Badge Dojo · Water 1-1

The Water Dojo opens on a board where most of the team stands at the very back. Lineup 1 puts Sealing in row 4 of lane 1, Skinklet in row 1 of the middle with Frostpaw in row 4, and Shellshy in row 1 of lane 3 with Droppit in row 4.

What makes the first stage tricky is that only two units meet enemies early, and neither is a heavy tank. Shellshy is a guardian that fires a wave of bubbles over an area, and Skinklet is a specialist that also fires area bubbles. Lane 1 has no front unit at all, so enemies there walk down to Sealing.

The back row does the real work. Frostpaw, the only second form on the board and the evolved form of Frostnip, throws a slowing ice block that breaks into smaller fragments on impact. Droppit releases a mist that keeps damaging an area and slows enemies. Between them, the middle and right lanes are slowed for most of the walk. Sealing bounces a ball between enemies, which helps clear groups once they bunch up.

Skinklet has one more trick: after taking enough damage it turns invisible and goes after back-line enemies while hidden, so it survives longer at the front than its health suggests.

If lane 1 leaks, a few levels on Sealing usually fix it.