Chapter 5 teams: stages 4-80 to 5-80

4-80 is set up to take the hit first and punish it after. The pick worth noticing is Blowfin at the front of lane 2: anything that gets close eats a counterattack burst, and between hits it sits back and meditates its HP up, so it wants contact early. Sackling right behind adds its own bubbles and keeps rebuilding a Liquid Shield.

The unit that's hardest to replace is Sparkeet in lane 4. It takes reduced damage while linking nearby allies for an attack boost, and Zapooch and Zapuni behind it are exactly the hitters that boost is meant for. With nobody beside it, it fizzles out weak currents, so keep it close to those two.

Most of the damage comes from the back row: Embertail's mines, Frugatoad's exploding fruit, Rockhog's slowing mud, and Shardsnail, which opens the fight by dropping a Crystal Cluster. Up front, Boldclaw holds lane 5 with a slowing bubble wave, Rubblet's blue beam leads lane 1, and Snoozebo heads lane 3, healing itself through its thorn volleys. Taptail is slow off the mark, a few sound waves before a fast burst, so if lane 3 caves early, it's the first thing to look at.

5-10 hands the crowd control to lane 1. Waddledo holds the front behind its ice shield and throws crystals when the shield breaks, Droppit's mist slows whatever queues up behind it, and Ignisnap at the very back sets that slowed group on fire. Keep that order: the burn pays off because the mist keeps enemies standing in it.

Cheerling is the piece you'd miss most. Tucked behind Pearpair at the front of lane 2, it heals and raises attack and defence for the units around it, which keeps Pearpair upright and lets Embertail lay its mines in peace.

Consider lane 5, the scrappy one. Momopo hits harder against Frail targets and stops to heal after every kill, and Tindercub right behind can dash in, or fall back and meditate when it's in danger, so the pair can trade blows for a long time. Rubblet's beam backs them up from the third row.

Boltskipper's orb binds enemies from the back of lane 4, giving Snoozebo and Zapooch time to chew through them. Many 4-80 units come back here, but nearly all of them move cells, so rebuild rather than patching the old grid.

Lane 3 turns out to be the gamble in 5-20: nobody stands in front, just Scorchwing, Embertail and Ignisnap stacked from the middle to the back. It holds because Embertail's mines are already down and trip up anything that walks in, Scorchwing unloads five fireballs in a burst, and Ignisnap's burn mops up. If that lane leaks, that's where an extra body belongs.

As for lane 4, it's the slow trap. Snoozebo soaks at the front while Droppit's mist and Rockhog's mud slow enemies twice over, so they spend a long time standing in Snoozebo's thorns.

Capypapa is the quiet key unit. From the back of lane 5 it heals a lane where Zapooch is the furthest unit forward and has no tank to hide behind, and Boltskipper's binding orb in between buys time for those heals to land.

In place of 5-10's penguin, lane 1 carries Cluckeroo, whose seeds split between damage and healing for Pearpair up front. Boldclaw opens lane 2 with a slowing bubble wave, and Sealing's ricochet ball bounces around behind Rubblet.

5-30 pushes just the fire lane forward. Pyropup stands at the very front of lane 3 with Ignisnap close behind, while every other lane starts a few rows back, so the fire lane meets enemies first and has to survive it. Souphog is what holds it together: it burns its own HP to throw peppers, hands out Culinary Shields, and heals the units around it when it finally goes down. Sitting behind Pyropup and Ignisnap, it protects exactly the pair taking the first hits. If you don't have it, a clear of this stage used Ashlarva in that lane instead, trading the shields for a healing fire ring.

Lane 4 relies on knockback. Zappur's wave shoves enemies back down the lane, so Zapooch's chain lightning and Zapuni's splash get extra time before anything reaches them.

Lane 5 is light, just Pearpair and Voltkit, and Turtuff can replace Voltkit if you'd rather have a Shell Shield there. Gibber's piercing shell and Manteeny's constant strikes cover lane 2 in front of Boltskipper, while Snoozebo leads lane 1 ahead of Cluckeroo and Frugatoad.

Almost nothing from 5-30 survives here in the same shape, so treat 5-40 as a fresh build. The odd-looking lane is 2: Firecoil, a healer, stands alone at the front with Blueflick far behind. That's deliberate. Firecoil's flame ring hurts whatever comes close, heals itself and anyone in range and gives them an attack boost, so it can stall a lane while Blueflick burns from distance.

Lane 4 serves as the strongest stack on the board. Electroar knocks enemies back from the front, Cheerling behind it heals and raises attack and defence for its neighbours, and Voltkit and Hippiehog work inside that buffed pocket. Hippiehog drops an Electricage and then fires piercing signals toward it, so it likes enemies kept at range, which is what the knockback is for.

Frostique is the main damage in lane 3, slowing with its ice block and spraying piercing shards from behind Boldclaw's bubble wave. Clawzor leads lane 1 and leaves targets Shredded for Pyropup and Frugatoad. A clear here used Pearpair in lane 5 in place of Sackling, with Tindercub and Scorchwing staying where they are.

5-50 pulls everyone back to the rear of the board, every lane the same depth, so there's no front line in the usual sense. Enemies walk a long way before anything blocks them, and the board is built to make that walk hurt.

The centre is the heart of it. Electroar leads lane 3 and knocks back whatever arrives, Cheerling sits right in the middle of the board healing and boosting attack and defence for the units around it, and Fluffle's lightning clouds drift over the lane from behind. If you're missing Electroar, clears here have put Voltkit or Sparkeet in that lane instead; Sparkeet brings damage reduction and an attack boost for its neighbours rather than knockback.

Frostique is an unusual first unit for lane 5. Its slowing ice block hits enemies before anything else does, Tindercub behind can dash in to finish them or fall back to meditate, and Zapooch chains lightning from the rear.

Lane 2 can also swap Boltskipper for Snoozebo if you'd rather have a body that heals itself than a binding orb. Firecoil's flame ring at the head of lane 4 does double duty, healing and boosting Blueflick and Hippiehog behind it.

Lane 3 is where 5-60 stacks its buffs. Sparkeet at the front takes reduced damage and charges up the allies around it with an attack boost, Cheerling right behind adds healing plus its own attack and defence boost, and Fluffle at the back throws its lightning clouds with both bonuses running. On 5-50 that lane was led by Electroar; here Sparkeet takes over.

Lane 4 serves as the long one. Ashlarva leads it with a flame ring that heals as it burns, which matters because Zapooch, Cavyzap and Frostique are all hitters lined up behind it. Frostique is the hardest of them to replace: its ice block slows the target and breaks into piercing shards, softening the whole queue for Cavyzap's electric cage.

Gopher in lane 2 needs Rubblet in front of it. It lobs mud balls, but once enemies get right up to it, it stops and burrows for damage reduction, so something has to keep them off. One clear used Rockhog there instead, along with Momopo in place of Sealing in lane 1.

In lane 5, Funglet's spores nick Waddledo and Tindercub for a little HP but boost their attack and speed, which suits a penguin that needs to survive until its shield bursts.

The middle lane is where 5-70 gets argued over. One player felt it wasn't holding up, another said it barely needs anyone, and a third reported clearing with five tataris stacked there. Lineup 1 goes for something in between. Snoozebo takes the front, firing thorns as it dozes and healing itself in the process. Turtuff behind it adds a Shell Shield, and Rockhog's mud slows whatever gets through, so enemies crawl into Embertail's pinecone mines at the back.

The unit you really don't want to lose sits in lane 4. Cheerling dances between Sackling and Tindercub, healing both and raising their attack and defence, so the tank lasts longer and Tindercub hits harder. Take it out and that lane loses its sustain and its damage in one go.

Lane 2 acts as the one to play with. Swaystroll holds the front behind its ice shield while Capypapa heals from behind, and players suggested building that lane around the penguin with two Water damage dealers. Another tip was to trade the fire lizard, Ignisnap at the back of lane 1, for a good Water unit.

If the grid fails, look at your evolutions before anything else. One player said the 5-70 team didn't work because they lacked the same evolutions, and in another exchange the answer to a failed copy was that it depends on which enemies you face. Waddledo, the penguin in 5-60's Lineup 1, turns up here evolved into Swaystroll.

What stands out in Lineup 1 for 5-80 is where the weight sits. Lane 3 holds four units, lane 2 only two, and the top row is empty, so the front line starts one row back.

The engine is lane 3. Pyrohound opens with a fire pillar, Tindercub follows with chi blasts and falls back to meditate when it's in danger, and Scorchwing and Ignisnap sit behind them. Leave those two alone: no known clear of 5-80 goes without both, and Ignisnap never leaves the middle lane. Scorchwing unloads five fireballs and then needs a breather, and Ignisnap's burning shots cover the gap.

The flanks are about slowing. In lane 5, Boldclaw's bubbles, Frostpaw's ice block and Rockhog's mud all slow, so that lane is three layers of it. Lane 1 does it another way: Waddledo shields up and bursts ice when the shield breaks, Droppit's mist slows and chips, and Sparkdoe at the back throws a piercing bolt that can paralyse several enemies at once. In lane 4, Funglet's spores boost attack and speed but nick allies' HP, a fair trade with Pearpair soaking hits in front.

Nobody here heals the others. Variants often squeeze in Cheerling at lane 2 or Cluckeroo at lane 4, and thin lane 2 is the natural spot. A Swaystroll can take Waddledo's place, Ashlarva can lead lane 3 instead of Pyrohound, Cobbledon can replace Rubblet, and Voltfawn can stand in for Sparkdoe. The suggested level is 105, same as 5-70, so the jump is in the layout, not in levels.