Phantom Shogun's Grove — Akumori
Dungeons · 5 champions
The Fight▾
Awakening is a hard gate: the Shade counter drops by the acting champion's Awakening Level every time they use a skill against Akumori (1 stack at Lvl 1 … 6 at Lvl 6), and un-awakened champions contribute ZERO. The counter climbs +5 whenever Akumori lands a critical hit, +2 whenever an [Enfeeble] is removed or transferred, and a per-weak-hit amount — Ayumilove quotes the Shroud of the Shogun passive as +2 in stages 1-10, consistent with the +2 / +4 (st.11-20) / +6 (st.21-25) tiering on record, though one read of the same page summarised a flat +8; treat the higher stages as unconfirmed. [Enfeeble] is the engine: an Enfeebled champion lands ONLY weak hits, Scourge Sword spreads one Enfeeble from its target to your whole team, and Forest of Spears applies an unremovable Enfeeble plus Block Passive Skills — so every extra hit of a multi-hit skill becomes its own Shade tick. Spectral Lunge prioritises Enfeebled targets and grants Akumori 20% Turn Meter per hit. Shade thresholds (Ayumilove, 2026-07-26): 20 = immune to Poison damage, 30 = immune to HP Burn and Smite, 40 = ignores DEF buffs and ignores 100% of target DEF, 50+ = all attacks ignore 100% DEF. Each stack also adds 1% C.RATE / 2% C.DMG and Wraith Javelin ignores progressively more buffs as Shade rises (Block Damage, Unkillable, Ally Protection, Shield) — both carried from the prior record and not re-verified this audit.
Team
Varkos HeadsplitterF6★, Awakening 5 — 5 Shade removed per skill used, the single largest lever on the account and 5× what any Awakening-1 body gives. HellHades phantom_grove 8/10 and Ayumilove ★★★★ for this dungeon, both pulled 2026-07-27. Caveat: A1 hits 2× (3× when counterattacking) and A2 hits 2× (3× when joining an ally), so he is also the team's biggest weak-hit generator — hold the A3 counterattack package on stages where Force is off-affinity.4★
SkeletorS5★, Awakening 5 (capped by his ascension) — the account's only other 5-Shade-per-skill body. A2 Petrify / 50% Dec ATK / Dec SPD, A3 team Increase ACC + buff-steal + TM cuts, Dec RES passive. His +60 ACC all-battles aura is the team's best and is what lands the debuff package on a dungeon boss. HellHades rates him only 4/10 here — he holds the seat on awakening level, not on kit rating.2★
VogothS6★, Awakening 1 — the roster's only awakened Provoke. Spectral Lunge prioritises Enfeebled champions, so a Provoke body is the only owned answer to its targeting, and he heals the whole team for 50% of the damage he soaks. HellHades 2/10, the worst score in the awakened pool: use A2, not his 3-hit A1, on stages where Spirit is off-affinity.1★
Rector DrathF6★, Awakening 1 — team heal, Perfect Veil and revive; nothing else in the awakened pool heals on demand and the run is an attrition race. HellHades 5/10. The 'Perfect Veil answers Forest of Spears' rationale is carried from the prior record and was not confirmed by either source this audit; the seat stands on sustain regardless.3★
GeomancerF6★, Awakening 1 — best of the remaining awakened bodies at HellHades 6/10. Seated for his A1 being SINGLE-hit AoE (the lowest weak-hit exposure in the pool) and his A3 fully stealing Akumori's Turn Meter — a stolen boss turn is a critical hit that never happens, i.e. 5 Shade never generated. NOT seated for HP Burn: Akumori is immune to HP Burn from 30 stacks, which the previous rationale for this seat did not account for.3★Affinity
Rotates by stage — Magic (1/5/9/13/17/21/25), Force (4/8/12/16/20/24), Spirit (3/7/11/15/23), Void (2/6/10/14/18/22). Carried from the prior record; not re-verified this audit (both HellHades Akumori boss pages failed to render). The awakened pool is Force ×4, Spirit ×3, Magic ×2, Void ×0 — so this Team Now runs Force ×3 (Varkos, Rector Drath, Geomancer) and Spirit ×2 (Skeletor, Vogoth), and weak-hit Shade is unavoidable on part of the rotation until Affinitybreaker is slotted or an awakened Void body exists.
Levers
- ›Awakening level IS the clear. This Team Now removes 13 Shade per full rotation (5 Varkos + 5 Skeletor + 1 + 1 + 1); the previous all-Awakening-1 lineup removed 5. Team Ideal at Awakening 6 across five seats removes 30, against +5 per boss crit — that is the version that survives stages 21-25.
- ›Highest-leverage soul on the account is SUPREME KAEL. Already 6★ so he needs awakening only, he is Void (never weak-hits), HellHades scores him 9/10 — the best of any owned champion for this dungeon — Ayumilove ★★★★★, and his Degrade passive decreases each target's ACC, C.RATE and C.DMG by 3% per Poison on them, with A1/A2/A3 debuffs that cannot be resisted. That attacks the +5-per-crit line at the source. Poison DAMAGE is immune past 20 Shade but the poisons still land, so Degrade keeps working.
- ›Confirm the true awakening levels of the seven champions recorded at Awakening 1 (anax, geomancer, rector-drath, vogoth, kael, aox-the-rememberer, he-man). The whole Team Now calculation rests on a floor value entered pending confirmation — this is the highest-value data task for this dungeon.
- ›Cleansing is a trade, not a ban. The previous record said never bring a cleanser; Ayumilove says [Enfeeble] 'can be cleansed, blocked, and resisted' and that an Enfeebled champion lands ONLY weak hits, so one +2 cleanse can prevent several weak-hit ticks. Prefer blocking or resisting Enfeeble over cleansing it, and never cleanse for free — but Doompriest is still a bad seat here (HellHades 1/10, and un-awakened), just not for the stated reason.
- ›Decrease C.RATE is the unfilled role. Ursine Icecrusher, Ursine Ironhide, Balthus Drauglord and Sachi are the roster's Dec C.RATE champions and ALL are un-awakened, so none can hold a Team Now seat. Awakening one of them is the cheapest structural fix after Supreme Kael.
- ›Taunt does not exist on this account. Ayumilove names Taunt as the counter to Scourge Sword's Enfeeble spread; a scan of all 204 records returns zero Taunt champions. Provoke (Vogoth, Prundar) is the substitute, not the equal.
- ›Minimise hit COUNT, not just damage. Every hit of a multi-hit skill is its own weak-hit Shade tick when off-affinity or Enfeebled — this is why Geomancer's single-hit AoE beats bigger multi-hit kits here and why Vogoth's 3-hit A1 and Royal Guard's 4-hit A3 need stage discipline.
- ›Affinitybreaker converts weak hits to crits and cancels the weak-hit Shade tick entirely. Still the right artifact set while the awakened pool has no Void champion.
- ›Keep C.DMG spread even across the team — Forest of Spears is believed to pick the highest-C.DMG champion, so a single spiked nuker paints a target. (Targeting rule unverified; treat as a cheap precaution.)
- ›UNTESTED: Varkos joins ally attacks and counterattacks constantly. If a counterattack or join counts as 'using a skill' for Shade reduction, he is worth far more than 5 per rotation. Neither source confirms it — worth one run to find out.
- ›PARAGON is the cheap Void project: owned at 3★, Rare, Ayumilove ★★★★★ for this dungeon, HellHades 6/10. A Rare 6★ + Awakening 6 is the least expensive route to an awakened Void body. His permanent-Unkillable cheese degrades once Wraith Javelin starts ignoring Unkillable, so value him for affinity, 50% Dec ATK and Heal Reduction.
- ›SOUL PRIORITY RE-CONFIRMED 2026-09-01 against the 2026-08-31 intake: SUPREME KAEL still gets the soul, not Galathir. Galathir is on paper the best Phantom Shogun champion the account owns — fresh HH 10/10 phantom_grove, the ONLY 10 in the owned pool, against Supreme Kael's 9/10 and Varkos's 8/10, on a 10/10 overall body already at 6★ needing awakening only. TWO MECHANICS A RATING DOES NOT CAPTURE CUT HIM DOWN. (1) AFFINITY: he is Force, and Akumori's stages rotate Magic/Force/Spirit/Void — every weak hit ADDS Shade. Supreme Kael is VOID and never lands a weak hit on any stage, which is the reason this record already names him the priority soul. (2) HIS SIGNATURE SKILL IS A LIABILITY HERE: base-form A2 Stellar Embryo removes ALL debuffs from ALL allies, and the Shade counter climbs +2 for every [Enfeeble] removed or transferred — a full-team cleanse against five Enfeebles is +10 Shade in one button, where the levers prefer targeted cleansing. ALSO NOTE: all seven of the 2026-08-31 arrivals are UN-AWAKENED, so none of them removes any Shade at all today regardless of rating.
Swaps
- Starsage GalathirF
HIGHEST-RATED, STILL NOT THE SOUL — see the levers (recorded 2026-09-01). Fresh HH 10/10 phantom_grove, the only 10 in the owned pool, 6★ Mythical needing awakening only. Cut down by two things a rating misses: he is FORCE against a rotating-affinity boss where every weak hit adds Shade (Supreme Kael is Void and never weak-hits), and his base-form full-team cleanse costs +2 Shade per Enfeeble removed — up to +10 in one press. UN-AWAKENED, so he removes zero Shade today.
- He-ManM
The best-rated bench body — HellHades 8/10, second only to Varkos in the awakened pool, Magic affinity (covers the Spirit stages), immune to Petrification, and low hit counts. Held out of Team Now only because he is 5★ against Geomancer's 6★ at the same Awakening 1. Takes the Geomancer seat the moment he is ascended, and outright if damage proves to be the bottleneck. 5★, Awakening 1
- Aox the RemembererF
OUT of the starting five this audit. Awakening 1 and HellHades 4/10, and the rationale on record was faulty: Decrease ATK reduces crit DAMAGE, not crit FREQUENCY, and Shade rises +5 per crit landed regardless of its size. His 50% Dec ATK is also redundant with Skeletor's A2 and his TM drop is bettered by Geomancer's full steal. Still the first sub if the team is dying rather than losing the Shade race — AoE Dec ATK plus the debuff-extension passive and a team heal. 6★, Awakening 1
- AnaxS
OUT of the starting five this audit. Awakening 1, HellHades 5/10, Ayumilove ★★ for this dungeon, A1 is 2-hit, and his Poison payload is dead once Akumori reaches 20 Shade. The 60% Dec DEF and Weaken are still a real amp if a fifth awakened body is all that is needed. 6★, Awakening 1
- KaelM
Awakened 6★ but Rare, and his poison stops mattering at 20 Shade — a pure Shade battery when a fifth awakened body is the only requirement. HellHades 4/10. 6★, Awakening 1
- Supreme KaelV
THE soul target, not a swap. HellHades 9/10 (highest of any owned champion for this dungeon) and Ayumilove ★★★★★, Void so he never weak-hits, and already 6★ — he needs awakening and nothing else. Contributes ZERO Shade reduction until awakened, which is exactly why the souls should go here first. 6★, un-awakened
- Royal GuardM
Ayumilove ★★★★★ / HellHades 7/10 on kit — A2 hits all enemies for 2 ATK + 10% of MAX HP as a single clean hit, A1 60% Dec DEF, A3 4× random with 30% Dec SPD and −25% TM per hit, plus a +35% Ally ATK dungeon aura. Not a fix today: 4★ with no awakening means zero Shade reduction. Target for ascension + souls, not a seat. 4★, un-awakened
- PhranoxS
HellHades 9/10 and Ayumilove ★★★★★ Epic — A3 hits 3× stealing a buff per hit then Block Buffs a clean target, A2 does double damage into a buff-less target, A1 50% Dec ATK. Same hard caveat as Royal Guard: 4★ and un-awakened, so a build-toward, not a seat. 4★, un-awakened
- ParagonV
Cheapest possible awakened Void body — Rare, owned at 3★, Ayumilove ★★★★★ Rare for this dungeon, HellHades 6/10, with permanent self/ally Unkillable, A3 triple-hit 100% Heal Reduction + 50% Dec ATK and A1 Dec TM. The Unkillable cheese decays as Wraith Javelin starts ignoring it, so buy him for the Void affinity and the debuffs. 3★, un-awakened
- Rhaia the MournedV
ADD TO THE SOUL-PRIORITY LIST (audit 2026-09-01). Fresh HH 9/10 phantom_grove — a tier above the record's curated 4 — and she is 6★, VOID (never lands a weak hit on any stage) and un-awakened. That is the same profile as Supreme Kael one tier down, which makes her the second Void awakening candidate after him.
Alternative Comps
Ideal (fully built)
dream teamThe target lineup once the owned roster is fully built — 6★, Awakening 6, booked and geared on every seat. Awakening 6 across five seats removes 30 Shade per rotation; this is the version that clears stages 21-25.
Chosen on kit and affinity rather than on today's awakening levels, so only Varkos survives from Team Now. Supreme Kael is the lynchpin — Void, already 6★, HellHades 9/10, Ayumilove ★★★★★, unresistible Weaken/Poison/Dec RES and a Degrade passive that strips Akumori's C.RATE per Poison, i.e. the only owned answer to the +5-per-crit line. Phranox (HH 9/10, Ayumi ★★★★★) strips Akumori's buffs then punishes a clean target; Royal Guard (Ayumi ★★★★★, +35% dungeon ATK aura) is the damage and carries the aura; Prundar is the Provoke and the sustain (AoE Provoke, team Strengthen + Continuous Heal) and is Void so he never weak-hits — HellHades rates him only 4/10, he is there for the affinity and the control package, and Rector Drath is the swap if a hard revive matters more than the Provoke. Affinity profile Void ×2 / Spirit ×1 / Magic ×1 / Force ×1, far better than Team Now's Force ×3. Build gap: Supreme Kael needs awakening only; Varkos needs Awakening 5→6; Phranox, Royal Guard and Prundar each need a 6★ ascension plus Awakening 6.
Ideal Built Team (soul-gated)
build towardSecondary soul plan — superseded by 'Ideal (fully built)' above, retained because the Decrease C.RATE idea inside it is still correct and unfilled.
CORRECTED 2026-07-27. The original note called Prundar 'the roster's only true Taunt' — his own record describes an AoE PROVOKE, and a scan of all 204 champion records returns zero Taunt champions on the account, so the Taunt role named by Ayumilove remains unfilled by anyone. The comp's durable idea is Ursine Icecrusher's AoE Decrease C.RATE, which attacks Shade generation at its source and which nothing else awakened can do. Superseded overall because it omits Supreme Kael, who out-rates every champion in it on both sources (HH 9/10, Ayumi ★★★★★) while needing no ascension at all. Both Prundar and Ursine Icecrusher are 4★, so both cap at Awakening 4 until ascended.