With over a hundred brawlers in Brawl Stars and balance patches landing every few weeks, keeping track of who is actually worth playing is a job in itself. This Brawl Stars tier list does that job for you.
We rank every brawler based on win rates and pick rates among the top 200 players in the world, versatility across game modes, and draft value in Ranked, then refresh the rankings after every balance patch.
Below you will find the full tier list, the best picks for each game mode, and advice on who deserves your coins first. And if you need gems to unlock the brawlers on this list, GamsGo has cheap Brawl Stars gems for way less than the in-app price.
Brawl Stars Tier List for July 2026
This list reflects the Season 52 (NanoNoodles) meta after the Update 68 balance changes and the July 8 mid-season patch. The safest picks right now are Surge, Edgar, Mortis, Crow, Colt, Colette, Bolt, and Damian: Hypercharge value and mobility decide most matches in the current meta, while slow tanks and setup-heavy throwers are having a rough time.
Before you rush off to try these picks, it is worth grabbing the freebies first: active Brawl Stars codes hand out coins, Power Points, and other resources that make testing new brawlers a lot cheaper.
S-Tier Brawlers Explained
Why these eight sit at the top right now:
| Brawler | Best Modes | Why S-tier | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showdown Gem Grab | Strongest brawler in top-200 ladder data, with the highest pick rate in the game and a win rate above 53%. At max stage he outranges almost everyone. | ||
| Showdown Brawl Ball | Most contested pick in the game. His Super deletes any squishy target on demand, so expect him banned in most Ranked matches. | ||
| Brawl Ball Showdown | The fast, squishy meta is perfect for him. Cleans up team fights before the enemy backline can react. | ||
| Knockout Showdown | Higher base damage after the July 8 hotfix, and poison plus anti-heal works in nearly every mode. Safe pick, safe ban. | ||
| Heist Knockout | Top-tier damage output and a Hypercharge that ends fights in one clip. Pick rate among top players has stayed high through every patch. | ||
| Heist Knockout Gem Grab | Best tank counter in the game. Percentage damage means no HP stacking saves you, and she doubles as a Heist monster. | ||
| Showdown Knockout | One of the highest win rates in the game, over 60% in Showdown. Kept his crowd-control immunity after Super despite the July nerfs. High skill, higher ceiling. | ||
| Brawl Ball Hot Zone Gem Grab | Still tops Ranked win-rate charts after several rounds of nerfs. Durability, crowd control, and burst in one kit make him a pick-or-ban brawler. |
How This Tier List Is Ranked
Three things decide placement here. First, performance among top-ranked players, since win rates at the highest level filter out picks that only work when nobody punishes them.
Second, versatility: a brawler who dominates a single mode but flops everywhere else does not reach S-tier, which is why Heist specialists like Chuck and Dynamike sit lower despite being terrifying on the right map.
Third, ranked draft value, meaning how much pressure a pick puts on the enemy team before the match even starts.
One honest caveat: Brawl Stars is heavily map-dependent. A B-tier brawler on the right map beats an S-tier brawler on the wrong one, and a brawler you have actually mastered beats both.
Best Brawlers by Game Mode
Best Gem Grab Brawlers
Control of mid and the ability to peel for your gem carrier matter more than raw damage here.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Colette | Epic | Punishes any tank or bruiser sent to contest mid, and her Super clears grouped enemies off the gem mine. | Piper Belle |
 Otis | Mythic | Silencing the enemy gem carrier at the worst possible moment for them wins fights on its own. | Edgar Mortis |
 Damian | Mythic | Durable enough to hold mid alone and his crowd control breaks up enemy pushes before they reach your carrier. | Colette Piper |
 Byron | Mythic | Keeps your gem carrier alive through extended fights while poking safely from the backline. | Edgar Crow |
 Max | Mythic | Speed for the whole team means faster rotations, safer gem carries, and escapes that should not be possible. | Emz Gale |
Best Brawl Ball Brawlers
Mobility rules this mode. If you cannot chase, escape, or carry the ball through a gap, you are playing at a disadvantage.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Edgar | Epic | Jumps over the enemy defense to finish plays, and no squishy goalkeeper survives him one on one. | Shelly Bibi |
 Mortis | Mythic | Dashes carry the ball through gaps nobody else survives, turning one opening into a goal. | Shelly Colette |
 Kenji | Legendary | Mobility plus burst lets him force his way into the box and punish anyone who overcommits on offense. | Piper Gale |
 Bibi | Epic | Her knockback shuts down enemy pushes near the goal and clears the ball carrier out of scoring range. | Colt Piper |
Damian | Mythic | Wins the midfield brawl that decides possession, and his durability makes him hard to move off the ball. | Colette Brock |
Best Knockout Brawlers
No respawns means safe poke and clean picks win rounds. Avoid unnecessary trades.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Pierce | Legendary | The default marksman pick right now: safe against divers and applies constant lane pressure. | Piper Belle |
 Brock | Rare | Long-range poke chips rounds in your favor, and his Super breaks the cover enemies hide behind. | Mortis Edgar |
Colette | Epic | Two hits put any brawler at kill range regardless of their HP, which forces enemies to play passive. | Piper Brock |
 Crow | Legendary | Poison denies healing between fights, so every trade he takes stays won. | 8-Bit Piper |
 Piper | Epic | One clean shot removes a squishy from the round, and good positioning keeps her nearly untouchable. | Edgar Mortis |
Best Heist Brawlers
Safe damage on the safe wins this mode. Specialists who look mediocre elsewhere become monsters here.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
Colette | Epic | Pressures both the safe and the enemy team at once thanks to her percentage damage. | Piper Belle |
 Colt | Rare | Left alone for a few seconds, his damage output ends the game on the spot. | Edgar Shelly |
 Rico | Super Rare | Bounces shots onto the safe from angles defenders cannot contest. | Piper Brock |
 Chuck | Mythic | The mode's resident cheat code: on the right layout his rail line delivers him straight to the safe. | Colette Piper |
 Dynamike | Super Rare | Throws massive safe damage over walls without ever exposing himself to defenders. | Mortis Edgar |
Best Hot Zone Brawlers
Area control and sustain decide zone fights. Brawlers who punish grouped enemies shine here.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Emz | Epic | Her lingering spray punishes anyone who stands on the point, which is exactly what this mode forces enemies to do. | Piper Brock |
 Ruffs | Mythic | Power-ups and lane pressure turn extended zone standoffs in your team's favor. | Edgar Mortis |
 Lumi | Mythic | Exerts space control across the whole zone and makes holding the point miserable for the enemy. | Piper Mandy |
Damian | Mythic | Thrives in the chaotic extended fights this mode produces, and he simply outlasts most contesters. | Colette Piper |
Otis | Mythic | Silencing the enemy anchor flips a contested zone instantly. | Edgar Mortis |
Best Showdown Brawlers
Matchups and positioning matter more here than anywhere else, so treat these as strong defaults rather than guarantees. Take fights on your terms and let the lobby thin itself out.
| Brawler | Rarity | Why they work | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
Edgar | Epic | Posts the highest overall Showdown score by a wide margin: his Super turns every low-HP survivor into free cubes. | Shelly Bull |
 Sirius | Ultra Legendary | Holds one of the best win rates in the mode, with a kit that wins duels and escapes bad spots. | Edgar Shelly |
 Shelly | Starting Brawler | Quietly wins far more lobbies than her reputation suggests: bush ambushes and her Super delete overconfident opponents. | Piper 8-Bit |
 Surge | Legendary | Once he stacks power cubes and stages, almost nothing left in the lobby can trade with him. | Edgar Shelly |
 Bolt | Epic | Holds a win rate above 60% in this mode, and his crowd-control immunity after his Super wins the fights that decide top placements. | Mortis Edgar |
Who to Upgrade First
Coins and Power Points are always the bottleneck, so spend them on brawlers who stay useful across several modes and survive balance patches. Right now the safest long-term investments are Damian, Colette, and Crow.
All three fit multiple modes, and Colette in particular will stay relevant as long as tanks and high-HP brawlers exist. Among the newer releases, Starr Nova is worth building after her July buffs raised her HP to 8,000, while Wendy is still settling into the meta, so give her a patch cycle before committing serious resources.
If you are missing key brawlers or want to push the Brawl Pass this season, gems are the fastest route. You can get Brawl Stars gems and Brawl Pass at a lower price through GamsGo top-up instead of paying full in-app rates, which leaves more budget for the brawlers you actually want to build.
What Changed in the July 2026 Meta
Season 52 (NanoNoodles) opened the Ramen Rebellion arc on June 29 and brought two new brawlers, Nori and Wendy, plus new Hypercharges for Starr Nova and Bolt.
The Update 68 balance pass buffed several forgotten picks, with Mandy's attack jumping from 2,600 to 2,960, while Spike traded a slower Super charge for higher damage. Mandy has already climbed back into playability off the back of that change.
A mid-season hotfix on July 8 then walked back part of the earlier changes. Crow's damage buff was trimmed from 840 to 760, Jacky's health went up to 10,400, and Bonnie's basic attack rose to 2,440. Bolt kept his new crowd-control immunity after using his Super, which is the main reason he stays in S-tier despite the damage nerfs.
The overall direction is clear: Supercell is tuning Gadgets, Buffies, and Star Powers rather than gutting core kits, and the result is a faster, higher-damage meta where positioning matters more than raw HP.
Final Thoughts
Tier lists are a starting point, not a rulebook. The rankings above tell you which brawlers give you the best odds in the current meta, the mode tables tell you where each one actually belongs, and the upgrade advice keeps your coins from going to waste.
But map knowledge and time spent on a brawler you enjoy will always beat blindly picking whatever sits in S-tier.
The meta will keep moving, and so will this page. GamsGo tracks every balance patch, hotfix, and new brawler release, and we update the rankings here as soon as the dust settles on each change. Bookmark this page, check back after every update, and you will always know exactly who is worth your time before your next match.
FAQ
Who Is the Best Brawler in Brawl Stars Right Now?
Surge is the strongest brawler on the ladder in July 2026, holding the top spot in top-200 player data for two weeks running. In Ranked, Damian leads win rates and remains the most reliable pick-or-ban brawler.
Which Brawlers Should I Ban in Ranked?
Edgar is the most contested pick in the game and usually deserves the ban. Damian, Mortis, and Najia are the other common targets. Adjust to the map: banning a mediocre brawler on their best map beats banning a strong one on a map that does not suit them.
How Many Brawlers Are in Brawl Stars?
There are 106 playable brawlers as of July 2026. The newest additions are Nori and Wendy, both introduced during the Ramen Rebellion seasons.
How Often Does This Tier List Change?
Supercell ships balance changes roughly monthly, with occasional mid-season hotfixes like the one on July 8. We update this list after every patch, so check back when a new balance pass drops.
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