Troop Composition Ideas Overview
I may post a few of these guides. I try out many different Gems of War troop combinations to find synergy that interests me during battle. I posted this a long time ago on the Darkfall guild forum, but thought I would update it and post it here.
Please understand that I am not trying to post teams that I think are the “most powerful” or necessarily better than other formations. And although I came up with these on my own, someone else may have already posted about it or used it before. I do not know. I just wanted to share some of these ideas for fun. You may find it easy to improve upon these compositions or find other approaches that work for you.
“Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” - A Team Composition Guide
Before Ascension: 1 Common Troop, 2 Epic Troops
The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal. –Jimmy Breslin
“Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” is the title of a Cher song from the 1970s and the name of our team. It can also be used as a collective noun to describe government officials. Before we continue, it is important for you to grasp the abstruse concept of Cher Hair.
HAPPY Cher Hair
UNHAPPY Cher Hair
Overall Strategy
Raven is our thief, as is made quite clear in the questline. And in mythology, Atlanta was heralded as a great virgin huntress who made it clear that she had no use for men in her life; nevertheless, she had a son named Parthenopeus by an uncertain father; thus, from a certain point of view, she could be seen as the tramp of this team 
Atlanta was also known as one of the fastest mortals in a footrace. And like Atlanta, this team makes for some fast gameplay. When you need a break from a slow and methodical gold and soul farming team, try this one.
Oh and don’t forget the Goblin. As I write this, Goblins are an early favorite for heavy traiting and no team would be complete without their little beady-eyed countenances. Here is a picture of one so you can learn what to look out for:
This team is all about devastating attack combos. Look for the weak points in your opponent’s strategy and take out the most dangerous troops. A good knowledge of troops and strategies will help you to lop off the head of their attack and their strategy will crumble like a house of cards.
Soften the opposing team up with Rain of Arrows, choose a high value target, and focus fire them down with Hide & Sneak followed by Final Strike for the kill. You should always try to use Raven for the killing blow, this keeps him close to full mana and allows you to continue chaining attacks. In this way, you can always keep his power ready for a single 3 match top off. Ravens ability coupled with the low mana cost of Goblin–and his gain a turn ability–really benefit an already ruthlessly efficient team.
Be efficient with Skullblade too. For example, if you have a wounded troop that is below the damage of this brown weapon, take it out before using this power, and then unload full damage on the next two.
This team makes for relatively quick PvE and PvP matches and is quite strong enough for both. I do not lose PvP with this team unless I make a few mistakes. You can take down a full team of legendaries, if you play your cards right 
One final observation–because of the somewhat lower mana requirements of this team compared to the ubiquitous legendary formations, it can work fine for Kingdom defense. Even so, the AI is just not able to make use of the timing, tactics, and combo attacks required to be frequently successful.
- UPDATE as of the last couple of Patches
The game has been evolving quite a bit since I jotted down these notes. I recently tested this team on random PvP matches using a level 340 hero with max kingdoms.
It performed well against untraited teams even stocked with legendaries. However, I am going to suggest that this team be used for lower level players since traits and the new unique team bonuses are now in play. In the games current state, spell attacks seem less potent than when I used this team. Nevertheless, I am still posting this guide because I believe it may help new players see how cards strategically interact.
A more powerful team for later levels can be found here.
Team Mana Colors
No omissions: All colors are represented in this team.
Recommended Banner
Banner of Progress (+1 Red and +1 Yellow Mana when matching gems)
Alternatively:
Dwarven Banner (+2 Brown Mana when matching gems)
Available Team Magical Powers
Skullblade: Deal [0+Magic] damage to the first 2 enemies, and remove all Skulls to boost the effect. (Boost Ratio 2:1)
Hide & Sneak: Deal [2+Magic] damage to an enemy. Gain an extra turn.
Final Strike: Deal [3+Magic] damage to an enemy. Gain most of the Mana back if the enemy dies.
Rain of Arrows: Deal [2+Magic] damage to all enemies.
Suggested Marching Order
Hero (1st), Goblin (2nd)
Raven (3rd), Atlanta (4th)
End of Line
