Best Picks (Kind-of Tier List) in Squad Busters

A tier list for Squad Busters is hard to make since the game is very flexible all the time and tides are changing within seconds but I wanted to come up with a tier list that actually reflect that so you can see when to pick certain characters instead of just saying “oh like Barbarian King max level is always good!”… Below I explain you this concept a bit better and I think this is actually one of the only really helpful tier lists in Squad Busters that is helpful and not just thrown out there to rank characters since Squad Busters is about picking characters at the right time.

Squad Buster Pick Tier List – What Does That Actually Mean?

The game is about placing high on the leaderboard, nothing else. You can place 1st and not actually even have many encounters with your opponents or you can bust 4 opponents and still be ranked 5th since you lose a lot of Gems while doing that.

The idea behind our tier list is to give you recommendations in what situations you should pick certain characters as they help you. Easily said, in the beginning of a match you need to develop power by collecting cins and opening chests so the first opponent can’t just bust you and it’s game over and you also want to steadily grow in Gems to stay in the relevant ranks. Once you picked a couple characters it’s about keeping a solid rank in the leaderboard to get your reward and this is where the situations get more complicated in Squad Busters. Sometimes you magically gained a ton of strength and have a good squad and will just hunt other players and strong monsters on the map – picking here is something very different than, let’s say, you ran into an opponent and busted him but only have 4 units left (or barely got away with almost no Gems left) – in that situation you will have to pick something completely different. Also at the end of a amtch, you won’t pick something like Greg or a Trader anymore since you have way better ways to gather Gems.

TLDR; just because a character is good at a certain point or situation in Squad Busters doesn’t mean he is overall good and vice versa – this is why we believe making a tier list should reflect that so we divided it into 5 sections:

• Early Match – these character should be your first few picks to help you gain coins and get some gems and get a solid squad so you don’t have to fear other opponents on the map and also characters that give you good long-term benefits that will pay off later in the match
• Main Match – you have a decent squad and rank #3 – #5 and want to maintain your gem income and rank and get characters that help you that and make your squad strong enough to keep opponents away
• Evergreens – these characters are great picks in any stage of the game, but should NOT be picked over the recommended characters in your stage. Sort of wildcards to use but no character is overpowered in Squad Busters and a good early pick in early match is still better than an evergreen
• Win Pick – you are ranked #1 and we are in the last 60s of the match where you dominate and want to get all gems possible and no other player will mess with you. You play your dominance
• Loose Pick – you had an encounter and dropped gems and lost characters or you are ranked #6 or lower with 60-90s left in the match. These characters are working good to make a comeback for rewards at the end

You see, it is incredibly important to pick based on your situations and identify your situation correctly instead of running over the map like a dog chasing its own tail (unless this is how you want to play Squad Busters, but then you can save yourself the effort of searching for a tier list for Squad Busters in the first place, right?)

One last thing, if your chest is not looking good don’t be afraid to cycle! Especially in the earlier stages of the game this is really important!

Best Picks in Squad Busters in Each Situation

Alright, let’s fit the characters in their categories with some info why they are there:

Evergreen Picks

These are the ones that you can pick at any situation in the game and they always give good value, except there is a great pick for your current situation or you can make a fusion.

Barbarian King

High-Star Barbarian King is always great but you won't draft epics at the start but whenever you see him pick him UNLESS there is an amazing pick available for where you are or you can make a fusion happening..

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

S

Main Match (Rank #1):

S

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S

Archer Queen

Same as Barbarian King, she is very strong and always a good pick unless there is a perfect character showing up for your current squad (most of the times some character than can make you a fusion).

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

S

Main Match (Rank #1):

S

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S

Tank

Gives so much value all the time taking over those tanks. You always get value from picking tanks and taking them over.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

S

Main Match (Rank #1):

S

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S

Hog Rider

Always good and ansty for opponents. I never regret picking up a Hog Rider unless there is something extremely helpful to make fusion in a chest!.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

S

Main Match (Rank #1):

S

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S

Early Picks

These should be your early development picks only to build a squad and coins/gems early on to be able to pressure your opponents.

Mavis

Super headstart with her since you can pick the carrots and get gems and coins while the other characters in your squad deal with mobs. Fuse her and you can pick a whole area at once which also makes a steady extra Gem income through the main period of the match..

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

S+

Main Match (Rank #1):

D

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

C

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

A

Goblin

Here's the deal with Goblin that many players don't really see - you get instant Coins so if your first picks will be Goblins and you can merge them, you still have low chest costs but you already gained a ton of Coins through that that mean another 4-5 chests opens when most opponents will run around with their 2-3 single characters and this is where you can instantly pressure your part of the map and develop a ton of strength. But this has to be your first 3 picks to do that to make the fusion and you need Goblins at least at 3-Star, ideally 4-Star.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

S+

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Greg

Such a great pick early. You can take down some trees and are already in the lead and then always stop next to trees when taking down mobs and he will turn you in somewhat like 30-40 Gems over the course of the match easily.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

S+

Main Match (Rank #1):

D

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

C+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

A

Mortis

Reviving the monsters is always nice but he will do the most as early as possible since you can build a group of ads to swarm with you and pressure oppoents, espcially the ones that have gatherers early on t take a huge push into the main phase of the match.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

S+

Main Match (Rank #1):

A

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Shelly

Good early pick with her blast so you can early go for the 3-pack monsters and boost your coins and build your squad into the main match stage better..

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

A

Main Match (Rank #1):

C+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

C+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C

Trader

Only makes sense picking early so he can provide you with gems but actually even evolved it's not that crazy much. Ideally, and that is a perfect world, he will make you like 20 Gems over the match and doesn't deal significant damage or meatshield anything so once encounter opponents even risks you losing gems early. I am not a huge fan but if you have no other choice, pick him very early or not at all and don't pick multi copies.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

A

Main Match (Rank #1):

B+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B+

Bo

Once at 3-Star becomes a lot more viable since he will drop his bombs over the map that your opponents will walk into and the earlier you start dropping them the btter..

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

A

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Colt

Good early pick to take down monsters quickly and get coins to get out of the developing phase of the match.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

A

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Barbarian

Like Colt good for early busting of mobs to get ahead and some tankiness. Not a pick I'd take once I see epics and rares but early a solid one.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

A

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Nita

summon bears that are quite agro all over the place are not directly something to see benefitial, but they will start beating single monsters or walk over the map and annoy your opponents and the more you have on the map the better.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

B+

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Royal King

Gets a lot of hate but actually as first epic pick not too bad early. Every chest you will pick up will leave the guards which can be annoying for your opponents overall and you can start comping around the chests you get for the reinforcement. Also, the spell helps when an opponent gets too agressive towards you and give them a little shut-up note. Wouldn't pick it after the early stages of a match though.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

B+

Main Match (Rank #1):

C+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Match Picks

Your squad has several characters and you leave your start zone and you have a solid mid-range rank these picks can help you gain a lead over your opponents.

Max

Her speed boosts can give you a great advantege when you need it which is in the situations where you either can pressure others.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

S+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

D

Battle Healer

She makes you squad so much better, epscially when you can take over an opponent with the boosts she has in a stage where you actually still open chests.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

A+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C

Pam

She has the heal station and you can bait opponents into fighting you there or just go back there to heal up if you don't have a medic - she can do a lot if you have a solid squad and rank to keep you there or even get more.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

C+

Main Match (Rank #1):

A

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Wizard

Additonal spells that are always helpful are great to use in all kinds of situations if you have a solid position.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

B

Main Match (Rank #1):

B+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

S

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

Chicken

Many players think Chicken is an early pick but actually in even situations where you gain more base speed constantly you can push yourself to the top ranks. But, you need a solid rank and squad for that and Chicken is NOT an early match pick in Squad Busters!.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

A+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B+

Witch

Picking her early doesn't do much since the skeletons can't really group up much and won't really do much - but later in the match they can shield so well if your opponent misses splash damage that she becomes incredibly strong and annoying for opponents in Squad Busters.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

A

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C

Medic

Always a good pick after the start period of a match since she can heal your units which helps all the time. I never regret picking her.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

A

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C

Win Picks

If you are the dominator and ranked #1 right now and your squad is strong and you pressure opponents, these picks will work very well to keep applying this pressure.

Ice Wizard

Excels most when you are chasing other players to slow them and make sure to really take them before they can get away.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

C+

Main Match (Rank #1):

S+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C+

Bea

Pressure a lot with incredible DPS but you need the squad and power to apply that or your opponent will rush in and hurt you really bad - she is only good when your opponent is scared and tries to get away from you or dealing with the elite and boss mobs.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

D

Main Match (Rank #1):

S+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C+

Dynamike

Super pressure here as well since his damage plays the best when hitting many targets which bigger squads have. Also, against opponents with Witch or Royal King his splash will keep the summons shut down so you can really apply pressure..

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

C

Main Match (Rank #1):

S+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

A

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

B

El Primo

Same here, he needs to deal splash damage to really work well and when you can actually apply that pressure with the lead and a big squad, he will make sure you keep applying that pressure and end up Rank #1 in the match.

Rarity:Common

Match Start:

C+

Main Match (Rank #1):

S+

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C+

Dr T

Deploy his crab and hope it does something good for you - that is fun you can have when you are ahead and in no other situations.

Rarity:Epic

Match Start:

D+

Main Match (Rank #1):

A

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

C+

Loose Picks

You barely survived an encounter with an opponent or you really need to build gems quickly to make it into the ranks, these characters are a huge help so try to get them

Penny

Always a good pick if you need Gems and build power, like immediately. She can help you stay out of confrontations and get treasures so you can get back into the relevant ranks in the leaderboard.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

B

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S+

Bandit

Instant Gems and more Gems from small monsters can kickstart you back into releant ranks without confrontation. Imagine you have lost some parts of your squad and needs Gems, there is pratically nothing you can do with opponents that are stronger all over the map to get Gems and every confrontation will get you busted or lose more. She will be able to push you 1-2 ranks.

Rarity:Rare

Match Start:

B

Main Match (Rank #1):

B

Main Match (Rank #2 - #4):

B+

Main Match (Rank #5 or lower):

S+

Conclusion

I hope this guide here helps you making the picks that work well without