Who Should You Pull For In Genshin Impact Luna VIII? Sandrone, Citlali, Columbina, And Raiden Shogun Banner Review
Luna VIII is an exciting final stop in our Nod-Krai journey, introducing a grand visit to the Frost Moon, plus a new elemental reaction created from a special mix between Cryo and Electro. The upcoming Genshin Impact version features the playable debut of Sandrone, as well as rerun banners for Citlali, Columbina, and Raiden Shogun. In this review, let's take a closer look at these characters, understand their place in the meta, and assess their future relevance right before we arrive at Snezhnaya.
Sandrone
Rating - 4.5 / 5 (Forecasted)
Strengths
- Premium Stellar-Conduct enabler
- Good Cryo application
- High Stellar-Conduct DMG amplification
Weaknesses
- Limited team options
- Premium Luna VIII teams require 5-star constellations
- Zero synergy with Columbina
Sandrone's release mimics the circumstances of Ineffa's release at the end of the Natlan arc. Ineffa was initially underrated due to her lackluster Lunar-Charged reaction, but was eventually revered as a top meta pick after Flins and Columbina debuted. Sandrone's situation is quite similar, as she's currently presented with sub-optimal team members who are ‘retro-fitted' to apply Stellar-Conduct via the new buffs. To make matters worse, her ideal pioneer team includes Yae Miko at C1, who is already a limited character.
However, the entire timeline of Lunar reactions suggests that Sandrone's power will only increase in magnitude as more dedicated supports are introduced during the Snezhnaya arc.
Citlali
Rating - 3.5/5
Strengths
- Greatly boosts Melt and Vaporise reactions
- Top-tier Artifact sets (Cinder City, ToM)
- Strong catalyst options as a support
- Grants strong Cryo shielding
Weaknesses
- Outdated team options
- No synergy with new Lunar or Stellar reactions
While Citlali used to be a top pick for Mavuika and Mualani teams during the Natlan arc, her best teams were immediately powercrept after the introduction of Lunar reactions in Nod-Krai. The newer teams have DPS levels way above the previous Nightsoul teams, although it doesn't mean ‘old' is unplayable.
Both Mavuika and Mualani can still clear the hardest challenges, and Citlali is a vital puzzle piece in their continued success. There's also the possibility of Citlali making a resurgence in Snezhnaya if we get new toys that could enable non-Stellar Cryo reactions in the future.
Columbina
Rating - 5/5
Strengths
- She is the ultimate Lunar reaction support
- Already strong at C0 with 4-star weapons
Weaknesses
- You only have one Columbina across three different Lunar teams
- High Energy requirement
Well, what else is there to say? Columbina is the main highlight of the Nod-Krai Archon Quest, and the power she obtained after being the Trilune Goddess is evident in her Lunar teams. While she doesn't deal a ton of damage by herself, she can enable all Lunar reactions and then amplify them to such an absurd degree.
Her only downside is the limitation of having only one instance of herself, since all three Lunar reactions are vying for her slot in their respective teams. These teams include Lunar-Bloom with Nefer and Lauma, Lunar-Charged with Flins and Ineffa, and Lunar-Crystallize with Zibai and Linnea.
Raiden Shogun
Rating - 2/5
Strengths
- Team-wide Energy regeneration
- Strong off-field presence
- Low-investment teams
Weaknesses
- Outdated kit and damage values
- Lunar reactions powercrept ordinary Bloom reactions
There are not many reasons to pull for Raiden Shogun right now in Luna VIII. She used to dominate the Genshin meta during the Inazuma arc, with her immense damage output and the ability to battery the entire team being the key. After Nahida and the introduction of Dendro reactions, her role was shifted to a strong off-field Electro applicator who then scaled with Elemental Mastery rather than ATK and Electro DMG. As time went on, Raiden was left behind by the ever-increasing damage output of newer teams and struggled to compete at the highest level.
We still have a glimpse of hope, however. HoYoverse has been keen on buffing older characters in recent patches, and Raiden Shogun might just get this special treatment in the future.
Luna VIII is packed with banners for strong characters, and it's hard to miss out on, notably with newer Elemental Reactions and gameplay mechanics looming in the near future. The only thing we're unsure about is whether the magnitude of these new changes would eclipse even the release of Zibai back in Luna IV.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 2:50 AM.