Best early unit: Jake — cheap ($50, up to 4) and full AoE from his 5th upgrade. Best evolutions: Alien Jake (black hole that holds whole waves) and King BMO; best boss killer: Marceline Beast. Late game: Candy Elemental Bubblegum, Jake the Lich and the summon Secret Magic Man. Weakest: Flame Princess, base Finn and Lady Rainicorn.
Tier list board and every evolution at max level · Video by 2kane Unleashed on YouTube
How we built this tier list
Most “tier list” videos show the same board: 2kane showed a TierMaker made by “the number one player”, and ItzVexo and TonyCool re-ranked that same board. So we count it as one opinion and weigh it against the independent ones: SpaceQT’s 12-unit ranking and what FactoryOfMyths, EggsyB, MeddysonTD and 2kane say while playing. Disputed means independent sources disagree by two tiers or more.
The tier list
Tier
Units
S
Alien Jake (evo) · King BMO (evo) · Marceline Beast (evo, bosses) · Candy Elemental Bubblegum (evo) · Jake the Lich (Secret evo) · Magic Man (Secret)
A
Adult Finn (evo) · Lemongrab 3 (evo) · The Lich (Secret) · Jake (best early unit) · Prism Queen Rainicorn (evo, disputed) · King Man (Magic Man evo, disputed)
B
Marceline · Princess Bubblegum · Ice King · Fire King · Billy (disputed) · Lemongrab (disputed) · BMO (evolve him)
C
Finn · Lady Rainicorn · Flame Princess
Why each top pick
Unit
Why it’s here
Who says so
Alien Jake
Black-hole ultimate pulls enemies in and holds them; with two placed, waves barely move. Materials from Ice Kingdom (world 2).
SpaceQT #1 “best overall”, FactoryOfMyths, ItzVexo, the shared board (S)
King BMO
Homing multi-hit attacks; ultimate summons Bubblegum, Marceline, Finn and Jake. Limit 2.
SpaceQT #3, EggsyB, shared board (S)
Marceline Beast
Drink the Red hits one target for about 40,000 — the boss killer.
FactoryOfMyths, SpaceQT #2 “best bosses”
Candy Elemental Bubblegum
Full-range attacks that turn enemies into candy (a stun).
2kane (“lowkey better than Magic Man”), shared board (S)
Jake the Lich
Full-map AoE; limit 1.
FactoryOfMyths (“very meta”), shared board (S)
Magic Man
Summon Secret (0.05%): slows with Time Bubble, full-range Freak City at upgrade 5. Limit 1.
Shared board (S), 2kane
Jake
$50, up to 4 on the map, and his 5th upgrade (Stretchy Tornado) hits everything in range.
FactoryOfMyths, SpaceQT, ItzVexo, MeddysonTD — all call him the best starter
Where creators disagree
Unit
High rating
Low rating
Billy
SpaceQT: A, reliable multi-hit AoE
2kane: “terrible”; one re-rank: D
Lemongrab
2kane: should be A or B
Shared board: C; ItzVexo: “mid, don’t use”
Prism Queen Rainicorn
Shared board: S; huge single numbers
SpaceQT: B; 2kane: “not it”
King Man
Highest damage shown (243,405 at Lv 50 with Oh My Glob)
EggsyB, HOBOstyle: evolution not worth it
Tips
Evolutions are most of the S tier. Spend early effort on evolutions rather than summoning for a specific Mythic.
Placement limits matter: base Finn and Jake up to 4, Epics 3, Mythics and evolutions 2, Secrets 1 — so a team of six different S-tier units beats six copies of one. See all units.
Numbers in videos usually include traits — many max-level showcases use Oh My Glob (+200% damage). See traits.
There are no farm (money) units and no pure buff supports in the game so far.
The Halloween update (Oct 23–26) may add units — we’ll re-rank once players have tested them.
FAQ
What is the best unit in Candy Kingdom Defense?
For most players, Alien Jake: Jake is a free starter, his materials come from the second world, and his black hole pins whole waves in place. The highest raw damage belongs to Magic Man's evolution King Man and Prism Queen Rainicorn, but both are rated lower by several creators for slow attacks or weak area coverage.
Is Billy good?
Creators disagree. SpaceQT ranks him A for reliable multi-hit area damage; 2kane calls him 'terrible' and one board puts him in D. Don't build around him, but he's fine as a filler Mythic.
Is Lemongrab good?
Base Lemongrab is middling — he spawns Lemon People that block the path. Lemongrab 3 is better: stronger lemons that stun. Most rankings put Lemongrab 3 around A.
Should I evolve Magic Man?
Opinions are split. Evolved King Man shows huge numbers (over 243,000 damage at level 50 with Oh My Glob), but several players say the evolution is expensive and plays worse than base Magic Man because it attacks slowly. Keep base Magic Man unless you have two.
Which evolution should I do first?
Alien Jake, then King BMO and Adult Finn — their materials come from worlds 2–4. Marceline Beast if you pulled Marceline and keep losing to bosses.
Checked against the current version on · Medium confidence — consistent community reports, not officially confirmed. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.
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