As the others said, Initiative. That's the most important thing. For a team that should always work, your first move ninja should have more initiative than your opponent. Then you move first, which is crucial in the 2nd round.
If the opponents on the bottom it probably means they will get to cast GNW Tenten I guess? I assume the thing that's messing you up is also the paralysis along with GNW Tenten's mystery. If that's the case, then I recommend using Gakido to clear the debuffs.