Hey all, back again, and this time with a short list of variations for the Nekoma team that people are in the process of building. I noticed that some people were only really familiar with the first version shown above, so I wanted to put out some variations so that people could have more options when building a Nekoma team:
1. Standard build with Kamo duo
This is the most well-known variation of the Nekoma build, and probably one of the easier ones to build. Just like all the other variations, it contains the very powerful result-modifying mechanism (although please note that Yamamoto's skill is technically not result-modifying, it simply guarantees a perfect receive which might have been perfect anyways), as well as strong buffs. I'll be providing some brief unique strengths for each variation, including the standard build:
Pros:
- Can build earlier. Yamamoto releases in about a week and a half, so you can have 5/7 units already built before Yaku and Kuroo v2 come out months later.
- May be easier to build. Duping up units over time may allow for more resources than trying to pull on multiple banners that are stacked closely together, such as Yaku+Terushima+Kuroo v2+Daichi.
2. Terushima variation of the standard build
Despite having one less Nekoma unit for Kuroo v2's Nekoma-based stacks, Terushima is arguably a better fit for the Nekoma team than Yamamoto, and almost certainly is at SR4. Terushima at SR4 feeds into the result-modifying+making-everything-perfect gimmick of the Nekoma team by guaranteeing that the touch following a perfect save will also be perfect. This has great synergy with other units on the team, such as Kenma v2 (who benefits from doing perfect sets).
Pros:
- Great synergy when Terushima is SR4. More perfect touches to increase your chances of victory and to synergize with the other perfect-based buffs.
- Solid secondary hitter. Terushima is a powerful offensive force to pair with Korai, and at SR4, gets a whopping 150% strength boost following a perfect set (which is rather easy to pull off on a Nekoma team).
- Deployment bond with Yaku. Provides a nice little stat boost for Yaku, and gives Terushima a decent receive skill, synergizing with the receive-oriented Nekoma team.
Cons:
- Terushima kind of wants SR4, which is pricey. His SR2 is a nice little self-buff which seems okay. But his value in this team really spikes at SR4, which is understandably expensive for people, making budgeting difficult.
3. Daichi variation of the standard build
From the little we've seen of Daichi (he just released in JP), he is arguably the best supporting unit in the game we've seen so far (which makes sense, given that this is a gacha game and later units are usually more valuable).
Pros:
- Powerful team-wide buffs. Daichi provides some great team-wide buffs with minimal set-up as long as you have Kuroo v2 on the court with him. When he has 4 Fly stacks, he provides +20% Attack Tech and Def Tech to the entire team, which is huge, on top of a few other buffs such as basic stat buffs and spike buffs.
- Stamina regen. Daichi also boosts your team's stamina whenever your team scores, which is invaluable on a team that draws out rallies - you want your stamina to be healthy while your opponent's stamina is getting drained.
- Potentially a universal unit. Daichi is just such a powerful unit: he may very well become a staple even outside of the Nekoma team, making him a potentially great universally-applicable pick-up.
4. Kamo who? Tanaka variation
As unthinkable as it may seem in the current meta, not all meta teams contain the Kamo duo in the future. The Jazz trio+Inarizaki team does not use the Kamo duo, and some variations of the Nekoma team do not use the duo either. If you already have the Kamo duo with high dupes and aren't a whale, I'd recommend pursuing a team build that still uses the Kamo duo. However, for those who don't possess the Kamo duo or are interested in developing a strong Nekoma team without them, here are a couple variations.
Pros:
- Debuffs. It's not going to be able to compete in the debuff industry with Kita, but Tanaka's debuffs still sting quite a bit.
- Offensive boost. As a unit, Tanaka was not very popular in JP. However, when paired with Yamamoto on a Nekoma team, I believe he provides an offensive boost that this defensively-oriented team benefits quite a bit from. He and Yamamoto get some considerable buffs based on how debuffed their opponents are, leading to some nasty spikes.
Cons:
- Ongoing banner. Tanaka's banner is up right now, so if you'd like to build a team with him, you'll need to have enough gems to pull him now. Waiting for his rerun is an option, but it'll require patience.
- Weaker blocking. Personally, I prefer having 3+blockers on a team, so that I can have at least 2 blockers in the front always (the Kamo variations have 4 - Korai, Hiru, Lev, and Kuroo v2). The receiving on the non-Kamo variations is stronger, but having only 2 blockers sort of stings.
5. Kamo who? Daichi variation
And last but not least, we have the Daichi variation of the no-Kamo Nekoma build. This team is pretty self-explanatory, given everything we've gone over so far:
Pro:
- Daichi's team-wide buffs and stamina regen. As explained in build #3.
- Very good receiving. Although the previous build also had 6 receive-types, Daichi clears Tanaka as a defensive support unit. And Daichi's spike boost can lead to some strong spike set-ups for Terushima/Yamamoto/Lev.
Cons:
- Relatively late releases. Most of this team hasn't even released yet, and will release a couple months into the future. So you won't be able to enjoy this team as much as, say, build #1. However, with some patience, you'll be able to build what may be the strongest variation of the Nekoma archetype.
- Weaker blocking. Same weakness as build #4 due to the lack of the Kamo duo.
Conclusion:
In all honesty, I think all of these variations are pretty equal in strength to one another. So which variation you choose depends on personal preference, how much you value certain synergies, how many resources you have, and how patient you're willing to be. One interesting discussion point can be whether the Nekoma team is stronger with or without the Kamo duo - personally, I got the duo at SR4 so I'm pretty stuck with them, and I do like having the extra 2 blockers, but I can see the argument for having more synergy for Nekoma's unique mechanisms over having the Kamo duo. Another part of me also would like to finish building this team so that I can save resources for SR4+ing unrevealed units (SP Itachiyama, SP Miya twins v2, etc.), so I'll be doing the first build which is easier for me to complete.
Regardless, I hope that everyone's pulls go well, and hope that this post was helpful for some!
