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- A-Force + Doctor Doom ⊜
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Weapon X â–²
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Eternals+Rhino+2 â–²
- Black Order â–²
- Young Avengers â–²
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Wakanda â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Bionic Avengers
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-man ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ▲▲▲
- X-Factor+Zemo â–¼
- Bionic Avengers â–²
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲
- Skill Raid team â–²
- Rebirth ▲▲▲
- Invaders ▲▲▲
Hero Asguardians
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Wakanda â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Hero Asgardian â–²
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Skill Raid team â–²
- Rebirth ▲▲
Death Seed
- Masters of Evil ⊜
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web + 2 ▲▲▲
- Darkhold â–²
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Rebirth ▼▼
Invaders
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Wakanda â–¼
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Hero Asgardian â–¼
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Skill Raid team â–¼
- Rebirth â–¼
Darkhold/Dormhold
- Masters of Evil â–²
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Dormhold â–²
- Darkhold â–¼
- Gamma â–²
- Death Seed â–¼
- Unlimited X-Men + Emma ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+Undying ▲▲
Darkhold+Apocalypse
- Masters of Evil â–²
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Dormhold ▼▼▼
- Unlimited X-Men + Emma â–¼
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲
- Death Seed ▼▼▼ (only if Wong has the lowest damage in Darkhod)
Dormammu + Heroes for Hire
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Weapon X + Dormammu/Doctor Doom ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–¼
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Dormammu + Young Avengers
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold ▲▲▲
- Young Avengers+Dormammu â–²
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
- A-Force+Dormammu â–²
Masters of Evil
- Masters of Evil â–²
- Darkhold/Dormhold â–¼
- Infinity Watch ▼▼
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- War Dogs â–²
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲
- Eternals+3 â–¼
Tangled Web + 2
- Masters of Evil â–²
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Deathseed ▼▼
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+Undying/Eternals â–²
- Eternals+Baron Zemo+Emma+Loki ▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–¼
- Dark Hunters+Dormammu ▼▼▼
- Dormhold â–¼
- Young Avengers+Dormammu (dependent on RNG) â–²
Infinity Watch
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold â–²
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Unlimited X-Men â–¼
- Gamma â–²
- Apoc+Eternals+2 ▲▲▲
- Apoc+Deathseed ▲▲
Underworld
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Eternals+3 â–²
- Infinity Watch â–¼
- Darkhold â–¼
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Wakanda â–¼
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Unlimited X-Men
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- New Warriors â–²
- Apoclaypse+Eternals+Quicksilver+1 â–²
- Unlimited X-Men+Emma ▲▲▲
- Dormhold ▼▼▼
- Infinity Watch ▼▼▼
Wakanda
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals + 3 ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲
- Death Seed â–²
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ⊜
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
- Young Avengers ⊜
- Bionic Avengers ▼▼▼
War Dogs
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals + 3 â–²
- Gamma ▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Darkhold â–²
- Death Seed ⊜
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ⊜
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Stage 1 – Pressure Points
Possible Defensive Teams in Stage 1 (click on the team’s name to scroll to the team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
Infinity Watch
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold â–²
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Unlimited X-Men â–²
- Gamma â–²
- New Warrior â–²
- Apoc+Eternals+2 ▲▲▲
- Apoc+Deathseed ▲▲
- Young Avengers â–²
Darkhold
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Masters of Evil â–²
- Dormhold â–²
- Darkhold ⊜
- Gamma â–²
- Death Seed â–¼
- Unlimited X-Men + Emma ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men â–²
- Tangled Web+Undying ▲▲
Gamma
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲
- Tangled Web +2 ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Dormhold â–²
- Weapon X ▼▼▼
- Dormammu+Apocalypse+Doctor Doom+2 ▲▲
Gamma + Apocalypse (Striker)
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man + Apocalypse (Striker) â–²
- Tangled Web + Shang Chi + Omega Red ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▼▼
- Darkhold + Apocalypse (Striker) ▲▲
Undying + Dormammu
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲
- Tangled Web +2 ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
Unlimited X-Men
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- New Warriors â–²
- Apoclaypse+Eternals+Quicksilver+1 â–²
- Unlimited X-Men+Emma ▲▲▲
- Dormhold ▼▼▼
- Infinity Watch ▼▼▼
Stage 2 – Raid On Crucible
Possible Defensive Teams in Stage 2 (click on the team’s name to scroll to the team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
Bifrost
- Death Seed â–²
- Apocalypse + Death Seed ▲▲
- Apocalypse + Darkhold â–²
- New Warrior â–²
If you want to save Apocalypse for another fight, then the most reliable counter you can pick here is Death Seed. They can punch up a little and will get you the win if you know what to do. Additionally, you could use New Warriors if it’s a punch across or punch down. You might have some luck on a Punch up with them, but it’s RNG heavy.
Death Seed will always take the first turn, and there’s only one way to start the battle – Magneto’s Special on Sylvie. If you landed Disrupted and Ability Block with that attack, and most of the time you will, then you have a choice between using Archangel’s Special or Ultimate. If Sylvie is low enough health you could use the Special here. That and the Assist from Dark Beast could be enough to kill Sylvie, which is important because it will trigger Archangel’s passive and rewind Speed Bar on all enemies.
After that, you should use Dark Beast’s Ultimate on Vahl. Important to note that you need T4’s invested in Dark Beast’s Passive since he will always flip Positive effects into Negative on an enemy with the highest speed (Vahl in this case). His Passive and his Ultimate give you a good enough chance to land an Ability Block on Vahl. And if you follow it up with an Ultimate from Nemesis, Vahil will also have Trauma applied to them. If you got to this point, the win is almost certainly yours. You might lose 1-2 characters to Beta Ray Bill’s Ultimate, but if you focus down Vahl then not much can go wrong.
There are some alternative ways to start the fight. The first turn is always Magneto’s Special on Sylvie, but on Archangel’s turn, you could use your Ultimate on Vahl and focus them down. That said, the first option that we described proved more reliable, so far. You can check the video by clicking the link HERE
New Warriors will also take the first turn and you need to start with Gwenpool’s special, which should flip Immunity on some characters and preferably Vahl. Even with Gwenpool’s increased Focus on this attack, she doesn’t always flip the Immunity, so this is where things could go wrong. If RNG worked in your favor and you managed to flip Immunity then you’re in a good position to win this fight. , save Deathpool’s Ultimate for her second turn and use Special first to spread the Debuffs, Apply Trauma on Vahl with Firestar and you should be good to go. With Immunity flipped Vahl will have Disrupted on them, and they won’t be able to go into stealth, so killing Vahl won’t be an issue. If you didn’t flip Immunity on Beta Ray Bill, then he will Taunt, but you could insta-kill him with Deathpool on her second turn. You can watch the video of this counter HERE
Bifrost + Emma/Cable
- Death Seed â–²
- Apocalypse + Unlimited X-Man â–²
- New Warrior â–²
- Masters of Evil â–²
Rebirth
- New Warrior ▲▲
- Bifrost ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold â–²
- Eternals + Emma/Cable + 2 â–²
When dealing with Rebirth, you have a lot more options for counters. Some of them don’t rely on any tactics. Let’s take Unlimited as an example – If you use Rogue’s Special on Captain Carter and land the Ability Block and Trauma combo, then you can count it as a win already. After you can just take her out first and then the rest will fall.
The same applies to Masters of Evil and New Warriors, as long as you focus on Captain Carter with Kang or apply Trauma to her with Firestar, and get rid of her first, the rest will follow.
When considering Death Seed as a counter you might be tempted to use Magneto’s ultimate on his first turn, but that would be a mistake! With Raid Bonuses active U.S. Agent will fill Speed Bar on his allies every time they Block, and if you use Magneto’s Ult it will fill Rebirth’s Speed Bar just enough to mess with you, and if Captain Carter takes a turn and applies Safeguard then you lose. That’s why, same as with the other counters, you should Magneto’s Special on Captain Carter first, after that just delete her with Archangel’s Ultimate and you’re good. You can watch this counter HERE
Death Seed
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲▲
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ⊜
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Gamma â–²
- Tangled Web + 2 â–²
- Darkhold â–¼
- Rebirth ▼▼
Invader
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Invaders (without Union Jack) + Kestrel ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–¼
- Darkhold ▲▲
Web-Warrior
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Rebirth ▲▲
- Bionic Avengers ▲▲
- Invaders ▲▲
Bionic Avenger
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- War Dogs â–²
- Bionic Avengers â–²
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲
- Rebirth ▲▲
- Invaders ▲▲
Stage 3 – Cosmic Shielding
Possible Defensive Teams in room 5 (click on the team’s name to scroll to team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
Knowhere
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Eternals + Red Guardian + 2 â–²
- Infinity Watch ▲▲
Knowhere + Apocalypse
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- New Warrior ▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 â–²
- Apocalypse + any Horseman team ▲▲
Infinity Watch
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold â–²
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Gamma â–²
- Apoc+Eternals+2 ▲▲▲
- Apoc+Deathseed ▲▲
- Young Avengers â–¼
- Invaders ▼▼▼
Hero Asgardians
- New Warrior ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- Wakanda â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Hero Asgardian â–²
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Skill Raid team â–²
- Rebirth ▲▲
Stage 4 – Wrecking Ball
Possible Defensive Teams in room 4 (click on the team’s name to scroll to team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
Young Avengers
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲
Underworld
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals+3 ▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲
War Dogs/Wakandan
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Eternals + 3 â–²
- Gamma ▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Darkhold â–²
- Death Seed ⊜
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲
- War Dogs/Wakandan ⊜
Rebirth
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Darkhold/Dormhold ▲▲
- Underworld ▲▲
- Secret Avengers + Kestrel ▲▲
- Infinity Watch â–²
- Unlimited X-Men ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Rebirth â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
- Eternals+3 ▲▲▲
Secret Avenger + 2
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲▲
- Weapon X ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲▲
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Unlimited X-Man ▲▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲▲
- Wakanda â–²
- War Dogs ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+2 ▲▲▲
Invader
- Masters of Evil ▲▲▲
- Eternals +3 ▲▲
- Gamma ▲▲▲
- Death Seed ▲▲
- Infinity Watch ▲▲
- War Dogs ▲▲
- Darkhold ▲▲▲
- Rebirth ▲▲
Stage 5 – Mutant Spiders
Possible Defensive Teams in room 5 (click on the team’s name to scroll to team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
- Tangled Web+Doctor Octopus/Kingpin/Mister Negative
- Unlimited X-Men + Jubilee
- Rogue+Gambit+Jubilee+Beast+Phoenix
Tangled Web + Doctor Octopus/Kingpin/Mister Negative
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Masters of Evil â–²
- Tangled Web + Emma/Cable+1 ▲▲
- Undying+Tangled+Emma ▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men â–²
Unlimited X-Men/Unlimited X-Men + Jubilee
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Apocalypse + Eternals + 2 ▲▲
- New Warriors â–²
- Gamma â–²
- Unlimited X-Men + Emma â–²
Rogue+Gambit+Jubilee+Beast+Phoenix
- Apocalypse + Eternals + 2 ▲▲
- Unlimited X-Men â–²
- New Warriors ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
Stage 6 – Building Momentum
Possible Defensive Teams in room 6 (click on the team’s name to scroll to team):
To check out video counters click HERE
(not all counters are available in the video form yet, more videos soon*)
Darkhold + Apocalypse
- Secret Defenders + Apocalypse ▲▲▲
- Secret Defenders â–²
- Apocalypse+Doctor Doom+Nova+Emma Frost+1 ▲▲
- New Warriors ▼▼▼
- TW+Undying â–²
- MoE+Dormammu ▼▼
Tangled Web + Eternals
- New Warriors ▲▲▲
- Tangled Web+Dormammu+Emma ▲▲
Gamma + Apocalypse
- New Warrior â–¼
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Tangled Web + Apocalypse +2 â–²
- Darkhold + Apocalypse â–²
Gamma + Quicksilver
- New Warrior ▲▲
- Masters of Evil ▲▲
- Tangled Web+Apocalypse+Doctor Doom
- Gamma ⊜
- Darkhold + Dormammu/Apocalypse â–¼
Conclusion
This list is going to be updated continuously, especially in the first couple weeks of the Season. If you find any counters that didn’t work properly or you have some questions/suggestions visit our Discord HERE.
Marvel Strike Force is constantly changing and we will do our best to keep up with the game, and once we get used to the new season you can expect Video and written step-by-step guides on how to counter the trickiest Defenses.
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