9 Kings arrived on Android and iOS on October 12, 2026, and the PC version leaves Early Access with its 1.0 launch on November 12. With nine rulers and more than 100 cards to loot, the right king and the right combo can turn a shaky run into an unstoppable one. Our 9 Kings tier list ranks every king, the strongest cards by type, and the combos that break the game in the best way. Check out the rankings below!

9 Kings Tier List – Best Kings Ranked 2026

TIER	KINGS
S	King of Spells, King of Nature
A	King of Greed, King of Nomads, King of Time, King of Stone
B	King of Nothing, King of Blood
C	King of Progress

S-Tier Kings

Check out all the Kings in this tier:

King of Spells

King of Spells builds his kingdom around enchantments, cards that can be stacked on the same troop again and again. His base, the Citadel, strikes enemies with chain lightning, Wizards fire slow but heavy ranged blasts, and Warlocks are sturdy melee troops that hit everything around them. Library is the real star of this deck, as every year it has a chance to copy an enchantment stack on an adjacent troop, so cards like Static and Combustion keep growing with no extra effort.

Spells sits in S tier because his damage is simple to build and scales hard into the late game. Static became even scarier after its stacks started dealing double damage, and Offering lets players destroy a weak plot for three random tome cards when a run needs a fresh start. Some of his cards are situational, so he shines brightest once a support building like Blacksmith or Beacon is looted from another king.

King of Nature

King of Nature is all about growth. Forest adds HP to adjacent troops every year, Mycelium summons a fighting spore every five seconds in battle and keeps those spores between battles, and Procreate instantly adds nine units to any troop. Clone copies the card on any plot, so the best card in the kingdom, from any king, can be doubled. Elves deal damage from the back as snipers that always target the farthest enemy, while the Treant base creates a healing area on the ground.

Nature earns S tier because nothing else snowballs as reliably, and his tomes make every other card in the deck better. The Fertility decree now hands out five Procreate cards instead of three, and the Pollinator perk starts a run with Mycelium already on the board. His one weakness is the lack of a strong frontline damage dealer, so pairing a Boar mount with a looted melee troop like Paladin or Warlock fills that gap nicely.

A-Tier Kings

Check out all the Kings in this tier:

King of Greed

King of Greed turns gold into raw power. His base, the Palace, fires a slow ray that hits for 999 damage, enough to wipe out almost any enemy in one shot, and golden enemies it kills drop extra gold. Mercenaries grow in number based on the gold in the treasury, Dispenser gains attack speed for every gold received, and Thieves leap straight into the enemy backline. Beacon, which adds attack speed and movement speed to its neighbors every year, is one of the best support buildings in the game.

Greed lands in A tier because he becomes a monster late in a run but can struggle early against large or fast enemy waves. Planning matters a lot here, since Over-invest spends 30 gold to boost a troop or tower by 15%, which eats into the gold that Mercenaries and Dispenser need. Picking one plan, either hoarding or spending, works far better than mixing both. The Peddler perk, which gives free merchant purchases, makes his early game much smoother.

King of Nomads

King of Nomads rewards a kingdom that never sits still. His base, the Warlord, shoots banners that add its own stats to allies. Raptors can be ridden by adjacent troops, combine their stats with the rider, and pierce straight through the enemy frontline. Mob gains a unit for every unit added next to it, Camp buffs nearby plots whenever a card is placed on an empty plot, and Dragon’s Den gets 20% stronger every time a plot is destroyed.

Nomads sits in A tier thanks to strong troop synergies and dragons that grow out of control, but his defense is weak and the deck asks for constant moving and destroying. The Settlement decree doubles the stats of new troops and towers placed on empty plots, while Pillage applies plot destroying effects one extra time. Looting Sacrifice, Overhaul, or Offering from other kings keeps Dragon’s Den fed all run long.

King of Time

King of Time is the ninth and final king, unlocked after playing 999 years in total. His Bastion base casts rifts that send each enemy back to the start of the battlefield once. Portal sends the whole kingdom back two years when it reaches level 3 while keeping all progress, and Regression drops a plot by one level but lets it keep every stat it has. Amplifier passes every buff it receives to nearby plots, Orbiter copies any enhancement its neighbors get, and Hourglass charges up a massive explosion during long battles.

King of Time has the highest ceiling in 9 Kings, as time travel lets yearly buffs trigger again, replays key events, and unlocks special Broken Decrees. The catch is that many of his cards do very little on their own, so he is the hardest king to learn and a poor pick for first runs. Players who enjoy planning several years ahead will not find a better king for wild builds, and he climbs even higher once Portal timing is mastered.

King of Stone

King of Stone wins by turning the kingdom into a fortress. His Stronghold base summons towers that shoot nearby enemies, and Quarry boosts the damage of every tower in the kingdom each year without needing to sit next to them. Trebuchet fires one extra projectile for every building, Flamethrower rolls onto the battlefield to burn enemies, and Trapper builds traps that carry over between battles. Earthworks, which unlocks new plots and returns up to three copies of a card, is one of the most useful tomes in the game.

Stone sits in A tier as the safest defensive king, holding the line well in the later years of a run. He starts slowly though and has very few troops, so most of his damage comes from towers that need time to scale. Looting Beacon from King of Greed and Blacksmith from King of Nothing helps a lot, and the Tactician perk starts a run with a random tower card in hand.

B-Tier Kings

Check out all the Kings in this tier:

King of Nothing

King of Nothing is the starting king and the only one unlocked from day one. His deck is simple, with Castle, Archer, Paladin, Soldier, Scout Tower, Blacksmith, Farm, Steel Coat, and Wildcard. After his makeover update, Soldiers and Paladins scale far better than they look, which makes him a steady pick for learning how plots, levels, and buffs work together.

Nothing sits in B tier because every card is useful, but none of them break the game on their own. Still, Blacksmith, Farm, and Wildcard show up in the best builds of almost every king, so his cards are worth grabbing even while playing someone else. He is consistent and forgiving, but his ceiling is lower than the kings above him.

King of Blood

King of Blood trades lives for power. His Pagoda base summons imps, Imp troops arrive in huge numbers, and Bombers run into enemies and explode. Demon’s Altar summons demons that grow 0.5% stronger forever for every ally that dies, Cemetery replaces adjacent troops that fall in battle with fresh imps, and Mangler sacrifices nearby units every year to boost its own damage. Sacrifice destroys a plot to level up all of its neighbors.

Blood lands in B tier because his early years are risky and his units are fragile, even though the deck can snowball hard once the death engine gets going. The key is placing Demon’s Altar as early as possible, and the Pagan perk can start a run with it already on the board. Patience pays off with this king, but a bad opening hand can end a run before it really begins.

C-Tier Kings

Check out all the Kings in this tier:

King of Progress

King of Progress brings a sci-fi twist built around upgrades. His Mothership base flies toward enemies like a unit and can be steered during battle. Concabulator levels up every plot in the kingdom once it reaches level 3, Overhaul destroys a plot to level up random plots, and Lab Rats have no level cap and level up whenever an adjacent plot does. Executioners always target the enemy with the lowest health, Defenders reflect all the damage they take, and Converter turns enemies into rats that fight for the kingdom.

Progress sits in C tier because he needs the right cards in the right order, and his early firepower is weak. When everything clicks though, his ceiling is huge, with all-in Lab Rat, Executioner, and Defender builds able to carry runs on the hardest difficulties. He is best saved for players who already know the game well.

9 Kings Card Tier List: Best Cards Ranked by Type

Cards from rival kings end up in almost every deck, so this card tier list ranks them on overall value no matter which king is on the throne. Base cards only matter for their own king, but they are included to show how each starting kingdom stacks up.

TIER	TROOPS	TOWERS AND BASES	BUILDINGS	TOMES AND ENCHANTMENTS
S	Elf, Thief, Defender	Palace	Library, Blacksmith, Beacon, Farm, Forest, Quarry, Demon’s Altar	Wildcard, Clone, Earthworks
A	Wizard, Warlock, Paladin, Mercenary, Boar, Raptor, Ballista, Executioner, Lab Rat, Shaman, Orbiter	Citadel, Treant, Stronghold, Warlord, Scout Tower, Dispenser, Trebuchet, Flamethrower, Converter, Dragon’s Den	Mycelium, Amplifier, Camp, Concabulator, Portal	Static, Combustion, Steel Coat, Over-invest, Sacrifice, Overhaul, Offering, Regression
B	Archer, Soldier, Imp, Bomber, Mob, Trapper	Castle, Pagoda, Mothership, Bastion, Spire, Mangler, Hourglass	Cemetery, Wallmaker	Procreate, Poison Vial, Midas Touch, Adrenaline, Rewind, Migration, Shields, Swords, Frost
C	Warper	Orchard	Vault, Cauldron	Carnage, Temp Null

All Kings in 9 Kings: Playstyles and How to Unlock Them

KING	PLAYSTYLE	BASE CARD	HOW TO UNLOCK
King of Nothing	Balanced starter deck	Castle	Unlocked from the start
King of Spells	Enchantments and magic damage	Citadel	Use 9 spells
King of Greed	Gold and mercenaries	Palace	Spend 999 gold
King of Blood	Sacrifice and imp swarms	Pagoda	Kill 9,999 enemy units
King of Nature	HP growth and big armies	Treant	Train 999 units
King of Nomads	Mounts, dragons, and moving plots	Warlord	Use 99 troop cards
King of Stone	Towers and defense	Stronghold	Build 99 buildings
King of Progress	Plot upgrades and sci-fi troops	Mothership	Level up 299 plots
King of Time	Time travel and buff sharing	Bastion	Play 999 years

9 Kings Game-Breaking Card Combos That Win Runs

Breaking the game is part of the fun in 9 Kings, and these combos are the fastest way to get there.

COMBO	KEY CARDS	BEST KING
Golden Death Ray	Palace, Beacon, Dispenser	King of Greed
Lightning Library	Wizard, Static, Library, Orbiter	King of Spells
Boar Rider	Boar, Forest, Shields, Paladin	King of Nature
Imp Blood Engine	Demon’s Altar, Imp, Cemetery, Farm	King of Blood
Concabulator Loop	Concabulator, Earthworks, Lab Rat	King of Progress
Amplifier Hub	Amplifier, Blacksmith, Beacon	King of Time
Time Loop	Portal, Regression, Blacksmith, Forest	King of Time

Best King in 9 Kings for Every Playstyle

• First runs: King of Nothing to learn the basics, then King of Spells
• Big armies: King of Nature
• Gold and late game power: King of Greed
• Tower defense: King of Stone
• Swarms and sacrifice: King of Blood
• Mounts and aggressive plot play: King of Nomads
• Combo builders: King of Time and King of Progress

Players can enjoy playing 9 Kings on a bigger screen of their PC or Laptop via BlueStacks along with your keyboard and mouse.