There are a lot of different troops in Island War and not only do they have different rarities, but they cost quite a bit of investment to not only level them up, but also choose which ones you're using. In my tier list, I'll give you some tips on what to focus on, as well as which game modes tend to work best.
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The best troops in Island War (Tier List)
Level S
Let's start this tier list with the strongest troops in Island War, the ones that run the show and are versatile in all aspects of the game.
ice titannot only does it have a ton of HP, but it also reduces enemy attacks and movement speed so you can basically cast it in many situations, including using its freeze effect. Great for tanking, harassing, and always nice to have on the front lines protecting friendly troops in Island War.
TemplarCan become immune to damage and deals additional damage every 4 normal attacks. It works great on offense and defense and is viable in all game modes in Island War. I can't go wrong with that.
ancient dragonThey are amazing for taking out groups of enemy troops, and are also a must for the Iron Fortress Endless Trial tier, where they can deal damage while dodging cannon fire.
sorcerer from hellhe is crazy in Clan Hunting even at the lowest levels and is also very useful in attack and defense. It also does percentage-based damage, so it scales well (e.g. at level 9 it deals 40% maximum HP damage to an enemy). Along with the Frost Archers, the troops to be summoned to defend your island (read here for more tips to build a good defensive island setup in Island War)
one level
Troops at this tier are still very strong, versatile, and excellent choices in most situations, albeit slightly weaker (or shall we say, less powerful) than the previous S tier.
ice archerSlows enemies' movement speed and can freeze them. This is really helpful. I had them in the S-Tier before the Phase Apostles came to the Island War as they can fight them better.
air bendercan prevent ranged troops from attacking, and while that doesn't sound like much, it can have dramatic consequences when defending your island or when attacking an island! I mean, you can basically turn off an entire troop type.
wind swordsmenthey have a skill that increases their attack, movement speed, and dodge by a percentage that makes them climb really well. Useful in Infinite Trial, but can be a little RNG.
Colossusis a tank that reduces enemy attack by a percentage and can taunt them. Useful in Infinite Trial and defense as well.
giant cuttersthey do area damage and are air units and even ongoing damage with their ability. It's also great on many infinite trial levels and also on defense when you're short on ice archers, ancient dragons or cannons.
nunsthey're great troops, they're great in all game modes and they don't do damage, but they're really effective at healing allied troops and keeping them alive for a long time.
Level B
Troops at this tier have specific use cases in Island War, we can just call it a niche tier. In this specific case, they are on par with a higher ranked troop, but they lack overall versatility.
griffin knighthe has chain lightning and can be unpleasant to deal with in some cases. It's not bad, but it's not great either and the fact that it's a legendary troop makes it harder to level up, so I think tier B is absolutely adequate.
mace warriorsThey can be effective on defense and in game modes like Clan Hunting and certain levels of Infinite Trial, but they are often underrated when it comes to offensive capabilities.
Apostle PhaseIt does good damage in Clan Hunt and can teleport, which can be devastating combined with good damage, but overall it lacks the real usability to be higher on this tier list.
ballesterosthey can deal a lot of damage quickly and are mostly useful on defense. I mean, they are very good in defense and can make the attacker very difficult, to attack you only have better options to do the same damage with more versatility and synergy. Even so, a troop that I really enjoy commanding.
shadow killerThey can teleport to enemies from a distance and are great to use offensively in Island War, but they have big issues with area damage and are easily taken out.
empty killerhits the most dangerous enemy and teleports there, dealing area damage on impact. It looks really powerful and they can also teleport a Shadow Assassin with them, but it lacks an overall burst to rank them up a bit higher.
giantsThey can do a lot of damage and are a great choice in these situations if you need it. But they are reaaaaaally slow.
berserkershe really glows when he is below 50% HP when he enters his rage mode and becomes immune to control effects. The problem is, when it takes enough damage, it's usually too late to make much of a difference, which is why I've listed it as Tier B.
Level C
Troops at this tier can be useful but require certain conditions to be useful, but have more flaws than benefits overall. They're not bad, but they're not good either.
enveloping dragonthey can be versatile, dealing area damage and can engulf an enemy to heal. But their problem is that it only works against airborne units, so it can be good, but the scenarios for them to shine are more limited.
lightning magedeals decent damage and can stun the enemy. The most common use case for me is Clan Hunting, especially if you don't have enough Warlocks.
gale knightis a troop that can use the ability to counter certain troops in Island War, such as Shadow Assassins with its flash forward and stun.
cure wizardsbasically heals nearby allied troops, that's all. I'm not saying this is specifically bad, but there's not much more to them.
VampireIt is useful for farming in Campaign and Head Hunts. Every farm formation should have a few rogues, but that's pretty much the only real use case for them in Island War.
Force Magehe knocks down the enemy after 4 normal attacks and if that fits he can be powerful and efficient in defense.
level D
Troops at this level are not useful and should not be in your roaster unless you are early in the game or waiting for a better option to trade them.
dragonsThey are useful in some situations and can be useful, but I personally like Shadow Assassins a lot better and trade them normally. They are usually very vulnerable against air arrow troops and can be easily countered.
fightersthey have their strong shield ability which reduces damage but I personally haven't seen much use for them in Island War and many players don't use them either.
Ghosthe has the poison gas when they die, but generally that's not the utility you can use very effectively, so I've ranked those troops here.
fire mageis a better version of regular archers, but still lacks some overall versatility and stats to rank higher on the tier list.
fighter gunnerhe has some instances where he can be useful (e.g. when he lands his critical shot at the right time or if he doesn't have other ranged troop types), but overall he doesn't have much HP and is quite vulnerable in general . Maybe it's good for Clan Hunting mode.
Snowmanit has area damage and the slow effect, and especially in the early stages of Island War, you'll be using them a lot; later on, however, they are more fusion materials.
spear throwersit increases damage with each attack, but if you expect them to break through enemy lines, you will be disappointed, as their HP is quite slow, so the effect never reaches its full potential.
arctic wolvesthey are fast and have the ability to close the distance between you and an enemy effectively. Especially early in the game, you can use them to distract the enemy or shoot long-range units, but that use case disappears later in the game when they become irrelevant.
ax throwerit's a unit that only gets its full potential when the ax can penetrate the enemy both times, but that adds more RNG to it than makes it strong.
Alabarderosless HP than ax throwers, but more damage. In general, it is still not so relevant. Even with the latest update that turns them into lumberjacks.
BombingThey will self-destruct when they hit an enemy building (attack) or when an enemy is within range (defense). It just lacks versatility and isn't used as often.
Musketeerthey are common troops that are used and their stats are not that good, to be honest.
royal guardsThey only have one thing that makes them stand out and that is having more defense compared to other regular troops. It is not enough to be as valuable and superior in this tier list.
spearmanthey suffer the same fate in Island War as any other common troop, their stats just aren't good enough to have any impact, especially as you progress through the game.
swordsmenThey are nothing exceptional or special, although their stats are slightly better than other common troops at this tier, that's not enough.
archersthey are, compared to all the other ranged troops above, just not strong enough to rank higher.
dwarf warriorsthey're the only rare troops in Island War that I have at this tier on my list, but they don't have special abilities, they don't do much damage, so I had no choice but to rank them here.
conclusion
Congratulations, you've completed the entire list (I know that was a bit much). I hope it helped you get some ideas about the different troops in Island War and that you could get something out of it. If you have any further questions or think I've misclassified a troop, write a comment below and I'll be happy to answer.
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