Slice & Dice Classes Guide

A breakdown and tier-list of the many classes of Slice & Dice.

Introduction

Slice & Dice is a simple game at heart, roll dice, set the ones you want, re-roll a few times, set the ones you want, choose their targets, and on with the next round ad-infinitum.

The simplistic nature belies its complexity, a big chunk of which comes from your classes.

As you might be aware, at the start of every even level (2/4/6 etc.), you get a choice from two to pick from, or picking a randomised one. Artifacts with a Tier of ((Level -1) / 2)) are instead offered at every odd numbered stage (except 1st).

Whilst you have two or more characters that are below the expected level, the choice will always be one class for one character, one for a different one, offered randomly. When there is only one character below the curve, that character will have two choices. This continues until everyone is Tier II, or everyone is Tier III, which is normally stage 10 and 20 respectively on Classic mode.

Of course, all classes aren't created equal, so this guide is about inspecting the pros and cons of each one.

Keep in that, with the randomisation in play, you'll rarely see the same selection each run, and unless you're doing Party Select mode, you'll also start with randomised Tier 1's (with mild control after you unlock formations setup). Part of the game is adapting as you go along, which is why it's important to understand what class does what in specific situations.

The classic party is one of each standard colour (Orange, Yellow, Grey, Red, Blue), though your first game will be the "Force Configuration" without casters (or few games, if you don't win on your first run). Casters in general are unlocked quite quickly. Various individual classes are also unlocked as you go along (with me, Roulette was the last one to unlock).

How do you get a Rating, though?

For this guide, I'm using a standard tierlist format (S, A, B, C, D, F), with a + or - nudging it within the tier.

How do you consider value, though?

It's a good question. For me, I'm looking at several conditions.

First of all: good probabilities. (run screaming if you don't want to see maths).

• Usable sides on the dice. If a dice has (X) crosses, and it lands on one, that's a failure, and the hero is doing nothing this turn.
  
• Obviously, that's bad. Obviously, we have re-rolls (2 by default), so a dice having one blank face isn't too bad: the chance of it coming up 3 times in a row is 0.46%, which is nothing (it can happen though, that's X-COM baby!). With two blanks; its 3%. With three blanks (a 50/50 class); it's 12.5%. And with four blanks (a 66% chance failure class), it's 29.6%.
  
• As you can tell, it gets worse with each blank. I'm understandably harsher on 50% and 66% chance failure cases, and take 33% chance failures into account.
  
• Similarly, if you're fishing for a specific dice face, there's a 42.1% chance of getting it after 3 attempts. So if a dice has one great side, surrounded by mediocre ones, we have an okay chance of getting it, so it's not as bad as it seems.
  
• Reliability is the key factor here. Having multiple average sides is okay, but we'd prefer to have a couple of really great sides, as re-rolls mean we have a good chance of getting them.

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Secondly: Relative pip values and keywords

• This has several aspects. The average relative to its tier is important.
  
• To be considered average, it needs to have Tier + 1 pips, or deliver an equivalent amount more often than not (i.e. A Cleave Attack 1 is actually equal to Attack 3, assuming it hits all targets, because the Keyword is making it spread to 3 targets).
  
• Hence, 2 pips at T1, 3 pips at T2, 4 pips at T3.
  
• This applies to Attack and Mana.
  
• Shields and Heals, however, should be (Tier x 2) rounded up. We're harsher on Shields because they never stick around, and monsters always have stronger attacks than players. We're harsher on Heals because they are twice capped by both Max HP, and because they apply before hits.
  
• Hence, 2 pips at T1, 4 pips at T2, 6 pips at T3 (relative values), for Shields & Heals.
  
• The more commonly a keyword can be applied and the better it makes its base, the better. Cantrip is great as it applies even without us selecting it. Poison literally doubles your damage. Vitality Heals are way better than normal because they raise Max HP before applying the heal. These increase the relative value.
  
• Keywords that restrict or inhibit you obviously reduce the relative value. A Heavy Attack is less good than a regular one as its target choice is limited, but an Exert Attack is even worse since it loses you an entire turn. These reduce the relative value.
  
• Similarly, multi-role pips are a huge bang for your buck. A Paladin has 3-Shield Sides, which would be a bit behind on a T3, but they also heal for 3, doubling their relative value to 6.

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Finally: How well does it fare without direct support

• If, to reach it's maximum potential, we require an ally to step in our behalf, I will usually down-rate a class. The more specific, the more this has an effect. Random chance will dictate that simply can't get that combo all the time. The Steel keyword requires allies to step in for it be effective (and you often need the shields elsewhere). The Bloodlust keyword requires allies to help do setup.
  
• This is similar to above; the less conditional, the better.

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There are ALWAYS differences in opinion in games like this. I truly appreciate any feedback, but please keep in mind the above criteria. I'll often mention specific niches in the description and the Pros/Cons!!

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Last but not least, no, these character identifiers (i.e. Knave, Recruit) are not stated in the game ever, I made them up, but I like them for classification purposes rather than just saying "Orange" or whatever.

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So without further ado...

The Knave (Orange)

The Knave is a teal-haired girl whom is mostly DPS focused with some utility. There are several classes in her tree that emphasise gambling and re-rolling, along with diverse keywords for causing effects. Usually she relies on her other party members for support and defence.

Tier I

Thief: The most basic rogue is a 50/50 class (i.e. 50% failure) so nearly always needs re-rolls. However, when she does do damage, it’s consistently 2. She’s ok.

• Pros: Reliable damage.
  
• Cons: Squishy. Basic. 50/50 class.
  
• Rating: B-

Scoundrel: The worst T1 Orange, has 66% chance of failing. 1 Vulnerable is sort of decent only, and hit all is of course great, but it's a hard gamble to get it. So, generally her performance will be overall poor. Upgrade ASAP (though there are worse T1's that may have priority).

• Pros: Hit all attack, Average HP.
  
• Cons: Fails often. Only one good face.
  
• Rating: D+

Lost: With three sets of cruel melee hits, a dodge, and a ranged poison, and only a 16% chance of failure, she is cemented as one of the best T1 knaves, though her 3 HP is her clear weakness, she will need shield cover.

• Pros: Good variety, strong (2-4 dmg), reliable.
  
• Cons: Glass Cannon
  
• Rating: A-

Dabble: A Grey/Blue/Orange hybrid; she’s quite useful due to her versatility. Has both 6 HP and a reliable dice with zero failure chance, along with a decent defence and a strong heal for a T1 character. Helpful for a while.

• Pros: Versatile, tough, good heal, small mana gen.
  
• Cons: Low DPS.
  
• Rating: A

Clumsy: 6 HP and 33% chance of self-harm, so she can kill herself during re-rolling, however, the cantrip throwing knives can output 1-2 extra damage each round for free. Only stop rolling if you get a 1 cleave, which is solid early on. The actually good gambler T1, unlike scoundrel.

• Pros: Incredible Damage output for T1.
  
• Cons: Mildly squishy AND Suicidal.
  
• Rating: B+

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Tier II

Dabbler: Evolved Dabble. Oddly enough, has a worse heal, but all her other sides are superior. Has the distinction of being a good off-tank, as well as providing minor mana. Fairly average DPS though.

• Pros: Tough, Off-Tank, Some Mana.
  
• Cons: Average DPS for orange.
  
• Rating: B

Rogue: Evolved Lost-Clumsy hybrid, combining one Cruel hit, two cantrip throwing knives, a dodge, and adding a Poison hit as well. Poison DPS is always strong. though her pips are quite low across the board. Not bad.

• Pros: Decent DPS, Poison, Throwing Knives.
  
• Cons: Low values, appreciates buffs.
  
• Rating: B

Trapper: Evolved Scoundrel, but much better, since she has only one X on her dice, and two vulnerable sides. The Vulnerable Sides are solid, though Auto-Kill 4 is overwhelmingly the best side early on. Being less of a gamble is good.

• Pros: Vulnerable sides, good potential.
  
• Cons: Unreliable. Obsessed with dodging.
  
• Rating: B-

Ranger: The anti-mob choice; her arrow cleaves are plentiful and always useful in most mob-clear fights, and her Engage bow is always an excellent early roll for a great 4 damage. Overall great due to Ranged always being a useful tag.

• Pros: Lots of AoE. Ranged. Engage. Good DPS.
  
• Cons: Lower pip values.
  
• Rating: A

Juggler: Evolved Clumsy, now with only 1 self-harm side, and a pair of double power throwing knives. There’s no reason not to constantly re-roll Juggler until you’re out of re-rolls, which is usually guaranteeing you 2-4 damage each turn before you even start using your dice. Usually tremendous output. Really great.

• Pros: Throwing Knives Galore. Superb DPS.
  
• Cons: Mildly suicidal.
  
• Rating: S-

Gambler: Thief evolution, since it’s also a 50/50 failure rate. However, with just melee attacks and the “best” option being only decent, I’d call this among the worst Tier II’s, avoid unless you have an item that specifically helps her out.

• Pros: 5 damage on 1 side.
  
• Cons: Fails often. Only one truly good face.
  
• Rating: F

Spellblade: Having 1 on all of her sides makes her a far worse dabbler than dabbler. Her dice is quite bad, but she does have a 66% chance of adding 1 mana for use with her spell, Imbue, which is 1 mana for +1 buff to ally. Great, shame it's single use.

• Pros: Consistent (but low) mana. Good 1-shot buff.
  
• Cons: Unfocused. Very low DPS.
  
• Rating: C+

Ninja: Can be okay if you’ve already got some great keywords on other characters. Sadly, these are on 1-pip sides so the effect isn’t strong. Cleave, Poison or Engage are ok with this. The main boon is her 2-damage double-attack, which is good, but only on one face.

• Pros: Double-Attack.
  
• Cons: Copy-Jutsu very reliant on party.
  
• Rating: B-

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The Knave (Orange) - Part 2

Tier III

Dabblest: Dabbler Evolution. More offensively focused than its predecessor class, but remains versatile. No longer as useful as an off-tank, her actual main benefit is her three-mana side, which most mages would love.

• Pros: Decent Mana production and damage.
  
• Cons: Very generic for a T3.
  
• Rating: B-

Sharpshot: Evolved Trapper-Ranger Hybrid, with an Auto-Kill 6, but vastly lessens the gambling element for plenty of solid ranged damage in general. A good choice for boss-killing.

• Pros: Reliable ranged damage. 6-Kill Move.
  
• Cons: Would like some buffs.
  
• Rating: A+

Venom: Evolved Ranger-Rogue hybrid, becoming a poison specialist. Her two base sides are 4 damage, and quite a few monsters inflict poison which buffs her. The irresistible nature of poisons is good, but your team requires good tanking.

• Pros: Poisons Galore. Ranged.
  
• Cons: Wants numeric buffs or allied poison support.
  
• Rating: B+

Ludus: Gambler Evolution. This is a pure melee attack class, but finally worthwhile, as it fills in all dice faces with 1-6 Attack. Again, a bit chance-based, but it’s impossible to fail on her dice at least.

• Pros: Very good melee damage.
  
• Cons: Really generic.
  
• Rating: B+

Assassin: Rogue evolution. A 4-damage cruel strike is incredibly strong if your other heroes can knock the enemy to half HP. Her ranged engage and poison also helps, giving her a relevant attack at nearly all times. Generally solid.

• Pros: Always a relevant side. 8 damage Cruel strike.
  
• Cons: Not much.
  
• Rating: A+

Dancer: Juggler Evolution, although with far fewer throwing knives. Re-rolls are nice, but her hit-all is not useful when it matters (large mobs), since the Pain applies for each target hit, making it a suicide move. Of course, you may have a way around it, and if so, she's decent.

• Pros: Very high damage potential. Re-Rolls
  
• Cons: Very suicidal.
  
• Rating: C+ (A+ with death protection)

Fencer: Ninja-Dabbler Hybrid. Her output is lower than most orange T3 classes, but having two sides of the Ninja’s Double-use 2 damage are pretty great. Adding in a Pristine Strike 3, and looting the only good part of the old T1 Scoundrel, it’s hit all, is also nice.

• Pros: Reliable Multi-Hits. Pristine Strike. Cool Hat.
  
• Cons: Badly wants buffs.
  
• Rating: B-

Agent: Ninja Evolution, double-attacks become quads, copycats instead get random keywords with a good 3 damage base. Inflict Pain is useful vs. lots of enemies too. Be sure to pay attention to what her current keywords are. If you can buff those quad hits, she’s plenty powerful.

• Pros: Strong across the board.
  
• Cons: Really wants buffs for 1-pips, ideally.
  
• Rating: A+

Roulette: Juggler-Gambler hybrid. Some knives are lost but the replacements are pretty incredible (two 2 damage cleaves, a 5-damage hit). There IS also a “7 damage but you die, can’t re-roll it, must use it”, but fortunately, left-replacer items are very common. As long as you happen to have such a thing, she is a complete powerhouse.

• Pros: Reliable damage.
  
• Cons: Need to replace Left Side.
  
• Rating: S-

The Marauder (Yellow)

The red-haired Warrior laddie is mostly about physical DPS, but with some off-tanking and some unusual keywords. He has a monetary focus on classes, with mercenaries, brigands, raiders and treasure hunters.

Tier I

Fighter: Yellow/Grey hybrid, he’s among one of the best T1’s, with no wasted sides, capable an off-tank and also an average damage dealer. Nothing spectacular, but a solid early anchor in your T1 party.

• Pros: Decent All-Rounder.
  
• Cons: Mediocre Damage Output.
  
• Rating: A-

Brigand: Introduces you to Exert. It’s not horrid early on, as 3 damage is still fairly good upfront right now. Also has the first instance of Self-Shielding strikes, though they’re weak: you should always fish for the 3 damage hits.

• Pros: Moderately Strong.
  
• Cons: Exert loses you turns.
  
• Rating: B

Ruffian: Relies on your Grey shield provider or healer if he rolls the 5-damage pain side as otherwise that’s a suicide attack. His other sides are weak, except his Cleave, which is available quite early and solid. Fairly mediocre, though.

• Pros: High damage, Cleave strike.
  
• Cons: Incredibly suicidal, needs support.
  
• Rating: C+

Lazy: He’s another 66% chance of failure class, which is never good, but unlike the Scoundrel, at least he delivers 3 damage or shield when he does work. Still not exactly great though, as you likely don’t have items for him this early.

• Pros: Decent output if he can be bothered.
  
• Cons: He usually can't be bothered.
  
• Rating: F

Hoarder: Has a bad keyword on every side (exert, death and guilt especially). It’s like you’re having to play around his whims and he doesn’t even give you anything for the trouble as they’re all just 2 damage. Replace ASAP.

• Pros: 50% chance of ok roll. Good T1 HP.
  
• Cons: Generally just kills himself.
  
• Rating: F

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Tier II

Collector: The evolved Hoarder; he gets considerably better keywords, though a 1 damage duplicate is usually a bad roll. All the others are great, though. Ninja loves having a Collector around, especially for Growth, Cleave and Self-Shield, all of which are solid.

• Pros: Great overall dice. Versatile. Ninja loves him.
  
• Cons: Duplicate generally sucks.
  
• Rating: A

Soldier: Evolved Fighter, with just more pips on everything. Boring, but he remains solid, especially if you need an off-tank with reliable damage output.

• Pros: Very reliable damage. Good Off-Tank.
  
• Cons: Very generic for a T2
  
• Rating: B+

Gladiator: Evolved Brigand. Self-sufficient and good damage due to double 2 damage self-shields, and two instances of Engage to deal 4 damage on first strikes. Nothing exciting, but he’s a reliable pick that won't let you down.

• Pros: Engage, Self-Shielding. Reliable.
  
• Cons: Not much.
  
• Rating: A

Brute: Alternate Evolved Brigand, with two self-shields again to make him self-sustaining to a degree. His ability to stun enemies on occasion, and deliver 3-damage heavy attacks on top makes for a very solid kit.

• Pros: Stun, self-shielding. Good damage.
  
• Cons: Heavy Attacks sometimes limiting.
  
• Rating: A-

Sinew: Evolved Brigand, with 4 damage exerts, and then a weird chain cleave on one side. He’s effective if you’ve got someone else with a fairly regular Cleave on their dice (Ranger, a Whirl etc.), and he's a solid off-tank with two shield sides.

• Pros: High potential. Good off-tank.
  
• Cons: Conditional, Exert loses turns.
  
• Rating: B-

Whirl: Melee version of the Ranger, with lots of anti-mob. He’s solid DPS in those situations and even provides the occasional shielding or 3 damage hit. Pretty solid overall.

• Pros: Cleave everywhere, great for little foes.
  
• Cons: Poor individual/boss damage.
  
• Rating: B+

Scrapper: He sucks at combat start, but if you can damage lots of things without killing them to trigger bloodlust, he can become decent. If he attracts damage and gets shielded, also alright (due to Steel). But being super conditional and having a 33% failure rate still leaves him fairly underwhelming in my opinion.

• Pros: Great with AoE or Shield allies.
  
• Cons: Incredibly conditional. Poor if not supported.
  
• Rating: C+ (A- with Cleave/Lots of Shields allies)

Berserker: Evolved Ruffian. The 4 damage is great, but badly requires a party to work around the self-harming (enchanter, priestess, disciple, fae, pilgrim etc.). Self synergises: low HP makes it easier for a 6 damage Deathwish, which is great for a tier II. Never accept as your first T2, but worth it if you already have support.

• Pros: Very powerful. Self-Synergy.
  
• Cons: Requires considerable support. Suicidal.
  
• Rating: C- (A if supported)

The Marauder (Yellow) - Part 2

Tier III

Leader: A Grey/Yellow hybrid, suddenly a support! Leader mixes Armourer buffs and Chronos abilities. Very odd, and low personal DPS, but always a solid pick. He’s likely the best class to use the duplicator if you want, as it’s in the middle of the dice, where lots of items target their buffs.

• Pros: Gives Free turns. Great +2 Buff. Duplicator.
  
• Cons: Mediocre personal DPS. Duplicator.
  
• Rating: A

Captain: Sinew Evolution, taking up the chain-combo thing, along with Focus, so he always should act after allies. More versatility than Sinew, but I'd much prefer two Focus than two Chain, as the former is easier to profit from. Also a good off-tank.

• Pros: Good off-tank. Focus is solid 6 damage.
  
• Cons: Chain requires lots of party support.
  
• Rating: B+ (A+ with Copy Left Side Item)

Veteran: Evolved Soldier, the third in the chain. Still remains boring but solid. Consistent 4 damage or 3 shields is sometimes all you need. Not much to say about him.

• Pros: Solid DPS and Average Off-Tank
  
• Cons: Unspectacular for a T3.
  
• Rating: C+

Eccentric: Having 50% failure rate on a T3 is dubious, especially given 2 of the remaining sides are just 4 damage. Obviously, the descending strike is good, and if you have a good way to deal with blanks, go for it (items with left side replacers are more common). Usable, but fairly niche.

• Pros: Drop Strike. Easy to equip.
  
• Cons: Very unreliable without items.
  
• Rating: D+ (B+ with good items)

Curator: Evolved Collector, though arguably with worse keywords. His powerful 3 damage Engage is a highlight, but he needs support from your Casters/Tanks for Charged/Steel attacks respectively. Also swipes Rampage from the Brawler, and Era from the Wanderer, though not as good with them as their original users. Mixed bag.

• Pros: Engage Attack, can be strong.
  
• Cons: Requires Caster/Tank Support
  
• Rating: B

Wanderer: Orange/Yellow Ninja/Scrapper hybrid, a samurai ronin. Defy and Era are very strong keywords that aren’t seen often, making him a conditional powerhouse. Like Scrapper, he gets stronger as time goes on with Era. His Copycat shields help keep him going. Even after a brutal nerf removing a whole side, remains one of the stronger Yellow T3's.

• Pros: Great keywords. Loves to be attacked.
  
• Cons: Was hit hard by nerf-bat recently.
  
• Rating: A

Bash: A Sinew-Brute Hybrid, now with a 7 damage exert and two 5 damage heavies, and a stun. Exert and Heavy do end up being more of a liability in endgame, as they're less likely to be a killing shot. However, 10 HP stun is pretty solid and Bash does have good output, so he's alright.

• Pros: Strong potential DPS. Good Stun.
  
• Cons: Lacks versatility.
  
• Rating: C+

Brawler: Evolved Gladiator. The Curator may have stolen a couple of his things, but he's much better at using them. Self sufficent with 3 damage self-shield’s and 2 damage rampages, as a well as 3 damage Steel Shield. Wants defender support, but solid with it.

• Pros: Reliable. Self-Shields. Great Steel Attack.
  
• Cons: Ideally requires defender support.
  
• Rating: B+ (A+ with a high shield Gray)

Barbarian: Berserker Evolution, taking that up to 11. Can he output absurd damage? Absolutely, but you absolutely must have support for him to work. Unlike Berserker, however, this is much more likely to be accessible with your Tier 3’s and items (Valkyrie, Prophet, Surgeon etc). Also has Bloodlust strikes, so two of his sides are generically more useful globally, especially if others have hit-alls. His nerf to 10 HP recently was sad, though.

• Pros: Incredibly high damage output.
  
• Cons: Requires support. Suicidal. Want to change left side.
  
• Rating: C (S- with Support)

The Recruit (Grey)

The young tanned blonde recruit is your tank, obviously, generally providing shield dice or other damage and death mitigation, with some off-DPS, and support. He has a religious pilgrimage and traveller theme in many classes.

Tier I

Defender: With a 1-2-3 shield, it’s pretty clear what he’s about. The standard yardstick for the Grey class, but in many ways weaker than its compatriots.

• Pros: Above average Tank.
  
• Cons: Awful DPS.
  
• Rating: B-

Buckle: Becomes less reliable than Defender (due to 33% failure rate) but is more consistent when he does work, with nothing less than 2. Pristine shield is nice.

• Pros: Consistent tanking and okay DPS.
  
• Cons: Can be unreliable.
  
• Rating: B+

Squire: The only T1 with redirect, and he’s good at it as well. Redirect means you can always stack shields in one place, which is often better than spreading them around, especially as Grey has the highest HP to take it.

• Pros: Good early tank. Focus is nice.
  
• Cons: Can roll low occasionally.
  
• Rating: A+

Alloy: Has the bonus of having a Shield on every dice, with a different keyword on each version. Of course, it’s only 1 pip, but the guarantee of some defence is quite nice when in the early game. His counterstrike is also strong early on.

• Pros: Does a bit of everything. Very reliable.
  
• Cons: Also not strong at anything.
  
• Rating: B+

Wallop: Pretty great. Defends allies by stunning enemies and outright preventing deaths. Although only having 5 HP can make this a bit of chore. Also, self-shields, which is nice. Can be very solid initially, but you will quickly notice his low HP.

• Pros: Stuns are useful. Self-Shields.
  
• Cons: Low HP, obsoletes fairly quickly.
  
• Rating: A+

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Tier II

Knight: Grey/Yellow hybrid. Low HP, poor attacks. But his concept is to use the Parry skill to convert two damage from somewhere into 3 shields on himself and then use Steel Shield to put 6 shields to another target. This is reliable, but I personally feel it's a weirdly inefficient chain. Some swear by it, though.

• Pros: Unique niches. Consistent 3 shields with Parry.
  
• Cons: Exert 3 is poor. Steel shields are nonsense.
  
• Rating: B-

Warden: Evolved Defender, just basically making all the sides one pip higher. Simple is effective and all that, but he’s beginning to fall behind a bit with this point when Bard and Pilgrim exist. Has a very low damage output.

• Pros: Sort of decent Tank.
  
• Cons: Low DPS. Unremarkable.
  
• Rating: C+

Guardian: Evolved Buckle. Less reliable than Warden, again, but his double Cleave shields and two Triple Engage shields are superb if you can keep topped off. Obviously, this comes with the 33% failure rate again, but it’s worth it here.

• Pros: Powerful & Useful Tank. Cleaving Strike.
  
• Cons: Slightly unreliable.
  
• Rating: A

Cleric: Red/Grey hybrid. Healing and Cleansing shields are nice, pulling double duty. Provides some slight mana. Zero offence, and dubious without mages present. Comes with a good healing spell, Light (Cleaving Cleansing 1 Shield for just 1 mana), but it’s a shame it’s a one-shot use.

• Pros: Healing Shield is good. Gives Mana. Nice Spell.
  
• Cons: Zero DPS, Average Tanking.
  
• Rating: B+

Pilgrim: The evolution of Wallop, bizarrely, with 8 HP and two stuns (presumably using ponderous rhetoric). But he also has very strong support, adding self-shield to allies pips (especially good with high values), preventing ally death, and allowing an ally to go twice. Mental.

• Pros: Good HP, Stuns, Death Protect, Extra Turns!
  
• Cons: No direct shielding.
  
• Rating: S-

Monk: Bizarrely, Monk is the Squire evolution, with redirect 3. Some cleanse as well for occasional utility, as well as some repel from Alloy for mild damage, though it’s a shame it’s still only 1. A solid defender.

• Pros: Redirect is great. Counters.
  
• Cons: Might be overwhelmed.
  
• Rating: A

Bard: Total support conversion for your grey knight, mixing him with orange juggler but with more defensive bent. All of the pips on his dice are quite weak, but re-rolls, global 1 shield as well as constant strong defensive cantrips, as well as a spell, Else, making something out a failed dice roll, he’s pretty amazing.

• Pros: Global Shield, Re-Rolls, Nice Spell.
  
• Cons: Lower values on dice.
  
• Rating: S

Armourer: Adds support in 2x Smith sides; adding +1 damage to an ally’s dice. This can be a great buff for some dice (i.e. good keywords, low damage). Also has a cleave shield and some ok damage. Shame no T3 class inherits this job!

• Pros: Buffs. Versatile. Decent Tank.
  
• Cons: Buffs could be higher.
  
• Rating: A+

The Recruit (Grey) - Part 2

Tier III

Stalwart: Warden evolution. With 5 strong defensive sides and even lots of cleanse, he’s the quintessential tank. Cleanse remains useful in many cases. However, a 5 Exert attack is trash at this stage of the game.

• Pros: Powerful shielding with a wide variety.
  
• Cons: Poor Exert attack.
  
• Rating: A-

Paladin: Hybrid Red/Grey Cleric-Knight (obviously), but greater than the sum of its parts, with high pips on every side, 3 heals + shields double, and 3x heavy strikes to deliver some DPS. He does lose the Cleric spell, though with how strong his dice becomes, it’s worthwhile.

• Pros: Heal Shields are great. Cleanse. Okay DPS.
  
• Cons: Not much.
  
• Rating: S-

Valkyrie: Evolved Pilgrim. It’s sad to see his great stuns go, but as long as a Valkyrie stays alive, the rest of your party become immortal Einherjar. Two death preventions, two resurrects and if he gets focused himself, a death-wish attack to punish the attacker. Pretty amazing.

• Pros: Incredibly strong dice. Anti-Death. Ressurect.
  
• Cons: Prevents death, but can't keep HP up.
  
• Rating: S

Keeper: Takes the self-shield part of Pilgrim with the Steeling of Knight and reflect of Monk for an odd cross. But unlike some of the more curious mergers, all of this is very synergistic. He’ll always be solid, base 5 shields are very nice, and he serves as a strong counter-attacker.

• Pros: Strong counters. Solid, if generic Shields.
  
• Cons: Steel shields still nonsense, but ignoreable.
  
• Rating: A-

Stoic: Pilgrim/Monk hybrid, with the most HP of any normal class (15), three redirect sides, two self-shields, and a stun (likely to work with his HP). Good tank, but late-game damage from enemies can still overwhelm him as his redirects are worse than Monks, and has trouble doing both roles at once.

• Pros: High HP, stuns, redirects.
  
• Cons: Anti-synergistic (Stun vs. Redirect).
  
• Rating: A+

Poet: And he doesn’t know it. Bard Evolution. Wears 25 Tonnes on his head for reasons. If you have good mana generation, he’s a very strong tank (and a global double shield as well as a mana cantrip is really great). Also, comes with a really incredible spell, Clink, a global 1 shield and global +1 to all pips. Amazing.

• Pros: Strong Tank, AoE and cantrip shielding. Super spell.
  
• Cons: Ideally requires Mage support.
  
• Rating: S-

Prince: The knight formally known as. Got a big buff in the recent patch, making him usable. Duplicating a mediocre shield is not good, but his Inspire attack and double healing shields are pretty good support-wise. Has an ability, Unity, that consumes a variety of different sides to deal a big 15 damage. Unfortunately, it’s super hard to activate.

• Pros: Good Heal Shields. Decent Attack. Strong ability if used.
  
• Cons: Duplicate Shield. 50/50 class. Hard to use ability.
  
• Rating: B

The Supporter (Red)

The supporter girl is a hispanic girl that's all about Healing, Mana Generation, and support. She’s usually a bit squishy, but no other colour restores HP to the same level. Has a nature vs. nurture theme, with choices between healer via science, nature or faith.

Tier I

Healer: She has consistently strong heals, and some minor mana generation. However, she's likely to over-heal. Still decent overall. Her spell, Mend, force sets an ally to 5 HP for 2 mana, which is nice; and can set 3-4 HP characters to 5 if you like. Decent.

• Pros: Solid healing output. Nice spell.
  
• Cons: Low mana generation.
  
• Rating: B

Gardener: Starts with weak sides, but if she rolls her central side, all her pips get +1 from growth. You should fish for this on her first turn. If you can trigger it, she’s very good. She also has a decent early attack spell, Hemlock, 2 mana for 1+1 Poison.

• Pros: Self-Buffs. Good mana. Decent Spell
  
• Cons: Not much.
  
• Rating: A+

Acolyte: Weaker mana generation, but an introduction to how amazing Vitality is, giving additional Max. HP (so heals are never wasted). Also clears status. Her Spell is Restore, heals 1 to all for 2 mana, which is great.

• Pros: Vitality, cleanse, great spell
  
• Cons: Low mana generation.
  
• Rating: A

Mystic: She introduces hybrid heal-mana sides. All of them are weak, but serve as stable (if low) mana generation, which is nice. Her spell, Gaze, gives you an extra re-roll next turn for 1 mana. Its meh, I rarely want to waste mana.

• Pros: Very stable mana output.
  
• Cons: Mediocre spell. Low heals.
  
• Rating: B

Splint: All her sides are strong, but single use. This is actually fine, as it’s rare to have rounds go past 3-4 in the early game, and 3 mana/5 heal is something very powerful. Her spell, Bandage, is 2 mana for cleaving 1 shield/1 heal. Very good.

• Pros: Powerful Heals, Good mana. Great Spell.
  
• Cons: All wands, burns self out.
  
• Rating: A+

Tier II

Medic: Healer evolution. Her cleaving heals are good at the stage of the game she's active in, and the regen is decent, though her mana generation suffers. Spell is Renew, which is Mend from before but now 4 HP for 1 mana. Great heals, but lacking for magic use.

• Pros: Cleaving Heals good for monster AoEs.
  
• Cons: Conditional. Low Mana Generation.
  
• Rating: B+

Herbalist: Gardener evolution. She can give +1 growth to an ally. Has some mild regen, good mana generation, and a poison attack. Her spell, Vine, is a 1-cost heal 1 or damage 1, like a more versatile Poke. Good supporter, but likely the worst T2 healer overall.

• Pros: Decent mana output. Efficient Spell.
  
• Cons: Poor Heals. Buffs are mediocre.
  
• Rating: B-

Priestess: Evolved Acolyte, loses cleanse, but has double 4x Vitality heals, and double 1x Heal-All’s! Best pure healer at T2. She retains the weaker mana generation, though. Her spell, Pray, rescues threatened allies with 1 heal, 1 shield for just 1 mana. Very solid.

• Pros: Strongest Healer. Solid Spell.
  
• Cons: Low Mana generation.
  
• Rating: S-

Disciple: The only T2 with resurrect. Solid mana generation, and dual-use heals, so you can spread out 2 HP to two allies. Solid package. Her spell, Glow, allows you to change failed X rolls into Heal & Shield 2 for 1 mana, which is excellent.

• Pros: Versatile. Resurrect. Nice Spell.
  
• Cons: Lower overall healing.
  
• Rating: A

Druid: Gardener evolution, gains access to a growth attack/growth shield. With cleanse, and good mana generation, she’s super versatile. However, her dice healing is very poor. Her spell, Balance, is 3 cost global 1 damage to all enemies, 1 heal all allies, which is fantastic value.

• Pros: Versatile. Attacks and Defends. Nice Spell.
  
• Cons: Poor on-dice Healing.
  
• Rating: B+

Fey: Evolving into a fair folk, she gets reliable ways to weaken foes and strengthen allies. Very strong. Low mana generation and healing, though. Her spell, Fey Circle, gives all allies self heal for this turn for 2 mana, which is good for offence heavy parties, albeit it's single use.

• Pros: Empowers allies, nerfs enemies.
  
• Cons: Poor Healing and Mana.
  
• Rating: A

Enchantress: Buff focused, she can add self-heal or engage to allies dice faces, or shield/heal/mana 2 in one on a single dice. Her spell, Flip, does what it says, all allies dice flip sides around for 2 mana, potentially transforming bad rolls into good ones (and vice versa). Not as reliable as Fey as a buffer, but decent for helping out suicidal allies (self-shield/heal activates before they hurt themselves).

• Pros: Selection of Buffs. Shield/Mana/Heal side.
  
• Cons: Niche spell. Allies need high pips.
  
• Rating: B-

Vampire: Red/Yellow Hybrid, becoming an attack healer. Good mana generation, and good attacks that self-heal. Also good at pulling allies back from the brink, with 1 side having a 5 HP heal and her spell, Infuse, is 2 mana for 1 heal on all allies, rising to 2 if they’re on half-HP. A nice package if you feel you want her to drink more blood rather than staunch it lol.

• Pros: Provides DPS, Mana, and Healing.
  
• Cons: Not much
  
• Rating: S-

The Supporter (Red) - Part 2

Tier III

Surgeon: Evolved Disciple. Competitive for best healing support, keeps her double heals, now with 3 HP, and adds in great Shield-Heals. Her ‘spell’ is Operate, resurrecting an ally for 3 mana, always appreciated if someone else can fuel it, as she has mana generation issues.

• Pros: Strong Shield-Heals and Double-Heals.
  
• Cons: Average Mana Generation.
  
• Rating: A

Doctor: Evolved Herbalist. Regen is big value over time, but a low kick when you most need it. A Poison side that hits everyone is dubious (esp. compared to [Wine] Item). Her "Spell" is Liquor. The power of booze is mighty, 3 mana for a 10 heal and cleanse, though the Doc won’t be able to pay for it, and on many characters it will overflow.

• Pros: Regen is value over time.
  
• Cons: Poison hits all. Big heal locked to spell.
  
• Rating: C+

Witch: Fey/Medic Hybrid. A bit all over the place, but keeps the Fey Buff/Debuff (only 1 though, not 2), a good cleanse, and a 3 HP cleave heal. Her spell, Salve, is a cheap and cheerful 2 HP for 1 mana. She’s fine, but not spectacular.

• Pros: Versatile. Cleave Heal. Buffs.
  
• Cons: Unfocused. Low Mana generation.
  
• Rating: B

Shaman: Evolved Druid. Keeps her versatility, with attacks and shields. Loses some mana generation for more powerful heals, including a 10 heal and a 5 Vitality heal, competitive with Surgeon and Prophet. Her spell, Ritual, is 3 mana for a cleaving cleansing 2 HP heal. Others will need to help pay its cost though.

• Pros: Great Heals, DPS & Shields.
  
• Cons: Low Mana generation.
  
• Rating: A+

Prophet: Evolved Priestess, with two 5 Vitality Heals (!) as well as providing a repeating rescue heal, and fixing her mana generation. Her spell, Soothe, gives 1 heal, 1 regen to all allies. She and Surgeon are more tied at this level as best healers, depending on desired niche.

• Pros: Great Vitality/Rescue Heals. Good Mana & Spell.
  
• Cons: Not much.
  
• Rating: S

Fate: Grey/Red Hybrid. Does triple duty with 2x shield/heal/mana faces along with a curious dodge and two single-use 2 manas. Very defensive and consistent mana generation. Her spell is Thread, which is 4 mana for 2 heal, but costing nothing if removes threatened.

• Pros: Hyper Defensive Healer. Consistent Mana.
  
• Cons: Some single use sides.
  
• Rating: A

Forsaken: Evolved Vampire that loots Priestess’s Heal-All’s and Disciple’s Resurrect, making them both wildly stronger, whilst keeping decent self-heal attacks. Triple resurrect is wild. Her spell, Bind, is 3 mana but makes an ally invulnerable this turn (like Dodge), which is incredible.

• Pros: Elder Vampire, Does everything.
  
• Cons: Low Mana and its Pain Mana.
  
• Rating: S-

Wraith: Hybrid Vampire-Enchantress. Can cantrip dodge for free, which is cool. She can also use Self-Heal buff on allies. Bit of a confused kit, average mana generation. Her Spell, Leech, kills an ally to give 5 HP to everyone else. Kind of bad since she doesn’t have a resurrect.

• Pros: Hard to kill her. Buffs.
  
• Cons: Confused Kit, Awkward Spell
  
• Rating: C

The Protégé (Blue)

The Protégé is a red/grey haired gent all about generating mana and then giving you attack spells to use it with. Obviously he has by far the greatest mana production, but doesn't do much else until his later classes come into play. His theme is around seeking natural or scholastic power versus pacts with evil entities for power.

Tier I

Mage: A simple and reliable mana-bot. No risks, no strange mechanics, just gives you 1-2 mana a turn. Spell is Magic Poke, 1 mana for 1 damage. More useful than you might think at the start of the game.

• Pros: Reliable Mana Generation.
  
• Cons: Nothing Else.
  
• Rating: A

Prodigy: Completely changed in the most recent patch, now a proto-Ace. If an ally has 1-pip sides for him to trigger Pair on, he can generate decent mana. He can also resurrect allies. However, he is very suicidal. His spell Scorch is a 1 Cleave for 2 mana, which decent for a T1 spell. Risky to use, but ok.

• Pros: Decent mana.
  
• Cons: Very suicidal. Relies on allies with 1-pips
  
• Rating: B-

Meddler: THE WORST T1 in the game. 33% chance to summon a 4 HP skeleton on the enemy side (on cantrip!). And he self-harms often too. His spell, Slay, kills an enemy with exactly 3 HP, which IS strong, but his horrific dice still renders him an awful liability. Replace ASAP.

• Pros: Strong Spell, strong mana generation.
  
• Cons: Actively sabotages you and suicidal.
  
• Rating: F

Student: A 50/50 gambler class like Thief, but in his case, the gamble is for giving an entire extra turn to an ally, which is really great. Poor at generating mana himself. His spell, Slice, is 3 mana for 1 damage to all enemies, which is great, but he’ll never pay for it himself without, say, a Splint to help him.

• Pros: Can give allies an extra turn! Defensive.
  
• Cons: Poor Mana generation.
  
• Rating: A

Initiate: Has two good sides for cantrip and growth mana, and three meh single use 1 mana’s. Average generator. However, his spell, Gather, turns all failed X dice rolls into +2 mana. Early on, that’s good; if 2 allies fail but you can pay the cost, change the failures into 2 Burst spells. Quite decent.

• Pros: Cantrip Mana. Benefits when allies fail.
  
• Cons: Relies on the above hard.
  
• Rating: B

Cultist: Most powerful T1 mana generator, no contest, but as he always cuts himself to get it, he’s very suicidal. His spell, Cut, costs 1 mana, stabs an ally of choice for 3 damage, to do 2 damage to the top most enemy. Cheap, if you can’t afford Bursts for some reason. High risk.

• Pros: Fantastic Mana generation.
  
• Cons: Suicidal, High Risk, Niche Spell.
  
• Rating: A-

---

Tier II

Caldera: FIRE!! BURRN!! Good mana generation, and a single-use Fireball side for 3 Cruel damage. His spell, Scald, is 3 mana to deal 2 damage to all damaged enemies. Super efficient, and can slaughter huge mobs. Excellent.

• Pros: Super Spell. Great Mana. Fireball Side.
  
• Cons: Fireball is single use.
  
• Rating: S

Glacia: Mr Freeze in the house. Low, but very reliable mana generation. Gives defence to allies, and weakens enemies. His spell, Chill, is the epitome of this, with 2 mana for 2 damage and double weaken. This is amazing for your survivability when cast on high damage output foes. Very good support class.

• Pros: Amazing Defense Mage. Reliable Mana.
  
• Cons: Low Mana Output.
  
• Rating: S-

Sparky: What I seek is Thunder! Has 0 + (Mana stored) attacks which can be strong if at least 1 other can help generate mana for Sparky. Otherwise, 2 damage generating 2 is also solid. His spell, Zap, uses just 1 mana to delete an enemy with exactly 2 HP. Great.

• Pros: Can have a strong attack. Good Spell
  
• Cons: Wants extra mana generation.
  
• Rating: A-

Evoker: Good mana generation, and very high HP for a Mage (10!). But most notably, his spell, Drop, drops an Anvil on the top-most enemy (lol), dealing 4 damage for 3 mana. Top targeting is incredibly useful, as it ignores usual restrictions. Actually my most picked mage, which is funny.

• Pros: Incredible Spell. Great Mana. Tanky.
  
• Cons: A 50/50 class.
  
• Rating: A

Seer: Prodigy evolution. Mostly a pure mana-bot, his gimmick is his one-use 3 mana being used to feed his spell, Foretell, turning it 4 mana next turn. That’s ok. Has a growth 1 mana too. But 33% failure and an odd poison side. Alright overall.

• Pros: "Mana Banking" spell. Good Mana.
  
• Cons: Weird Poison attack. Unreliable over time.
  
• Rating: B-

Jester: A blue-orange hybrid, he can get extra re-rolls and can dodge. Decent mana generation. His spell, Flick, is Poke with Engage added. Shame it doesn’t also have ranged, that would be worth noticing. Fairly unremarkable.

• Pros: Re-rolls. Decent Mana generation.
  
• Cons: Distinctly otherwise mediocre.
  
• Rating: C

Myco: Mushroom head gang unite. Red-Blue hybrid, with a worse version of Druids growth attack/shield, and the Disciples Resurrect. High versatility, and good mana generation initially, but runs out of steam in long fights. His spell, Spore, gives a +1 buff this turn, but then gives -2 after use, degrading the dice side, which is dubious.

• Pros: Versatile. Great Mana early in fights. Buffs.
  
• Cons: Buffs backfire. Degrades rapidly.
  
• Rating: B+

Fiend: Evolved Cultist… but somehow worse. Has cantrip mana, but otherwise still pain focused and ironically worse generation than his predecessor; which is lost for trashy one-use 1 self-heals. His spell, Burn, hits everyone (including allies) for 1 damage. A cheap way to murder big weak mobs, but a risky class. Use with caution.

• Pros: Cantrip Mana.
  
• Cons: Kills self and your team.
  
• Rating: D

The Protégé (Blue) - Part 2

Tier III

Artificer: Seer Evolution. It's Single-Use galore. Normally, this would be madness, but each side for artificer is quite strong, and unlike usual, he has several direct attacks and strong mana generation. His spell, Blades, is a flat 2 damage to all enemies for 4 mana. Very solid.

• Pros: Incredibly strong dice. Great Spell.
  
• Cons: Burns out after 6 turns.
  
• Rating: A-

Wizard: Has 1 pip on every side, so poor mana output, but all about his buffs. Has a single use buff to give an ally a permanent +1 to all pips for the entire fight. Also, Inspire, his spell, uses 4 mana to flat out give an ally an extra turn. Those are both great, but usually he’ll need help to generate that mana.

• Pros: Cantrip Mana. Great Buff. Great spell.
  
• Cons: Awful pip values. Poor Mana.
  
• Rating: A

Chronos: Time Mage; mixes Jester/Seer/Student. Has all the best parts of these, with Rerolls and extra turns for allies. His spell, Tick-Tock, is a cleaving weaken for 4 mana, for an excellent defensive measure, though he has issues paying for it by default.

• Pros: Excellent Utility. Re-Rolls. Good Spell.
  
• Cons: Poor initial mana generation.
  
• Rating: S-

Weaver: Jester evolution (weirdly). Can snowball your mana production over time, and has strong, reliable generation. The spell is Crush, which is a plus version of Evokers Drop, now squishing the top and bottom enemies for 3 damage, same cost of 3 mana. Pretty great.

• Pros: Strong, reliable mana. Great Spell.
  
• Cons: Requires Mana to make Mana.
  
• Rating: S-

Ace: Anonymous is legion, more like. Potentially super high mana generation if you can make use of the Twin/Triad feature. Also has a great buff spell, Draw, just 1 mana to give an ally +1 to all pips this turn, though it was slightly nerfed recently with Deplete.

• Pros: Excellent Mana Generation. Great buff.
  
• Cons: Needs to match ally pip values.
  
• Rating: A

Warlock: Evolved Fiend. Stops being bad, with better mana generation choices (notably Bloodlust Mana). The main call to fame is the spell, Blaze, which just nukes a foe for 13 damage for 6 mana, which is an incredibly efficient boss killer assist. Worth the opportunity cost.

• Pros: Powerful Mana Generation. Nukes things.
  
• Cons: Pain Generator.
  
• Rating: S-

Sorcerer: Orange-Blue hybrid. Thinks he’s a juggler, everything is a cantrip. Almost guaranteed to generate at least 2 mana a turn, though a little chance-based. His spell, Miasma, is a 1-damage cleaving poison for 3 mana. It’s good.

• Pros: Cantrip Mana. Re-rolls. Good spell.
  
• Cons: Reliant on cantrips.
  
• Rating: A

Ghast: High and Low, the class. 2x Weaken is great, shame it’s single use. 5 mana generation is great, shame it insta-gibs you. Quite wild. The spell, Harvest, kills an enemy with 1 HP exactly, for 1 Mana, then refunds you 3 mana. Weird. Easily the worst T3 Mage.

• Pros: Powerful weakening.
  
• Cons: Niche Spell. Low Mana unless he suicides.
  
• Rating: B-

The Curiosities (Green)

Unlocked after about 6 games for me, just when you thought “New colour!” would be some cool new archetype, nope, this is just ~weird~. How some of these things even work defies sense, and there is no theme, just madness…

Tier I

Tinder: A pile of straw, on fire. It’s made to kill itself, and then deal 1 damage to all enemies as a result. Sometimes you might get more damage output. That’s it. Actually, it benefits from dying, since it can die quicker next time. Yeah.

• Pros: Benefits from low HP and Suicide.
  
• Cons: Usually a one shot wonder.
  
• Rating: D+

Reflection: Of a whirlpool? A 50/50 class. Copies previous allies pips to attack. Could be alright damage. Or could be nothing. 2 HP as well is crap. Can turn a 3 pip of something you don’t need (heal?) into 3 damage if you want. But bad.

• Pros: Mirrors previous dice.
  
• Cons: 2 HP (!). 50/50 class. Unreliable.
  
• Rating: F

Housecat: Nyaa. A 50/50, but two 1-damage cleaves and a 3-damage bite is very solid for T1. It can never level up, but with items, the kitty can still be decent~ I used Quiver/Sparks/Sickle for an autocannon kitty. Funny thing is, if you run cats, your other characters level up quicker, and will eventually get an opportunity for a T4 level up (that said, usually a rando class is quite bad, even a T4 one).

• Pros: Very strong T1. Other characters level faster.
  
• Cons: Never levels. Needs equips. 3 HP.
  
• Rating: A

Primrose: Growth, growth, growth. The Druid wishes it had this much. Strong for a T1 unit. Considering it also has 5 HP, only 1 wasted side, and can pull off a spell, Leaf, to buff an ally, almost certainly the best T1 green.

• Pros: Growth on everything. Strong dice. Buff spell.
  
• Cons: Has to Level up (lol).
  
• Rating: S-

Spade: Call a spade a spade. All of its sides are 1- resurrects (lol). You can also transform random pips to heals with Mulch. Usually, you're converting it's own pip.

• Pros: Guaranteed Resurrect or Heal. 7 HP at T1.
  
• Cons: Weak in general.
  
• Rating: B-

Pockets: The Sentient jacket. Probably the Artificers old jacket, given the junk it flings. Forcing an enemy to run away if on 2 HP or less after an attack is solid in the early game. It also gives you some free items, at least one of which might be useful.

• Pros: Free items. Weird but effective single uses.
  
• Cons: Extremely gimmicky. One-use sides.
  
• Rating: B-

---

Tier II

Presence: Ghosts!! Presumably, the clingy kind that loves to possess people, since it gives really decent buffs. Tougher to kill due to having the monster wraith ability to get invulnerable after taking a hit. If it’s got something to buff, it's a pretty great support.

• Pros: Most of the games buffs in one.
  
• Cons: Pot-Luck on your buff usually.
  
• Rating: A

Spine: Positively spinetingling and macabre. The spine is a Juggler-Healer (wut) with a Thorns effect (shame no real class has that). 4 Heals are meh for tier II, and with re-rolls, can do T1 chip damage. Nothing great. It’s okay.

• Pros: Chip Cantrip damage. Thorns effect.
  
• Cons: Nothing spectacular about it.
  
• Rating: C+

Coffin: This gives a sixth hero when you pick it (or 11th hero on a Raid). They’re a randomly generated Tier 0~ last example I saw was a blue with 2 mana pain/1 mana/4 crosses which is pretty awful. The Tier 0 will also consume your next level-up to catch-up to T1, which slows your progression (one character will be denied their T3 class in a normal run; opposite of Cats). The bonus of having a sixth character IS quite a force multiplier though. Since the balance pass, the Coffin itself is also not bad; with some pain shields and minor damage.

• Pros: Immediately gives a 6th Hero.
  
• Cons: Slows level progression.
  
• Rating: S-

Mimic: Copies other heroes middle sides from 1-5, starting at the top row for 1st hero, then middle row left to right for heroes 2-5. The bottom is always blank unless in a Raid, and so will the Mimic’s own position. Highly variable result.

• Pros: 4 random sides.
  
• Cons: 4 random sides.
  
• Rating: ?? Depends on what's copied

Granite: Lesser copy of the Slate enemy. Some basic heavy attacks, and a death prevention are decent, if unspectacular. Hard to kill it. Okay tank unit.

• Pros: Death prevention. HP Protection.
  
• Cons: 5 HP, protection only applies to 2.
  
• Rating: C-

Statue: I guess we plop it in front of the party and use it as cover, as it always rolls a failure X but has 25 HP. However, there are several items and skills that can take advantage of this (i.e. Castor Root/Powdered Mana is hilarious on it). Ok tank.

• Pros: High HP.
  
• Cons: Requires gear to do anything.
  
• Rating: B

Sphere: Gotta keep rollin’ rollin’ rollin’! A 50/50 class that Gives re-rolls, and Stuns enemies. With 9 HP it’s decent at flattening things to stun them. It can exchange 2x 1-keyword sides for 4 damage. Stuns are relatively easy, re-rolls are cool, so it’s good just for that. Solid.

• Pros: Constant re-rolls generated, good Stun.
  
• Cons: 50/50 class.
  
• Rating: A+

Alien: Generally improved by the recent patch with a 2 decent attacks, 2 decent shields, and a cleanse. Can spend a failure X and two damage pips to use a Spell, Devoid, which insta-gibs enemies with 2 HP or less. Versatile and inoffensive mixed unit, it's alright.

• Pros: Okay Mixed Damage/Support. Okay Spell.
  
• Cons: Unspectacular.
  
• Rating: B

The Curiosities (Green) - Part 2

Tier III

The Luggage: Seems to have less legs than I remember from Discworld, lol. Might occasionally choose to cleave shield you, but mostly sits and naps, which seems like standard luggage behaviour to me, lol. However, picking it gives three high tier items (6/7/8) that happen to be inside. A crapshoot, but could be great.

• Pros: Gives several great items immediately.
  
• Cons: Doesn't do much else. Low HP.
  
• Rating: S to B (random, but usually good)

The Tainted: Has some very strong sides, with two 3 cleaves, a 4 poison, a dodge, and a 3 cleaving shield. But this is compensated by a blank that can never be changed, and a free T4 Curse when you take Tainted (thanks). Some T4 curses are positively horrid, and some are okay, so it’s a massive gamble pick; could ruin your run or hard carry you.

• Pros: Super strong dice. Very Powerful
  
• Cons: Gives a very nasty curse if picked.
  
• Rating: A to D (random, risky)

Twins: Clones itself for a sixth hero, but it’s sheer garbage. Obviously, the clone does not affect your levelling like the Coffin's raised hero does, but it's certainly not T3 material. Requires replacement items to make it viable, and even then, both twins have bad T1 HP.

• Pros: Gives free 6th Unit.
  
• Cons: Both it and free unit are awful. Low HP.
  
• Rating: F

There was ONE case where I picked Twin, and that was when I had an randomised item that replaced top/bottom with 2 mana, and then Pair of Kings, giving those sides Pair. They could play off each other to give 6 mana that way, which was decent. Obviously, in such rare cases, it might rank as B, but such is the case with all Item requiring upgrades.

Jumble: Look ma, I’m a Picasso! Fairly mediocre unit that shuffles it faces around each turn. With a couple of manipulation items, this could be decent, but it’s otherwise going to be a bit of a dead weight for a T3 considering what else is around.

• Pros: Decent HP.
  
• Cons: Poor dice. Jumbles up.
  
• Rating: C

Vessel: That’s… the Holy Grail of Fubuki, right? With a Shield 5, Cleanse Heal 5, and 2x [5 damage but kills itself] sides, it's a slight under-performer for a T3. However, you ALSO gain a T3 Blessing when you take this, some of which are quite great.

• Pros: Free T3 Blessing. Decent sides on dice.
  
• Cons: 5 HP, Average dice.
  
• Rating: S to B (blessing usually great, but random)

Dice: The RNG personified. I’ve had Lucky from a Blessing and it can be brutal or trash in equal measure. Having it on all sides is a bit mental, but if you’ve got some class that adds re-rolls, the dice is sure to do something well. Solid pick.

• Pros: Generally powerful dice (lol). High HP.
  
• Cons: At the pure whims of the RNG.
  
• Rating: A

Robot: Bizarre tools on each side. The two right-hand sides and are pretty bad, but the others have their uses, especially the flute and the repel-rampage-rescue shield. Inflicting single use on a boss is also funny. It can carry up to 4 items, if you want, so in theory you can replace the worse sides if you have the spare items.

• Pros: Lots of quirky tools. 14 HP.
  
• Cons: Low Dice pips.
  
• Rating: B

Team-Building: Things to Remember

So now you know about all the classes, but the big question you might have is: But what makes a good team? Do I just pick the S-Ranks?

Not neccessarily.

See, generally, an S-Rank rated character will never let you down... but it may not neccessarily perform the absolute best. Of course, this is all because it truly depends on the full composition of the team.

This starts at the very beginning of the game.

• Literally the first turn you start, you should look at what colours you have available, and think how you're going to develop them.
  
• When you get your first choice, ask yourself: Who right now out of these two is the biggest liability? Or, which of these two picks will give me the biggest impact?
  
• Early on, look at what immediately makes you stronger. This includes artifacts.
  
• When you have a couple of Tier II's, your third to fifth pick should instead consider: What now fills the gaps and patches the weaknesses?
  
• Don't be afraid to pick the random option. If both choices don't feel like they fit your team composition, go for the gamble. Worst case scenario you get get something equally meh, but it's possible to get something really great.
  
• Consider The Holy Trinity. It exists even in this game, and you should always think about having one main tank, one main healer, and two DPS, with the last character being a flex-slot.
  
• DO NOT build entirely around a T2's abilities; because they're bound to change. It often seems to me that the game sometimes likes to bias classes that share abilities with your old one, but this cannot be guaranteed; and in many cases, T3's actually vary wildly in abilities from T2's, only serving as a loose evolution.
  
• DO NOT EVER choose to Skip level-up unless you are dead sure about what you're doing.
  
• Despite the last two bullet points, there is one semi-rare case use case of Skip: you can specifically save one T2 class to Level 20, always choosing the other option each time the game tries to promote the one you want to keep, whilst you avoid random, and then skip the final level only. Honestly, though, I've only done this twice, once to keep a Fey, and once to stop a Green Sphere from going T3 as it was a super high performer in that run. This is quite high effort for relatively low benefit in most cases, though.
  
• For Reds and Blues specifically, carefully consider how their Spell will change as well as their Dice. You lose the old spell, after all. How often was key to your strategy?
  
• Most spells are either Support Spells, helping buff your other allies or debuff enemies, or Slaughter Spells, helping you clear the board. Always consider this when flipping a Blue or Red class. It can be easy to shoot yourself in the foot if you, say, transform a Caldera to a Chronos, because the first is a powerful primary DPS Blue, and the latter is still powerful, but a Pure Support Blue. Though both are excellent S-Tiers, their role in your team composition will be wildly different.
  
• This does also apply to other colours. Going from Ranger to Sharpshot sounds like a logical progression, both Bow users. However, the former is all about hitting multiple targets, and the latter is about strong single-target killing shots.
  
• As you can see, your current ranking of a class can actually vary wildly from the base ranking I present now. Which brings us back to one of the earliest points we raised: this is a game about tactical thinking and adapting to circumstances!

Modded Slice and Dice Classes

One of the things that recently got me back into S&D was a few mods, so as I was updating the guide I thought I'd just give a section, for my own fun, reviewing some modded classes.

Specifically, out of those I tried, I really enjoyed MutantBreadSlice's SNAFS mod (aka. Saturday Night's Alright for Slicin') which adds classes that absolutely nail the vanilla aesthetic and balance. Really high quality, and this is what I'm featuring here.

You can get SNAFs HERE[snd-textmod.charcoalstyles.com]. To use it, all you do is:
1. Go-to above link. Click the Copy button on that site.
2. Load Slice & Dice.
3. Go into Creative > Custom (you'll need to unlock Custom mode if you've not already).
4. Press Paste Button, and then press Start.
This mod can be played in ALL the classic, cool, cursed modes too. NO achievements are gained in modded play, however.

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T1 MODDED SNAFs Classes

Renegade: Rebel without a cause. A rapid-attack focused T1. With a set of [SingleUse/Inflict Pain/Self Pain 1 damage], and [1 damage twice] is a nice combo of abilities. She's not absolute top-tier, but I've found her a solid T1.

• Pros: Early Pain Inflict. Doublehits.
  
• Cons: 33%-66% Failure, squishy.
  
• Rating: B

Elusive: An alternate cantrip-focused support class. Can provide some mild cantrip heals and shields, as well as extra re-rolls. Everything is a 1-pip, though, so it's not stunning by any means, but early on, it's just about enough.

• Pros: Versatile cantrips.
  
• Cons: Low values.
  
• Rating: B+

Logger: Felling monsters is just like felling trees, ya know? A very solid DPS role early on. A single TIMBERRRR! side with 4 Exert/SingleUse balances out three attack sides that have a chance every turn to get +1 (for 3/2/1). Compares favourably to other T1 yellows.

• Pros: Powerful & good HP for a T1.
  
• Cons: 33% Failure.
  
• Rating: A

Farmer: A classic fantasy origin story, ploughs to spears. With two sets of Descend with 2/1 damage, as well as 2 Growth shields, he's versatile and solid at bashing heads in with his hoe (lol).

• Pros: 2 Descend Side is great. Growth Shields
  
• Cons: 33% Failure, Lower HP.
  
• Rating: B+

Painter: Must be using his Palette as a shield! In effect, a Blue/Grey Hybrid and a magical version of Alloy. With two 1-pip cleave shields, a 1-pip all shield, as well as a Charge shield, and a Spell, Varnish (lol) that's 1 shield for 1 mana, he's a really great T1.

• Pros: Versatile Shields and Spell.
  
• Cons: Low HP for Gray.
  
• Rating: S-

Custodian: Looks more like a Newspaper boy to me! He has Rite on his 3x shield sides. That means they get +1 pip for each unused character, but that character then becomes used, so obviously you want Custodian to act later in turn (usually, but that also weakens the effect). However, you can have an X rolled and still be "Active" though so he's great in that case. The attacks have Eliminate, the opposite of Heavy. Niche, but alright.

• Pros: Useful with unreliable allies.
  
• Cons: Very mediocre in other instances.
  
• Rating: C+

Therapist: Will make you discover uncomfortable truths. Basically a Proto-Medic heal-wise with 1-pip versions of Cleave/Regen. But her main gimmick giving an ally 1/2 mana and max-HP (but no heal). Her spell is Breath which destroys all ally keywords this turn. This affects negatives, so is useful for stuff like Hoarder, Ruffian, etc.

• Pros: Cleave/regen heals. Ok Mana. Remove Keywords.
  
• Cons: Niche spell. Low Heal values. Damages allies.
  
• Rating: B

Maribou: A Cantrip healer with high risk, as like Meddler, she also has a Cantrip skeleton summon. However, as she only has it on a single side, it's not quite as bad as meddler. Also has a revive, which is unusual on a T1. Her Spell, Malediction, applies a 2-pip Repel (like Monk/Keeper) which can be great early on. It is pricey for T1 at 3 cost, though.

• Pros: Cantrip heals/mana. Strong spell for T1.
  
• Cons: Sabotages party.
  
• Rating: B

Tinker: Testing blood-based mana-generators! 3 sides that add Managain to allies, but also add Exert or Pain as well. He can then use Weld to add Self-Shield to allies dice as well. Sort of a worse Presence, I feel the penalties also added are a little severe, so he's sort of lacking compared to some T1 blues. Okay though.

• Pros: Get potentially 2-4 mana from allies.
  
• Cons: Also nerfs allies, and has no spell of his own.
  
• Rating: C-

Rubber: DACK! IS THAT YOU? When I was a kid... nevermind... Rubber Duck is a proto-Monk (lol) with 3x [1 shield and redirect] to it. These are also cantrips. The duck also has an ability meaning it needs to take 2x damage at once to actually take 1 damage, so has an effective 6 HP, but considering these are cantrip rolls, it can easily be overloaded. Still great though.

• Pros: DEFENDER DUCK! Tanky
  
• Cons: Can overload self easily.
  
• Rating: A

Let me know if you find this interesting, I can cover this mod more if there's enough demand for it lol.

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Please upvote if you like this guide or find it useful. I don't personally care about my rating, but Steam Guide visibility is directly tied to upvotes!

[eharper256]

So far as I can tell, I don't need to make any changes for the 3.2 patch for the guide, so nothing has been altered.

[eharper256]

To replace the killed section which no longer has use, I added in a short spiel about modded classes from MutantBreadSlice's SNAF's mod, and reviewed some of the Vanilla-adjacent T1's it has. Ignore this if you only play Vanilla, but I've enjoyed getting back into the game recently via a few mods like this.

[eharper256]

The update including all the changes from the recent patches is now complete, and I believe the weird large images should also all be fixed too.

[eharper256]

Just updated many of the images in the guide, along with several of the ratings I've noted in the Nov 24 patch section, as well as revised descriptions appropriately.

Greens are still waiting to be updated, so that section remains for now, but will eventually be deleted.

And I've realised some of the new images are for some bizarre reason slightly larger sized for reasons I don't fully understand (facepalm). Will fix these in a couple of days, need sleep now.

[eharper256]

Yep, T4's are impossible to rank since each one is randomly made on the spot. If you have a Housecat on the team you will always get one, and there are some game modes where you're more likely to get them.

Sometimes they will have amazing dice and sometimes they will surprisingly dreadful.

[KingOfCharge]

That name sounds like a generated hero, which all heroes of other tiers are. Since there are thousands per color per tier of those, ranking them is actually impossible beyond general guidelines.

[DefconProject]

There are tier 4 classes now :O I got a red one going from Forsaken > r4.acb 13 which has a unique red haired kinda scarlet witch looking lady and her dice is insanely good. She has 2 sides with 7 doubleheal, one side 6 damage with growth, one side +2 mana, one +4 single use mana, and the spell is mana for 5 shield with repel. Sorry if this is already known! I couldn't find much on it. I got a blue tier 4 class as well.

[eharper256]

Well, some of the changes may be me misremembering, it's been a while. Boy would I like some detailed patch notes for times like this, but alas.

If you can remember a change that's clearly wrong, just ignore me talking about it. :D

[Magic_Lester]

Tainted (and perhaps Vessle) is why you never random when T2->T3 with a t2 greens

[Magic_Lester]

Wasn't Scorch allways single use? I don't think it had cooldown. Draw had the deplete in 3.0 I am pretty sure. Slam had heavy to begin with too right? I think Tainted curse went from 4 to 3.