If you have the mana allowance for it, this Life combination works.
Start with Shield Bearer as your tank.
He has high health and taunt, so opposing monsters will direct their attacks towards him.
Next, you'll want Scalvo Hireling.
The nice thing about Scalvo is that it repairs the armor, after each round, of the monster that has taken the most damage... in this case, the Shield Bearer, of course.
Last, you'll want to Venari Crystalsmith.
Being a ranged attack monster, you'll want to put Venari in the back. Don't worry about sneak monsters, as they'll be attacking the Shield Bearer instead.
Venari Crystalsmitch will also heal your tank as well, so any damage taken by the nasty opposing magic monsters will automatically be replenished after each round.
Check out my battle to see how this works.