Ranking All 10 Merge Tactics Rulers: Worst to Best

Credit: ReTaik

Merge Tactics Ruler Rankings

Merge Tactics has 10 Rulers, and picking one is the first real decision of a match: the ability is locked in before the first shop and the Ruler Quest sets how much Elixir you see for the rest of the game. This guide ranks all 10 from worst to best.

The base ranking comes from ReTaik's worst-to-best video. Every placement was then re-checked against the mid-Season 10 balance patch, which rewrote six Ruler Quests and buffed the Grand Warden's first Shield and the Tomb Queen's Tombstone. Where the numbers moved a Ruler, the placement moved with them, and the change is named inside that Ruler's section.

Battle Machine at 10th Place

The Battle Machine stays last, and the mid-Season 10 patch gave it nothing.

Builder Master brings a random 1/2/3/4-Star building into Rounds 1/3/5/8, but the -1 max Team Size costs you a full unit slot for the whole game.

Battle Machine's -1 max Team Size is the only permanent penalty on any Ruler
Its quest, buildings destroying 1/5/15 troops in one game, depends entirely on which building it rolls
No Elixir generation at all, so it falls behind every economy Ruler by Round 5

Pro tip: Only take the Battle Machine when a Modifier already rewards buildings; otherwise the missing slot decides the match.

Ronin at 9th Place

The Ronin drops two places, not because he was touched but because four Rulers around him were buffed.

Double Edge asks you to guess where an enemy will walk before the round starts, and the quest only counts kills made with that strike.

Ronin's Double Edge is a tile you place in advance: if no enemy steps on it, the ability does nothing
Defeating 1/3/5 enemy troops with Double Edge is the least reliable quest in the game
No Elixir generation and no Team Size bonus to fall back on

Pro tip: Put the tile one hex in front of your own frontline; enemies path into it far more often than into the middle of the Arena.

Grand Warden at 8th Place

The Grand Warden is the most improved low-tier Ruler of the patch: the first Shield now covers a 3-tile radius instead of 1.

The quest went the other way, from 2/8/20 to 3/10/20, so the shields land harder but the reward arrives later.

Grand Warden's first Shield AOE went from 1 tile to 3 tiles, a 200% increase
Quest raised to shields affecting 3/10/20 troops in one game
Shields still go to the lowest-HP% ally at 5s and 15s, so they follow the fight instead of leading it

Pro tip: Cluster your board so the 3-tile shield break catches three or four units at once and the quest counter actually moves.

Goblin Queen at 7th Place

The Goblin Queen got the friendliest quest cut of the patch, from 3/10/25 down to 2/8/20.

She still overlaps with the Spirit Empress as an Elixir Ruler, and that overlap is what keeps her out of the top half.

Goblin Queen's quest is now 2/8/20 Goblins, a 33% cut on the first tier
Greener Grin gives a 33% chance of a free Goblin on every kill, and she counts toward the Goblin Trait herself
Still second to the Spirit Empress when all you want is Elixir

Pro tip: Commit to Goblins early: the free spawns pay for your merges and the quest at the same time.

Royale King at 6th Place

The Royale King takes the single biggest Ruler nerf of the mid-Season 10 patch: the first quest tier now needs two losses instead of one.

Royal Commission itself is untouched, so a losing streak still pays 4-8 Elixir a round.

Royale King's quest went from losing 1/2/4 rounds to losing 2/3/4, a 100% increase on the first tier
Royal Commission still grants +4-8 bonus Elixir at random whenever you lose a round
Best on boards that plan to concede early rounds and spike late

Pro tip: Do not throw rounds on purpose any more; the second tier now arrives a full round later and the tempo loss is real.

Echo Sage at 5th Place

The Echo Sage is the biggest winner of the patch: the quest fell from 2/6/18 to 1/3/7, cutting the last tier by 61%.

A single knockout now opens the first tier, so The Echo starts paying on Round 1 instead of Round 3.

Echo Sage's quest is now knocking out 1/3/7 troops in one game, down 50%, 50% and 61%
Striking Clone summons The Echo, which charges and then knocks out the nearest enemy
The Clone is an extra unit and does not use a Troop slot

Pro tip: Pair the Echo Sage with any early-damage board: the first quest tier is now nearly free and the third is finally reachable.

Tomb Queen at 4th Place

The Tomb Queen holds fourth and was buffed three ways: an easier quest, more inherited HP and a faster hit speed.

Regal Revival still guarantees Undead, which is the cheapest way in the game to reach a 6-Troop Trait breakpoint.

Tomb Queen now inherits 150% of the Tombstone's HP instead of 100%, with Hit Speed up from 0.5 to 0.6
Quest cut back to the Tombstone summoning 3/15/50 troops in one game
She counts as Undead herself, so the Trait reaches 6/6 without spending a slot on it

Pro tip: Protect the Tombstone rather than the Queen: the longer it survives, the more HP she brings when she rises.

Spirit Empress at 3rd Place

The Spirit Empress loses the crown she held in the video: her quest went from 3/15/50 to 3/20/60.

Fusion Foresight itself was not touched, so +1 Elixir on every merge still funds the fastest boards in Merge Tactics.

Spirit Empress's quest is now merging 3/20/60 troops in one game, up 33% and 20% on the last two tiers
Fusion Foresight still grants +1 bonus Elixir per merge, the best raw economy ability in the game
The third tier is now a real late-game target instead of a formality

Pro tip: Keep merging cheap units you intend to sell later: the merge count is what pays, not the unit you keep.

Elixir Loong at 2nd Place

The Elixir Loong comes out of the patch untouched while the two Rulers above him were cut, and that alone moves him up.

Endless Spring is the only ability that hands you Elixir and a Team Size slot at the same time.

Elixir Loong's Endless Spring grants +1 Elixir per round and +1 Team Size
Winning 2/3/5 rounds in a row was left alone by the mid-Season 10 patch
The extra slot compounds: one more unit every round is one more merge target

Pro tip: The quest wants consecutive wins, so spend early instead of banking: a broken streak costs more than the Elixir you saved.

Dagger Duchess at 1st Place

The Dagger Duchess takes first place without changing at all: the patch nerfed the Spirit Empress and the Royale King and left her alone.

Dagger Donation hands you a free Equipment piece on Round 1, and her quest rewards exactly what a strong opening board already does.

Dagger Duchess's quest, winning 1/2/4 rounds in under 8s, was untouched by the mid-Season 10 patch
Dagger Donation leaves a Dagger you can equip to any troop, so the value lands on your best carry
Fast wins feed the quest and your win streak at the same time

Pro tip: Put the Dagger on your highest hit-speed carry rather than your tank: the quest wants the round over in under 8 seconds.

What the Mid-Season 10 Patch Changed

The mid-Season 10 balance pass rewrote Ruler Quests far more than Ruler abilities, which is why this ranking differs from the original video.

Echo Sage: 2/6/18 to 1/3/7, down 50%, 50% and 61%
Goblin Queen: 3/10/25 to 2/8/20, down 33%, 20% and 20%
Tomb Queen: 3/20/60 to 3/15/50, Tombstone HP inherited 100% to 150%, Hit Speed 0.5 to 0.6
Grand Warden: quest 2/8/20 to 3/10/20, first Shield AOE 1 tile to 3 tiles
Royale King: 1/2/4 to 2/3/4, up 100% and 50% on the first two tiers
Spirit Empress: 3/15/50 to 3/20/60, up 33% and 20% on the last two tiers

Pro tip: Ruler Quests move more often than Ruler abilities, so re-read the quest text at the start of every patch before you lock a Ruler in.

Key Units & Traits

Dagger Duchess: Best overall: a free Dagger on Round 1 and the only top quest the patch did not touch
Elixir Loong: +1 Elixir per round and +1 Team Size, the strongest untouched ability in the game
Spirit Empress: +1 Elixir per merge, still elite even after her quest went to 3/20/60
Tomb Queen: Guaranteed Undead plus a Tombstone that now passes on 150% of its HP
Echo Sage: Biggest winner of the patch: quest cut to 1/3/7, so The Echo pays from Round 1
Royale King: Still 4-8 Elixir per loss, but the first quest tier now costs two losses
Goblin Queen: Quest down to 2/8/20, though the Spirit Empress covers the same job better
Grand Warden: First Shield now covers 3 tiles, offset by a harder 3/10/20 quest
Ronin: Double Edge is a pre-placed tile, so his quest is the least reliable in the game
Battle Machine: Weakest Ruler: -1 max Team Size and a quest that depends on building RNG

TL;DR

Dagger Duchess is now the best Ruler: her quest survived the patch untouched while the Rulers above her were nerfed
Elixir Loong is second on the strength of +1 Elixir per round and +1 Team Size
Spirit Empress drops to third: still the best economy ability, but her quest went to 3/20/60
Echo Sage is the biggest riser, with the quest cut from 2/6/18 to 1/3/7
Tomb Queen and Goblin Queen both gained from easier quests, and the Grand Warden from a 3-tile first Shield
Royale King falls: the first quest tier now needs two losses instead of one
Ronin and the Battle Machine stay at the bottom, untouched by the patch

The mid-Season 10 patch reshuffled the top of the Ruler list without touching a single top-tier ability: it moved the quest numbers instead. That hands first place to the Dagger Duchess, keeps the Elixir Loong and the Spirit Empress right behind her, and lifts the Echo Sage, the Tomb Queen and the Goblin Queen out of the lower half. The Ronin and the Battle Machine were left where they were and are still the two picks to avoid on ladder. Read the quest text before you lock a Ruler in: this patch proved the quest matters more than the ability.