Choosing the best champions in Monster Train is a decision you make before the first battle. Your champion arrives in the opening hand, cannot be purged, and shapes every draft after that.
The ranks below follow two criteria. One is raw power, and the other is how easy the champion is to pilot on a normal run.
How this tier list is ranked
Each champion is judged twice over. The first score covers power, and the second covers how much support the champion needs before it works.
Support cost settles close calls. A champion that wins with the cards the clan already supplies outranks one that needs a relic or a specific unit.
Paths matter as much as the champion. Every champion offers three upgrade paths, and only two appear at any forge. Combining paths is normal, so this list ranks paths alongside champions.
S-tier champions
The Sentient on Explosive turns every heal into damage on the front enemy. Awoken supplies cheap heals, so a routine turn becomes a wave clear.
Rector Flicker on Burn Bright is the friendliest strong pick. It drops a large body that needs no support and holds any floor from the first wave.
Hornbreaker Prince on Wrathful gains armor when it kills and rage when it is hit. Damage and durability both climb while it holds the front row.
Tethys Titansbane on Chillwind adds attack and applies frostbite on every strike. It works from the back row, where a fragile champion survives.
A-tier champions
Rector Flicker on Dark Calling reforms fallen units each turn. A wide draft becomes safer, and a bad board recovers on its own.
The Sentient on Bristling trades the heal payoff for spikes. Every attacker that touches the floor pays for the privilege.
Hornbreaker Prince on Brawler is the safe build. Armor plus multistrike keeps the champion alive while it chips through a wave.
Penumbra on Monstrous becomes a trample attacker that clears a full wave. The cost is floor space, because a large champion blocks a second unit.
Spine Chief scores high once a Wurmkin deck feeds it. Without that support it waits while the fight moves past.
Little Fade gives Melting Remnant a second route into its reform loop. It rewards a player who already knows how the clan wins.
The Monster Train champion tier list
| Tier | Champion | Why it ranks there |
|---|---|---|
| S | The Sentient (Explosive) | Every heal becomes front-line damage, so a cheap healing deck answers waves |
| S | Rector Flicker (Burn Bright) | A large body that needs no support and holds any floor from the first wave |
| S | Hornbreaker Prince (Wrathful) | Gains armor on kills and rage when hit, so it scales while it tanks |
| S | Tethys Titansbane (Chillwind) | Adds attack and frostbite on every strike, from the safety of the back row |
| A | Rector Flicker (Dark Calling) | Returns fallen units each turn, which makes a wide draft safer |
| A | The Sentient (Bristling) | Spikes and a deep health pool punish everything that attacks the floor |
| A | Hornbreaker Prince (Brawler) | Armor and multistrike make the safest Prince build |
| A | Penumbra (Monstrous) | A trample attacker that clears a full wave, at the cost of floor space |
| A | Spine Chief | Wurmkin scaling that pays off once the deck feeds it echoes |
| A | Little Fade | A second Melting Remnant route into the reform loop the clan already runs |
| B | Hornbreaker Prince (Reaper) | High attack that grows on kills, but it wants early kills to snowball |
| B | Tethys Titansbane (Conduit) | Cheaper damage spells on its floor, which rewards a tight spell deck |
| B | Rector Flicker (Accumulator) | Grows through the fight, though it starts slower than Burn Bright |
| B | The Sentient (Cultivating) | Draws cards when it is attacked, steady but low on pressure |
| B | Solgard the Martyr | Stygian incant support that wants a spell-dense deck around it |
| B | Wyldenten | Awoken defense and thorns that stalls well but closes slowly |
| C | Penumbra (Architect) | Adds floor capacity rather than power, so it needs a deck built for it |
| C | Penumbra (Glutton) | Gorge scaling that arrives after the fight is mostly decided |
| C | Tethys Titansbane (Handheld Totem) | Sweep and spell weakness help, but the champion stays fragile |
| C | Primordium | Umbra scaling that arrives late and asks for protection first |
| C | Shardtail Queen | A second Hellhorned route that depends on the draft supplying its payoff |
| C | Echowright | Wurmkin payoffs that need a deck built around echoes to function |
Best champion for beginners
Pick the champion whose plan you can describe in one sentence. Rector Flicker on Burn Bright and Hornbreaker Prince on Brawler both pass that test.
Keep the first champion you learn. A familiar champion teaches floor placement faster than a stronger one you have never piloted.
Champion paths that need a patient player
B-tier paths are strong once the board supports them. Hornbreaker Prince on Reaper wants early kills, and Tethys Titansbane on Conduit wants a tight spell deck.
Wyldenten and Solgard the Martyr follow the same pattern. Both reward a deck built for them, and both feel thin in a loose draft.
Champions to avoid on a first climb
Leave Penumbra on Architect and Penumbra on Glutton until you know the clan. Both ask for a floor built around the champion, and a new player is still learning placement.
Echowright and Shardtail Queen need a draft that supplies their payoff. Pick them second, once the clan plan is already familiar.
Choosing a champion for the Covenant climb
Once you know the best champions in Monster Train, the next question is the pairing. A champion and a secondary clan have to want the same thing.
Next: Clan tier list. For the pairing that carries the champion, read the clan combination tier list.