5 Must-Have Units for Beginners in Anime Crusaders (June 2026)

Just started playing Anime Crusaders and feeling overwhelmed by the massive unit roster? I’ve been there! After testing countless team compositions and grinding through early content, I’ve identified the 5 essential units that will transform your beginner experience from frustrating to fantastic. These units aren’t just powerful – they’re easy to use, work in almost any team composition, and will carry you through story mode and early portals without breaking a sweat.

Quick Overview: Best Beginner Units in Anime Crusaders

Understanding Anime Crusaders Unit System

Before diving into our must-have units, let me quickly explain how Anime Crusaders works. It’s a tower defense game where you summon anime-inspired characters to defend against waves of enemies. Units come in different types:

• Ground Units: Can only attack ground enemies
• Hill Units: Attack from elevated positions
• Hybrid Units: Hit both ground and air targets
• Support Units: Provide buffs, debuffs, or utility
• Farm Units: Generate extra income

Quality-of-life features like auto-upgrade and one-click upgrade make progression smoother, but picking the right starter units is crucial for efficient clearing. Now, let’s explore why these 5 units dominate the beginner meta!

1. Ukia – The Crowd Control Queen

Role: Legendary, ground, ice/magic

Why Ukia is Essential?

Ukia offers huge range and becomes full AOE at upgrade 3. She applies slow consistently and turns hybrid at higher ranks, making her the ultimate crowd control unit for beginners. What makes Ukia truly special is her ability to handle both ground and air enemies once evolved, solving one of the biggest challenges new players face.

How to Use Ukia?

• Place her where she hits enemy chokepoints
• Prioritize upgrading to level 3 for full AOE coverage
• Pair with DPS units to maximize frozen enemy damage
• Position centrally to cover multiple paths

Pro Tip

Ukia has a high SPA (skill cooldown), but her support is worth it. Don’t expect her to solo waves – she’s there to enable your damage dealers!

2. Koichy – The Ultimate Slow Support

Role: Legendary support

Why Koichy Dominates?

Strong slow utility — +15% slow at U2, +30% more at U5 (total extra slow up to ~45% at max). Becomes hybrid at top upgrades. This makes Koichy arguably the best support unit for beginners, as slowing enemies gives your DPS units significantly more time to eliminate threats.

Optimal Koichy Strategy

• Place early to maximize slow uptime
• Pair with high-DPS units to let them deal free damage
• Upgrade to at least U2 quickly for meaningful slow
• Position on long straightaways for maximum effect

Synergy Tip

If you want to stall waves or make bosses easy, Koichy is a top pick. Combine with Ukia’s freeze for near-permanent crowd control!

3. Ureo – Your Primary Magic DPS

Role: Magic DPS / healer-style DPS (legendary)

What Makes Ureo Special?

High DPS for a legendary and huge range. Frequently used in endgame portals and story. Ureo bridges the gap between early and mid-game content, remaining viable even when you start pulling mythic units.

Maximizing Ureo’s Potential

• Ureo is a 4-placement unit — good damage without taking too many placement slots
• Position for maximum coverage of enemy paths
• Main DPS for mixed teams. Great for clearing waves when combined with Koichy or Ukia
• Upgrade damage first, then range

Budget Efficiency

At only 4 placement cost, Ureo offers exceptional value compared to higher-cost mythic units that beginners can’t afford or haven’t pulled yet.

4. GreyBeard – The Magic Amplifier

Role: Support / debuffer (legendary)

GreyBeard’s Game-Changing Ability

Applies Curse, which makes enemies take 20% more damage from magic units. Full AOE on hits. This multiplicative damage boost transforms your magic-based team into an unstoppable force.

Strategic Placement

• Position where he can hit the most enemies
• Pair with Ureo, Ukia, Golden Frieza, or any magic-focused damage dealers to multiply damage output
• Place before your main DPS in enemy path order
• Don’t worry about his personal damage – it’s negligible

Meta Consideration

If the daily challenge or event favors magic teams, GreyBeard becomes essential. Always check event bonuses!

5. Yuji – Reliable Physical DPS

Role: Legendary ground DPS

Why Include Yuji?

Solid single-target damage among legendary ground units. Good choice if you lack other damage cores. While not as flashy as newer units, Yuji provides consistent, reliable damage that beginners can count on.

Yuji Optimization

• Raw DPS slot for early to mid-game progression; pairs well with Koichy and GreyBeard
• Focus upgrades on pure damage stats
• Place on straight paths for maximum uptime
• Use Yuji as your fallback DPS when maps require strong single-target burst

Budget Alternative

If you can’t pull Yuji, Rose and Golden Freezo are excellent alternatives that many consider equally viable for beginners.

Honorable Mentions: Other Strong Beginner Units

While our top 5 cover most situations, these units deserve consideration:

Rose

• Highest DPS of all Legendary units
• Excellent early-game carry
• Budget-friendly option

Golden Freezo

• Strong AOE damage
• Good for wave clearing
• Pairs well with Ukia

Speedcart

• Only farm unit in the game, a must-pick for gem farming
• Essential for economy building
• Enables faster upgrades

AI (Idol)

• Reduces unit costs, very helpful in long runs
• Makes expensive units affordable
• Core support for any team

Building Your First Team

If you’re new, lock in Ukia and Koichy first — they give control and utility that make everything else easier. Here’s my recommended starter team composition:

1. Ukia – Crowd Control
2. Koichy – Slow Support
3. Ureo or Yuji – Main DPS
4. GreyBeard – Damage Amplifier (for magic teams)
5. Speedcart – Economy (if available)

This balanced approach ensures you have:

• Crowd control (Ukia + Koichy)
• Consistent damage (Ureo/Yuji)
• Damage amplification (GreyBeard)
• Economic advantage (Speedcart)

Early Game Progression Tips

Resource Management

• Use Codes Regularly – Developers release codes often for rerolls, gems, and boosts
• Save gems for guaranteed banners
• Don’t waste rerolls on common units

Farming Strategy

• Infinite Mode – The best gem farming method. Running Infinite can give you hundreds of gems per session
• Focus on wave 50+ for optimal rewards
• Use Speedcart in every farming run

Evolution Priority

To evolve a unit in Anime Crusaders, you will need to collect specific materials and defeat a certain number of enemies with that unit. Prioritize evolving:

1. Your main DPS unit first
2. Ukia (for hybrid capability)
3. Support units last

Advanced Beginner Strategies

Trait Optimization

Traits and stat grades can significantly boost the DPS of your unit, and you can reroll them in the Evolve area. For beginners:

• Focus on damage traits for DPS units
• Range traits for supports
• Don’t waste rerolls early

Placement Patterns

Successful placement follows these principles:

• Supports first (to affect more enemies)
• DPS units in high-traffic areas
• Overlapping ranges for maximum coverage
• Save slots for late-game additions

Wave Management

• Let Ukia and Koichy slow/freeze early waves
• Save Yuji’s placement for mini-bosses
• Use GreyBeard’s curse on tanky enemies
• Maintain economy with Speedcart

Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

1. Spreading upgrades too thin – Focus on maxing one unit at a time
2. Ignoring placement order – Supports should hit enemies before DPS
3. Neglecting economy – Always include Speedcart when possible
4. Chasing mythic units too early – Master legendaries first
5. Poor positioning – Use practice mode to test placements

Transitioning to Mid-Game

Once you’ve mastered these 5 units, start working toward:

Mythic Upgrades

• Sun Woo (System), Igrith (Blood Commander), Brulo (Rage), and Goko (Perfected Super III) are top-tier DPS options
• Save gems for rate-up events
• Join the official Discord for summon schedules

Advanced Supports

• Goju (Supreme) for time-stop utility
• Shanks (Haki) for additional crowd control

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Play a few stages, practice placements, and you’ll clear story and portals much faster. These 5 must-have units – Ukia, Koichy, Ureo, GreyBeard, and Yuji – provide the perfect foundation for any beginner’s journey in Anime Crusaders. They offer the ideal mix of crowd control, damage amplification, and raw DPS that will carry you from your first wave to mid-game challenges.

Remember, success in Anime Crusaders isn’t just about having the rarest units – it’s about understanding synergies and building balanced teams. Master these beginner-friendly units first, and you’ll develop the skills needed to utilize more complex characters later.

For more tower defense strategies, check out our All Star Tower Defense X tier list and explore other anime game guides on FindingDulcinea. Ready to start your journey? Load up Anime Crusaders and put these strategies to the test!

Want to accelerate your progress? Join the official Anime Crusaders Discord for the latest codes, team building advice, and community strategies. Happy defending!