1. I'm not 100% sure exactly when it was, but it was somewhere near the end of last year, so for us it is also around that area this year. End October/begin November. It is a bit until then, but time to get it to MLB one way or another.
2. Best possible team to suggest is hard from now on, since we are getting more and more into the territory of "Take what you need to clear the content". So Mix and Matching is key and so teams can vary. But there is a thread about that, so I'm gonna link you that. It is a long read, but it covers pretty much everything for the next 6 - 8 month.
https://harem-battle.club/kamihime-p...eam-topic.html
3. Best Spear Combination would go along the lines of Shingen Spear + 2 Tish Spear FLB + 2 Michael Spear FLB + Null Spear. This way you have 4 slots open for weapons like Shamash's Book FLB, Vishnu's Wheel FLB or a Guardian Staff (they all give Vigoras, the Staff Defender/Ascension). Having 4 slots open for pretty much anything you like is quite big. Of course, this is extremly expensive and takes quite some effort (and probably money) to realize. Sadly, for a Null Spear Grid there are no cheap options for Light. Added to that, if you dont use Shingen, you have to add another Spear, which would be another Michael Spear.