Update 12 reshaped the pecking order in Anime Vanguards, pushing a fresh wave of supports, summoners, and hyper-carries into the top slots while nudging older favorites down the board. The strongest picks right now combine crowd control, scaling damage, and team-wide buffs rather than raw DPS alone, which makes unit selection more about synergy than rarity.
Update 12 tier list at a glance
Fifty units cover the meaningful roster. Everything below SS is still usable, but the gap between SS/S+ and the lower tiers widens sharply as wave health scales.
| Tier | Units |
|---|---|
| SS | Demon Leader (Control), God (Above Heaven), Song Jinwu and Igros, Gujo (Infinity), Lich King (Ruler), Rogita (Super 4), Ice Queen (Release), Alocard (Vampire King) |
| S+ | Demon Hybrid (Chainsaw), Demon Leader, Brolzi Super (Wrathful), Conqueror vs Invulnerable, Savior (Rebirth), Diablo (Renacimiento), Shinobi Sage (Friendship), Skele King (Rock), Divalo (Requiem), Teacher (Final Stand), Lord Friezo (Emperor), Quetzalcoatl (Sun God) |
| S | Iscanur (Pride), Pink Villain (Celestial), World Destroyer (Old), Hollowseph (Pure), Okorun (Turbo), Isdead (Romantic), Agony Shinobi (Force), Student (Enraged), Savior (Moonless), Koguro (Unsealed), Renguko (Purgatory), Explosive Demon (Bomb), Cursed Shinobi (Black Flames) |
| A | Deceiver (Monster), Horsegirls (Racers), Igros (Elite Knight), Astolfo (Rider of Black), Ice Manipulator (Admiral), Company Captain (Hybrid), Armored Mage (Requip), Elastic Captain (Pirate), Fastest Shinobi (Flash), Delusional Demon (Blood), Saber (Black Tyrant), Slime (King) |
| B | Warlord (Of the Sea), Fallen Angel (Pistols) |
| C | Manipulator (Spider) |
| D | Gazelle (Zombie), Leo (Fangs) |
SS tier: Meta-defining units
SS picks do more than hit hard. They bend economy rules, lock down entire lanes, or summon their own sub-armies, which is why they sit above pure DPS carries.
Demon Leader (Control) anchors the whole Demon Hunter archetype. Her Chains of Control passive shaves 10% off her placement cost per chained ally and funnels a 30% damage buff to chained Demon Hunter units, turning her into both an economy engine and a damage multiplier.
God (Above Heaven) is the definitive AoE nuke. Time-stop mechanics freeze wave momentum while his area damage shreds clustered bosses, making him the safety valve for late-wave swarm phases.
Song Jinwu and Igros dominate the frontline by extracting shadows that do not count against your placement cap. Free, self-replenishing bodies on the track make this duo one of the cleanest defensive anchors in the game.
Gujo (Infinity) combines domain-style stuns and heavy slows with a damage ceiling that keeps up with dedicated carries. He is the top crowd-control pick when you also need a kill threat.
Lich King (Ruler) functions as a summoner-support hybrid, continuously spawning shadow units that hold a lane while you spend your remaining slots on pure damage.
Rogita (Super 4) is the single-target boss deleter. Fusion multipliers push his burst to the highest in the game, and he earns his slot in any team that expects raid-style bosses.
Ice Queen (Release) is the gold standard for area denial. A guaranteed AoE freeze pairs with almost every other carry, giving fast carries like Rogita or Savior the stationary targets they want.
Alocard (Vampire King) stacks heavy bleeds over wide areas and maintains constant pressure across multiple lanes, which makes him the most versatile damage dealer on the SS list.
S+ tier: Backbone carries and supports
These units carry the hardest content when built around correctly. Most lack the map-wide dominance of SS picks, but their scaling and stats make them reliable endgame anchors.
Demon Hybrid (Chainsaw) is an offensive monster whose Perpetual Motion doubles damage at full meter and whose Rookie Demon Hunter passive detonates bleed stacks for burst. He needs Demon Leader on the board to unlock his 130% peak via the One True Love synergy.
Demon Leader in her base form still earns an S+ slot thanks to a 40% damage buff directed at Demon Hybrid and strong cost-efficiency that lowers the Demon Hunter archetype's early-game burden.
Brolzi Super (Wrathful) scales rage passives into screen-clearing AoE at the cost of a steep cash curve. If the team can feed him, he ends waves outright.
Conqueror vs Invulnerable uses a clash mechanic to deliver armor-shattering physical damage, making late-game tanks much easier to finish.
Savior (Rebirth) offers some of the highest raw burst numbers available. The trade-off is a large upfront economy cost to reach his final upgrade.
Diablo (Renacimiento) punishes clumped waves with compounding AoE, which makes him the ideal anchor against high-density swarms.
Shinobi Sage (Friendship) lifts entire shinobi compositions by stacking synergy passives with other ninja units, turning standard ninja teams into late-wave powerhouses. He currently leads as the best overall DPS unit in Update 12.
Skele King (Rock) layers ally buffs with chill-based CC through music passives, acting as a force multiplier for almost any core.
Divalo (Requiem) manipulates enemy movement and attack ranges, giving chaotic waves structure you can plan around.
Teacher (Final Stand) is a phase-scaling safety net. His damage spikes late, making him ideal for the hardest legend-stage finales.
Lord Friezo (Emperor) delivers continuous cross-map beam damage that holds long lanes without upkeep.
Quetzalcoatl (Sun God) locks down the skies, applying permanent burn to flying targets so ground carries are not distracted by aerial threats.
S tier: Reliable mid-to-late game units
S-tier picks round out teams that already have an SS or S+ core. They require more careful economy or positioning, but still clear endgame content comfortably.
| Unit | Primary role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iscanur (Pride) | Burst carry | Sun-based burn mechanics reward timed wave pushes. |
| Pink Villain (Celestial) | Lane anchor | Regenerative passives let him solo a lane. |
| World Destroyer (Old) | Physical AoE | Clears low-tier fodder so single-target DPS stays on bosses. |
| Hollowseph (Pure) | Flex DPS | Transitions from single-target to AoE across forms. |
| Okorun (Turbo) | Speed DPS | Transformations flex between boss kill and wave clear. |
| Isdead (Romantic) | Crowd control | Cheaper stall option via ice manipulation. |
| Agony Shinobi (Force) | Mid-game carry | AoE attacks bridge early defense and endgame carries. |
| Student (Enraged) | Spike DPS | Rage mechanic shreds bosses when managed. |
| Savior (Moonless) | Wide AoE | Range expansions on upgrade; trails Rebirth in raw damage. |
| Koguro (Unsealed) | Shield breaker | Rapid multi-hit AoE strips defenses; steep upgrade cost. |
| Renguko (Purgatory) | DoT carry | Line-based burn; maximize at map corners. |
| Explosive Demon (Bomb) | AoE burst | Destructive scaling past a rough mid-game curve. |
| Cursed Shinobi (Black Flames) | Sustained DoT | Black flames spread between enemies across swarms. |
A tier: Solid mid-game performers
A-tier units hold the early and mid waves well but lose ground once enemy HP pools scale. Expect to rotate them out for stronger carries in late endurance content.
- Deceiver (Monster): Strong board presence early; scaling tapers off in endurance runs.
- Horsegirls (Racers): Rapid attack rates secure early waves and protect economy farming.
- Igros (Elite Knight): Rapid slashes and stacking bleeds make him a dependable starter carry.
- Astolfo (Rider of Black): Mobility and fast attacks make him a strong emergency responder.
- Ice Manipulator (Admiral): Wide ice zones slow enemies on open maps.
- Company Captain (Hybrid): Low-complexity bruiser with steady physical damage.
- Armored Mage (Requip): Armor-swapping adds flexibility but lacks peak multipliers.
- Elastic Captain (Pirate): Strong cluster clears with slightly limited range.
- Fastest Shinobi (Flash): Extremely low SPA for clean-up duty.
- Delusional Demon (Blood): Stackable bleeds, held back by the current burst-heavy meta.
- Saber (Black Tyrant): Wide cleaves excel at chokepoints.
- Slime (King): Absorption and water damage for stall setups.
B, C, and D tier: Budget and replacement picks
Lower tiers still work for early progression or roster gaps, but you should not spend evolution materials or limited resources here.
- Warlord (Of the Sea) (B): Knockback CC, but damage modifiers lag behind current carries.
- Fallen Angel (Pistols) (B): High single-target rate of fire, no AoE cleave.
- Manipulator (Spider) (C): Minor stall utility; the slot is better used elsewhere.
- Gazelle (Zombie) (D): Revival gimmick is wasted in optimized runs where units should not die.
- Leo (Fangs) (D): Rapid close-quarters combos without the multipliers needed for modern waves.
Best picks by role after Update 12
| Role | Best unit |
|---|---|
| Overall DPS | Shinobi Sage (Friendship) |
| Support | Alocard (Vampire King) |
| Utility | Lich King (Ruler), Demon Leader (Control) |
| Boss killer | Rogita (Super 4) |
| Area denial | Ice Queen (Release) |
| Anti-air | Quetzalcoatl (Sun God) |
| Starter | Roku (Goku) or Ichiga (Ichigo) |
How to build around the top tiers
Raw SS pulls are not enough on their own. The strongest teams pair a damage anchor with a buffer or crowd-control unit so the carry gets full uptime on stationary or debuffed targets.
- Pair Demon Hybrid (Chainsaw) with Demon Leader (Control) to unlock the One True Love synergy and 130% damage peak.
- Slot Ice Queen (Release) or Gujo (Infinity) alongside Rogita (Super 4) or Savior (Rebirth) so burst carries fire into frozen crowds.
- Use Lich King (Ruler) or Song Jinwu and Igros as your frontline, freeing your main unit cap for pure DPS.
- Add Skele King (Rock) or Shinobi Sage (Friendship) when your core already has AoE covered and needs multiplicative buffs.
Gojo is worth the investment, especially once you reach the Infinity evolution, which turns him from a strong S-tier pick into an SS-tier anchor. For a brand-new account, Roku and Ichiga remain the most useful starter choices while you save gems for banners featuring SS and S+ units.
Expect the board to shift again with future patches. For now, building around Demon Hunter synergies, shadow summoners, or Shinobi Sage cores gives the cleanest path through Update 12's hardest stages.