Choosing which Mythical or higher rarity unit to upgrade in Anime Expeditions is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make. Unlike Legendary units, Mythicals require a significant investment of evolution materials, traits, upgrade resources, and currency. Spending those resources on the wrong character can slow your progression for a long time.
This tier list focuses on Mythical, Secret, and higher rarity units, ranking them based on their overall usefulness in story stages, boss fights, raids, endgame content, and team synergy. Some units dominate through raw DPS, while others earn their place because they provide incredible support, crowd control, or utility.
Anime Expeditions Unit Tier List – Best Mythical, Secret Units
S Tier (Best Overall)
- Shadow
- Cursed Student
- Eighth Sword
- Toy Maker
These units provide exceptional value throughout the game and remain useful even in the hardest content.
A Tier
- Reaper
- Crimson
- Elf Mage
- Lady Giant
- Puppet
- Salmon Sorcerer
Excellent units that perform extremely well but are slightly more specialized than the S Tier options.
B Tier
- True Saint
- Flame Emperor
- Hollow
- String Demon
- Triceramon
Reliable units that work well for progression but are eventually outclassed.
S Tier Units
Shadow
Shadow is easily one of the strongest units in Anime Expeditions because it can fill multiple roles without sacrificing effectiveness. It increases the damage of nearby Magic units through its support ability, making it a fantastic partner for magic-focused teams. After evolving, Shadow also gains the ability to rewind enemies, giving your team valuable extra time to eliminate dangerous waves.
On top of that, Shadow deals impressive damage and even benefits from summon mechanics, making it useful in nearly every game mode. Very few units offer this much flexibility, which is why Shadow deserves its place among the absolute best.
Cursed Student
Cursed Student is arguably the safest unit to invest in if you’re still progressing through the game. Even before evolution, it delivers strong damage while applying Bleed effects that continue damaging enemies over time.
Once evolved, its overall performance increases dramatically. It combines high DPS, summon utility, crowd control, and excellent boss damage into a single package. Since players can obtain it relatively early compared to some endgame units, it remains one of the best long-term investments available.
Eighth Sword
If your goal is pure damage, Eighth Sword stands at the top. This unit specializes in overwhelming enemies with extremely high DPS, making it one of the strongest boss killers and wave clearers in the game.
Fully upgraded Eighth Sword can carry difficult stages almost entirely on its own, making it a priority investment whenever you obtain it.
Toy Maker
Toy Maker dominates the summoner category. Instead of relying solely on personal attacks, much of its damage comes from its powerful summoned units.
These summons continuously pressure enemies while dramatically increasing your total damage output. Players who enjoy summon-based strategies or want a unit that scales exceptionally well into endgame content should prioritize Toy Maker.
A Tier Units
Reaper
Reaper is a powerful offensive unit capable of dealing consistent high damage against both regular enemies and bosses. While it lacks the versatility of Shadow or Cursed Student, its damage output alone makes it an excellent addition to most teams.
Crimson
Crimson offers a strong balance between DPS and crowd control. Rather than focusing entirely on damage, it helps slow enemy pushes while still contributing respectable offensive power.
Because of this balance, Crimson fits comfortably into many different team compositions.
Elf Mage
Elf Mage provides reliable magical DPS with very few weaknesses. Its straightforward playstyle makes it easy to use while still remaining effective throughout progression and late-game content.
Lady Giant
Lady Giant specializes in sustained damage. After proper upgrades, it becomes a dependable source of high DPS and performs particularly well against tougher enemies with large health pools.
Puppet
Puppet is one of the strongest support units available. Instead of directly buffing allies, it increases the amount of damage the strongest enemy receives.
This effect is incredibly valuable during boss encounters, allowing your entire team to defeat high-health enemies much faster. Once evolved, Puppet also gains rewind utility, adding crowd control to its already impressive support capabilities.
Salmon Sorcerer
Salmon Sorcerer excels at slowing enemies. While it isn’t the highest damage dealer, its powerful slowing effect gives your entire team additional time to attack.
On difficult stages where enemies move quickly, this extra time often makes the difference between victory and defeat.
B Tier Units
True Saint
True Saint is one of the best beginner-friendly Mythical units because it’s obtainable for free through progression rewards. After evolution, it gains significantly stronger damage and an active ability that copies damage from nearby powerful allies.
Although it eventually falls behind higher-tier units, True Saint remains an outstanding early-game carry.
Flame Emperor
Flame Emperor combines respectable DPS with useful crowd control. It performs well against large enemy groups and provides a smooth transition into mid-game content before stronger Mythicals replace it.
Hollow
Hollow offers decent damage while helping slow enemy advances through crowd control effects. It’s a reliable option when you need extra battlefield control without giving up too much damage.
String Demon
String Demon balances offensive power with useful control abilities. It isn’t among the strongest endgame units, but it performs consistently well during progression and remains useful until better replacements become available.
Best Units by Role
Best DPS Units
If your priority is maximizing damage, these are the strongest choices:
- Eighth Sword
- Cursed Student
- Shadow
- Reaper
- Lady Giant
- Elf Mage
- Crimson
Best Support Units
Support units increase your team’s overall effectiveness rather than focusing on personal damage.
The best support choices are:
- Shadow
- Puppet
Shadow buffs nearby Magic units, while Puppet increases the damage enemies receive during boss fights.
Best Crowd Control Units
Crowd control becomes increasingly important during difficult stages where enemies move quickly or appear in large numbers.
Top crowd control units include:
- Shadow
- Puppet
- Cursed Student
- Salmon Sorcerer
- Crimson
- Flame Emperor
These units provide slows, rewinds, stuns, or other abilities that give your damage dealers more time to eliminate enemies.
Best Summoner Units
Summoner units create additional allies that dramatically increase total damage.
The strongest summoners are:
- Toy Maker
- Shadow
- Cursed Student
Best Unit for Beginners
If you can obtain Cursed Student, it should be your highest priority.
It performs exceptionally well throughout every stage of the game thanks to its combination of Bleed damage, summon abilities, crowd control, and excellent evolution upgrades. Unlike many top-tier units that require significant luck or late-game progression, Cursed Student can become a core member of your team relatively early.
If you don’t have Cursed Student yet, True Saint is an excellent alternative because it’s available for free and can comfortably carry you through much of the early and mid-game.
The current Anime Expeditions meta heavily rewards versatile units that contribute more than just raw damage. While specialists like Eighth Sword dominate pure DPS, units such as Shadow and Cursed Student provide damage, support, utility, and crowd control all at once, making them the most valuable long-term investments.
If you’re only able to fully upgrade one Mythical unit, focus on Shadow, Cursed Student, Eighth Sword, or Toy Maker. These four remain among the strongest choices in the game and can carry you through nearly every piece of content when properly upgraded.