RTA "Cheat Sheet" for Countering "Meta" Units in Epic Seven (July 2022)

July 31, 2022

Epic Seven's most titillating — or tilting, depending on the player — PvP game mode is World Arena (also known as RTA or Real-Time Arena).

In the draft phase, players take turns banning and picking heroes for battle. During your turn, you only get 60 seconds to predict what kind of draft your opponent is going for and figure out how to counter their picks based on your own hero pool and playstyle — before it's too late.

This reference guide lists the most popular picks in the current RTA meta (as of July 2022) and which heroes can be used to counter them.

Many of these counter picks are based on recent Champion, Emperor, and Legend rank win-rate data from www.epic7stats.com.

Knowing what heroes are good against the ones your opponent picks won't turn you into a Legend or Emperor overnight, but it might help alleviate some of that mental strain and make drafting in RTA a less stressful experience.

Most Popular Picks in the Current RTA Meta

Click on a hero portrait to jump to their counter picks.

How to Counter the Most-Drafted Heroes in Epic Seven RTA

Enemy Pick	Counter Picks
Conqueror Lilias Conqueror Lilias was by far the most first-picked hero in World Arena Season 7. Mediator Kawerik, Ran, and Designer Lilibet can help prevent and/or cleanse her first-turn debuffs while also being strong against the aggressive-style play that makes her so dangerous. Shadow Knight Pyllis and Lionheart Cermia have effective counters against her S1 dual attacks (and against her debuffs as well). Back to top
Apocalypse Ravi Fallen Cecilia, Diene, and Adventurer Ras provide strong defensive support that makes it more difficult for her to one-shot with her S3. Hwayoung used to be a direct counter to Apocalypse Ravi until the meta shifted towards building high HP with Proof of Valor. With fewer players using Crimson Seed, Archdemon's Shadow's debuffs are more likely to stick, countering Apocalypse Ravi's strong passives. Little Queen Charlotte has great one-shot potential against Apocalypse Ravi while also providing team-wide damage reduction. Back to top
Peira Emilia is a popular neutral pick that helps protect the team against Peira's debuffs. Politis deters Peira from using her S3, especially when she is built tanky and using Abyssal Crown, and helps counter cleave setups. If you don't want to speed race against an aggressive Peira team, Archdemon's Shadow and Rem can deal AOE damage and strip their buffs with counterattacks. Desert Jewel Basar is a great counter when Peira is drafted into a bruiser or control team. His Barrier Inversion on S2 can usually one-shot her, before giving him another turn to cleanse her debuffs. Back to top
Mediator Kawerik Apocalypse Ravi doesn't directly counter Mediator Kawerik with her kit, but she is a solid DPS unit that doesn't care too much about his strip and Decreased Attack debuff. Hwayoung with proper setup (e.g. Vigor and/or attack buff) can oftentimes one-shot Mediator Kawerik with her S3. Politis's passive ability slows down his CR manipulation and, in aggressive team comps, may deter him from using his S3. Specter Tenebria is a strong DPS unit that can't be targeted by Mediator Kawerik's single target strip and debuff. Alencia usually takes her turn after Mediator Kawerik and provides a strong AOE strip to remove his S3 buffs. Back to top
Hwayoung Hwayoung's main weakness is being cleaved or controlled on turn 1, so heroes like Peira and Ran that set up strong aggression can be drafted against her. Aria and Choux are more standard counters to Hwayoung. Both are ice element heroes, which means they take 30% less damage from her S3 nuke. Operator Sigret is another aggressive counter. Because Hwayoung starts with a barrier on turn 1, Operator Sigret can one-shot her with her defense-penetrating S2. However, the gear requirement is quite high, as she needs to be fast enough to go first and still have enough DPS stats to kill (especially if she's relying Guiding Light instead of a damage-increasing artifact). Back to top
Name Apocalypse Ravi is a strong HP scaling DPS hero that easily survives Rimuru's S3 while protecting her teammates by being able to revive them. Using his S2 to strip and debuff Rimuru while providing a barrier to his entire team, Mediator Kawerik debilitates Rimuru's turn 1 nuke potential. Fallen Cecilia is another great defensive answer to Rimuru's nuke by providing the team with big barriers and damage mitigation. Belian strips buffs, has high HP to withstand Rimuru's nuke, and has a passive that prevents him from soulburning his S3. Solitaria can strip immunity and stun Rimuru on turn 1, which wastes his S2 proc, in addition to making him unbuffable. Back to top
Ran Apocalypse Ravi and Fallen Cecilia are stable picks against aggressive team comps enabled by Ran, helping their teammates survive or reviving them. Designer Lilibet's passive usually activates after Ran's S3, pushing her up to cleanse the team and counter-cleave the enemy team. Arbiter Vildred can be used to counter Ran if he dies to Ran's S3 and comes back to counter-cleave the enemy team. Violet is a standard answer to Ran, since he is guaranteed to evade Ran's debuffs and has 1v4 potential against aggressive teams. Back to top
Angel of Light Angelica (AOL) Angel of Light Angelica is hard to control because she can't be stunned, but a fast Conqueror Lilias with effectiveness can provoke her on turn 1. Mediator Kawerik is a standard turn 2 counter against AOL, since she can't silence him. He cleanses the team and puts up immunity with a non-attack skill that doesn't trigger AOL's S2 passive (unlike Designer Lilibet). Although AOL can strip Diene's S3 buffs, Diene can similarly cleanse AOL's debuffs with her S2. Plus, Diene cycles so quickly that it's difficult for AOL to keep her controlled. All of AOL's abilities are non-attack skills that trigger Politis's S2. Politis also slows down AOL's CR gain, cuts in front of her, and can soul burn S1 to cycle out of silence. Belian is a good counter to AOL since most people have her on Tagehel's Ancient Book. Belian also has a strong damage-dealing S1 that doesn't care about being silenced. Back to top
Fallen Cecilia Mediator Kawerik and Adventurer Ras are favored in matchups against teams with Fallen Cecilia, since they're able to strip her shields and help their team out-tempo her. Belian and Archdemon's Shadow are hard-to-kill bruisers with AOE attacks that strip, making them strong picks against the slower, standard play that Fallen Cecilia is often part of. Operator Sigret is usually a must-ban when Fallen Cecilia is on the field, since her kit is designed to deal with barriers. Back to top
Emilia Conqueror Lilias and Diene are strong meta picks that can usually outspeed Emilia and disrupt the enemy's game plan. Politis's passive usually allows her to cut ahead of whoever Emilia pushes up with her S2 and either kill or debuff them. Emilia is often drafted together with tanky single-target nukers like Hwayoung and Rimuru, making Specter Tenebria and Belian relatively safe DPS options to pick against her. Back to top
Diene Diene is relatively weak if she doesn't get first turn, and suffers against aggressive teams with fast openers like Conqueror Lilias, Peira, and Pavel. Politis's S2 usually allows her to cut ahead of Diene's teammates and either kill or debuff them. Belian's AOE damage, strips, and debuffs can be too much for Diene to deal with, especially when she's using a counterattack set. Back to top
Politis Politis in standard drafts is often an easy target for Apocalypse Ravi's S3 nuke, unless she's built extremely tanky with low damage and Abyssal Crown. Ran is a versatile counter to Politis, since he can provide his team with 2-turn immunity to prevent her S3 debuffs (if he chooses to S2) or he can just directly use S3 in a more aggressive setup. Belian, Rem, and Seaside Bellona are great counter picks against Politis when she's being used in a cleave setup. Back to top
Specter Tenebria Conqueror Lilias and Diene are fast openers that increase their team's survivability against Specter Tenebria's turn 1 soul burn combo. Politis is often drafted against Specter Tenebria to disrupt synergy with heroes that give her attack buff or boost her CR (such as Emilia). Specter Tenebria's kit relies heavily on being able to soul burn for extra turns, practically making Belian a must-ban counter pick. Lionheart Cermia is often built tanky enough (usually with Proof of Valor) to survive turn 1 and then later one-shot Specter Tenebria with her AOE defense-penetrating S3. Back to top
Designer Lilibet Designer Lilibet usually lacks the damage potential needed to deal with an Apocalypse Ravi. Mediator Kawerik usually goes before Designer Lilibet and provides his team with immunity against Designer Lilibet's debuffs and skill resets. His single target debuff is also unlikely to trigger Designer Lilibet's passive. Rimuru's fixed-damage S3 nuke is a major threat to defense-scaling heroes like Designer Lilibet. Designer Lilibet's S3 usually doesn't deal enough damage to one-shot Specter Tenebria, and instead the skill reset allows Specter Tenebria's S1 to hit two targets on her first turn. Back to top
Maid Chloe Mediator Kawerik can strip the attack and revive buffs off of his target, and his S3 immunity buffs protect his team against the occasional S1 stun from Maid Chloe. Rimuru copies Maid Chloe's high-value buffs and gives them to his own team. Specter Tenebria, Lionheart Cermia, and Archdemon's Shadow are all either very tanky or hard to kill (in a proper draft) yet have high enough AOE damage potential that Maid Chloe's healing can't keep up with in a prolonged fight. Back to top
Belian Mediator Kawerik provides great defensive support against Belian. His S3 protects his team from debuffs while his S2 can be used to strip Belian's defense buff. Hwayoung's S3 is a scary counter to any HP-scaling bruiser that isn't on Proof of Valor, such as Belian. Heroes like Lionheart Cermia, Seaside Bellona, and Roana can capitalize on Belian's counterattacks and extra attacks. Roana in particular is usually a must-ban if Belian is on counterattack set (rather than injury). Back to top
Landy Politis is used to prevent support heroes from setting Landy up with buffs or CR boosts. She can also knock Landy out of Guiding Light's stealth with her S2 and S3 AOE attacks. Belian and Archdemon's Shadow can both unleash a barrage of AOE attacks that can strip or knock Landy out of stealth. Milim's passive ability allows her to remove stealth and potentially kill Landy on turn 1. Adventurer Ras is a knight with elemental advantage over Landy, allowing him to soak up more hits while also having an AOE skill that may knock her out of stealth. Back to top
Lionheart Cermia Apocalypse Ravi on speed set is great at chipping down Lionheart Cermia without triggering her passive (save for any unlucky dual attacks), before finishing her off with an S3 nuke. Mediator Kawerik and Emilia enable strong single-target nukers to try and kill off Lionheart Cermia on turn 1. Mediator Kawerik's S2 can also be used to strip Lionheart Cermia's buffs after her passive has been activated. Politis can be an effective counter against Lionheart Cermia when used in aggressive team comps, as Lionheart Cermia's passive will trigger Politis's S2 attack and CR push. Lionheart Cermia's kit is highly dependent on her S2 passive ability activating, which can be sealed by Archdemon's Shadow. Back to top
Rem Apocalypse Ravi is usually drafted as a closer in cleave comps along with Ran and Pavel. She gets pushed up by Rem's counterattacks and is usually able to nuke her out with S3, especially if mitigation is banned. Landy is a solid damage-dealing bruiser with an elemental type advantage over Rem. Violet is another direct counter to Rem that can also be used as a closer in cleave comps. Combining his evasion with elemental type advantage, Violet will dodge and counterattack 100% of Rem's attacks. Pavel is a great cleave opener against Rem, since he has an S2 AOE that can't be countered as well as a hard-hitting single-target nuke to kill Rem right off the bat. Back to top
Arbiter Vildred Apocalypse Ravi helped push Arbiter Vildred to the outer edge of the meta with her ability to easily tank his attacks and then one-shot him with her S3. Peira's Unbuffable debuff prevents Arbiter Vildred from getting Greater Attack Buff from Alexa's Basket on turn 1, while providing powerful damage mitigation for her team. Politis and Specter Tenebria can both soul burn their S1 attacks to kill Arbiter Vildred and then kill him again with their S3. Politis's passive also reduces his CR gain on death from 100% to 50%. Milim's S3 comes with extinction to prevent Arbiter Vildred from reviving. Her passive buff also increases her hit chance to deal with the occasional Arbiter Vildred using Moonlight Dreamblade. Back to top
Violet Apocalypse Ravi is a rather neutral counter to Violet in cleave comps, with games often coming down to pure luck. She has a slight edge if built tanky enough to survive Violet's S3. Hwayoung can't crit, so Violet's evasion doesn't mitigate very much of her damage. She often one-shots him with her S3 kick, even on a miss. Politis helps curb Violet's CR gain and has a decent chance of stunning him with her S1, stopping an entire turn of counters. Milim's passive gives her additional hit chance to counter Violet's evasion, while her evasion buff combined with her elemental type advantage gives her 100% evasion against Violet. Many players run Pavel on A Symbol of Unity or Air-to-Surface Missile: MISHA, both of which provide extra hit chance and damage. Combined with his uncounterable S2, Pavel is a strong cleave counter to Violet. Back to top
Archdemon's Shadow (ADS) Conqueror Lilias and Diene gives their teammates a lot of offensive initiative at the beginning of the battle, helping them to either kill or control ADS and prevent her from sealing her optimal targets. Hwayoung and Specter Tenebria are two of the top single-target nukers. Hwayoung with attack buff is capable of one-shotting ADS on turn 1. Specter Tenebria 's S1 can't trigger counter attacks from ADS. Depending on the situation, she can either try to soul burn and kill ADS on turn 1, or hold off and save souls for later stages of battle. Archdemon's Shadow relies on landing Seal, which normally only has a 75% chance of landing and can also be resisted. Belian's passive prevents ADS from soul burning S1 to guarantee her Seal. Back to top
Solitaria of the Snow Mediator Kawerik can't be stunned by Solitaria on turn 1, then he cleanses his team and grants team-wide immunity from Solitaria's debuffs. Emilia, who is often built with effect resistance, cycles quickly and both her S2 and S3 cleanses debuffs. Specter Tenebria can't be targeted by Solitaria's S3 stun, so Solitaria can't reliably control her (especially when Specter Tenebria is paired with Mediator Kawerik or Emilia). Lionheart Cermia and Roana both capitalize on Solitaria's extra attacks to trigger their passives. Lionheart Cermia cleanses herself and deals big AOE damage, while Roana provides the team with a lot of healing and combat readiness. Back to top
Eda Picking Conqueror Lilias against Eda takes away one of her best openers while also giving you the chance to debuff and control her if Conqueror Lilias takes turn 1. Politis's S2 triggers on the same non-attack skills that Eda relies on to gain combat readiness. Politis's passive also cuts Eda's CR gain in half, making it easy to cut ahead of her. Belian's passive makes it impossible for Eda to soul burn into her S2 S3 combo, while also having a good chance to counter and strip the enemy team. Rem is commonly drafted against an Eda cleave since she can counterattack when Eda uses S2 and S3. If she survives both attacks, she's very likely to go into demon mode, which prevents her from being stunned. Troublemaker Crozet is another anti-cleave option that specializes in keeping important counter-cleave units alive, such as Apocalypse Ravi and Rem. Players often run him on Holy Sacrifice to make sure he survives long enough to use his S3 cleanse. Back to top