Overview
At the pace of one Zenkai per update, the developers strengthened SP Android 18 YEL, a Fighter that has been neglected in the past since she didn’t even receive a Balance Changes strengthening, when it still was a thing.
Apparently, 18 was highly anticipated as according to the developers many players selected her as the most wanted Zenkai Awakening in the Survey they sent us some weeks ago, so let’s see if her Meta impact is on par with the hype around her.
Effects On The Meta
Female Warrior
Since she Buffs this Tag by Z-Ability, it’s only natural that this is the Team where she fits best. In fact, here she finds Strike based allies, which prevents the Deck issue her double held Blast Cards would cause otherwise. In particular, one of her allies is SP SSJ2 Kefla GRN, who can easily turn Blast Cards into Strike Cards on every switch in, so it’s safe to say Female Warriors will keep a prevalent Strike identity even with 18 in the core.
This Team’s playstyle functions in a very similar way to Fusion Warrior’s, since its Core is super Offensive and geared towards stringing together long Combos, which often lead to early game Rising Rushes. The new entry is clearly the strongest Fighter on the Team, as not only she can basically one-combo most Saiyan opponents, but also she performs incredibly well in general thanks to Arts Draw Speed and high Damage Buffs.
The only thing Female Warriors lack at the moment is a Blue Fighter, which means 18 isn’t really safe to run against Fighters such as SP SSJ2 Gohan RED, especially because this Team doesn’t even have a Tank. All in all, at the moment Female Warriors are very strong, but the lack of a full color wheel is a limit that keeps them from being top tier.
Android
While Female Warriors is the Team where 18 fits best, Android is the best Team she fits in. The main difference compared to the Team highlighted in the precedent paragraph is that Androids doesn’t have a pure Strike identity, so SP Android 18 YEL is forced to always take advantage of her Extra Move in order to perform well, but that’s not the end of the world as she draws plenty throughout a Match.
Just like Female Warriors, Androids lack a Blue, but SP Android 16 GRN and Pre-Transformation SP Perfect Cell (Revive) RED are some of the safest Defensive options in the Meta at the moment, so this Team isn’t that affected by the incomplete Color Wheel as a result.
Androids also excel in late Game, thanks to SP Android 16 GRN’s Death Buffs and Cell’s Transformation, so they’re all around a very strong group of Fighters that is geared to compete against anybody in the Meta at the moment.
Should You Zenkai 18?
Lately, Androids have been receiving many updates, and the Kefla-Evil #21 duo has been featured in the most recent Step Up Banner, so probably many players have some good Builds where SP Android 18 YEL can fit in.
Both Female Warriors and Androids are very competitive Tags at the moment, and it’s possible they haven’t reached their potential yet, as they’ve not received a Blue Fighter since forever, so if you want to invest on either of those Tags, that’s most likely a good decision and Android 18 is a crucial piece in that sense.
