S
Deathreavers: Several AoA units intend to counter the rats in some way. Unfortunately, none of them do it particularly well.
Major Q9: With the exception of a few more potential can openers to face, Major Q9 still dominates most games.
Marro Warriors: The best 50-point filler of all time.
Raelin the Kyrie Warrior (RotV): The single best standalone figure in classic Heroscape. Spoiler alert: she’s good with AoA stuff too.
A+
4th Massachusetts Line: Better than the 10th—except for the limited army options.
10th Regiment of Foot: Flexible 4-man ranged squads will always be good.
Frostclaw Paladins: The best unique squad to come out of AoA. With good stats, two lives each, and a whopping twelve bonding options, the ‘Claws are prepared for anything.
Grimnak: Turns out chomping a squad figure is really useful when that squad figure has two lives.
Heavy Gruts: Disengage shoots them to a high tier in AoA play.
Isamu: Does he always fulfill his points? Yes. Is he worth an S-tier ranking? Nope, sorry dok.
Knight Primus Adelbern: A stronger, faster Grimnak held back only by the fact that his bonding squad will, eventually, die. This brute is unstoppable into a myriad of matchups.
Knights of Weston: A plethora of additional knightly synergy cements the knights as a melee staple.
Nilfheim: Slipped out of S tier by engagement rules. Nothing in AoA can stop the ice dragon.
Sir Gilbert: Somehow even better with the addition of the Frostclaw Paladins.
A
Admiral EJ-1M: More attack potential than Q9, order marker flexibility, and the ability to move his screen to boot. His only flaw is much less survivability than the original tin can.
Airborne Elite: A first-round drop will still devastate any army, AoA or not.
Axegrinders of Burning Forge: More big bads to hit means the dwarves retain their usefulness in the meta.
Blastatrons: The glad/blast combo is limited less by new AoA options and more by modern army restrictions.
Braxas: Just like Grimnak, eliminating unique squad figures is a huge advantage.
Crimson Widow: Hire Crew and Midnight Raid are what make the Admiral army top-tier. She doesn’t do much after that, but she doesn’t need to. Pirate Commander is the cherry on top of an incredible unit.
Darrak Ambershard: Still the dwarves best bonding option.
Death Chasers of Thesk: Giving them a Grimnak-on-steroids as a bonding option elevates this cheap, hard-hitting squad.
Dreadnaughts of New Tortuga: The best pirate squad by miles and a threat to most armies, especially when the Admiral is involved.
Dorim the Bulkhead Brawler: Certainly best as a Dwarf Hero than a Captain, Dorim gets the Axegrinders into battle quicker and can really dish out damage.
Gladiatrons: The board control and damage potential keep them relevant in the formats they can fit into.
Izumi Samurai: The classic unit with the biggest boost from AoA, Hire Crew brings the Izumi-led pirates into the top of the meta.
Kaemon Awa: The best cleanup filler in the game.
Krav Maga Agent: The Krav still easily compete with the beefed-up AoA units.
Major Q10: The Major can go toe-to-robot-foot with most units in the game.
Marcu Esenwein: Brutal in an endgame, until you start rolling well.
Marro Stingers: Another casualty of two-life squads. Stinger drain is more tempting, and more devastating to your own army.
Me-Burq-Sa: Paralyzing Stare becomes a huge factor against more unique squads, but still too unpredictable for a higher tier.
Nerak the Glacian Swog Rider: The second-best support unit in the game. With mediocre stats, that’s usually all he is.
Thyraxis Dragoon: Maddening Chitter is tough to play around. Giving her Nagrub bonding is even tougher.
A-
Agent Skahen: A solid ranged hero on her own, and especially good at eliminating unique squad figures.
Alastair MacDirk: A strong option for a Frostclaws’ beatstick.
Arrow Gruts: The Arrow Gruts now have some of the best bonding options in the game.
Crixus: On the rare occasions the gladiators fit into a tournament build, Crixus’ shield carries the army.
Cyprien Esenwein: Chilling Touch is a lot less useful when one wound doesn’t kill a squad figure.
Eldgrim: As useful in death as life, Eldgrim is a solid filler hero for both the Knights and the Frostclaws.
Eltahale: A dependable counter to any AoA unit.
Fen Hydra: Snapping up expensive squad figures since 2010.
Festering Honor Guard: The parasites are a huge threat to heroes. It’s too bad they’re missing some sort of synergy.
Finn the Viking Champion: Adding an extra defense to a two life squad makes a huge difference.
Fire Elemental: A scary sight when all that you’re fielding are unique squads, even if they can survive a sear.
Greenscale Warriors: Their best bonding options still reside in classic, but those bonding options are the best in classic.
Iron Lich Viscerot: The Eisenek commander, with his buddy Scavorinth, can output some of the most ridiculous damage in the game. But once Viscerot goes down, the army crumbles.
Kurrok the Elementalist: A figure with a versatile toolset, but probably best with twenty fire elementals.
Kyntela Gwyn: There are better ways to spend 20 points, unless you’re got elves or 4th.
Laglor: The most underrated flagbearer, Laglor gives ranged Vydar armies a competitive edge.
Marrden Nagrubs: Thyraxis finally gives them an overly powerful bonding option.
Mimring: An eight range special is an eight range special. Bonding is icing on the cake.
Mogrimm Forgehammer: They really got the name right with this one. Mogrimm puts the hammer down.
Phantom Knights: Quick development and good stats will always be useful.
Queen Maladrix the Conqueror: A remarkably dangerous hero killer. Had the faction been completed, who knows how strong the War Brood would be.
Scavorinth Lord of Ruin: His extra turn, combined with the Iron Lich’s Vile Injection, can crush just about anything before your opponent can blink.
Tarn Viking Warriors: The second-best Hire Crew squad, and decent filler if you’ve lost your Marro Warriors.
Zetacron: Another underrated unit, Zetacron changes the way your opponent plays.
B+
Blade Gruts: Bodies over brawn, as the orcs say.
Black Wyrmling: Much more difficult to kill two AoA squaddies per turn. But putting two wounds on anything with a 30-point figure feels good regardless.
Charos: Not much in AoA can challenge him, but plenty in classic can.
Concan the Kyrie Warrior: Concan is a useful staging ground for the new knights.
Guilty McCreech: Consistently more useful than you’d expect, especially when he’s facing fewer figures.
Hellforge Mandukor: He’s a complete package in an already synergistic, strong army. Reliance on the d20 can hurt his performance.
Ice Troll Berserker: A strong option in the Arrow Gruts’ arsenal of bonding.
Imperator Kayne: A single-spaced Tor-Kul-Na with a solid bonding squad makes the Imperator a powerful unit. Weaker stats keep him in check.
James Murphy: An AoE special is still nice in AoA.
Johnny “Shotgun” Sullivan: Not a bad choice if you don’t like Jandar Soulborgs.
Marcus Decimus Gallus: A key part of the Romans’ adjacency bonuses—which struggle in AoA play.
Marro Dividers: Quantity over quality is the name of the game for the Dividers.
Migol Ironwill: A sturdy figure who can roll hot, or just as likely, not.
Mohican River Tribe: The trickiest figures in their tier, but if your opponent knows what they’re doing, they won’t hold up.
Nakita Agents: A potentially powerful, if slightly risky, Hire Crew option.
Necrotech Wraithraiders: Your Raelin? No, our Raelin.
Ne-Gok-Sa: A super strong bonding option for an army plummeting in the meta.
Ogre Warhulk: If you’ve got the points, Flail can be devastating against unique units.
Ordo Borealis: Best paired with Concan. Once the Ordo have to move, they’re in trouble.
Roman Legionnaires: Their strong bonding options keep them relevant, barely.
Sacred Band: No need for adjacency bumps them up to the Legionnaires’ level.
Sgt. Drake Alexander (SotM): The heavy hitter for a Valiant army fulfills his niche well.
Sonya Esenwein: Suddenly, getting bumping Chilling Touch up a wound tier becomes massively important.
Swog Rider: Cheap damage will always be relevant. Plus, his name is fun to say.
Tandros Kreel: Cleave is a powerful tool that’s still useful into AoA squads.
Theracus: Not much new to shuttle, but old cheese strats still survive.
Thorgrim the Viking Warrior: A fantastic option to put on a plethora of AoA cards.
Tor-Kul-Na: The big boy has a lot of stomping potential that’s somewhat limited by his double base on modern maps.
Venoc Vipers: Enough vipers and any AoA unit is hissstory.
Venoc Warlord: Some say he’s still trying to change the outcome of a Frenzy roll to this day. But he’s a heavy hitter and the movement bonus is very useful.
B
Air Elemental: A lot of utility for a Kurrok build.
Arkmer: The new Wizard blood has nothing on the best classic Elf Wizard.
Ashigaru Harquebus: Cheap range is still competitive in large numbers.
Atlaga the Kyrie Warrior: Just like how Heroscape is a lite tabletop wargame, Atlaga is lite gambling for the players.
Capuan Gladiators: Fewer figures on the board and higher point totals means the Gladiators can matchup with most armies.
Cornelius Breech the Blackguard Prince: If you wanted an army with a reason to attack your own figures, Cornelius can scratch that itch.
First Officer Bok-Bur-Na: Face him off against a ton of cheap squad figures and you’ll be all set.
Frost Giant of Morh: Non-bonding heavy hitters aren’t in high demand these days.
Fyorlag Spiders: Quick, cheap units who didn’t get the bonding option in Vanguard they were hoping for.
Goblin Cutters: Sneaky little goblins that can brutalize in the right matchup.
Horned Skull Brutes: A pseudo multi-life squad, if you can get the positioning right.
Knight Adjuctor Oberon: Overwhelm is underwhelming.
Marrden Hounds: Somehow the low movement roll always happens at just the wrong time.
Marro Drones: A common squad that can grind through anything with a few good d20 rolls, classic or not.
Minions of Utgar: The minions can put in some work—or perish on the way there.
Mezzodemon Warmongers: Another thirty unique units decrease the odds that the Mezzos will be useful.
Moltenclaw: The Greenscales have better options, but Moltenclaw has his place.
Ogre Pulverizer: A bit redundant in the Deathchaser army.
Ornak: In high point melee games, he can make the difference, and he’s got another decent Marro hero to boss around.
Red Wyrmling: The curse of the uniques-only set strikes again.
Samuel Brown: A lukewarm filler in his niche.
Syvarris: Syvarris can no longer pick off figures with the pace he once could.
Spartacus: His values lies almost entirely in his Gladiator bonuses, but good stats are good stats.
Valguard: Hitting power and staying power…too bad your opponent can just ignore him once he’s engaged.
Vorid Burrowbreaker: Similar to Tuck, the Burrowbreaker is good for his points, but you could do better for bonding options.
Wing Commander Tuck Harrigan: Mobile range adds a lot of utility to the Frostclaws, but often you’ll feel like a turn with Tuck was a turn wasted.
Wyvern: Talon Grab is an objectively funny ability. Useful? Not really. But at least you’ll have a good time playing them.
Zelrig: Much like the Mezzos, the addition of over two dozen unique units only hurts Zelrig.
Zombies of Morindan: Not enough easy prey as there once was.
B-
Ana Karithon: Whether you want a healer, a defensive boost, or something to strike at the undead, there are always better options for her points.
Anubian Wolves: Solid defensive stats for the price, but too much inconsistency against range.
Aubrien Archers: A bit too fragile and a bit too unpredictable to compete with the best ranged squads.
Brunak: While his special will be less useful, a high defense figure with carry always will be.
Drow Chainfighter: Decent filler, but not enough synergy to be the backbone of an army.
Fia Bonny the Void Siren: The pirate lass isn’t the best option for a pirate squad. Don’t let her near any heroes.
Halushia Scion of the Wild: The best Dryan Wizard, but that’s not saying much. It’s unfortunate that his familiars are so weak.
Iron Golem: The construct does not have the survivability or mobility to compete with the other heavy hitters. But Iron Tough is a very useful tool.
Jordawn: Slightly more useful than her counterpart Chardris…slightly.
MacDirk Warriors: The MacDirks crave one more movement point. They sit comfortably at the bottom of the 4-man melee barrel.
Microcorp Agents: Helped slightly, and only slightly, by Laglor. 2 attack doesn’t cut it anymore.
Othkurik the Black Dragon: Like Nilfheim, except if Nilf was more fragile, generally less strong, and his special relied on opponent placement.
Protectors of Ullar: Terrified of strong squad figures or a first turn blank. They can’t compete with the high attack outputs of the Vanguard edition.
Raelin the Kyrie Warrior (SotM): Who left Raelin out in the sun too long?
Rhogar Dragonspine: Fairly pricey, but it might be worth restoring 33% of the Admiral’s health.
Seige: Vulnerable at the start of the round and slow after, but he’s got good survivability.
Sentinels of Jandar: Too easy for pirates, or anyone, to fulfill their points against these guys.
Sgt. Drake Alexander (RotV): Fragility to getting swarmed keeps him in check.
Shurrak: Even without any strong synergies, a powerful special and a tool to move opponents’ figures keeps him slipping any lower.
Sir Hawthorne: A fun risk-reward figure that will never betray you…right?
Sonlen: When an auto-wound won’t land a kill, the Elf Archmage is in trouble.
Su-Bak-Na: Retains his usefulness as a cleanup tool and some breathing room for the Stingers.
Sujoah: Pricey, but Poison Sting puts the hurt on multi-life unique squads.
Tagawa Samurai: Get those purple experience markers ready as you field a squad that doesn’t really fit into any build.
Ulginesh: There are new wizards in town. Surprisingly, they’re not any better than the current wizards.
Werewolf Lord: Moon frenzy is game-changing. Bonding is icing on the variance cake.
Wolves of Badru: Pounce is much riskier, but the trades are often worth it into almost every AoA unit.
Xenithrax the Soulweaver: Summon Vines doesn’t do nearly enough to make up for her awful special. At least she’s got eight lives.
C+
Agent Carr: A decent counter to the Admiral-led pirates.
Chardris: At least the extra attack dice might help you kill a squad figure.
Death Knights of Valkrill: Like the spiders, they were hoping for another bonding hero in Vanguard. Unlike the spiders, they’re not that good.
Deathstalkers: Eliminating a defense roll is massive in AoA play.
Deathwalker 8000: An odd choice for reducing unique squad activations, but potentially viable.
Earth Elemental: If only he could hurt dragons or Raelin.
Emiroon: Surprisingly good utility for a build that doesn’t really need him.
Evar Scarcarver: Difficult to kill except for the beginning of every round.
Granite Guardians: They won’t beat you to the high ground, but don’t let them get there eventually.
Jotun: Almost guaranteed to reduce squad activations. With high life, he still holds up well.
Kato Katsuro: His order marker attack potential is great. His cost is not.
Killian Vane III: It’s hard to activate the blunderbuss when all your bonding squad options prefer melee combat.
Knaves of the Silver Scimitar: When will the pirates learn that two defense just won’t cut it? At least they’ll do some damage before they die.
Kumiko: She’ll get off just about one barrage before falling.
Marachott the Mind Whisperer: Marachott’s got some impressive abilities. It’s unfortunate that the mind tricks never seem to work when you need them to.
Master Win Chiu Woo: Set him up in a good spot and watch the fists fly. Just hope he doesn’t go down first.
Mind Flayer Mastermind: Enslave is no joke in the AoAscape.
Ninjas of the Northern Wind: Disappearing Ninja can swing an endgame provided you’ve destroyed any special attackers.
Omnicron Repulsors: Even with another powerful Soulborg figure to target, the Repulsors are the weakest Wave 9 units by far.
Otonashi: If you’re considering Otonashi, it means that Isamu was banned. Maybe just play 10 points under.
Parmenio: He’s got a lot more options for Disciplined Influence now. Unfortunately, none of those options make a lot of sense.
Retiarius: Net Trip is very useful against multi-life squads. He’ll die before he gets to use it though.
Shaolin Monks: Tactically threating but practically fragile to almost anything.
Sir Denrick: The size determination puts a huge restriction on his usefulness.
Taelord the Kyrie Warrior: Not much in AoA benefits from his aura. Not much in classic does either.
Tagawa Samurai Archers: The archers really push the limits of what quantity over quality means.
Warden 816: Fun synergy and a decent special. The long range is nice too.
Warriors of Ashra: Every AoA faction tears the once-effective cheap screen apart.
White Wyrmling: A cheap ranged special that won’t do any real damage.
C
Armoc Vipers: They might have been helped by a future AoA Ullar Warlord. We’ll never know.
Brandis Skyhunter: His half-elf status hurts his already limited potential.
Blue Wyrmling: Miles below its red and black cousins.
Chana the Zenithwing: A reasonable heal chance is not enough to keep the Dryans from being totally overwhelmed in a game.
Deepwyrm Drow: It’s unfortunate that Poison Weapons can’t activate for Unique Squads.
Exiles of the Sundered Sea: 75 points is way too much for a squad that will fold against the weakest attacks.
Feral Troll: If he’s your cleanup, you’d better hope the rest of your army did something good.
Gorillinators: Even as meatshields for the Nakitas they struggle to defend.
Kee-Mo-Shi: Mind Shackle is a huge threat to every AoA unit. A threat is usually all it is.
Kelda the Kyrie Warrior: Very few formats exist where the order marker to heal is worth the absence of an attack.
Kozuke Samurai: Too many ranged threats exist for such an expensive unique squad to be much use.
Marro Hive: You could potentially rebirth three squads of Stingers, for almost the cost of…three squads of Stingers.
Master of the Hunt: He’s got a lot to hunt, but he doesn’t have the stats to do it with.
Morsbane: He’s out to get you with his rod. That would be horrifying if he could ever activate it.
Omnicron Snipers: Even a skull doesn’t guarantee a squad figure kill anymore.
Quasatch Hunters: Lots of abilities that are hard to make work in traditional competitive settings.
Raakchott Desecrator of Death: His biggest problem is that to consume the dead, you actually have to kill something.
Torin: Getting Evil Eye to activate takes some serious coordination.
C-
Ashigaru Yari: It’s not much of a screen, but they’re bodies for Kato’s orders.
Dumutef Guard: A single life is too easy to take with only four defense.
Dzu-Teh: Hard to rank. Solid on snow maps, a total waste anywhere else.
Einar Imperium: Some of the most expensive per-figure units. The double attack doesn’t quite justify that point cost.
Elite Onyx Vipers: Almost guaranteed to reach their target and hit them with the force of a wet noodle.
Empress Kiova: Giving the Imperium presents is their only saving grace.
Estivara: A large aura for an average squad isn’t enough.
Greater Ice Elemental: Ice Spikes no longer carries the same threat.
Iskra Esenwein: With Life Drain tougher to achieve, Iskra becomes even less useful.
Khosumet the Darklord: The peace of mind of not destroying an Anubian Wolf is not worth the cost of an extra squad of Anubian Wolves.
Marro Drudge: The jokers of the Marro community even on their home turf.
Roman Archers: Fewer, bigger targets just manage to keep them from being unplayable.
Rechets of Bogdan: They can completely stall an opponent’s offense if they ever get on the board.
Shades of Bleakwoode: They’d be better in AoAscape if they could devour the souls of any unique unit.
Sharwin Wildborn: You could inflict 4 wounds with her special and still not have killed any unique squad figures.
Tul-Bak-Ra: Illusory walls might have helped him out.
Zettian Guards: Why you’d ever pick them over the myriad of 70-point options is a mystery.
D
Deathwalker 9000: That’s a lot of points you got there. Mind if I kill it with an Arrow Grut?
Deadeye Dan: Ullar’s Rifle won’t even stop an AoA squaddie.
Dünd: Good doggo, bad unit.
Erevan Sunshadow: A figure geared toward scenarios more than competitive play.
Grok Riders: About double what their point cost should be, Ne-Gok-Sa can only help them so much.
Gurei-Oni: Gurei tops the pile of shame in Aquilla’s Alliance.
Kita the Springrunner: Just because you can bond with something doesn’t mean you should.
Mika Connour: Taking leaving engagements is embarrassing for a shadow assassin.
Moriko: Saber Storm won’t do nearly enough to justify her inclusion in an army.
Obsidian Guards: Terrain-specific units that don’t even work well on their specific terrain.
Pelloth: Sacrificing Drow is funny, so he’s got that going for him.
Runa: Finally getting that 20 feels good until you realize it was the roll for a Nagrub.
Saylind: Spear of Summoning is a cool ability with little use in a competitive setting.
Shiori: Proof that Heroscape designers consistently overvalued Phantom Walk.
Sir Dupuis: The mounted knight stays without synergy.
Sudema: Good odds of killing a squad figure. That will be the last turn she takes.
Templar Cavalry: Dismissing the rabble is fine until you realize 4 defense isn’t that much either.
Wo-Sa-Ga: The forgotten Hivelord, Wo-Sa-Ga is best used for convincing your opponent that Coil Crush might actually work next time.
F
Acolarh: Neither the movement bonus or the aura justify his cost.
Deathwalker 7000: Easily the funniest ability in the game. Easily one of the worst units.
Hatamoto Taro: If you Hata reason to field him, all that moto-vation will go out the door when you find out he’s useless and you want to Taro your cards in half.
Major X17: He’ll be dead on arrival in any AoA game.
Sahaugin Raider: They exist to make every other 25-point-or-less figure look good.
