UR Sarah in Last War: Murphy vs Marshall in 4+1 Aircraft Squads (Season 6 Update)
UR Sarah turns a PvE support into a real aircraft squad booster, and in Seasons 4 and 5 the 4+1 card let aircraft players add one tank to protect her. This guide compares the two most common picks, Murphy and Marshall, explains how each handles missile squads, and shows how to build around UR Sarah now that Season 6 has removed the 4+1 card.
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Quick Answer: Murphy or Marshall With UR Sarah?
- Pick Murphy if your aircraft frontline dies in the opening seconds, fights tend to run long, or your UR Sarah isn't fully built yet.
- Pick Marshall if your frontline already survives the opening and you want your aircraft skills to fire sooner and hit harder.
- On a Season 6 server, pick neither. The 4+1 card is gone, so a tank in an aircraft squad costs you formation bonus. Run a pure aircraft squad with UR Sarah in the back row instead.
UR Sarah in Last War: Role, Skills and Upgrade
Sarah is an Aircraft support hero who normally sits in the back row. As an SSR she is mainly a PvE specialist: her skills boost damage against monsters. Promoting her to UR, available from Season 4, changes that and makes her far more useful in an aircraft squad.
| SSR Sarah | UR Sarah | |
|---|---|---|
| Main skill | MG Symphony: back-row damage bonus against monsters | Airspace Supremacy: attacks and boosts the offense of Aircraft heroes |
| Best use | Monster and PvE content | Aircraft squads, plus Falcon Strike for PvE |
| How to get | Standard hero shards | 5-star SSR Sarah plus a Legendary Hero Badge |
Promotion resets her to 3 stars and her skills to level 1 (skill medals are refunded), and getting UR Sarah back to 5 stars takes around 1,600 shards. That's a big commitment, which is why the choice of partners around her matters.
The 4+1 Aircraft Squad (Seasons 4 and 5)
In Seasons 4 and 5, the Hybrid Squad (4+1) tactics card let you add one hero of a different type and still keep the full 20% same-type bonus. For aircraft players, the obvious "+1" is a tank: either Murphy for protection or Marshall for support. Two typical lineups:
| Lineup | Front row | Back row |
|---|---|---|
| A: Murphy | Murphy, Lucius | DVA, Morrison, UR Sarah |
| B: Marshall | Lucius, Carlie | DVA, UR Sarah, Marshall |
The swap isn't one-for-one. Murphy takes a front-row slot, while Marshall belongs in the back row, so choosing him usually means a second aircraft defender up front and one fewer aircraft damage dealer behind.
Murphy vs Marshall: What Each One Brings
| Murphy | Marshall | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Tank defender, front row | Tank support, back row |
| Key effect | Stand Firm cuts damage to the front row (about 17% at high levels); Ironclad Barrier adds a short burst of physical damage reduction | Command Strategy gives the whole squad more Attack; Rapid Start speeds up skill cooldowns and protects your highest-Attack hero |
| Solves | A frontline that collapses too early | Skills that fire too late and fights that drag on |
| Weak spot | Adds little damage | Doesn't protect the front row directly |
Against Missile Squads: Surviving the Opening
Missile squads counter aircraft, so this is the matchup where an aircraft squad is most likely to lose. Against a strong missile opener, the frontline's job is simple: survive the first rotation. If it doesn't, the fight usually ends before your back row does much.
- Murphy makes the front row harder to break, and his value keeps growing the longer the fight runs. He's the safer pick when your frontline is the weak point. Note that Ironclad Barrier only reduces physical damage, so check what the enemy squad mostly deals.
- Marshall doesn't make the front row tougher, but faster cooldowns get DVA's and UR Sarah's skills out sooner, and the Attack boost helps end the fight before the missile squad's damage snowballs. He works when your front row can already take the first hit.
Neither one makes an aircraft squad favored against missiles. Each solves a different problem, and the right choice depends on whether you're losing because your front dies or because your back row is too slow.
When Marshall Makes More Sense
- Your Lucius and Carlie frontline already survives the opening burst
- Your UR Sarah and DVA are well built, so faster skills pay off
- You care more about winning the first exchange than lasting a long fight
When Murphy Is Still the Safer Choice
- Your front row dies before your skills come up
- Your UR Sarah isn't fully built yet
- Your fights tend to run long, such as rallies and garrison defense
What Changed in Season 6: No More 4+1
Season 6 removed the Hybrid Squad card with no replacement. An off-type hero now drops your formation bonus from 20% to 15%, which costs more than Murphy or Marshall adds. On a Season 6 server, the answer to "Murphy or Marshall?" is to build a pure aircraft squad instead:
- Front: Lucius, Carlie
- Back: DVA plus two of Morrison, Schuyler and UR Sarah
- Tactics card: Frontal Suppression, which needs exactly three Aircraft heroes in the back row, so UR Sarah counts toward it
Murphy and Marshall then go back to the tank squad, where they're among the best heroes in the game. Our best Last War squads guide has the full Season 6 lineups.
Resource and Progression Considerations
UR Sarah only pays off with real investment: stars, skill levels and gear. Murphy and Marshall are different: both rank near the top of our Last War tier list and stay useful in a tank squad all game, so resources spent on them are never wasted.
If you're still building your roster, finish one main squad before chasing UR promotions; spreading shards across too many heroes is one of the classic Last War progression traps.
Conclusion
On Season 4 and 5 servers, swapping Murphy for Marshall next to UR Sarah isn't a universal upgrade, but it's a real option. Marshall helps a squad whose frontline already holds by getting skills out faster; Murphy helps a squad whose frontline doesn't. From Season 6 on, the better move is a pure aircraft squad, with Murphy and Marshall back in your tank lineup.
As always, your own battle reports matter more than theory. Test both against the squads you actually face. If you're short on the shards or badges to finish UR Sarah, a planned Last War top up around Hero Growth events is the most efficient way to close the gap.