My g9-10 Phoenix team won won me a GA round against an opponent that had 20 more g12 characters than me and both Revan and Traya maxed. Problem was his g9-10 people were not as good as my Phoenix and took 3 tries to beat them.
So, they are cracked on because they are a beginner team but its not justified. They have excellent synergy and you need at least an equal or better team to beat them. They can't be cheesed easily and they save you better teams for O. Also ships are boss. High GP guild may not use them and hold them out as inferior but use what you have. Absolutely nothing wrong with them.