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Updated on 22 May 2025

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🌊 Beginner’s Guide to the Season 1 Water March (v2.8.3)

Merlin, Yoshi, Herald, Attila – The Foundation of Water Domination

In Infinity Kingdom, the Water March has long stood as a stable and reliable composition for new and experienced players alike. Especially in Preparation Season and Season 1, it is one of the most accessible and powerful builds available to free-to-play and light spenders. This guide covers the default Season 1 Water setup, focusing on core strategies, synergy, skill choices, and progression paths.

Let’s dive into how this beginner-friendly composition becomes a powerhouse on the battlefield.

đź’§ The Standard Season 1 Water Setup

  • Merlin – Your main magic damage dealer.
  • Yoshitsune (Yoshi) – Secondary DPS and support.
  • Herald – The tanky support providing defense and disruption.
  • Attila – Frontline control/DPS hybrid with strong regeneration and utility.

Skill Loadout:

Merlin

  • Death Breath
  • Annihilation
  • Concentration
    Your primary DPS. Merlin’s role is to obliterate the backline with AoE magic. His synergy with chill effects and crit-based burst makes these three Tower of Knowledge skills ideal for raw magic output. Against Shadow teams, swap Concentration for Fighting Master to avoid control lockdown.

Yoshitsune (Yoshi)

  • Anger
  • Assist
  • Absolute Defense
    Yoshi plays a dual role: early-game nuke and bodyguard. Anger helps his first ultimate hit hard, while Assist redirects pressure away from Merlin. Absolute Defense ensures he survives long enough to cast and protect.

Herald

  • Oaken Guard
  • Energy Suppression
  • Malice
    A classic support tank. His goal is to reduce enemy damage, delay ultimates, and mitigate crits. Herald’s scaling is weak late-game, but he’s indispensable in S1 water builds. All three skills are defensive staples.

Attila

  • Adrenaline Rush
  • Fighting Master
  • Duel Master
    Attila here is used not just for control immunity but also solid single-target and disruption value. He regenerates energy quickly and avoids crowd control, giving him decent uptime with his own disruptive skills and survivability with the Water Dragon’s healing.

🧠 Strategy & Playstyle

This water build is centered around Merlin’s explosive AoE output, protected by Yoshi’s Assist, Herald’s bulk, and Attila’s control resistance. In the early game, you’ll face opponents who are still figuring out their builds, and the sheer damage from Merlin will often carry you to victory.

Yoshi functions as an early-game wildcard: not only does he dish out damage, but his Assist plays a crucial role in protecting Merlin, allowing him to consistently reach his damage peaks. This makes your march highly durable and dangerous in prolonged fights.

Attila’s flexibility also helps adapt to various matchups. If he is being heavily targeted and dies too quickly, you can reconfigure him as a support-focused Immortal instead of a semi-DPS role.

🔧 Strategic Skill Adjustments Based on Enemy Matchups

No build exists in a vacuum. Every composition must adapt to what your rivals are using. In Season 1, you’ll face primarily Fire, Shadow, and Mirror Water marches. Use these tips to customize your build:

1. Misleading (for Physical Defense)

Early game opponents lack Accuracy due to limited tech. Adding Misleading to Attila can greatly reduce enemy physical damage. This is especially effective against hybrid builds and Tutankhamun Shadow compositions.

Swap Misleading into Attila’s skill set in place of Fighting Master or Duel Master, depending on his survivability and output.

2. Weakness (to Boost Crit Rate)

A powerful way to enhance Merlin’s burst. If you notice his crit rate is a little low, placing Weakness on Attila (or Herald) can increase Merlin’s crit consistency dramatically.

3. Rage Blessing (Post Adrenaline Rush Nerf)

Due to the recent nerf to Adrenaline Rush, Rage Blessing is gaining traction. Its bonus energy regen synergizes with this water build, especially if you swap Duel Master or AR from Attila.

4. Blessing of Defense (For Survivability)

Always solid when you need to tank heavy frontloaded damage, especially against enemy Shadow or burst Hybrid setups. Place this on Herald or Attila depending on who is being targeted more.

đź’° Spender Tips & Replacements

For spenders and light payers, there are a few quality-of-life upgrades you can pursue:

  • Elizabeth Bathory (replaces Yoshi): She’s strictly better than Yoshi in terms of survivability and utility, but only worth investing in if you’re already spending.
  • Dido (Season 1): A major improvement over Yoshi. Replace him ASAP once unlocked.
  • Artemisia: Unlike Dido’s RNG-based chill, Arte has guaranteed chill application, making Merlin’s output significantly more reliable. She is a great paid upgrade in Season 1 or Season 2.
  • Ragnar (Season 2): A must-have. Swap Herald for Ragnar to get a Tank-class Immortal, allowing you to run key Tier-2 ToK skills like Coercion or Absolute Defense more effectively.

🔄 Progression Path After Season 1

Once you’re out of S1, you can keep building around Merlin or switch to other Immortal cores. Here’s how to evolve your Water build:

  • Merlin / Dido / Ragnar / Attila
    • Standard S2+ Water team for F2P or light spenders
    • Offers more debuffs, tankiness, and consistent chill uptime
  • Merlin / Artemisia / Ragnar / Bathory or Attila
    • Mid-spend build with enhanced control and damage.
    • More consistent chill for Merlin and better frontline performance.
  • Bjorn integration (Advanced)
    • Use to stack additional debuffs alongside Ragnar for max Merlin synergy.

In Conquest and beyond, Water remains strong if you keep your skills and synergies up to date. Many players evolve it into control-heavy builds or focus on frontlining Merlin using Blessing of Defense or Energy Suppression combinations.

⚖️ Conclusion

This default Season 1 Water March is one of the most powerful and well-rounded beginner builds available. It delivers on everything a new player needs: survivability, AoE damage, flexibility, and control immunity. The synergy between Merlin’s high damage output, Yoshi’s protection, Herald’s tank support, and Attila’s disruption creates a march that punches well above its weight.

Use this setup as your foundation—and then grow it, adapt it, and evolve it to match the meta of your server and your own playstyle.

“Master the basics of Water early, and you’ll never be left out in the cold.”

Published: 22-05-2025