Last War Season 6 Tactics Cards Guide: New Cards & Best Squads

If you ran a mixed squad in Season 4 or 5, you know how central the Hybrid Squad (4+1) card was. It let you include one off-type hero — think a Tank squad with Adam, or an Aircraft squad with Murphy — while still keeping the full 20% type stat bonus. A lot of the most powerful PvP builds in previous seasons were built around this flexibility.

 

What Changed: The 4+1 Card Is Gone

Season 6: Shadow Rainforest removed the Hybrid Squad (4+1) card completely, with no replacement or workaround. Without it, slotting an off-type hero drops your type bonus from 20% to 15%, and at higher PvP levels that gap is too significant to absorb. The mixed squad setups from Seasons 4 and 5 — Quickstride + Mixed Squad, Garrison + Mixed Squad, and the PvE Zombie Killer builds that used off-type combinations — all need to be rebuilt from scratch.

If you're coming from our 4+1 Season 4 teams guide, that's exactly the foundation this season is moving away from.

 

Three New Universal Cards

Three new Diamond (Universal) cards replace the 4+1 in Season 6. Each one targets a specific hero type, and all three only activate in PvP battles and Global Expedition — they have no effect on standard PvE or zombie farming.

Card Overview

Card Name	Hero Type	Basic Effect (Lv. 1)
Aftermath Burst	Missile	All Missile Heroes gain +18.75% damage-over-time at battle start (+6.25%/lv)
Dimensional Crit	Tank	Tank Hero with highest Attack gains +2.70% Crit Rate at battle start (+0.9%/lv)
Frontal Suppression	Aircraft	3 Aircraft Heroes on back row gain +1.50% Attack Speed at battle start (+0.9%/lv)

A few things worth noting about each card before we get to squad builds:

Aftermath Burst specifically boosts damage-over-time skills, not standard attack damage. That makes Swift's burn auto-attack and Fiona's radiation the primary beneficiaries. If your Missile squad doesn't have Swift or Fiona at a decent level, the card's impact is noticeably smaller.

Dimensional Crit targets only the Tank hero with the highest Attack stat in your squad — not all tanks. In most Tank lineups, Kim and Stetmann compete for that top spot depending on gear and Awakening progression. Before locking in your loadout, check which one comes out ahead with your current setup.

Frontal Suppression requires exactly 3 Aircraft heroes positioned in the back row to fully activate. That means DVA's positioning becomes a real decision — keeping her at the front protects her from back-row attacks, but moving her back lets her benefit from the Attack Speed buff. There's no universal right answer here; it depends on your matchup.

 

Random Attributes and Leveling

All three cards draw from the same random attribute pool when you pull them:

Attribute	Rarity	Value Range
Tactics Card Level Up	UR	+1 level
PvP Defending Hero Defense	SSR	2.50% – 3.00%
PvP Defending Hero Attack	SSR	2.50% – 3.00%
PvP Defending Hero HP	SSR	2.50% – 3.00%
Reduces Damage Taken when countered	SSR	0.50%
Regular attributes	R	various

Look for cards with 3 attributes and aim for all SSR rolls as a baseline. A UR "Tactics Card Level Up" attribute pushes the card's main effect one level beyond its base cap, which adds up meaningfully over the course of the season.

In Season 6, SSR battle cards can be enhanced up to level 12 using Tactical Fragments — a step up from previous seasons. With a UR Level Up attribute, the cap extends to level 15. The fragment cost scales steeply in the final few levels:

Enhancement	Fragments Required	Total Fragments
1 → 2	500	500
2 → 3	1,000	1,500
3 → 4	1,500	3,000
5 → 6	2,500	7,500
7 → 8	4,000	14,500
9 → 10	10,000	29,500
10 → 11	15,000	44,500
11 → 12	20,000	64,500

Fragments come from dismantling cards (SSR gives 500, SR gives 200, R gives 100) and from first-kill zombie rewards. One important note for Global Expedition players: your total Non-Core card enhancement levels directly determine your stat bonuses during Expedition stages. Each threshold bracket stacks on top of the last, so upgrading your purple cards before each Expedition round is one of the highest-leverage things you can do.

 

Why Counter Reversal Matters More This Season

With the 4+1 gone, mixed squads no longer exist in any competitive form. Pure single-type formations are the new standard — and that creates a harder exposure to type counters. Tank beats Missile, Aircraft beats Tank, Missile beats Aircraft. In Seasons 4 and 5, mixed squads naturally softened those matchups. Pure squads don't have that protection.

Counter Reversal reduces the damage you take and increases the damage you deal when you're matched against your counter type. It doesn't completely cancel the disadvantage, but in a close fight it regularly changes the outcome. Treat it as a required slot in any Season 6 setup, regardless of your squad type.

 

Best Squad Setups for Season 6

Missile Squad — Aftermath Burst Setup

McGregor
Adam
Tesla
Swift
Fiona

McGregor anchors the front line and is your primary survivability investment, especially as you push into higher PvP brackets where your back row needs time to work. Aftermath Burst benefits Swift and Fiona most given their DoT skills, so prioritizing their gear and Awakening progression pays off directly. Getting your core five to Exclusive Weapon level 20 to unlock their Awakening skills is a meaningful damage ceiling upgrade for this squad.

Regular Cards:

• Universal — Aftermath Burst
• Universal — Counter Reversal
• Quickstride — Attribute Boost
• Quickstride — Contaminated Land

Core Cards:

• Quickstride — Morale Boost
• Quickstride — Quick March or Battlestreak — Morale Boost

Tank Squad — Dimensional Crit Setup

Core Heroes: 

Kimberly
Murphy
William
Marshall
Stetmann

The Tank squad is the most approachable pure formation to build early in the season, since UR Tank heroes are generally the easiest to develop from a low starting point. Murphy and Williams handle durability, Kim and Stetmann carry the damage output, and Marshall contributes attack speed buffs across the squad. Because Dimensional Crit targets your single highest-Attack hero, make sure your gear and Awakening investment is pointed at the hero you want benefiting from the Crit Rate boost. If you're actively working on Kimberly's Awakening, note that her Awakened Skills can shift her Attack stat relative to Stetmann depending on your progression stage.

Regular Cards:

• Universal — Dimensional Crit
• Universal — Counter Reversal
• Quickstride — Attribute Boost
• Quickstride — Contaminated Land

Core Cards:

• Quickstride — Morale Boost
• Quickstride — Quick March or Garrison — Defensive Regroup

Aircraft Squad — Frontal Suppression Setup

Core Heroes: 

DVA
Carlie
Lucius
Morrison
Schuyler

Aircraft counters Tank, and Tank is the most popular early-season squad type, which makes this formation particularly strong right now. As a server matures past Day 70 and Tank squads become even more dominant, Aircraft's advantage grows with it. The main thing to manage here is DVA's positioning — she's your strongest single hero but the Frontal Suppression buff only applies to back-row Aircraft units. If you keep DVA at the front, she's protected from targeted back-row attacks but misses the Attack Speed buff; moving her back gets her the buff but exposes her. Test both against your server's specific threats before committing.

Regular Cards:

• Universal — Frontal Suppression
• Universal — Counter Reversal
• Quickstride — Attribute Boost
• Quickstride — Contaminated Land

Core Cards:

• Quickstride — Morale Boost
• Quickstride — Quick March or Garrison — Defensive Regroup

 

Garrison Defense Still Works

If you were running a Garrison defensive setup in Season 4 or 5, it remains fully viable in Season 6. The core philosophy is the same: Garrison cards reduce deaths and extend your active window during sustained fights. The only change is that the 4+1 slot now gets replaced by either your type-specific Universal card or Counter Reversal depending on whether your priority is offense or survivability.

Card Slot	Card	Purpose
Regular 1	Universal — Aftermath Burst / Dimensional Crit / Frontal Suppression	Type-specific buff for your squad
Regular 2	Universal — Counter Reversal	Reduces counter-type vulnerability
Regular 3	Garrison — Duration	Extends Garrison active skill window
Regular 4	Garrison — Attribute Boost	Flat stat boost for the squad
Core 1	Garrison — Defensive Regroup	Active skill — the Garrison identity
Core 2	Garrison — Morale Boost	Passive stat buff to the squad

 

Where to Get Tactics Cards

Tactics Card Packs are available in the War Merit Shop, which refreshes daily and weekly throughout the season. Spending War Merit on card packs does not affect your leaderboard ranking, so it's a clean resource to funnel into cards without tradeoffs.

For fragment farming, consistently dismantling SR and R cards you don't need is the most reliable path. The first-kill zombie rewards also contribute fragments over time, making early and consistent map clearing valuable beyond just the standard resource drops.

 

FAQ

Is the 4+1 card gone for good in Season 6?

Yes. The Hybrid Squad (4+1) card has been removed entirely from Season 6. Mixed squad builds that depended on it from Seasons 4 and 5 need to be rebuilt around a pure single-type formation. There's no workaround — including an off-type hero means accepting the reduced type bonus.

Which of the three new Universal cards is the best?

They're not directly comparable — each one is designed for a specific squad type. Match the card to your heroes: Aftermath Burst for Missile, Dimensional Crit for Tank, Frontal Suppression for Aircraft. If you're running a more general or transition setup, Counter Reversal is the most broadly useful Universal card you can slot.

Does Aftermath Burst boost all Missile damage?

No — it specifically boosts damage-over-time (DoT) effects, not standard attack damage. Swift's burn auto-attack and Fiona's radiation are the main beneficiaries. If your Missile lineup doesn't include either of those heroes at a meaningful level, the card's impact is reduced.

Does Frontal Suppression need exactly 3 Aircraft heroes?

The card specifies 3 Aircraft heroes on the back row. Fewer than 3 back-row Aircraft heroes means the full buff won't apply. Formation positioning matters.

Should I still slot Counter Reversal this season?

Counter Reversal is more valuable in Season 6 than it was in any prior season. Pure squads have no natural type-counter buffer, and Counter Reversal directly compensates for that. Consider it a required card in most setups.

Do the new Universal cards work in PvE?

No. All three cards are explicitly PvP and Global Expedition only. Your zombie-farming and PvE build stays the same as before — Zombie Purgatory core card setup remains the right choice for PvE content.

What's the fastest way to upgrade Tactics Cards?

Dismantle every R and SR card you don't need for fragments, and collect first-kill zombie rewards consistently. Prioritize leveling your Universal and SSR battle cards before Global Expedition rounds, since total Non-Core card levels determine your stat bonuses inside Expedition stages. Getting to higher level thresholds is one of the biggest performance jumps available for that mode.

Looking for more Season 6 resources? LDShop has guides covering everything from Rainforest Mushroom farming to Hero Awakening priorities — plus the most cost-effective Last War top-up options if you're pushing for competitive milestones this season.