Finding the best clan combinations in Monster Train starts with a rule the game sets for you. Every run joins a primary clan with a secondary clan, and the primary supplies most of your cards.
The ranks below follow two criteria. One is synergy, and the other is consistency at high Covenant, where loose decks fall apart.
How this tier list is ranked
A pairing climbs when both clans chase one win condition. The primary carries the plan, and the secondary fills a gap without starting a second plan.
Consistency at high Covenant decides the rest. The top of the ladder punishes loose decks, so a pairing that works on a thin draft beats one that needs a rare card.
Floor control is the last check. A combination that cannot hold a line loses to waves long before the boss arrives.
S-tier clan combinations
Awoken with Hellhorned is the most forgiving pairing. Hellhorned holds the front with sturdy units and rage, while Awoken heals and spikes keep the line standing.
Stygian Guard with Awoken puts spells behind a wall of sustain. Regen buys the turns a big spell turn needs, and the pairing rarely wants a rare card.
Melting Remnant with Hellhorned turns deaths into a second wave. Reform refills the front, and rage turns those returning bodies into damage.
Umbra with Awoken covers the setup cost of the morsel plan. Healing buys the turns a Gorge carry needs before it starts to matter.
A-tier clan combinations
Hellhorned with Umbra gives a rage carry cheap food. Morsels cost little, and they feed the unit the front line protects.
Awoken with Stygian Guard runs the same idea in reverse. Sustain still leads, and the spells arrive later as the boss answer.
Melting Remnant with Umbra makes each death useful twice. Cheap units die on purpose, and those deaths feed the reform loop and the gorge payoffs at once.
Wurmkin with Hellhorned hides the slower clan behind a sturdy front. Echoes build while the line absorbs the opening waves.
Hellhorned with Stygian Guard splits the job cleanly. The front holds, and the spells clear the enemies that sit behind it.
Awoken with Melting Remnant plays a long game. Reforming chaff under a healing floor is patient, and it rarely collapses in the early rounds.
The Monster Train clan combination tier list
| Tier | Clan combination | Why it ranks there |
|---|---|---|
| S | Awoken + Hellhorned | Healing and spikes keep a sturdy front line alive, and both clans win long fights |
| S | Stygian Guard + Awoken | Spell burst backed by regen, a clean control route at high Covenant |
| S | Melting Remnant + Hellhorned | Reform refills the front while rage turns the same line into damage |
| S | Umbra + Awoken | Heals cover the setup turns a morsel engine needs before it pays off |
| A | Hellhorned + Umbra | A rage carry fed by cheap morsels, strong once the floor is protected |
| A | Awoken + Stygian Guard | Regen buys the time a spell turn needs to answer a boss |
| A | Melting Remnant + Umbra | Cheap bodies die on purpose and their deaths feed gorge payoffs |
| A | Wurmkin + Hellhorned | Echo scaling behind a front line that absorbs the opening waves |
| A | Hellhorned + Stygian Guard | A front line holds while spells clear the enemies behind it |
| A | Awoken + Melting Remnant | Reforming chaff under a healing floor, patient but reliable |
| B | Stygian Guard + Melting Remnant | Disposable units keep the spell engine running, but the deck must stay tight |
| B | Umbra + Melting Remnant | Morsels and wax flood the board, and the payoff arrives late |
| B | Wurmkin + Awoken | Echo payoffs want time, and Awoken sustain supplies it |
| B | Hellhorned + Wurmkin | Rage in front and echoes behind rarely meet in the same turn |
| B | Melting Remnant + Stygian Guard | Reform fodder supports spell triggers, so both clans want the same thin deck |
| B | Umbra + Stygian Guard | Morsels soak the front while spells chip away, but the deck wants two hands |
| C | Wurmkin + Umbra | Echo scaling needs a board that survives, and morsels die before they pay off |
| C | Umbra + Wurmkin | Morsels eat the floor capacity that echo units also need |
| C | Wurmkin + Stygian Guard | Echo timing and spell timing pull the same turn in two directions |
| C | Wurmkin + Melting Remnant | Echo payoffs need units to live while burnout units are built to die |
Best clan combination for beginners
Start with Awoken as the primary clan and Hellhorned as the secondary. The plan is easy to say out loud, and both clans work with the cards the draft hands you.
Stygian Guard with Awoken is the second choice. It plays the same patient game and adds a clear answer to enemy waves.
Clan combinations that need a patient player
B-tier pairings work, but every one of them asks for a tight deck. Stygian Guard with Melting Remnant wants disposable units to feed a spell engine, and that plan falls apart in a loose draft.
Wurmkin pairings sit here too. Echo payoffs want time and a board that survives, so the secondary clan has to cover the floor while the count builds.
Clan combinations to avoid at high Covenant
Wurmkin with Umbra stacks two resource engines onto the same turns. Morsels eat the floor capacity that echo units also need, so the setup cost doubles.
Wurmkin with Melting Remnant fights itself in a different way. Echo payoffs reward units that live, and burnout units are designed to die.
Avoiding a pairing is not a verdict on either clan. It is a statement about how much support one deck can carry at the top of the ladder.
Which clan combination wins the climb
Once you know the best clan combinations in Monster Train, the next question is your champion. The pairing sets the floor plan, and the champion decides who holds it.
Next: Clan tier list. For the champion that leads the pairing, read the champion tier list.