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Build your Maiden Academy team around what it needs to survive and win—not just the highest-ranked heroes. Use the September 2, 2026 Pocket Gamer tier list as a version 1.0.23 shortlist, then balance damage with a frontline and the healing, revival, or control that addresses your roster’s weak points.
How to use the tier list without building a lopsided team
A tier ranking is a prioritization tool, not a complete team recipe. A highly ranked damage dealer cannot cover for a team that lacks durability or recovery. Start by identifying the job your lineup is missing, then consider the best available hero for that job. Treat tier placement as a secondary signal when two candidates serve a similar purpose.
Pocket Gamer’s Maiden Academy tier list was updated September 2, 2026 and identifies itself as version 1.0.23. It is an editorial ranking rather than an official balance list, so use it as a dated reference and check whether the game or page has changed before relying on its placements.
Cover the essentials: frontline, damage, and recovery
Frontline protection
Talumexus is ranked S+ and described as a tank with counterattacks, curse, and taunt. Summer, ranked S, is a tank who applies bleed and can revive with damage reduction. Doudou, in A tier, is described as a taunting, counterattacking tank. These examples illustrate different ways a frontline hero may contribute beyond simply absorbing attacks.
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A clear source of damage
Yuzhi Wang is ranked S+ and described as a burst-damage hero who applies curse. Brand, ranked S, is a Warrior who can petrify enemies and prioritize enemy Priests. Consider whether the damage dealer also supports your plan through a status effect or control, rather than choosing on rank alone.
Healing and revival
Milia, ranked S, is described as a strong healer who can revive allies. Vivian, ranked A, and Alice, ranked B, are also described as healers who can revive or heal, respectively. A lower-ranked support may still answer a lineup’s immediate need; the guide does not provide numerical healing comparisons.
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Build around a shared effect when your roster supports it
Curse-oriented teams
Yuzhi Wang combines burst damage with curse and is noted as a candidate for dark/curse teams. Talumexus also applies curse while providing frontline utility. That gives you a potential basis for a shared-effect approach, but the guide does not validate a full curse lineup or establish that it is stronger than other team plans.
Bleed-oriented teams
Summer applies bleed and brings tanking and revival utility. Dracula, ranked A, is described as dealing more damage against bleeding enemies. If both are available, their reported abilities suggest a possible bleed interaction; the guide does not provide a tested lineup or quantify its performance.
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Use control and situational utility to address specific problems
Some heroes offer tools that matter when they answer a particular obstacle. Brand’s petrification and focus on enemy Priests can help disrupt opposing support, while Talumexus and Doudou bring taunt and counterattacks. Qiqi Titan, ranked B, is described as offering damage mitigation and crowd-control immunity in some situations, but the guide treats that defensive utility as situational rather than a general story-mode recommendation.
Choose these effects to solve a problem you actually encounter. The tier list does not provide mode-by-mode rankings or enough detail to prescribe one control-heavy lineup for every stage.
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What the tier placements say—and what they do not
The following names reproduce Pocket Gamer’s published groups for version 1.0.23; they are not a separate assessment or a guarantee of performance. The guide supplies no win rates, damage tests, sample sizes, or numerical comparisons.
| Guide tier | Heroes listed |
|---|---|
| S+ | Nis, Firefly, Sura, Zheng Lina, Yui, Anna Annie, Owl, Oraham, Yuzhi Wang, Darcy, Fisna, Talumexus |
| S | Summer, Margaret, Akasha, Brand, Nosa, Shandra, Jessica, Milia, Kurara, Mitabi, Katherine, Avalon, Ouros, Yudora, Carlyle |
| A | Maer, Dracula, Ilya, Dasey, Doudou, Vivian |
| B | Max, Eevee, Zero, Qiqi Titan, Hive, Alice |
| C | Lerio, Hades, Grant, Jadis, Rose, Hila, Miss, Rosette, Leo, Quinta, Seth, Osman, Full Moon, Nurk, Lily, Icarus, Cocayel, Lingling, Aurofi, Uzel, Executioner |
The guide also cautions that some heroes may fall off as story progression advances. A placement should not be treated as permanent or as a universal answer for every mode.
Quick Recap
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- Features 6 individually shaped tokens: guitar amp stack, Steve's bass, Nicko's drums, albatross, flying helmet and wasted years computer
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A practical process for choosing your lineup
- Identify why you are losing. Decide whether the main issue is a fragile frontline, insufficient damage, lack of healing or revival, or a need for control.
- Pick the available hero who addresses that gap. Compare candidates by function first, then consider their tier placements in the version 1.0.23 guide.
- Check for useful ability overlap. If your roster permits, consider curse-oriented options such as Yuzhi Wang and Talumexus, or the potential bleed interaction between Summer and Dracula.
- Test the team in the content you are struggling with. If your existing lineup keeps failing, change the role that is not doing its job rather than replacing a hero solely because another character is ranked higher.
- Reassess as your roster and the game change. Story progression can change which heroes remain useful, and tier placements may shift in later versions.
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