War Scourge Guides
Horseman of War
Table Legend
- D – Difficulty (D1 – Difficulty 1)
- N – Node (N1 – Node 1)
- NR – No Restrictions
- AVG – Avengers
- HA – Hero Asgardians
- Ra – Ravagers
- W1A – Wave 1 Avengers
| D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | |
| N1 | NR | NR | NR | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio |
| N2 | NR | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio | Bio |
| N3 | NR | NR | NR | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG |
| N4 | NR | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG | AVG |
| N5 | NR | NR | NR | Hero | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A |
| N6 | NR | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain |
| N7 | NR | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain | Villain |
| N8 | NR | NR | NR | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill |
| N9 | NR | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill | Skill |
| N10 | NR | Hero | Hero | Hero | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A | HA/Ra/W1A |
War Scourge – Enemies in each Node
- Node 1
- Wave 1: Kitty Pryde, Phyla-Vell, Jessica Jones, Nico Minoru, Spider-Woman, Sunfire, Fantomex.
- Wave 2: Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, Echo, Bishop.
- Node 2
- Wave 1: Ghost Rider, SHIELD Trooper, Baron Mordo, Shang Chi, Sharon Carter, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight.
- Wave 2: Kestrel, Maria Hill, Black Bolt; Wave 3: Thanos, Crystal.
- Node 3
- Wave 1: Coulson, Thor, Magneto, Valkyrie, Mighty Thor, Moondragon, Dagger.
- Wave 2: Heimdall, Red Guardian, Thor.
- Node 4
- Wave 1: Brawn, She-Hulk, Morbius, Abomination, Human Torch, Deathpool.
- Wave 2: Doctor Octopus, Scream, Electro, Hulk; Wave 3: Hulk.
- Node 5
- Wave 1: Fantomex, Omega Red, Psylocke, Negasonic, Evil Strange, Wong, Silver Samurai.
- Wave 2: Madelyn Pryor, Mr. Sinister, Dazzler, Wave 3: Negasonic, Fantomex.
- Node 6
- Wave 1: Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, Sam Wilson, Sharon Carter, Black Bolt, Valkyrie.
- Wave 2: Nico Minoru, Mighty Thor, Heimdall.
- Node 7
- Wave 1: Sersi, Black Panther x2, Black Widow, Hulk, Shuri, Stryfe, Captain America; Wave 2: Yellow Jacket, Lady Deathstrike.
- Wave 3: Ikaris
- Node 8
- Wave 1: Cable, Emma Frost, Dagger, Sabretooth, Negasonic, Drax, T’Challa; Wave 2: X-23, Cloak.
- Wave 3: Silver Samurai, Madelyne Pryor.
- Node 9
- Wave 1: Dazzler, Crystal, Black Bolt, Echo, Daredevil, Colleen Wing, Fantomex, Bishop.
- Wave 2: Pyro x2, Magneto.
- Node 10
- Wave 1: Viv Vision, Hulkbuster, Iron Man, War Machine, Rescue, Iron Heart.
- Wave 2: Deathlok, Vision, Bishop, Jubilee; Wave 3: Hulkbuster.
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I’ve chosen a score of 1.6 million points for several reasons. It will grant a decent overall position and it is needed for unlocking all Milestones once you improve Red Hulk to 7*. As you will see, I did not activate a lot of scourges just to make things a little bit easier and leave you with an opportunity to improve your score even further.
Also, I cleared all Nodes without using a SAC team so you can also activate a Scourge that grants ability energy to enemies when someone in the team dies to improve your score even further.
In the videos, I used teams that are around 700k. My Skill team is somewhat stronger due to Raid purposes, but overall, my teams are of average quality that is available for most players. So, let’s start.
IMPORTANT – Upon the start of the second War Scourge, I will provide you with Videos of reaching above 3 million points with minimum power. All those who did not maximize Red Hulk in the first War Scourge will now have an opportunity to be in the top 500 and earn 5 RS for him. Stay tuned!
Teams per Nodes
- Node 1 – Symbiotes / GAMMA when you unlock and improve Red Hulk
- Node 2 – Symbiotes / GAMMA when you unlock and improve Red Hulk
- Node 3 – Bionic Avengers
- Node 4 – Young Avengers
- Node 5 – Hero Asgardian
- Node 6 – Agatha Harkness, Morgan Le Fay, Doctor Doom, Omega Red, Strange [Heartless]
- Node 7 – Agatha Harkness, Morgan Le Fay, Doctor Doom, Omega Red, Strange [Heartless]
- Node 8 – Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, Shang Chi, Kestrel, Sam Wilson
- Node 9 – Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, Shang Chi, Kestrel, Sam Wilson
- Node 10 – Hero Asgardian
Activated Scourges
- Power Syphon I – Enemies gain +5 Drain
- Not so Fast – When a player’s Character Gains Ability energy, apply Slow to them
- Too Clever – When a player Character uses their Special, they gain Ability Block
- Pyrrhic Victory II- When a player character Blocks, apply Heal block to them
- Unkillable – When an enemy drops below 50% HP, they gain Deathproof
- Butterfly Effect – When a Fortifier Character uses an ultimate ability, spread positive effects on that character to adjacent allied characters
- Stay Down – On a player character’s turn, remove Revive Once from that character
Scourges that can be additionally activated without a significant difference in mechanics
- Experimental Serum I – +10% HP
- Dark Resolve III – On Ally Death, Enemies gain Offense Up
- Experimental Serum III – +30 HP
- Overcharged – When an enemy Character gains Ability Energy, they gain Offense Up
- Stage Fright – When a player’s Character Gains Taunt, they gain Offense Down
- Gloating – When any player character dies, enemies gain 2 ability energy
- Unstoppable Force – On an enemy Strikers’ turn, they gain a 5% barrier and flip the Offense Down
- Weakened – Healing is reduced by 20%
- Dark Rally – When a player Character uses their Ultimate Ability, all enemies gain 1 Ability Energy
- Power Fatigue II – Player Character Special Abilities cost 1 more Ability Energy
- Bleeder II – When a character takes damage, they gain Minor Bleed (this one is only for those with teams above 900k)
- Experimental Serum IV – +40% HP
- Flight or fight – When an enemy Character’s Health drops below 40% of Max Health, apply Speed Up to them
- Off Balance – When a player’s Character gains Offense Up or Defense Up, apply Heal Block to them
- Vile Resugerence II – On enemy turn, they gain Minor Offense Up (this one is only for those with teams above 900k)
- When It Rains – When a positive Effect is applied to an enemy Character, increase the duration of all positive effects on that enemy by 1 (up to a maximum of 3) (This one should be always used)
Scourges that can be used but crucially influence the battle mechanics:
- Power Fatigue I – Player character’s ultimate abilities cost 1 ability energy more
- Blinded by power – When a character uses their ultimate, they gain Blind
- Strong Opener – On Spawn, Enemies gain Immunity
Scourges that should be always avoided, unless all your teams are on T16/T17:
- Energy Absorption – On an enemy character’s turn, remove all negative effects and heal 10% per negative effect (it is really insane, only Hero Asgardians potential is not much affected by it, but all other teams are literally crippled)
- Rope on Dope – When an enemy character ends their turn with Vulnerability, they gain Defense Up, Deflect, Deathproof, and Safeguard (basically you can’t use any Raider or Skirmisher ISO-8 class which changes battle mechanics fully. You can only use this if your team strength is considerably higher than the strength of your enemies because you will have no control of the battle, whatsoever)
Maximum Expected Score on Difficulty 8 with all acceptable Scourges activated is:
It is important to mention that the strongest players will turn on all Scourges on Dif8 and aim for 3.7-3.8 million. This content is meant for average players with average rosters to maximize Red Hulk in the fastest way. In case you are gonna try to compete with guys from Mutiny, PoH, Legion, etc … and wanna try all scourges, first be sure that all of the required teams are at least at 900k strength (that is the bare minimum).
Also, be sure to remove all Raider and SKirmisher classes, and equip your team members with Healer of Fortifier – you will not control the battle therefore your only chance is that your sustain is high enough.
Basically, if your roster contains teams between 600k and 800k your aim should be to reach Scourge Danger between 274 – 289. Success will depend on RNG, your patience, and your organization. If you can maximize the GAMMA team immediately (T14/T16), your job will be a lot easier on the first 2 nodes and you will be able to activate additional Scourges. Organize and plan carefully. Think thoroughly if it is justified to level up all required characters on level 90 just so you can get 10-15 shards more in the end.
All I will say is that we had 3 Pestilence Scourges in 5 months. It will be the same with War Scourge and the second Famine Scourge is right ahead of us.
In my opinion, if you earn 5* for Red Hulk, the only 4 teams that should be improved during the War Scourge are the GAMMA team, Hero Asgardians, Bionic Avengers, and Young Avengers. Everyone else does not deserve investment at this moment, so I suggest that you act accordingly.
NODE 1
Video guides are available, use the links below:
Symbiotes are best for this node. Strangely, Web Warriors are not up to the task. It is important that all Symbiotes are equipped with Skirmisher ISO-8 class
In the first wave, there are two enemies who can clear debuffs – Jessica Jones and Phyla Well. Your goal is to survive an initial burst and to slowly dispose of enemies in a certain order. The highest threat comes from a Sunfire who must not come to his second turn, or you are about to die.
Once you survive the initial cleansing and start controlling the battle you are good to go. Whenever an enemy drops below 20% Hp, the Speed Bar of all Symbiotes will be increased and whenever you kill an enemy you will be buffed with Speed Up.
In the second wave, the greatest danger comes from young Avengers so be sure to kill them fast. The hardest part of this mission is to survive from the start and get going. Everything else is a lot easier. Keep in mind though, that at the end where few enemies remain, use only basic attacks so your cooldowns can be ready for node two.
NODE 2
Video guides are available, use the links below:
If your Cooldowns are ready, Node 2 will not be an issue for you. Stun Shang Chi as soon as possible and place Disrupt with Scream on Cull Obsidian. It will be important to use a special ability with Anti-Venom even though all your characters are alive. That is because you will be buffed with immunity which will prevent Mordo’s Heal Block which is the greatest enemy of Symbiotes.
You should get rid of Shang Chi before he can use ultimate and right after that you should dispose of Ghost Rider. The course of battle may force you to do otherwise because it will be important to finish off your enemies whenever you can.
For the second wave be sure to keep SSM’s Stun for Kestrel. Once you stun her you don’t need to worry about anything else. Maria hill can be a problem if she uses her ultimate, but your Venom can control that with his special ability. All in all, this is not a very hard mission if you follow our instructions.
NODE 3
Video guides are available, use the links below:
Node 3 is exceedingly difficult. For this node, you will need Bionic Avengers because Young Avengers proved to be a worse option.
The strategy is straight forward but even though it is clear that you have to do, you will have to restart until favorable RNG. In short, your goal is to kill Valkyrie fast, but at the same time, you need that her passive doesn’t trigger. If Thor and Mighty Thor get all those buffs from Valkyrie’s passive the battle is good as over, especially if your Bionic Avengers are at 570k like mine. Anyway, after a few tries, Valkyrie will die, and Asgardians will remain unbuffed. Once that happens, everything else is pretty easy.
For the second wave, you will need to save Vision special, because that is the only chance to prevent Cloak from using his destructive ultimate. Red Guard will spawn with taunts and there is nothing you can do about it. Even if Cloak casts his ultimate you can prevail because your goal is not to save this team for the second node.
Your goal is only to beat this node and nothing else. Keep in mind that Hulkbuster’s ultimate, Rion Man’s ultimate, and special always hits, so act accordingly. Learn which skills give you ability energy because you will be healed whenever you get ability energy. And that is it. In our video, you can see how I did it with a really weak Bionic team.
NODE 4
Video guides are available, use the links below:
On this node, you should use Young Avengers. My Young Avengers team is 607 k strong.
Node 4 is really easy if you are using Young Avengers. Kill Human Torch and Morbius first and follow the flow of the battle. Keep your healings with Squirrel Girl for moments when GAMMA characters swarm you with debuffs.
Obviously, you will need to prevent your characters from dying, but it is better to play a little bit risky and to clean all debuffs with Squirrel Girl’s special than to use healing for nothing. Due to our Scourges, Squirrel Girl will be Abi Blocked after using healing so be careful.
As soon as you kill She-hulk and Deathpool, you have nothing to worry about. The strength of young Avengers synergy will be enough for easy clearing.
NODE 5
Video guides are available, use the links below:
Node 5 seems hard, but it is actually very easy. You just need to use a special ability with Valkyrie and buff your Thor with Offense Up. You must be sure that Valkyrie special is on Level 7 and you must target Omega Red, so he is Stunned and unable to flip buffs with his ultimate in the second turn. There is really no other strategy at all – Thor (if strong enough) will clear all enemies with his passive AOE. It is important though, that all Asgardians survive and be ready for mission 10.
Your goal in mission 5 is to save all cooldowns of your Asgardians for node 10. You will not have Valkyrie’s special, but it is how it is. Be sure to use Sif’s special because it will grant her several counters that will activate Thor’s passive once more.
If your characters are at full HP and if Thor and Mighty Thor have all CDs, you are ready for Node 10.
NODE 6
Video guides are available, use the links below:
With the team I have used, Villain nodes are extremely easy. I have a feeling that with my team I could easily clear Difficulty 10.
Anyway, your goal is to clear Node 6 without using Doctor Doom’s ultimate (you will save it for the next node). The strategy is familiar. instead of using Agatha ultimate against Squirrel Girl, stun her instead. Once you have control over her disposing of others it is easy with a team you have. If you can, Save Omega Red’s ultimate as well.
In the video, you can see that I’ve only used MLFs and Strange’s ultimate and that I cleared the node easily.
NODE 7
Video guides are available, use the links below:
If you have listened to my advice and saved your CDs, Node 8 will be a walk in the park. Agatha’s ultimate will Stun Sersi, while Doctor Doom’s ultimate will annihilate an entire first wave.
In the second wave, Ikaris will show alongside LDS and Yellowjacket. Honestly, you can turn on the auto-combat at this point.
NODE 8
Video guides are available, use the links below:
Using Skil Raid teams is the only acceptable solution for nodes 8 and 9. Difficulty 8 with our Scourges is not too hard but there are a few tricks you have to do.
First, you need to save Kestrel’s special at the start. The spawning of Coak is a crucial moment. RNG will play a big part because if Cloak Dodge your attacks and executes his ultimate, you are doomed. Also, there is Madelyne Pryor who can be really nasty if given an opportunity to act.
In perfect conditions, none of that will be an issue because you can stun Cloak and if you maintain Defense Down on at least 1 character you will slice through opponents with Kestrel’s passive. In our video conditions were not perfect but I did it eventually.
Your goal is to maintain the HP of your team and to have Shang Chi’s ultimate ready for node 9. That is the reason I prolonged the battle in this node.
NODE 9
Video guides are available, use the links below:
This node is a little bit hard. Keep in mind that your goal on this node is not to have all characters alive in the end. Your goal is only to beat the mission.
Do not use Kestrel’s ultimate on Bishop. Use special, instead. You will be Ability Block, but it doesn’t matter. You need as many characters with Defense Down as possible. Maria Hill’s special use on Dazzler even though you will see Evade mark above her head. This is your starting setup. With bad RNG, remaining enemies can easily kill one of your characters, so you will need to start over if that happens. If you survive their initial salvo, you can continue. Target enemies with Defense Down and wait for the second wave.
The second wave is easy, you just need to prevent magneto from using his ultimate. Keep in mind that if Maria Hill’s ultimate is ready you can even let Magneto Blind your entire team, it will not matter in the end. Shang Chi’s basic ability places Slow, so that can help you at this moment.
As soon as you kill Dazzler and Magneto you can activate auto-combat. The problem in this node is actually Crystal who passively heals and cleanses Inhumans, so take that into consideration when planning on whom you should place Defense Down.
This node is a little bit harder than node 8, but for a prepared Skill Raid team it is a piece of cake. I am pretty certain that my SKILL team can beat Difficulty 9 Nodes 8 and 9 as well.
NODE 10
Video guides are available, use the links below:
Ok this is it. Node 10 si all about War Scourge. If you have followed my instructions on Node 5, your Hero Asgardians are fully prepared, and you don’t need a SAC team.
First, you should not be afraid of Viv Vision ultimate, because you are immune to Blind. Second, you need to prevent Rescue from using her ultimate in her second turn (that will place Offense Up on Power Armor and cleanse all debuffs from enemies).
With Heimdall, place Heal Block on the enemy cluster. Mighty Thor should have both CDs ready. Her ultimate will place Blind (if fully leveled) and flip all positive effects on enemies. It would be ideal to save her ultimate for the second wave, but that was not possible with my Hero Asgardians. When Thor’s turn comes, everything will depend on RNG. With Thor’s ultimate, you must stun Hulkbuster, or otherwise, your job will be insanely harder.
When the second wave spawn, you will have just one goal – to kill Deathlok as fast as you can. Deathlok’s damage is unbelievable, so if you focus on anyone else but him you are doomed. Your main problem will be the spawn of the second Hulkbuster because he will grant additional HP and a new Barrier.
At this point, your main goal is to have one living character in the end. It will be dramatic, but as long as you dispose of Deathlok fast, you have a chance. The Scourge which will grant Deathproof to enemies when they drop below 50% will annoy at this node but as you can see it is doable.
Conclusion
Players who have read my articles about Scourges were aware on time that Hero Asgardians are the only viable team for nodes 5 and 10. Wave I Avengers and Ravagers can be used only as SAC teams with a little benefit. As you can see my Thor is on T16, but I did it on purpose because I understood the mechanics of this team. Strong Thor will grant you easier clearing of nodes 5 and 10.
Everything else is relly simple. I could wait a little bit longer and provide content about Difficulty 9 but there is really no need for that at this moment. 1.5-1.6 million is a perfect score for an average player. Once you maximize your Red Hulk on 7*, the only thing you need to do is to activate HP% Scourges and collect all Milestones from separate Leaderboard.
I will try to provide you content about higher difficulties but i will not use my stronger account. This account perfectly matches the needs of most.
Stay tuned and good luck!