Anime Vanguards Tier List (April 2026) Update 12 Fully Ranked

If you’ve been searching for a solid anime vanguards tier list, you’ve landed in the right place. I’m going to break down every unit from the absolute best to the ones you should probably just ignore.

In this guide, you’ll find:

• Full tier rankings from SS down to D (including Update 12 units)
• Why each tier placement makes sense — no lazy lists here
• My personal top picks for beginners AND advanced players
• Team building tips, mistakes to avoid, and pro strategies
• Updated for the latest patch as of 2026

This guide is for everyone — new players who just picked their starter, and veterans grinding Infinite Mode trying to optimize their squad.

I’ve put in serious hours on Anime Vanguards, testing units across Story Mode, Raids, Boss Rush, and the Underworld Dungeon. I’ve made the bad pulls, wasted gems on units that got nerfed a week later, and slowly figured out what actually works. So trust me when I say this tier list is built from real gameplay — not just copying what someone else posted.

What Is Anime Vanguards?

Anime Vanguards is a Roblox tower defense game that pulls characters from a huge range of popular anime franchises — think Bleach, Naruto, Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more. The idea is simple: place units along a path to stop waves of enemies from getting through. But here’s the thing — it’s way deeper than it sounds.

The game uses a gacha system where you spend Gems (50 per summon) to pull for new units. Some units come at Legendary rarity, some at Mythic, and the most powerful at Vanguard or Secret rarity. Each unit can also be evolved into stronger forms, which is where a lot of the real power spikes happen.

Why is it so popular? A few reasons:

• It pulls from anime you already love, so there’s instant attachment to the characters
• The tower defense format is easy to learn but hard to master
• Regular updates keep adding new units and game modes
• There’s actual depth in team building, traits, and evolving units

I got hooked around Update 7 and honestly haven’t looked back. It scratches that “just one more run” itch constantly.

Anime Vanguards Tier List 2026 (Update 12 — Fully Ranked)

Before I dive in — Update 12 dropped on April 17th, 2026, and added six new units. Some of the rankings have shifted. I’ll flag the big changes as we go.

A quick note: tier lists are subjective by nature. My rankings reflect performance across all game modes — Story Mode, Infinite Mode, Boss Rush, Legend Stages, Raids, and the Underworld Dungeon. A unit that’s broken in one mode but trash elsewhere doesn’t automatically deserve SS tier.

SS Tier — The Meta-Defining Units

These are the units you build your team around. They don’t just deal damage — they change how the game plays. If you’ve got one of these, use them. If you don’t, start saving gems.

• Shinobi Sage (Friendship) — Flat-out the best overall DPS unit in the game right now post-Update 12. His scaling is absurd and he works in basically every mode. If you pull him, build around him immediately.
• Alocard / Alucard (Vampire King) — The king of support. Applies Bleed and Wounded at the same time, deals full AoE from the moment you place him, and got a rarity upgrade from Secret to Vanguard back in Update 11. His Vanguard Familiar bumps Wounded damage bonus to 35%. Absolutely insane value.
• Demon Leader (Control) — Best utility unit in the game. Her “Chains of Control” passive reduces her own placement cost by 10% for every chained unit, while also buffing her own damage. She makes your whole team cheaper to deploy. That’s broken.
• Lich King (Ruler) — Pairs perfectly with Demon Leader as a utility backbone. Strong in the Underworld Dungeon specifically, where debuff mechanics wreck unprepared teams.
• Divalo (Requiem) — The rarest unit in the game and for good reason. He slows enemies, deals four-figure damage at base level, and has almost no weaknesses. If you can get him through trading at Level 50+, do it.
• Gujo (Infinity) — Massive AoE damage plus team-wide buffs. One of the best all-round picks you can actually get through normal summoning. After his Infinity evolution, he gets a damage boost, a freeze passive, and SPA reduction. Worth every gem.
• Yehowach (Almighty) — Here’s the thing about Yehowach: he double attacks the last enemy in his range, which effectively doubles his DPS on priority targets. He’s also fully immune to status effects, which matters a lot in the Underworld Dungeon and Raids.
• Savior (Moonless) — Jumped straight to SS on release. Unprecedented damage output paired with defensive utility — he’s one of those rare units that does everything well.
• Tuji (Sorcerer Killer) — Got a damage buff and a brand new passive in Update 11.5. Still one of the top sorcerer-type units in the game.
• Cha-In (Blade Dancer) — Got demoted from God tier after a balance patch, but she’s still one of the strongest meta units available. Don’t sleep on her just because she moved down a spot.
• Song Jinwu (Monarch) — Similar story to Cha-In. Nerfed but still S+/SS range. Can solo waves single-handedly, which says a lot.
• Koguro (Unsealed), Iscanur (Pride), Rom and Ran (Fanatic) — All strong evolved forms in the SS tier. Iscanur specifically uses sun-based burn mechanics that melt high-HP targets, but you need to time your wave progression to maximize his daytime-scaling passive.

S Tier — Strong and Reliable

These units were SS tier picks not long ago. Most of them got bumped down by newer units, but they’re still absolutely worth using and will carry you through almost everything.

• Akazo (Destructive) — Even after the nerf, this unit destroys wave after wave. Solid in Raids.
• Haruka Rin (Dancer) — Strong consistent damage with freeze utility. Great for slowing bosses.
• Renguko (Purgatory) — One of the better Demon Slayer-inspired units. Reliable fire damage and decent AOE.
• Sosuke (Storm) — High single-target DPS. Great for Boss Rush modes.
• Obita (Awakened) — His awakened form is a completely different beast from base Obita. Strong AoE with solid range.
• Choy Jong En — Holds the title of best damage-over-time dealer outside of God tier. His AoE and single-target DoT are both excellent.
• Ice Queen (Release) — Best control unit in the game. Her freeze effects can lock entire waves, giving your DPS time to clean up. I underestimated her early on — learned that the hard way in Infinite Mode.
• Chaso (Blood Curse) — Bleeds enemies over time while dealing burst damage. Works great alongside Alocard (Vampire King).

A Tier — Good Units Worth Building

A Tier units are solid. They’re not going to solo carry you, but they’re easier to obtain and evolve than SS or S units. Great for filling team slots while you’re still grinding for the top-tier pulls.

• Igros — Perfect for single-target burst, especially in Dungeon and Paragon stages. Evolvable into Elite Knight form (SS tier).
• Tengon — Evolvable into Tengon (Flashiness), which is SS tier. Worth the grind.
• Medusa (Gorgon) — Strong crowd control kit. Useful for slowing large waves.
• Norutu (Sage) — Reliable AoE. Good for newer players before they get better pulls.
• Yomomata (Captain) — Converts defeated enemies into summons. Can overwhelm waves through sheer numbers in Infinite Mode. Underrated pick.
• Inamkui — Solid utility. Pairs well with DPS-heavy compositions.
• Mimi (Psychic) — Good support skills, especially in boss fights.

B Tier — Situational or Outclassed

B Tier units aren’t bad — they just have better replacements. If you’re early in the game and these are your best options, use them. Just don’t invest heavy resources.

• Sprintwagon — I want to highlight this one specifically. Sprintwagon is an economy support unit. He doesn’t deal great damage, but he reduces your deployment costs, which speeds up your entire early game. Include him in every team comp until you have SS units covering all your slots.
• Alligator — Decent tank-style unit. Falls off in late game.
• Blossom — Decent AoE but not reliable enough at high difficulty.
• Kokashi — Copy/paste of better units with worse stats.
• Kinaru — Fine for story mode, outclassed in everything else.
• Itochi — Used to be better before the meta shift. Still playable in casual runs.

C Tier — Not Recommended

Use these only if you have no other choice. They’ll work in early Story Mode but hit a wall fast.

• Sanjo — Low damage ceiling, limited utility.
• Vogetu — Outclassed by almost every evolved unit.
• Ichiga — This is actually one of the starter picks, which means you’ll have him early. He’s decent for the tutorial but retire him as soon as you get better pulls.
• Inosake — Fun aesthetically, not very effective in practice.
• Kinnua — Weak kit, rarely worth deploying.

D Tier — Avoid

Don’t waste gems trying to build these. Don’t waste evolution materials on them either. Bench them and move on.

• Luffo — Another starter. Good intro to the game, nothing more.
• Rukio — Mediocre across the board.
• Gaari — Barely clears early waves.
• Norutu (base) — The evolved Sage version is A Tier, but base Norutu is rough.
• Vogita (base) — Same story. Unevoloved form just doesn’t cut it.
• Grim Wow, Jon, Joe, Genitsu, Smith John — Filler units. Nothing here worth investing in.

My Top Picks for 2026

If I had to start fresh today, here’s who I’d prioritize — in order:

1. Alocard (Vampire King) — Best support in the game. Can get him through the normal summon pool. Day one priority.
2. Gujo (Infinity) — Best obtainable AoE DPS. Save for his evolved form.
3. Demon Leader (Control) — Makes the whole team cheaper to deploy. Game-changer.
4. Choy Jong En — Underrated DoT unit. Not as hard to get as Divalo but punches way above his rarity.
5. Sprintwagon — Don’t skip the economy unit. Seriously.

Tips & Strategies

Here’s what actually helps — real advice I wish someone had given me earlier:

• Always evolve before you bench. A unit’s base stats don’t tell the full story. Tengon, Igros, and Gujo all jump two full tiers when evolved. Check evolution paths before dropping a unit.
• Redeem codes constantly. Anime Vanguards drops codes regularly. They give you free Gems, which means free summons. Check for codes every few days.
• Sprintwagon in every lineup. Economy management matters more than most people realize, especially in Infinite Mode where you’re constantly redeploying.
• Use the pity system strategically. There’s a new system that guarantees a Vanguard rarity unit after 20,000 summons on the same banner. Save up and stay on one banner to trigger it — don’t jump around.
• Prioritize the Monarch trait on your core DPS picks. It’s consistently the best trait for damage-dealing units across game modes.
• Check elemental matchups in Worldlines. After the Worldlines reset, different element types are effective in different stages. Don’t assume your normal lineup works everywhere.
• Talk to every NPC in the hub. They give free Gems on first interaction — most players miss this.

Mistakes to Avoid

I’ve made all of these. Learn from my suffering:

• Pulling on every banner instead of one. Spreading summons across banners kills your pity progress. Pick one and commit.
• Evolving D or C Tier units early. Evolution materials are rare. Wasting them on units you’ll replace in two hours is painful.
• Ignoring support units. I ran a full DPS lineup for weeks before realizing why I kept failing Raids. Demon Leader changed everything.
• Not checking for balance patches. A unit I farmed for a week got nerfed before I even used them. Always check patch notes after big updates.
• Skipping Worldlines. The reset gives you fresh ascension materials. Don’t ignore this mode — it’s basically free upgrade currency.

2026 Pro Tips for Advanced Players

Already past the basics? Here’s the stuff that actually separates top players:

• Multi-phase boss immunity: Underworld Dungeon bosses have immunity periods. Don’t waste cooldowns during immunity windows. Cycle slower DoT units during this phase to keep pressure without burning big abilities.
• DoT stacking: Alocard (Vampire King) + Choy Jong En + Chaso (Blood Curse) creates a three-layer damage-over-time stack that destroys bosses even during immunity phases. I use this in almost every Raid now.
• Cost management in Infinite Mode: Time your deployments around Sprintwagon’s economy reduction. Deploy cost-heavy SS units after cheaper units have generated income, not at the start.
• Poorly built SS units lose to well-built A Tier. A maxed Igros (Elite Knight) with perfect traits will outperform a zero-investment Gujo. Always fully build the units you use.
• Trading starts at Level 50. If you want Divalo or other God-tier units, start planning your level grind now. The trading economy is active and you can get top units without pulling for them.

Conclusion

That’s my full anime vanguards tier list for 2026. The meta shifted a lot with Update 12, and it’ll keep shifting — that’s just how this game works. But if you focus on SS Tier units like Alocard (Vampire King), Shinobi Sage (Friendship), and Gujo (Infinity), you’ll be in good shape for basically every mode the game throws at you.

Don’t get too attached to any one unit, either. Nerfs happen. New units power creep the old ones. Stay flexible, keep evolving, and keep checking back for updated rankings.

Let me know your current team comp in the comments — I’d love to see what combinations other players are running in Raids and Infinite Mode!

---

FAQ