Reverse: 1999 From the Lake's Heart: Best 6-Star to Pick

Reverse: 1999's From the Lake's Heart banner opens on September 1 with four past limited 6-star Arcanists to choose from: Jiu Niangzi, Lucy, Anjo Nala and Liang Yue. For most accounts, Anjo Nala is the safest flexible choice, while Liang Yue has the stronger case for players who already own the pieces needed for an Extra Action-focused team. Lucy remains the easiest general-purpose damage dealer of the four, while Jiu Niangzi is more dependent on whether your roster specifically benefits from her follow-up attack setup.

There is another reason not to rush the decision: Version 3.7 gives players two dedicated From the Lake's Heart Decatones, equivalent to 20 summons on this banner, through the anniversary rewards. The banner also has its own independent guarantee count, and that progress disappears when From the Lake's Heart ends on September 24 at 04:59 UTC-5.

That makes this less about finding an abstract "best character" and more about choosing the option that adds the most to the account you already have.

From the Lake's Heart dates and rules

From the Lake's Heart runs from:

• September 1, 2026 at 05:00 UTC-5

• September 24, 2026 at 04:59 UTC-5

For players in Indonesia, that is September 1 at 17:00 WIB through September 24 at 16:59 WIB.

The selectable 6-star pool is:

• Jiu Niangzi

• Lucy

• Anjo Nala

• Liang Yue

Players choose one of those four characters for RATE UP, and the selected character can be changed while the banner is active.

The most important rule is the guarantee counter.

From the Lake's Heart is a Limited Rerun Selection Banner, and its guaranteed count is calculated independently from other summon types. When the event ends, that count is cleared rather than transferred into a future banner.

So partial progress here should not be treated as investment toward the next limited banner.

Claim the free pulls before deciding how far to go

Version 3.7 gives players two dedicated From the Lake's Heart Decatones.

The first comes through Special Mail, available from September 1 through September 12.

The second comes through Prize of the Past, the seven-day cumulative login event running September 1–14. Prize of the Past also provides 5 Unilogs and the Miraculous Dove collectible.

A From the Lake's Heart Decatone is used for 10 summons specifically on this banner, meaning the anniversary provides 20 dedicated pulls before players need to decide whether to commit additional summon resources.

That changes the sensible order of operations.

Before spending additional Clear Drops or Unilogs:

1. Claim the Special Mail Decatone.

2. Complete the seven-day Prize of the Past login.

3. Use the dedicated From the Lake's Heart summons.

4. Reassess your account after seeing what those pulls produce.

5. Only then decide whether pushing deeper into the isolated pity counter makes sense.

Because the banner's guarantee does not carry over, knowing your intended stopping point matters more here than on a banner whose progress survives into a later cycle.

Quick answer: which 6-star should you pick?

For a broad Version 3.7 roster, I would frame the four like this:

Safest flexible pick: Anjo Nala

Choose Anjo Nala if you want a character capable of fitting into several different team structures rather than building one composition entirely around her.

Highest ceiling with the right roster: Liang Yue

Choose Liang Yue if you already own strong Extra Action pieces and want a character whose output scales significantly with proper Spelldock management and team support.

Easiest general-purpose DPS: Lucy

Choose Lucy if you want a straightforward carry who works across many Afflatus matchups and does not require as much specialised team construction.

More specialised choice: Jiu Niangzi

Choose Jiu Niangzi if you specifically like her follow-up attack playstyle, already have suitable support for her Liquor/Euphoria interactions, or simply want her as a limited character. She is still functional, but newer damage dealers have made her a less automatic recommendation than she was at release.

That is the short version.

The differences become more important once we look at what each character actually asks from your roster.

Anjo Nala — the safest pick for roster flexibility

Anjo Nala is a 6-star Beast Arcanist dealing Mental damage, functioning as a hybrid Sub DPS, controller and offensive support.

Her defining mechanic is Oath Bound.

At the beginning of battle, she binds herself to another ally. The effects change depending on that ally's Afflatus, allowing Anjo Nala to provide different stat bonuses and trigger different follow-up effects.

She can generate:

• single-target follow-up attacks

• additional Moxie

• mass follow-up attacks

• debuffs

• crowd control through Captivated

• substantial personal Ultimate damage

That breadth is why she remains so useful even as newer characters enter the game. Current community testing still treats her as one of the stronger all-around options rather than a unit tied to one narrow stage or team.

Why Anjo Nala is easy to recommend

The advantage is flexibility.

If your account is still building multiple teams for different content, Anjo Nala can fill holes without requiring every supporting slot to be perfect first.

She can contribute damage herself while also providing control and follow-up attacks.

For newer or midgame accounts, that matters.

A highly specialised character may become excellent after you acquire three additional pieces. Anjo Nala can usually start contributing earlier.

The important limitation

Her bound ally cannot use Moxie normally. Moxie that ally gains is transferred to Anjo Nala instead.

That means she does not fit every carry equally well.

Characters whose game plan revolves around rapidly generating and repeatedly casting their own Ultimate can clash with the binding mechanic.

So the recommendation is not:

Anjo Nala works perfectly with everyone.

It is:

Anjo Nala gives you more viable team-building directions than most of the other choices.

Best for

• accounts without a deep limited roster

• players needing both damage and utility

• teams benefiting from follow-up attacks

• content where crowd control has value

• players who want one limited character usable in several contexts

For most players who do not have a specific archetype already built, Anjo Nala is the safest selection.

Liang Yue — the highest ceiling if your Extra Action core is ready

Liang Yue is a 6-star Star Reality DPS whose kit combines Extra Actions, offensive buffs, defensive utility and Spelldock manipulation.

Her Ultimate activates Qiangliang, changing sections of the Spelldock.

Cards played from different areas can receive effects such as:

• increased incantation rank

• extended buff or debuff duration

• Justice Talons

• Peace Talons

Building enough Talons triggers Bane of All Evil, while Guardian's Blessing can generate additional Banish Evil attacks. She also brings Immunity and team damage reduction.

There is a lot happening here.

And that is both her biggest strength and her main drawback.

Why Liang Yue has such a high ceiling

Her modern Extra Action setup can produce very high damage-per-turn when paired with characters capable of improving her action economy and Spelldock.

Community testing through August continues to place her among the strongest high-investment Extra Action carries when the surrounding roster supports that playstyle.

She also gives the team more than damage.

Her kit includes:

• Immunity

• damage reduction

• DMG Dealt buffs

• follow-up attacks

• rank manipulation

• buff/debuff duration extension

That makes her unusually broad for a character classified primarily as a damage dealer.

Why she is not automatically the best pick

Liang Yue is AP-hungry.

AP, or Action Points, determine how many card actions the team can make during a round. A character who wants several active cards can compete with the rest of the team for those actions.

At Portrait 0, maintaining her Qiangliang state can also create awkward gaps, which makes the character noticeably less effortless than Lucy or Jiu Niangzi.

Her ceiling therefore depends more heavily on roster quality.

If you already own strong Extra Action support—particularly characters that improve Spelldock efficiency or generate value without consuming many actions—Liang Yue becomes much more attractive.

If you do not, you may pull a powerful character without having the team that makes her feel powerful.

Best for

• established Extra Action rosters

• players comfortable managing the Spelldock

• accounts with AP-efficient supports

• players looking for both damage and defensive utility

• higher-investment accounts

Liang Yue is my pick for the highest potential ceiling of the four, but not the safest blind pick.

Lucy — the easiest all-purpose damage dealer

Lucy is a 6-star Intellect Reality DPS built around Dynamo, upgraded incantations and her unique Pragmatist state.

Pragmatist effectively lets her attacks behave as though she has favorable Afflatus advantage, which is a major reason she remains convenient across different enemy matchups.

Her kit also builds Dynamo as she and her allies generate Moxie or Eureka.

Once enough Dynamo accumulates, Lucy upgrades her attacks and gains stronger versions of her abilities.

The end result is much simpler than the terminology suggests:

Lucy attacks frequently, scales herself and deals strong multi-target damage without requiring the player to solve a complicated rotation.

Why Lucy remains useful

She is highly self-sufficient.

Lucy can:

• create her own offensive buffs

• build Dynamo naturally

• perform additional attacks

• handle multiple enemies well

• still contribute respectable single-target damage

• bypass many Afflatus matchup concerns

Current testing still considers her a strong generalist carry, even if newer archetype-focused DPS options can exceed her ceiling in optimised teams.

That distinction makes her particularly attractive to accounts that want reliability rather than maximum theoretical damage.

Where Lucy loses ground

She is a damage dealer first.

If your account already owns several strong modern carries but lacks flexible support, control or sustain, another DPS may add less roster value than Anjo Nala.

Likewise, a fully developed Extra Action roster may get more performance from Liang Yue.

Lucy makes the most sense when your question is:

"I need one limited carry I can use almost anywhere—which one is easiest to slot in?"

Best for

• newer accounts needing a main DPS

• players who want simple execution

• accounts lacking broad Afflatus coverage

• general story, Limbo and multi-wave content

• players who do not want to build a highly specific team first

If simplicity and flexibility matter more than pushing the highest possible ceiling, Lucy is arguably the easiest choice to live with.

Jiu Niangzi — still usable, but more roster-specific now

Jiu Niangzi is a 6-star Mineral Reality DPS centered around Liquor stacks and follow-up attacks.

Her gameplay loop is relatively straightforward.

She builds Liquor, then consumes those stacks through Bottoms Up to increase the damage of her follow-up attacks. Her Ultimate becomes particularly effective when enough Liquor is available, while her Euphoria upgrades add more interaction with allied Extra Actions.

What Jiu still does well

Consistency remains her strength.

She can produce repeated follow-up damage without being heavily dependent on constantly casting her Ultimate.

Her kit is also comparatively easy to operate.

She works well with:

• allies providing multiple buff types

• Extra Action teams

• Follow-Up Attack support

• characters that help maintain her Liquor engine

Her Euphoria upgrades improve her interaction with modern Extra Action teams by giving her more Liquor and additional Bottoms Up triggers as allies act.

Why she is harder to recommend first

The problem is not that Jiu Niangzi suddenly became bad.

The game simply has more options now.

Newer carries offer higher ceilings, broader utility or stronger team archetypes, while Jiu's damage still contains some randomness through Liquor consumption. Current August community evaluations consequently place her below the strongest modern carries in overall account priority.

That makes her more of an account-fit choice than a default recommendation.

Best for

• players already invested in her Extra Action/FUA ecosystem

• accounts lacking Mineral Reality damage

• players who prefer straightforward rotations

• collectors who specifically missed her previous limited runs

• existing Jiu owners considering Portrait progression rather than a new role

For a completely fresh account choosing only one of the four, I would generally put the other three ahead unless Jiu specifically fills a missing role.

Best character by account need

There is no need to force all four into one universal ranking.

Use the roster problem you are actually trying to solve.

You want the most flexible limited character

Pick Anjo Nala.

She provides the strongest combination of damage, utility, follow-up attacks and control without requiring one exact team.

You already have an Extra Action core

Pick Liang Yue.

Her ceiling becomes much more attractive once the roster can support her AP and Spelldock demands.

You need one reliable main DPS

Pick Lucy.

She is easy to play, broadly applicable and less dependent on specialised teammates.

You specifically need Mineral follow-up damage

Consider Jiu Niangzi.

She remains functional, particularly with Euphoria and Extra Action support, but is less universally valuable than she was during her original release.

What if you already own one of them?

From the Lake's Heart lets you change your selected rate-up while the banner is active.

That means owning one of the four changes the decision significantly.

For most accounts, expanding the roster with a new limited character will provide more flexibility than automatically chasing a Portrait on someone already owned.

For example:

• Own Anjo Nala but lack a modern carry? Lucy or Liang Yue may add more.

• Own Lucy and already have reliable DPS? Anjo Nala may improve roster flexibility.

• Own Liang Yue without her support core? A Portrait does not automatically solve the missing-team problem.

• Own all four? Then the decision becomes much more dependent on Portrait breakpoints and the specific teams you use.

The official announcement confirms that the selected target can be changed at any time, but players planning complicated target-switching strategies should read the in-game Details page before acting, especially around how their current guarantee state interacts with a selection change.

From the Lake's Heart vs Promise of the Water

Version 3.7 has two selector-style banners active around the same period, and they serve different purposes.

From the Lake's Heart contains past limited characters:

• Jiu Niangzi

• Lucy

• Anjo Nala

• Liang Yue

Promise of the Water instead lets players select a 6-star from the standard summon pool for boosted odds.

That distinction matters.

A player missing a standard-pool support or sustain may get more account value from Promise of the Water than from adding another limited DPS.

For the full standard-pool decision, see GameMarket's Reverse: 1999 Promise of the Water: 6-Star Selector Banner Guide.

The two banners should also not be treated as one shared pity plan. From the Lake's Heart explicitly uses its own independent guarantee count.

Don't forget Ms. Stranger arrives September 3

There is another banner competing for the same broader resource budget.

Ms. Stranger begins September 3, only two days after From the Lake's Heart opens. GameMarket's existing guide covers her Spelldock-focused DPS mechanics and the fact that she is scheduled to enter the permanent summon pool later rather than remaining permanently limited.

That reduces the need to make the From the Lake's Heart decision in isolation.

If Clear Drops are limited, consider:

• what role the four rerun characters would fill

• whether Ms. Stranger solves a more important Afflatus gap

• whether you are still pulling on Rhiannon

• how much From the Lake's Heart pity you can realistically complete before September 24

You can read GameMarket's R1999 Ms. Stranger Guide: Spelldock Gimmick and Should You Pull for that comparison.

For the wider anniversary reward schedule, the R1999 3.7 On Another's Sorrow anniversary guide covers the rest of Version 3.7.

So, who is the best From the Lake's Heart pick?

For most accounts, my order of consideration would be:

1. Anjo Nala — best general roster value

Her ability to combine damage, control and team-dependent binding effects gives her the broadest range of potential uses.

2. Liang Yue — best ceiling for prepared accounts

She can be stronger than Anjo Nala in the right Extra Action environment, but requires more from the roster and from the player.

3. Lucy — best simple generalist carry

Still excellent for players who need dependable damage rather than another complex archetype.

4. Jiu Niangzi — best when you already know why you want her

Her kit remains functional, especially after Euphoria investment, but she has less reason to be the default first choice in a roster that can select any of the four.

This is not a strict power ranking.

An account with Flutterpage and other Extra Action support can reasonably put Liang Yue first.

A new account with weak damage coverage may prefer Lucy over both.

Someone whose roster already has several modern carries may gain the most from Anjo Nala's utility.

The correct pick is the one that creates a new functional team, not necessarily the one with the highest damage ceiling in ideal conditions.

Before using additional Clear Drops

A simple checklist is enough:

• Claim both dedicated From the Lake's Heart Decatones.

• Use the free dedicated summons first.

• Check which of the four characters you already own.

• Identify whether your roster needs damage, flexibility or a specific archetype.

• Remember that the banner's guarantee count does not carry over after September 24.

• Account for Ms. Stranger starting September 3.

• Avoid chasing a Portrait automatically if another character would unlock an entirely new team.

The banner stays open until September 24, so there is time to make the decision after seeing the results of the anniversary pulls.

Build your Reverse: 1999 roster on GameMarket.gg

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