Last War: Tank Squad Positioning and Hybrid Counters for Aircraft

To beat aircraft squads using tank units in Last War, either adjust your hero lane positioning to protect Kimberly from direct focus fire or swap in a high-investment missile hero using a 4+1 hybrid formation.

A standard five-tank squad—Murphy, Williams, Kimberly, Stetmann, and Marshall—receives a 20% team-wide attack, defense, and HP aura. However, facing a full aircraft team (such as DVA, Schuyler, Morrison, Carlie, and Lucius) triggers a 20% squad type counter penalty. This disadvantage negates the tank stat bonus while aircraft carries unleash rapid energy burst skills that shred defensive lines before Marshall can buff backline critical strikes. You can neutralize this disadvantage through immediate positioning changes or targeted roster substitutions.

Adjust Lane Placement to Evade Aircraft Focus Fire

Before breaking your five-tank synergy, rearrange your formation to direct damage away from Kimberly. Backline attackers and column-based skills often mirror or target the lane with the highest early vulnerability.

Check battle reports to locate the opposing team's primary burst attacker (typically DVA), then position your heroes accordingly:

Formation Slot	Default Tank Setup	Anti-Aircraft Adjustment	Tactical Purpose
Front Left	Murphy	Williams / Off-Tank	Takes early physical and energy poke
Front Right	Williams	Murphy	Directs primary defensive buffs toward incoming aircraft attackers
Back Left	Kimberly	Stetmann	Shields Kimberly from the opponent's primary air nuker
Back Center	Marshall	Marshall	Keeps aura coverage centered across both flanking attackers
Back Right	Stetmann	Kimberly	Keeps Kimberly alive long enough to cycle her ultimate skill

Placing a sturdier hero directly opposite the enemy's main aircraft carry forces single-target burst skills into defensive kits, buying the rounds needed for Stetmann and Kimberly to generate energy and retaliate.

Run a 4+1 Hybrid Squad

If lane adjustments are insufficient, transition to a 4+1 hybrid formation. Running four tanks and one off-type hero lowers your faction bonus from 20% to 15% for attack, defense, and HP. While you lose 5% in baseline stats, bringing in a direct counter unit can outweigh the penalty.

Keep the core tank foundation intact:

Frontline: Keep Murphy and Williams in front to absorb damage and generate squad energy reduction.
Primary DPS: Retain Kimberly in the backline as your primary sustained damage source.
Flex Slot: Replace Stetmann or Marshall. Benching Marshall sacrifices team-wide attack scaling and critical rate, while benching Stetmann reduces raw burst. In anti-aircraft setups, benching Stetmann for an off-faction counter generally yields better defensive stability while Kimberly carries outgoing damage under Marshall's active buffs.

Option 1: Add a Missile Attacker

Because missile squads counter aircraft squads in the combat triangle, introducing a missile carry exploits the enemy's type vulnerability. Units such as Swift or Tesla bring targeted advantages:

They deal increased direct damage to aircraft frontliners like Carlie.
A high-investment Swift can target past the frontline to pressure vulnerable aircraft backliners early.
Early pressure on DVA or Schuyler lowers incoming burst, keeping Murphy and Williams alive longer.

Requirement: The missile hero must have comparable star rank, gear, and tech levels to your primary squad. Swapping in an under-invested missile hero will fail because their individual stats will not offset the lost 5% faction aura.

Option 2: Add an Aircraft Defensive Tank

Another hybrid option replaces a frontline tank with an aircraft tank like Lucius:

Lucius provides energy damage resistance, mitigating the heavy energy burst typical of aircraft carries.
Pairing Lucius with Murphy splits frontline typings, preventing aircraft attackers from chewing through both front slots with uniform counter bonuses.
This adjustment works best when your Kimberly and Stetmann already possess high damage output, making frontline survival time your primary win condition.

Strategic Matchup Trade-Offs

Deploy hybrid squads selectively rather than using them as permanent defensive lineups:

Against Mirror Tank Squads: A 4+1 hybrid team operates at a 5% stat deficit against a standard 5-tank lineup of equal strength. A missile carry deals neutral damage to tanks, and your reduced HP pool causes Murphy and Williams to fall faster.
Against Missile Squads: Introducing an aircraft tank like Lucius into your frontline creates an extreme vulnerability against incoming missile compositions.

Use full mono-tank lineups for general PvE progression and baseline defense. Switch to a 4+1 hybrid configuration or custom lane setup when targeting aircraft-heavy opponents in Warzone clashes, Alliance Duels, or arena matches where pure air teams block your advancement.