Table of Contents
Meta Report - Feb 2024: The Season of Granhildr
Granhildr is by far the most impactful new character of the season, and her release has caused a seismic shift in the way that attack and defense PVP teams are played. Granhildr's unique mechanic is that she is able to activate her taunt skill immediately at the start of battle. This is huge news for defending teams, as it means the defending team gets to start the battle with a giant taunting tank to protect their other units. Although the 6 SP cost for her activation is steep, it's mitigated by the fact that NB.Eclipse remains a popular opener (i.e. Eclipse would probably have drained that 6 SP anyway).
Thanks to Granhildr, all high-ranking attack teams must play around Granhildr. Two popular strategies have emerged for attacking teams. The first popular strategy is to clear Granhildr's taunt with a buff remover (preferably with MB.Eleaneer or PP.Schera, who each cost 2 SP) and then to attack the rest of the defending team with the remaining 3 SP. This is a very new play style: before Granhildr, playing a buff remover on Turn 1 was practically unheard of. Thanks to this new attacking play style, MB.Eleaneer and PP.Schera shoot to the top of the tier list.
The second popular strategy for attack teams is to "turtle" by focusing on setting up defensive skills (e.g. WC.Rou, RH.Rou, AD.Diana, etc) and saving up the burst damage for Turn 3. This has also elevated the usefulness of units with defensive skills.
Granhildr is a welcome shakeup to the meta. Although attacking win rates still remain much higher than defense win rates (which is how it's designed to be), Granhildr has overall helped even the scales somewhat for the attack/defense win ratio. Thanks to the popularity of more defensive openings for attack teams, games are also lasting longer, with more games being decided in "Death Time".
Here are our top 5 overall units rankings for physical team units, magic team units and tank/hybrid support units (in alphabetical order):
How to use this tier list
Brown Dust 2 is a unique game because each character has multiple costumes, which are used together in PVP. Some costumes are not great on their own, but better when paired with other costumes on the same character. Further, the power level of each costume changes significantly with duplicates (up to +5 costume level). Therefore, there are some important things to note when using this tier list.
+5 costumes are assumed
All of the ratings compare power levels at the +5 version of the costume. You should know that a +5 costume on your roster may be better in PVP than a +0 costume from a higher tier in the tier list.
Note also that for most costumes, SP cost reduces at +3, which makes a big difference in PVP. If you don't have the reduced SP version of the costume, it will not perform at the stated tier level.
Secondary costumes are taken into account
All ratings take into account the availability of secondary costume skills. For example, Yuri's Whitebolt costume is very good, but she only has 1 costume, which means she has no skills to use on your second turn. This reduces her PVP tier rating compared to Scheherazade, who has multiple costumes.
All ratings assume that you have copies of other the character's costumes where applicable. If you do not have any secondary costumes for a character, the character may not perform at the stated tier level, because the character will have no follow up skill on your turn 2.
The tier list rates costumes on their power as a primary costume
All costumes have been rated on the basis of its power when used as your primary costume for the character (i.e. the skill you activate first for the character). The tier list is structured this way so that you can identify how useful a character is for you, based on the highest tier costume you have for the character.
Lower tier costumes are not necessarily bad if they are paired with that character's other higher tier costumes. Example: Desert Flower Sylvia (base costume) is rated low because she is poor value to open with as your primary costume, but if she is played on your second turn or third turn after Admiral Sylvia, she can be very effective and improves the power of your Sylvia overall.
Ratings explained
Tier ratings are given on the following basis:
- S: The best at what they do (when used as a primary costume).
- A: Better than average (when used as a primary costume).
- B: Average, but not bad (when used as a primary costume).
- C: Worse than average (when used as a primary costume).
- D: Not recommended (except as a secondary costume, where applicable).
The Mirror Wars (PVP) Tier List - Feb 2024
| S | Lapis Witch Scheherazade | Schera is hands down the best buff remover, as all her costumes remove buffs and have good AOE. Also has one of the highest base M.ATK stats in the game. |
| Code Name S Scheherazade | See above. Code Name S has less consistent AOE (weird shape), but is overall stronger than Lapis Witch due to the silence debuff and slightly better damage. | |
| Pool Party Scheherazade (limited) | Only one of two buff removers that cost 2 SP, the other being Magic Bow Eleaneer. Her low SP cost buff removal makes her one of the best Granhildr counters. | |
| B-Rank Idol Helena | Best magic supporter and crit buffer at +5. Note that crit rate buff doubles from 25% to 50% at +5, allowing for "guaranteed crit" gear builds. | |
| Comeback Idol Granhildr (NEW!) | The only taunt that can pre-emptively activate at the start of battle. Much of the metagame revolves around her existence. | |
| Destruction Alec | Alec has very high pure damage which ignores all DEF, M.RES and damage reduction skills. Vertical 2-tile AOE is a useful range in PVP, especially when paired with knockbacks (e.g. WC Rou, Kry). Good secondary costume in Swordbreaker Alec. | |
| Glacia (all costumes) | Best magic tank when equipped with exclusive gear. | |
| Comeback Idol Yuri (NEW!) | Huge physical damage and the only physical attacker with reliable full row reach. Great synergy with Whitebolt. “Stealth” skill greatly improves survivability if placed properly. | |
| Whitebolt Yuri (↑UP) | A very solid buff removal skill with great damage and reasonable SP cost. Great synergy with Comeback Idol. | |
White Reaper Justia | White Reaper has very high pure damage which ignores all DEF, M.RES and damage reduction skills. Vertical 2-tile AOE is a useful range in PVP, especially when paired with knockbacks (e.g. WC Rou, Kry). Lots of follow up costumes available. | |
Homunculus Lathel | Best physical supporter for PVP, only costs 1 SP, so he can be easily slotted into a physical attacking team. | |
| Killer Doll Lecliss Android Queen Lecliss | Best physical tank when equipped with exclusive gear. With high level Android costume, she can be use offensively. | |
| Magic Bow Eleaneer (↑UP) | Only one of two buff removers that cost 2 SP, the other being Pool Party Schera (limited). Her low SP cost buff removal and high damage makes her one of the best Granhildr counters. | |
| Nightmare Bunny Eclipse (limited) | High damage, massive range, SP drain, and enough M.RES shred to overcome most units that build for high M.RES. Best used with B.Helena. | |
| Sword Queen Sylvia | One of the very few attack costumes that has 1 SP cost. Very versatile for an attacking team. Pairs well with H.Lathel to get past high DEF opponents. Note also that Sylvia has a high base crit rate of 20%, allowing her to crit reliably if well geared. | |
| White Cat Rou | Evasion based tank. 1 SP cost, high offensive power on knockback, versatile follow up options with multiple other costumes. Best used in attacking teams so that evasion activates before your opponent's first turn. |
| A | Admiral Sylvia | Very good damage and AOE on her own, but even better when used after SQ.Sylvia (SQ.Sylvia's ATK buff improves Admiral's damage and energy guard). Energy Guard creates a good set up for Desert Flower Sylvia on the following turn. |
| Anti-dystopia Diana | 1 SP cost makes her ideal for use on turn 1 attack, very strong energy guards if her M.ATK is buffed, but limited range makes positioning tricky. | |
| Blood Glutton Justia (↑UP) | Blood Glutton’s rework makes her a formidable choice in PVP. She deals relatively low fixed damage, but in a wide AOE and for only 2 SP. Useful for clearing non-tank units, esp. when paired with H.Lathel, but weak against tanks. | |
| B-Rank Idol Eleaneer | B-Rank Idol is a high cost silencer with good damage, but usually used as a secondary to Magic Bow Eleaneer. | |
| Top Idol Helena (↑UP) | Top Idol Helena now makes a viable Turn 1 turtle strategy opener. For 1 SP, she improves the survivability of all your units and boosts your SP for a big Turn 3. | |
| B-Rank Manager Gray | Low SP cost and DEF shred makes B-Rank Gray a reliable killer, and ideal for sniping backrow targets with his skip targeting. Wind-element is also a favorable typing in the current meta given that there are water tanks but no fire tanks. | |
| Bright Moon Dalvi | High magic damage, better than usual base crit damage, with a very useful vertical AOE and skip targeting. At +5, Energy Guard can meaningfully improve survival, especially when paired with B.Helena's buff. However, high SP cost makes her difficult to use on turn 1 attack. | |
| Code Name A Rafina | Rafina has naturally tanky stats due to high base HP. Skip targeting X-shape AOE is higher value in the current meta, and DEF reduction skill means reliable damage. | |
| Empress of the Ocean Rubia | High SP cost, but makes up for it with huge range and 25% DEF reduction for reliable damage. Note that Rubia has excellent base stats, with high ATK and 20% base crit rate. | |
| The Fallen Angelica Pool Party Angelica | Skill damage cannot be boosted by M.ATK buffs, heavily reliant on crits and crit damage. Can be effective if used in the right team, especially with B.Helena (50% crit rate boost) and a M.RES shredder like NB.Eclipse for guaranteed lethal against low M.RES opponents. | |
| Fiend Scholar Olstein | An effective Turn 1 disabler and tank when played in the mid column. In addition to draining SP, his skill silences units in a 3x3 AOE for 2 of your opponent's turns, which can completely shut down your opponent's strategies. In the current meta, "empty mid" formations are less common thanks to NB.Eclipse, and this enhances the odds of Olstein hitting 3 or more units on his skill. Although he does hardly any damage on his skill, he can be paired with AD.Diana to allow your team to turtle on your turn 1, and then strike on your turn 2. Own stats are also very tanky with high HP stat. | |
| Fire Graffiti Anastasia | Very high damage for a reasonable 3 SP cost, but not as reliable as Alec/Justia or as cheap as Sword Queen Sylvia. Requires late-game gearing to perform well, as she needs to crit reliably to access her crit damage bonus. | |
| Kendo Club Justia Knight of Blood Justia | Kendo Club and Knight of Blood both deal high fixed damage. However, their higher SP cost makes them less suitable for Turn 1 play compared to White Reaper Justia. | |
| Lovely Lady Elise | Useful plus-shaped AOE with skip targeting. Low base attack stats, but she somewhat makes up for it with DEF and M.RES shred. Due to the popularity of high M.RES gearing, and the fact that more and more veteran players have access to UR III and IV defensive gears, DEF and M.RES shredders have become more valuable in the current meta. | |
Lonely Survivor Lathel (↓DOWN) | Very high damage (effectively 767% multiplier) and deep reach for 3 SP. Versatile follow up options with other Lathel costumes. Despite his reach and high headline damage, he has less consistency against high DEF gearing and damage reduction skills. Another drawback is that you cannot use him with H.Lathel. | |
| Masquerade Bunny Celia (limited) | Masquerade Bunny now provides Celia with access to reasonable AOE damage for a reasonable cost of 3 SP. Damage is on the low side, but it is the cheapest 3x3 AOE attack in the game. Celia is a natural counter to magic teams featuring NB.Eclipse, because she has a base M.RES of 20%, which makes it easier to gear her for both high M.RES (105%) and high HP to survive Eclipse attacks. | |
| Neon Stalker Liatris | Excellent reach, but damage is slightly on the low side (even taking into account her higher than usual crit damage). Low damage is felt most when coming up against tanks, especially high DEF tanks and water tanks. The advantages of her reach are also somewhat overshadowed by NB.Eclipse who has far better range and also comes with SP drain. | |
| Pool Party Gray | Despite the high SP cost, the plus-shaped AOE and high damage makes this a strong choice. Wind-element is also a favorable typing in the current meta given that there are water tanks but no fire tanks. | |
| Pool Party Justia (limited) (↑UP) | Potentially powerful setup for a very low SP cost, but vulnerable to buff removals. Utility in the current meta has increased due to a) turtling on Turn 1 attack becoming a viable strategy to counter Granhildr and b) strong synergy with Blood Glutton Justia. | |
| Promise of Vengeance Lathel | Very high single target damage and low SP cost, but no AOE. Although he can be used on Turn 1 as a tank breaker, in most cases the better use is as a finisher following H.Lathel. | |
| Red Hat Rou (↑UP) | Energy guards are fairly big and 50% crit buff allows for reliable crits. Can be used either as a follow up to White Cat or as an opener for “turtle” strategy attack teams. | |
| Sword Breaker Alec | Not quite as reliable as Destruction Alec due to lower damage and diagonal AOE (difficult to set up), but still very good for his fixed damage. Best when paired with Destruction Alec. | |
| Violent Student Kry | Violent Student Kry has one of the best knockbacks in the game, and is a very strong opener for only 1 SP. Has good odds of lethal if the knockback connects, and also helps set up the board for vertical AOE attackers. Also has a pretty good followup on Turn 2 with Marauder Kry. Due to his low stats, he drops off in higher tier PVP in favor of White Cat Rou. |
| B | Angel of Destruction Teresse | Teresse is a decent tank as she has very high base HP, tying with Lecliss for highest in the game. Despite having a better stats and knockback than Kry (Teresse hits 3 units instead of 2, and has better collision damage), Teresse ranks lower than Kry because she currently has no secondary costume, and therefore no skill to use on your second turn. |
| Dimension Witch Eclipse | Solid damage, but unremarkable as a standalone costume. Best used as a follow up to Nightmare Bunny. | |
| Gentle Maid Anastasia | Very high damage and good AOE, but expensive at 4 SP. Requires late-game gearing to perform well, as she needs to crit reliably to access her crit damage bonus. | |
| Kind Student Samay | Cheap but inferior damage buff for both physical and magical units at 1 SP. With her base costume (Kind Liberator), Samay is also able to follow up with a decent attack on the second turn, making her a versatile unit. | |
| Liberated Marauder Kry | Despite being a 4-star unit, Marauder Kry deals excellent damage, and is reliable thanks to his 50% damage reduction. X-shape AOE is also becoming more useful in the current meta, with "empty mid" formations less common. Kry's main weakness is that, as a 4-star unit, his stats are capped at Lv80. Great as a follow up to Violent Student. | |
| Medicinal Herb Tracker Lathel | Damage is not quite as good as POV.Lathel, but there is a small chance of catching something on his diagonal AOE. | |
| Pool Party Lathel | Great damage potential if built for full crit damage, but a full crit damage build does not synergize well with other costumes. Cost is on the high side compared to impact. | |
| Rodev's Star Liatris | Huge AOE, but very high SP cost at 5 SP. Best used as a follow up to Neon Stalker. | |
| Seir (all costumes) (↓DOWN) | High HP like Lecliss and Glacia, but ranks below Lecliss and Glacia due to lack of taunt skills and lower stats overall. Ranking down in the current season, because of the popularity of light units like Justia and Yuri during Season of Light. | |
| Specialist Andrew | Quite tanky with his evasion skill, is able to taunt, but his SP cost is high and he has no offensive skills. Useful in lower rank defense teams, but drops off in higher ranks in favor of the S-tier tanks like Lecliss and Rou. | |
| Steel Engine Rafina | Good stats, damage and AOE, but barrier removal effect activates after damage is dealt, which is disappointing and makes the effect mostly useless. | |
| Thorn of the Desert Rubia | Good offensive stats, decent skill damage, average SP cost. | |
| Stray Cat Rou Nature's Claw Rou | Both are good skills with high damage, but not the best openers due to high SP cost. Best used as finishers to follow other Rou costumes (preferably WC.Rou). | |
| Vanguard Gray | Pitiful damage against physical units, but with his wide AOE, in the current NB.Eclipse dominant meta there is a decent chance of hitting a magic opponent for high burn damage. |
| C | Arines | The only 3-star to be rated in this tier list. +70% ATK and +30% crit rate is pretty strong for lower rank PVP, and almost makes up for her very low stats. For high rank PVP though, H.Lathel is better for his lower cost and higher stats, and there are higher value plays for 2 SP. |
| Code Name O Elise | Although her SP cost is good, it's hard to make use of her 2-tile skip AOE in the current meta because it is fairly rare to hit a 3-4 unit column. Her base damage is also on the low side. She can be an effective killer if you have H.Lathel to compensate for low damage, but you would still be vulnerable to water types (e.g. Glacia) and high DEF opponents. | |
Dark Knight Lathel | Dark Knight gives a massive Energy Guard and can turn around games if timed correctly. However in a fast meta where buff removers are ever popular, he usually is not reliable enough to justify using over one of Lathel's strong offensive costumes. | |
| Comeback Idol Ventana (NEW!) | Super high SP cost is not justified for her single target damage. | |
| Descendant Celia Curse Celia | Low damage is not good value for SP cost, but can be effective when paired with Masquerade Bunny. | |
| Desert Flower Sylvia | Sylvia has very low base HP so she is not well suited to play as a tank. Desert Flower is therefore a poor opener (she is likely to be killed before she can counterattack), however she can be used effectively if played on the second or third turn, once your opponent's strongest skills have been exhausted. Best played following Admiral Sylvia (who gives an energy guard that improves survivability during the Desert Flower skill period). | |
| Kind Liberator Samay | A decent skill that is held back by Samay's low base M.ATK stat. M.RES shred can be useful in a magic team. Best used as a followup to Kind Student Samay. | |
| Magic Professor Scheherazade | High SP cost, but damage is too low to justify the cost. | |
| Neon Savior Angelica | High SP cost, low initial damage with moderate burn damage. Only recommended as a backup to Angelica's other costumes. | |
| Robin Hood Zenith | Don't be fooled by her art, she's built like a tank rather than a ranger. Zenith has very high HP but very low base ATK. Even with her chain damage and damage amplification skill, her own damage potential is very low. For 1 SP, she can be effective as a pseudo-tank and can help your front-targeting team members snipe backrow targets, but in the current meta she is less useful because there are already good skip targeting options available. | |
| Sharpshooter Gray | Low initial damage with conditional bonus. Unreliable in PVP unless you can accurately predict your opponent's formation. | |
| Snow White Ventana | High SP cost, mediocre damage (unless opponent has taunt or concentrated fire applied). No secondary costume. | |
| Unknown Sage Nartas | High damage against physical types, but 5 SP cost means an "all or nothing" opener with unpredictable results. If he's lucky, he wipes an entire column and holds the front line against magic counterattacks. If he is unlucky, he's a disappointing use of 5 SP, and he has no secondary costume for follow up on your second turn. In the current meta, he stays firmly in C tier because stacked column formations (3-4 units in a single column) have become unpopular thanks to NB.Eclipse, so you are unlikely to get high value from Nartas for his SP cost. |
| D | Adventurer of the Unknown Diana | Useable as a follow up to Anti-dystopia Diana, but not good on her own. |
| Sage of the Blue Clouds Olstein | 70% damage reduction for 1 SP is nice, but there's no guarantee you'll hit your opponent's strong damage dealers. Useable as a backup to Fiend Scholar, otherwise, almost all the time you would rather spend your SP on something that can kill. | |
| All 4-star units not noted above (Bernie, Jayden, Lisianne, Lucrezia, Layla) All 3-star units not noted above (i.e. all other than Arines). | These are not good value for cost, and not recommended for use other than in low tier PVP (bronze, silver). |
