So this mission feels like the first huge wall I've run into, with the multiple normal enemy nodes that have the boss character in the team. My current units:

By most power:

with the first 13 girls also being at max affection.

In the configuration I've been using so far:

I have an extra red and one less purple compared to a "balanced team", but my plan is to swap out one of my red 3 stars for the purple event 5 star

I haven't attempted the mission more than twice (once with a normal spread to try and cover as much area, the second time all stacked on the bottom node just to try and clear the map), but both times I couldn't even make it to the boss. I would spread my power around even more, but even my helper team and stacked team were having some trouble.

For the people who've cleared it, what kind of setup/power did you use? Is it my lack of 5 star units and low evolved unit count? I'm sitting on 70 gems, but my first 11 pull was very mediocre (Bianca Tulip, Violetta Tulip, 2 Dandelions, and the rest 3 stars). I honestly feel I'd get more use out of my gems by using them to farm more secret gardens and just wait for events/pull 4 stars from the normal gacha (where both of my red 4 stars are from), and I'd spend far less than 50. I'm also hesitant to pump more resources into evolving my max affection 3 stars or maxing the affection of my other 3 stars.

Currently, I've just been farming 12-4 for the raid boss/gardens and waiting till I can evolve a few more of my characters before trying it again. Is there something better I could be doing?