Best Anime Vanguards Update 9 Teams (June 2026)

Anime Vanguards Update 9 has revolutionized team building with 13 powerful new units, game-changing mechanics, and the introduction of the trading system. Whether you’re tackling rifts, dominating events, or climbing leaderboards, having the right team composition is absolutely crucial for success. After analyzing thousands of gameplay hours and testing every combination, I’ve identified the 6 most dominant team setups that will carry you through any challenge Update 9 throws your way.

Quick Overview: Top Teams at a Glance

Team Type	Core Units	Best For	Difficulty
Broly x Hellkiller	Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph	Rifts & Bosses	Hard
Anniversary Event	Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph	Event Farming	Medium
Budget Versatile	Callasuba, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Lizard	All-Around	Easy
Burn Damage	Escanor, Hibano, Lizard, Overheaven	DoT Stacking	Medium
Full Summon	Sung Jin-Wu, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, Callasuba	Wave Clear	Hard
Hollow Seph Curse	Hollow Seph, Sukuna, Griffith, Callasuba	Endgame	Expert

Broly x Hellkiller Summon Overload Team

This is undeniably the most devastating team composition in Anime Vanguards Update 9, combining overwhelming DPS with insane summon mechanics that completely flood the battlefield. The synergy between Hellkiller and Broly creates a damage multiplier that scales exponentially, making even the toughest endgame bosses melt within seconds.

Recommended Lineup:

• Hellkiller (Main DPS): Your primary damage dealer with the Hellwalker ability that transforms him into an absolute monster
• Broly (Buff Support): Provides massive damage amplification to Hellkiller while offering solid AoE coverage
• Overheaven (Summons + Utility): Spawns powerful minions that shred through waves while providing cleanse capabilities
• Hollow Seph (Extra Summons + AoE): Adds even more summon pressure with his Lost Shades that scale incredibly well
• 2 Farm Units: Standard setup to maintain economy and unit placement

Why This Team Dominates:

The magic happens when Hellkiller activates his Hellwalker ability while buffed by Broly’s presence. We’re talking damage numbers that exceed 250,000 per hit, with summon units creating an impenetrable wall of minions that prevents any leaks. This team is particularly devastating in rift modes where boss HP pools are massive, as the combination of direct DPS and summon damage creates a perfect storm of destruction.

Pro Strategy: Position Hellkiller and Broly close together to maximize buff range, while spreading your summon units to cover multiple lanes. Time your Hellwalker activation with boss spawns for maximum impact.

Anniversary Event Team in June 2026

If you’re grinding the new Anniversary Event or need a reliable macro-friendly setup, this team composition offers the perfect balance of efficiency and accessibility. Built around the core Update 9 units, this team delivers consistent performance without requiring ultra-rare Monarch traits.

Team Setup:

• Hellkiller (Main DPS): Still the cornerstone damage dealer even without optimal traits
• Broly (Buff Synergy): Provides reliable damage amplification that scales well into late waves
• Overheaven: Essential for summon pressure and utility against event-specific mechanics
• Hollow Seph: Adds valuable AoE damage and additional summon presence
• Lizard (Cheap AoE): Cost-effective area damage that helps clear early and mid waves efficiently

Performance Metrics:

This team consistently clears most event stages in 2-3 minutes, making it perfect for farming Cake Slices and anniversary rewards. While it may not have the absolute peak DPS of the Broly x Hellkiller setup with perfect traits, it’s far more accessible to the average player and still delivers outstanding results.

Event-Specific Tips: The Anniversary Event features returning stages with increased difficulty, so position your units to cover multiple spawn points. Lizard’s Radiation meter charges quickly against event enemies, allowing for frequent nuke attacks that can clear entire waves.

Budget Versatile Team (No Monarchs Needed)

Not everyone pulls the coveted Monarch trait, and that’s where this budget-friendly composition truly shines. Built around Callasuba, one of the most underrated supports in Update 9, this team delivers surprising performance without requiring rare or expensive units.

Core Units:

• Overheaven (Versatility and Cleanse): Your Swiss Army knife unit that provides summons, utility, and crucial debuff cleansing
• Hollow Seph (Summons): Still effective even without trait optimization, providing solid AoE and summon pressure
• Lizard (Cheap AoE DPS): One of the most cost-effective damage dealers in Update 9 with excellent scaling
• Callasuba (30% Slow + 20% Damage Buff): The MVP of this team, providing crowd control and damage amplification

Why Callasuba is Essential:

Callasuba brings three crucial functions to this team: a 30% slow that dramatically reduces enemy pressure, a 20% team-wide damage buff that significantly boosts DPS output, and the ability to cleanse debuffs that can cripple budget teams. This combination makes him arguably the most valuable support unit for players without access to top-tier Monarch traits.

Budget Optimization Tips: Focus on upgrading Overheaven and Hollow Seph first, as their summon mechanics provide the most value per upgrade level. Callasuba’s effectiveness comes from his abilities rather than raw stats, so he can remain at lower upgrade levels while still contributing significantly.

Burn Damage Team (DoT Specialization)

Update 9 introduced several units with powerful burn (Damage over Time) mechanics, and this specialized team maximizes their synergistic potential. Despite Hibano’s recent nerf, the burn composition remains one of the most consistent and powerful setups for sustained damage output.

Best Composition:

• Overheaven (Utility + Burn Setup): Provides the foundation with his ability to apply and enhance burn effects
• Escanor (Main Burn DPS): Your primary burn damage dealer with scaling that becomes terrifying against high-HP targets
• Hibano (AoE Burn Assist): Even post-nerf, provides valuable area burn application that stacks with other effects
• Lizard (Buffs DoT Effects): His unique ability to boost all DoT effects by 30% makes him essential for this composition

Understanding Burn Stacking:

The beauty of this team lies in how multiple burn effects interact. Each unit applies burn differently, and these effects stack multiplicatively rather than additively. Against bosses with millions of HP, you’ll see burn ticks dealing hundreds of thousands of damage per second, creating a death-by-a-thousand-cuts scenario that few enemies can withstand.

Boss Fighting Strategy: Position your burn units to maximize their coverage area, as burn effects continue dealing damage even after enemies leave the range. Time Lizard’s Heat Overload ability with boss spawns to apply maximum burn pressure during critical phases.

Full Summon Team (Infinite Scaling Madness)

For players who love overwhelming enemies with sheer numbers, this summon-focused composition delivers absolute chaos. Built around units whose summons scale with enemy HP and battle duration, this team becomes exponentially stronger the longer a match progresses.

Team Setup:

• Sung Jin-Wu (Scaling Summons): The star of this team, with summons that scale directly with enemy HP and become terrifyingly powerful
• Overheaven (Strong Early Summons): Provides reliable early-game summon pressure while your scaling units ramp up
• Hollow Seph (AoE Summons): Contributes area-denial summons that complement Sung Jin-Wu’s single-target focus
• Callasuba (Cleanse + Light Summons): Offers support capabilities while adding even more bodies to the field

The Math Behind Scaling:

Sung Jin-Wu’s summons gain damage based on a percentage of enemy maximum HP, meaning they become exponentially more effective against bosses and high-HP enemies. Combined with Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades (which can reach over 1 million HP each) and Overheaven’s versatile minions, you’ll quickly field 100+ summons that create an impenetrable wall of death.

Late-Game Dominance: This team truly shines in extended matches where enemy HP pools become massive. By wave 50+, you’ll have so many summons on screen that enemies barely move before being overwhelmed. It’s particularly effective in infinite modes and survival challenges.

Hollow Seph Curse Damage Team

For players who were fortunate enough to pull Hollow Seph, this specialized composition maximizes his curse-based damage potential with multiple amplification buffers. When properly built, this team can achieve damage numbers that break the game’s scaling limits.

Lineup:

• Hollow Seph (Main Curse DPS): Your primary damage dealer whose curse effects scale incredibly well with proper support
• Sukuna (Damage Amplifier): Provides massive damage multiplication that works synergistically with curse mechanics
• Griffith (Extra Buffs): Adds another layer of damage amplification and utility to the composition
• Callasuba (Cleanse + Support): Essential for keeping your damage dealers functional and removing debuffs

Curse Mechanics Explained:

Hollow Seph’s curse damage is unique in that it deals damage based on a percentage of enemy maximum HP while also applying stacking debuffs. When combined with Sukuna and Griffith’s damage amplification buffs, his individual hits can exceed 250,000 damage, with his summoned Lost Shades reaching over 1 million HP each.

Optimization Strategy: Focus on maximizing Hollow Seph’s upgrade level first, as his curse damage scales exponentially with each level. Position him centrally with Sukuna and Griffith nearby to ensure consistent buff coverage. Save your ability activations for boss waves when curse damage has the most impact.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with the best team compositions, certain mistakes can significantly reduce your effectiveness. Here are the most common pitfalls I see players making with Update 9 teams:

1. Overlooking Unit Positioning

Many players fail to optimize unit placement for buff ranges and coverage areas. Hellkiller needs to be within Broly’s buff range, while summon units should be spread to maximize lane coverage. Take time to experiment with positioning in practice modes.

2. Ignoring Ability Timing

Update 9 units have powerful abilities with cooldowns. Using Hellwalker at the wrong time or wasting Lizard’s Heat Overload on weak enemies can cost you crucial boss fights. Learn each unit’s ability timing and save them for critical moments.

3. Neglecting Economy Management

Some players focus so heavily on damage units that they forget proper economy building. Always maintain a balance between DPS and economy units, especially in the early waves when resource generation is most important.

4. Underestimating Support Units

Units like Callasuba may not deal impressive damage directly, but their buffs and utilities can double your team’s effectiveness. Don’t skimp on support upgrades, they often provide more value per level than raw DPS units.

Pro Strategies for Update 9

To truly dominate Anime Vanguards Update 9, you need to go beyond basic team compositions. Here are advanced strategies that separate top players from the rest:

Trait Optimization

While Monarch traits are ideal, not everyone has them. Focus on traits that complement your team composition:

• For summon teams: Traits that increase summon HP or damage
• For burn teams: Traits that enhance DoT effects or burn duration
• For curse teams: Traits that amplify percentage-based damage

Evolution Priority

Update 9 introduced new evolution items and paths. Prioritize evolutions that provide the most significant power spikes:

1. Hellkiller’s evolution dramatically increases his Hellwalker duration
2. Hollow Seph’s evolution enhances his Lost Shades’ survivability
3. Lizard’s evolution reduces his Heat Overload charge time

Event-Specific Optimization

The Anniversary Event introduces unique mechanics that require team adjustments:

• Increase summon units for stages with multiple spawn points
• Add more AoE damage for waves with high enemy density
• Include cleanse units for stages featuring debuffing enemies

Platform-Specific Information

Update 9 brought several platform-specific optimizations and considerations that can affect your team performance:

Mobile vs. PC Performance

• Mobile players may need to reduce summon-heavy teams to maintain frame rates
• PC players can handle more complex team compositions with additional visual effects
• Consider your device’s capabilities when choosing between summon and direct DPS teams

Control Scheme Differences

• Mobile players benefit from auto-targeting units like Hellkiller
• PC players can better micromanage ability timings and unit positioning
• Adjust your team composition based on your preferred control scheme

How to Get More Units in June 2026?

Building these optimal teams requires access to the right units. Here’s how to maximize your chances of obtaining the key units mentioned in this guide:

Anniversary Banner Strategies

The current Anniversary Banner features God, Shero, Hollowseph, Thunder, and Hellkiller, all essential units for top-tier teams. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Save your gems specifically for this banner, as it features multiple S-tier units
2. Take advantage of the serialization mechanic, God has a 0.5% chance to drop as a serialized version with enhanced visuals
3. Focus on pity systems if available, as these guarantee high-value units after a certain number of pulls

Event Unit Acquisition

Several key units can be obtained through limited-time events:

• Hellkiller: Available through “The Hellkiller” event
• Thunder: Obtainable via “The Calamity Arrives” event
• Hollowseph: Unlocked through “The Hollow Knight” event
• Shero: Acquired from “Fated Feel” event

Battle Pass Units

Senator and Rideon vs Samuel are available through the new Muscle & Metal Battle Pass. While not essential for the teams listed here, they provide valuable alternatives if you’re missing other key units.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best team for beginners in Anime Vanguards Update 9?

The Budget Versatile Team built around Callasuba, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, and Lizard is perfect for beginners. It doesn’t require rare Monarch traits, provides solid performance across all game modes, and teaches fundamental team-building concepts. Callasuba’s slow effect gives new players breathing room to learn mechanics, while the summon units provide consistent pressure without complex micromanagement.

How do I counter teams with multiple Hellkiller units?

Teams featuring multiple Hellkiller units rely on burst damage and the Hellwalker ability. To counter them, focus on: 1) Units with high HP pools that can survive initial burst damage, 2) Support units that provide damage reduction or healing, 3) Summon-heavy compositions that overwhelm single-target DPS, and 4) Units with crowd control effects to interrupt Hellwalker activations. Hollow Seph’s curse damage team is particularly effective against Hellkiller compositions.

Are summon teams still viable after the Update 9 balance changes?

Absolutely! Summon teams are actually stronger than ever in Update 9. The introduction of Sung Jin-Wu with his HP-scaling summons, combined with Hollow Seph’s enhanced Lost Shades, creates summon compositions that scale exponentially into late game. While some individual summon units received minor nerfs, the overall summon synergy has been enhanced through new buff mechanics and trait interactions.

What’s the most cost-effective team for farming events?

The Anniversary Event Team featuring Hellkiller, Broly, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, and Lizard offers the best balance of performance and resource efficiency. It clears most event stages in 2-3 minutes, doesn’t require ultra-rare traits, and uses a mix of new and existing units that many players already have access to. For pure resource farming efficiency, this team outperforms more expensive compositions that might offer marginal speed improvements at significantly higher cost.

How important are Monarch traits for these team compositions?

Monarch traits provide significant power boosts but aren’t strictly necessary for success with these team compositions. Each team has been designed to perform well even without optimal traits:

• Broly x Hellkiller Team: Still dominates with standard traits, just takes slightly longer to melt bosses
• Budget Versatile Team: Specifically designed to work without Monarch traits
• Burn Damage Team: Lizard’s DoT boost and Escanor’s scaling compensate for lack of traits
• Summon Teams: Summon mechanics scale well with base stats, reducing trait dependency

Focus on proper unit positioning, ability timing, and upgrade priorities rather than chasing perfect traits.

Which team composition performs best in infinite modes?

The Full Summon Team with Sung Jin-Wu, Overheaven, Hollow Seph, and Callasuba is unmatched in infinite modes. As enemy HP pools grow exponentially, Sung Jin-Wu’s HP-scaling summons become increasingly devastating, while Hollow Seph’s Lost Shades provide nearly immortal tanking capabilities. This team only grows stronger the longer a match progresses, making it perfect for infinite leaderboards and survival challenges.

How do I adapt these teams for PvP combat?

PvP requires significant adjustments to these team compositions:

1. Reduce summon focus: Too many summons can trigger enemy anti-summon abilities
2. Increase burst damage: PvP favors quick eliminations over sustained DPS
3. Add defensive utilities: Units with shields, healing, or damage reduction become crucial
4. Prioritize single-target damage: AoE is less valuable against single enemy units

The Hellkiller x Broly team adapts best to PvP with its high burst damage potential, while the Hollow Seph curse team can be effective if you can protect your damage dealers long enough for curse effects to stack.

Final Thoughts

Save or bookmark this page for quick reference during your Anime Vanguards Update 9 journey! These team compositions will continue to serve you well as new content releases and the meta evolves. Remember to experiment with different variations and find what works best for your specific unit collection and playstyle.

For more Anime Vanguards content, check out our comprehensive Anime Vanguards Tier List, Anime Vanguards Codes, and Anime Vanguards Update 9 Guide for the latest information and strategies.