Horde Invasion is easily one of the hardest and most rewarding modes in Clash of Critters. Unlike normal stages where you can brute-force content with raw levels, Horde requires proper teamwork, positioning, support synergy, crowd control timing, and boss management.
A bad lineup can die before Wave 20.
A coordinated team with proper supports and boss control can push 900 to 1000+ scores consistently.
Clash of Critters Horde Invasion Guide – Best T3/T4 upgrades
Horde appears through the icon in your camp.
You:
- Enter Horde
- Invite a teammate
- Build formations
- Survive endless boss waves
- Push the highest score possible
The mode becomes extremely chaotic after Wave 30 because:
- Multiple bosses spawn together
- AoE attacks overlap
- Freeze mechanics appear
- Tanks instantly collapse
- Positioning mistakes become fatal
High-level runs are less about raw DPS and more about:
- Crowd control
- Stalling
- Invincibility timing
- Sleep loops
- Fragile debuffs
- Boss manipulation
Horde Roles
Most successful Horde runs use two different players:
Carry Player
Focused on:
- Main DPS
- Boss killing
- Lane control
- Burst damage
Support Player
Focused on:
- Healing
- Stuns
- Debuffs
- Buffs
- Crowd control
- Sleep loops
Trying to make both players pure DPS usually fails in late waves.
Best Horde Units
Some Tatari are dramatically stronger in Horde than normal content because Horde values utility more than raw damage.
S-Tier Horde Units
Monkey
Role:
- Main DPS Carry
Why It Is Meta:
- Massive spinning staff damage
- Incredible scaling at Level 7
- Consistent boss melting
- Dominates every Horde stage
The guide repeatedly emphasized Monkey as the primary DPS carry because once Level 7 activates, the damage output explodes instantly.
Best Usage:
- Rush Level 7 early
- Keep protected behind tanks/supports
- Pair with Fragile debuffs
Best Partners:
- Tidyon
- Panda
- Cheerling
- Deer
Deer
Role:
- Stun DPS Support
Why It Is Meta:
- Map-wide lance attacks at Level 7
- Constant stun pressure
- Excellent damage scaling
- Strong frontline utility
Deer becomes one of the best hybrid units in Horde because it both controls enemies and contributes huge DPS.
Best Usage:
- Frontline-middle positioning
- Rush Level 7 quickly
- Pair with stun/sleep teams
Cheerling
Role:
- Essential Survival Support
Why It Is Meta:
- Invincibility at Level 5
- Healing
- Attack boosts
- Late-game survival tool
Cheerling is considered mandatory for high-end Horde because late-game Yeti freezes can instantly wipe teams without invincibility.
Important Threshold:
- Minimum Level 5 required
- Level 7 is helpful but not mandatory
Without Cheerling invincibility, most Wave 35+ runs collapse immediately.
Tidyon
Role:
- Fragile Debuff Controller
Why It Is Meta:
- Super Fragile at Level 7
- Purple smoke field debuff
- Massive team damage amplification
- Large AoE coverage at T3
Tidyon massively increases overall team DPS because Fragile multiplies incoming damage from every ally.
Best Usage:
- Keep alive at all costs
- Rush Level 7 quickly
- Pair with Monkey and Deer
Waveflutter
Role:
- Sleep Crowd Control
Why It Is Meta:
- Adjacent Sleep at T3
- Incredible stall mechanics
- Entire lanes become disabled
- Strong synergy with slows
Waveflutter becomes one of the strongest control units in late Horde because sleeping enemies stop attacking entirely.
Important:
- MUST be T3
- Not worth using before T3
Best Partners:
- Tidyon
- Panda
- Pig
- Frostluna
Panda
Role:
- Teamwide Support Aura
Why It Is Meta:
- Team ATK boosts
- Damage reduction
- Multi-lane support
- Sleep synergy with Waveflutter
Panda is one of the strongest support units because it boosts both survivability and damage simultaneously.
Level 7 Benefits:
- Full team buffs
- Defensive support
- Better scaling in late waves
Heroic Sunflower
Role:
- Global Stun + Healing
Why It Is Meta:
- Map-wide stun at Level 7
- Healing support
- Prevents boss abilities
- Stops Sandworm pulls
Sunflower becomes one of the strongest defensive supports in Horde because repeated stuns delay entire boss waves.
The guide specifically highlighted Sunflower as critical against:
- Worm bosses
- Freeze waves
- Overwhelming late-game pushes
Best Vet Horde Team
This is one of the strongest late-game veteran setups currently used.
Carry Setup
Frontline
- Deer
- Blitzman
Main DPS
- Monkey
- Unicorn
Utility
- Tidyon
- Waveflutter
Support
- Cheerling
- Heroic Sunflower
- Panda
Why This Team Works
Monkey handles most boss killing.
Deer continuously stuns enemies while contributing huge AoE damage.
Tidyon applies Super Fragile to the entire battlefield, massively increasing Monkey damage.
Waveflutter locks enemies into Sleep chains.
Cheerling provides invincibility against Yeti freezes.
Sunflower provides global stuns and healing.
Panda boosts:
- Team ATK
- Damage reduction
- Multi-lane support
This setup scales extremely well beyond Wave 30 because it combines:
- Crowd control
- Burst DPS
- Invincibility
- Sleep
- Fragile
- Team buffs
Best Beginner Horde Team
Beginners usually lack:
- T3 evolutions
- Feed levels
- Meta supports
- Fully optimized units
This setup works much better early.
Frontline
- Seal
- Blitzman
DPS
- Monkey
- Deer
Support
- Cheerling
- Sunflower
- Unicorn
Backup Utility
- Pig
- Panda
Why This Team Works
Monkey and Deer provide scalable DPS even at lower evolution levels.
Cheerling keeps lanes alive through healing and invincibility.
Sunflower provides crowd control.
Pig adds:
- Healing
- Stuns
- Sleep synergy
Unicorn helps with additional stun coverage.
This setup is flexible and easier to build than full vet meta teams.
Best Horde Upgrade Priority
One of the biggest mistakes newer players make is leveling random units equally.
Certain Level 7 upgrades are dramatically more important.
Priority Level 7 Upgrades
Highest Priority
- Monkey
- Tidyon
- Sunflower
- Deer
- Panda
Important Level 5 Targets
- Cheerling
- Seal
These units gain their most important powers earlier.
Why Monkey Level 7 Is Broken
The guide repeatedly emphasized how Level 7 Monkey completely changes Horde runs.
Once activated:
- DPS skyrockets
- Bosses melt quickly
- Late-game scaling improves massively
Many vet runs revolve around rushing Monkey first.
Best Horde Positioning Tips
Frontline Placement
Tanks and Stunners
Place:
- Deer
- Blitzman
- Unicorn
Near the front-middle.
These units need constant uptime.
Protect Fragile Supports
Keep:
- Tidyon
- Cheerling
- Panda
Safely behind the frontline.
Losing supports late game usually ends the run instantly.
Spread Important Supports
Normally healers are spaced apart.
However, some advanced formations intentionally stack supports because of unique healing shapes or aura ranges.
The guide specifically explained:
- Charmflutter uses a wing-shaped healing area at Level 7
- This changes normal healer placement logic
Advanced Horde Mechanics
Walk-Through Strategy
Certain bosses become too tanky to kill efficiently late game.
Examples:
- Sailor
- Barrel bosses
Instead of wasting time:
- Remove units
- Let the boss walk through
- Lose one heart
- Focus stronger threats
This is a major vet strategy.
Trying to force-kill ultra tanky bosses often causes total wipes.
Boss Targeting
Clicking bosses creates targeting arrows.
This helps focus:
- Burst DPS
- Stuns
- Sleep loops
- Fragile debuffs
Always prioritize:
- Freeze bosses
- Worms
- Shield bosses
- AoE nukers
Best Horde Boss Counters
Yeti
Danger:
- Map-wide freeze
- Massive AoE damage
Counter:
- Cheerling invincibility
- Sunflower stun
- Movement timing
Sandworm
Danger:
- Pulls backline units forward
Counter:
- Reposition quickly
- Use Sunflower stuns
- Abuse pull positioning with Toucan setups
Sailor
Danger:
- Barrel spam
- Massive tankiness
- Long range
Counter:
- Usually walk through
- Focus other bosses instead
Shaman
Danger:
- Massive shields
- Extremely tanky
Counter:
- Focus all DPS
- Fragile debuffs
- Burst damage stacking
Shocker
Danger:
- Huge AoE nukes
Counter:
- Kill quickly
- Stun chains
- Sleep control
Clown
Danger:
- Ignores positioning
- Jumps through lanes
Counter:
- Burst quickly before landing
- Use stun units
Why Sleep Teams Are Meta
Sleep is one of the strongest Horde mechanics because sleeping enemies:
- Stop attacking
- Stop advancing
- Allow cooldown recovery
- Increase survival dramatically
Waveflutter + Tidyon + Panda creates nearly permanent crowd control chains in some waves.
That is one reason top veteran players prioritize these units heavily.
Horde Reward System Explained
Horde rewards are cumulative daily rewards.
Maximum daily reward:
- 660 Pinballs
If you:
- Rank lower earlier
- Then improve later
You only receive the reward difference.
Example:
- Earlier reward: 480
- Later reward: 510
- You only gain 30 extra
This confuses many players because it looks like rewards are bugged.
They are not.
Why Auto Matchmaking Is Bad
The guide strongly warned against random auto matchmaking.
Problems:
- AFK teammates
- Bad formations
- Wrong supports
- No coordination
Best options:
- Friends
- Guildmates
- Discord teammates
Coordinated teams massively outperform random matchmaking.
Important Beginner Advice
Many players copy veteran meta lineups exactly and then wonder why they fail.
That does NOT work.
Meta lineups assume:
- T3/T4 evolutions
- Feed levels
- Star upgrades
- Proper support scaling
- High stat investment
If your units are weaker:
- Adapt your formation
- Use safer supports
- Focus survivability first
Even lower-level players can reach 900+ scores with proper teamwork and positioning.