A tier list ranks units in a vacuum. Your board has lanes and gold.
What clears
A unit that fills a needed role and sits where enemies walk clears more than a higher-ranked unit off the path. Fit and placement beat rank.
The traps
Some units cost more than they return, or double a role you already hold. They are not useless, but buying one over a gap wastes gold the wave will expose.
Read the stats
The unit database lists role, tier and cost. A unit whose role the next wave needs, at a tier you can place, is the right pick regardless of its list rank.
Match the board
Take the unit that fits your lanes and your gold. A perfect unit you cannot place or afford clears nothing. A plain one on the lane clears the wave.
The synergy guide shows which roles combine, so the unit you pick multiplies a pair.
Rank by what the board needs
The top units are the ones that anchor a lane — a strong frontline tank and a high-reach dps. Support and economy bonkers rank by how much they scale your merges, not by raw stats. Early, a reliable tank-plus-dps pair clears more than a premium unit you cannot yet merge. The list is a starting point, not a rule — a unit you can field beats a higher tier you cannot pair.
Pick to multiply a pair
When the shop offers a synergy pair, take the higher-tier half if it completes the combo. The synergy guide shows which roles combine, so the unit you pick from this list actually multiplies the pair instead of standing alone. A board built from the tier list plus the synergy guide is what survives the spike.