The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In Pocket Gamer’s October 6, 2026 editorial tier list for Castle Duels version 25.0, the highest-ranked cards in the summary table are Banshee, Cowboy, Tinker, Magma Spirit, Reaper, Riding Hood, Shiba, Woodbeard, and Witch. The guide places Epic cards such as Risen and Officer Piggle in A tier. Treat these as editorial priorities, not proven win-rate rankings: the guide publishes no performance data, and its detailed card descriptions do not consistently match its summary table.
Version 25.0 tier list: the published summary
The table below reproduces the guide’s summary tiers. The ranking is useful for choosing cards to investigate and invest in, but it is not a matchup chart or a statistical measure of strength. The guide does not publish a ranking method, win rates, or usage rates.
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| Tier | Cards in the summary table |
|---|---|
| S | Banshee, Cowboy, Tinker, Magma Spirit, Reaper, Riding Hood, Shiba, Woodbeard, Witch |
| A | Lil’ Dragon, Electron, Risen, Officer Piggle, Scarecrow, Soulstealer |
| B | Vampire, Zeus, Gadget, Combat Engineer, Cultist, Darkwood Fay, Golem, Swamplord, Phoenix, Bard, Armorer, Hypnotoad, Angel, Forest Guardian |
| C | Archer, Fighter, Pirate, Poison Frog, Priest, Crusher, Slime, Hungry Truffle, Alchemist, Assassin, Cold Mage |
Source: Pocket Gamer’s Castle Duels tier list, marked updated October 6, 2026, for version 25.0. Its summary table is the basis for these placements.
Why the S-tier cards stand out in the guide
The guide’s descriptions point to distinct roles and conditions, not a single universal reason to pick an S-tier card. Consider what a card contributes to your lineup and whether its strengths fit the battlefield state you can create.
#1 Best Overall
- 🏯 A NEW GAME IN THE WHITE CASTLE UNIVERSE Return to Himeji Castle for a completely new strategic challenge. The White Castle: Duel is a standalone game with its own rules and mechanics—The White Castle is not required to play
- ⚔️ BUILT EXCLUSIVELY FOR 2 PLAYERS Two clans face off for influence at the Daimio's court in a tense head-to-head strategy game. Every action matters as you compete directly against your opponent for control and points.
- 🎴 NEW MECHANICS, NEW STRATEGY Duel brings a different way to play to the White Castle universe. There are no dice or bridges—instead, use six lamp cylinders to select actions and activate the effects of your lamp cards.
- 🧠 TACTICAL ACTION SELECTION Manage resources, place clan seals, gain influence cards, collect valuable merchandise, and adapt your plans to your opponent. A special token can even exchange board actions, creating unexpected tactical opportunities.
- 📦 FOR FANS AND NEW PLAYERS ALIKE Created by Sheila Santos and Israel Cendrero (Llama Dice) and illustrated by Joan Guardiet. Whether you are new to the White Castle universe or already own The White Castle, Duel offers a fresh standalone experience designed specifically for 2 players. Ages 10+, approximately 30 minutes. Multilingual edition.
Banshee: stronger with a crowded battlefield
Pocket Gamer says Banshee’s damage scales with the number of units on the battlefield. That makes deployment timing and the number of units in play relevant to her value; her listed rank alone does not capture that setup condition.
Cowboy: disrupt a priority target
The guide describes Cowboy as pulling, damaging, and stunning a target. That combination makes him a control-focused choice when disrupting an enemy is more valuable than adding broad damage.
Tinker: multiple-target damage and a death effect
Tinker can damage multiple enemies, fire a large projectile, and deal damage when he dies, according to the guide. His contribution therefore includes both attacks during combat and a final effect when removed.
Rank #2
- BUILD YOUR PERFECT TABLEAU: Recruit characters from the Village or Castle to create a 3x3 grid of cards in your personal tableau. Each card offers unique abilities and end-game scoring conditions!
- STRATEGIC CARD COMBINATIONS: Master the art of combos by strategically placing your cards and triggering their abilities to rack up the most points by the end of the game.
- PLAYER AGENCY & FLEXIBILITY: Use the Messenger pawn to switch between the Village and Castle markets and wipe the board to gain access to fresh cards and maximize your strategic choices.
- EASY-TO-LEARN, QUICK TO PLAY: With clear symbology and a helpful game aid, Castle Combo is perfect for family game nights or competitive sessions with friends. Playable in about 20-30 minutes.
- PERFECT FOR FAMILY GAME NIGHT: A light yet challenging game designed for 2-4 players, Castle Combo offers a mix of strategy and luck in every round. Ideal for ages 8 and up!
Magma Spirit: burn and regeneration
Magma Spirit combines burning attacks with regeneration, and the guide says its damage increases as enemies burn. Its listed strengths are tied to burn effects and timing rather than being independent of the rest of a fight.
Reaper: repeated control
Pocket Gamer describes Reaper as immune to crowd control and able to repeatedly stun enemies while dealing damage. That makes control resistance and repeated disruption central to the guide’s case for the card.
Useful Epic and support-role examples
The guide’s A- and B-tier descriptions can help explain what a card does for a team. They do not establish that one role will outperform another in every lineup.
Rank #3
- 🏯 THE ORIGINAL WHITE CASTLE EXPERIENCE Enter Himeji Castle and lead your clan to victory in the original strategy game that inspired The White Castle: Duel. Build influence at the Daimio's court, manage resources, and carefully position your workers throughout the castle.
- 🎲 WORKER & DICE PLACEMENT STRATEGY Combine worker placement and dice placement to determine your available actions. The dice you choose can open different strategic opportunities, making every decision important throughout the game.
- 🧠 MANAGE YOUR CLAN & BUILD INFLUENCE Send gardeners to the pond and gardens, warriors to defend the castle, and courtiers up the social ladder. Manage your resources and place your clan members where they can generate the greatest influence.
- 🎯EXPLORE THE MANY AREAS OF HIMEJI CASTLE Move through the castle's gardens, pond, walls, bridges, and Room of the Thousand Carpets. Each area offers different ways to develop your clan and score valuable influence points.
- 📦STRATEGIC EUROGAME FOR 1-4 PLAYERS Designed by Sheila Santos and Israel Cendrero (Llama Dice) and illustrated by Joan Guardiet. For 1-4 players, ages 12+, with approximately 80 minutes of playtime. A deep strategic experience set in feudal Japan.
Risen and Officer Piggle: protection and staying power
Risen is described as an Epic tank with taunt and a shield that scales with nearby enemies. Officer Piggle temporarily summons a shielded robot. Both offer defensive utility, but through different mechanics: Risen draws pressure and gains a scaling shield, while Piggle adds a temporary protected summon.
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Electron and Scarecrow: damage with additional effects
Electron combines damage over time with damage reduction and slowing. Scarecrow heals and poisons through summoned plants, according to Pocket Gamer. Their additional effects may matter as much as their damage when comparing roles in a lineup.
Bard and Darkwood Fay: support for allies
Bard removes crowd control and debuffs while healing; Darkwood Fay heals and charges ally abilities. These are support contributions rather than simple damage comparisons, so consider which problem your team needs to solve.
Rank #4
- IMMERSIVE FANTASY ADVENTURE: Escape the Dark Castle is a captivating fantasy adventure game designed for 1-4 players. It prioritizes storytelling, atmosphere, and cooperative gameplay.
- QUICK SETUP, FAST-PACED ACTION: Enjoy a game that takes only 2 minutes to set up and lasts around 30 minutes per session, making it accessible for tabletop gaming newcomers.
- UNIQUE, EVER-CHANGING EXPERIENCE: No two games are the same! Dive into a world where players assume the roles of prisoners and collaborate to overcome the castle's horrors, traps, and challenges.
- BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED CHAPTER CARDS: Explore a richly illustrated world where each challenge and twist in the narrative is represented by large, stunning chapter cards.
- SHARED STORYTELLING: Unveil chapter cards one by one, transforming the game into a shared storytelling experience where players make critical decisions on their quest to escape.
Read the card list alongside version changes
Version context matters because abilities and progression systems can change. The App Store version history lists version 25.0 on September 28, 2026, and says Angel received an ability rework, stronger ally support, new mechanics, and Glyph support. Pocket Gamer’s list was marked updated October 6, but that timing does not establish that every placement was retested after the update. The App Store version history also lists version 24.0 on August 31, 2026, with Glyph-system changes and new units.
Earlier official notes also show how card mechanics can evolve. Version 23.0 describes Cryomaster’s ice wave applying Frostbite, which reduces attack speed at rank 3 and both attack and movement speed at Star rank, with the effect weakening over time. The same notes say Hypnotoad’s Hypnosis moves affected enemies out of formation and temporarily removes them from combat. These examples are a reason to check the current in-game ability text before treating an older explanation as definitive. MY.GAMES version 23.0 notes
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The summary and the guide’s expanded prose also conflict. The prose names Angel as newly reworked and places Cryomaster, Inferno, Sand Elemental, Candle, and Archivist among its S-tier discussion, even though those cards are absent from the summary table. Its A-tier prose likewise names Chef, Champion, Mister Frost, and Jotun, which the table omits. The source does not establish confirmed table placements for those omitted cards, so they are not added to the tier list above.
Best Value
- ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION: Features a double-sided case with separate access for cards and gaming accessories, enhancing organization and protection for your tabletop and card game components.
- HIGH CAPACITY & MODULAR: Accommodates 6 Commander decks or up to 800 board-game-sleeved cards, alongside 19 removable trays in various sizes for dice, tokens, and tools.
- INNOVATIVE DESIGN: Equipped with a robust clip mechanism for secure closure, and a modular tray system that’s compatible with Gamegenic's Token Silo products, allowing customizable storage solutions.
- BUILT FOR DURABILITY: Constructed from shock-resistant materials with an integrated, reinforced handle, making it ideal for safe transport to game nights and tournaments.
- VERSATILE & USER-FRIENDLY: Opens from both sides for easy access during gameplay, featuring trays that support everything from small tokens to large gaming tools, all in a compact design that’s easy to carry.
Prioritize cards you can use and upgrade
Pocket Gamer says Legendary cards are generally unlocked after Arena 4, with exceptions. If you have not unlocked them, use the list as a guide to future priorities, but build your current team around available cards and useful synergies. The guide also advises selecting upgrades carefully because resources can be scarce. A high tier is not a reason to neglect cards that help you progress now.
Upgrade rules have changed, too. In its version 22.0 update notes, dated June 15, 2026, MY.GAMES stated: “Legendary Spheres are no longer required to upgrade Legendary units: you only need unit cards and gold.” The notes add that from level 11, the copies required per level increased, while the total entities needed to reach level 15 decreased compared with the prior system. Check the notes and current in-game requirements before planning around an older upgrade guide. MY.GAMES version 22.0 update notes
How to choose between cards
- Match the job to the gap in your lineup. Compare damage, survivability, crowd control, and support rather than relying on tier alone.
- Account for conditions. Banshee’s described damage depends on battlefield population; Magma Spirit’s damage benefits from enemies burning.
- Check access and upgrade costs. A Legendary card you cannot yet unlock or afford to improve may be a less practical priority than a useful card already available to you.
- Read the current ability text. The version notes show that unit effects and upgrade requirements can change.
These comparisons follow the roles and conditions described in Pocket Gamer’s guide; they are not supported by published matchup data or performance statistics.
Quick Recap
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