Chapter 9 teams: stages 9-10 to 9-80

Chapter 9 asks for more damage in the fire lane, and that's the advice players give for 9-10 directly. Lineup 1's fire lane is lane 1, where Pyrohound's pillar and Ignisnap's burn do the work while Capypapa and Bubbit sit between them. Bubbit's mist making enemies Fragile is what lets two damage dealers carry a lane of four, but if it's falling short, a support cell is where extra damage would go.

Frostique is the new piece, and as the evolved T3 form of Frostnip it splits its ice block into piercing shards. It sits two rows behind Swaystroll in lane 2, so whatever the penguin's shield holds up gets slowed and pierced at once. Waddledo has been used in place of Swaystroll there.

Scorchwing closes out lane 5. It fires five fireballs in quick succession and then rests, so its damage comes in bursts behind Stalkerix and Tindercub. Flametail, Kitjitsu and Cluckeroo have each replaced Tindercub in other clears.

Electroar, Cheerlet and Sparkdoe hold lane 3 as usual, with Cheerling swapped in once. Cobbledon, Turtuff and Frugagon make up lane 4.

9-20 is the barrel boss, and players don't hide their dislike of it; one clear killed it in the last second. A level of 175 or above was recommended, with the claim that this lineup makes your tatari almost unbeatable by the barrels at that point.

Azurion is the damage dealer to look after. At the back of lane 4 behind Frostique and Firecoil, the T3 fire lizard throws fireballs whose burn can be enhanced, while Firecoil's flame ring heals and boosts it and Frostique slows and pierces up front. Kitjitsu in lane 1 feeds off those burns too, healing whenever it hits a Burning enemy.

For the grass lane, lane 5, one suggestion was to line a grass shield unit up with the puppy and pull the lane back. Sackling has replaced Capypapa there, Goonbug twice, and a cheeky panda in place of the mantis was floated as well.

Lane 3 is four deep: Electroar, Cheerlet, Sparkdoe and Boltskipper's bind at the back. Pyrohound and Scorchwing bracket lane 1, and Cobbledon and Zapooch share lane 2; Nimbuzzy has replaced Zapooch.

9-30 is another close one; the clear that was shared finished with five seconds on the clock. The fire lane does the heavy lifting this time, and it's lane 2: Pyrohound's pillar at the front, Firecoil right behind it healing and boosting attack, Flametail's exploding fireworks and Ignisnap's burn at the back. Firecoil is what keeps the pillar standing long enough for the two damage dealers to work.

Then there's lane 4, the cell to think about. Lineup 1 runs just Electroar and Voltling there, Voltling's shadow attack paralysing whatever the knockback doesn't stop. Clears have swapped Sparkdoe into that spot more often than anything else, four times, and Nekowatt once, so if Voltling isn't evolved yet, Sparkdoe is the proven replacement.

Lane 3 layers the water units, Swaystroll in front, Cheerlet, Bubbit's Fragile mist and Frostique's piercing shards behind. Capypapa has been a substitute for Bubbit once.

Cobbledon and Turtuff are alone in lane 1, with Rockhog swapped in for Turtuff in one clear. Stalkerix, Rockfu and Frugagon fill lane 5; Joeyo has replaced Stalkerix, and Cluckeroo has gone in place of Rockfu.

Being stuck on 9-40 isn't always a level problem. A player at level 190 asked if they were just too weak and was told their level was fine, and the next step was to look at the battle report to see which lane breaks. Another player's lane kept failing until they added the unicorn to it.

The lane worth studying is lane 3, the fire column. Pyrohound stands at the very front, Firecoil heals and boosts right behind it, and Souphog sits in the middle: it spends its own HP to hurl peppers, gives allies a Culinary Shield, and heals the units around it when it's knocked down. Behind it Kitjitsu heals off burns and Azurion throws enhanced burning fireballs from the back. Souphog is the piece that's hard to replace, because it shields and heals that whole stack.

Lane 1 is Swaystroll with Frostique two rows behind, and Maskfry has been used in place of Swaystroll twice. Lane 5 is thin, Boldclaw slowing ahead of Capypapa, with Waddledo swapped in for Boldclaw once.

Cobbledon, Turtuff and Frugagon hold lane 2, and Electroar, Cheerlet and Sparkdoe hold lane 4. Since 9-30, Sparkdoe has replaced Voltling.

9-50 is the worm boss, and players warn that it's partly luck, so one failed run doesn't mean the team is wrong. The more useful tip is for underlevelled teams: a variant that flips the board, moving the front units to the back.

Lineup 1 already leans that way. Electroar sits at the rear of lane 2 behind Cheerlet and Sparkdoe, Stalkerix closes lane 3 behind three damage and healing units, and Pyrohound stands at the very back of lane 5 behind Firecoil and Ignisnap. The guardians catch what gets through instead of soaking the first hit.

Pandaroo is the piece that makes lane 3 work. It plants bamboo shoots that keep damaging and slowing, and the shoots grow and hit harder the longer they stand. With Frugagon's exploding fruit in front and Cluckeroo healing between them, enemies walking that lane get slowed twice before they reach anything solid.

In lane 1 you'll find Swaystroll ahead of Flametail and Maskfry; Bubbit has replaced Maskfry. Lane 4 is just Frostique and Boldclaw at the back, with Rattlecoil swapped in for Frostique once. Sonarbat has gone into lane 2 instead of Cheerlet or Sparkdoe, and Poakie in place of Firecoil.

The good news on 9-60 is that you don't need everything. One player cleared it at level 181 with no beetle and no T2 penguin, and put it down to having a T3 frog instead. In Lineup 1 that frog is Frugagon, in the middle of lane 1, and its fruit explodes often and slows, so it softens enemies for Stalkerix in front and stays protected by Cluckeroo's healing behind.

Lane 3 is short and fierce. Pyrohound stands right at the front, Firecoil heals and boosts behind it, and Azurion's enhanced burn finishes the job from the third row. Ignisnap has been used in place of Azurion, and Ashlarva instead of Firecoil, if your fire units are less evolved.

The penguin the player managed without is Swaystroll, leading lane 5 ahead of Maskfry's pull and Capypapa's healing. Boldclaw has replaced Maskfry there.

Lane 2 has Cobbledon, Cheerlet and Rockhog, and Rockhog is the cell clears replace most often: Turtuff twice, plus Gibber and Humbleetle. Electroar, Sparkdoe and Frostique make up lane 4. Scorchwing has been swapped in for Cluckeroo twice.

9-70 has a ranged boss, and that's what makes it frustrating; one player said it had them ready to stop playing until they levelled something up. The summary another player gave was clear: one approach needs a T3 frog, the other a T3 frost cat, and both may want a T2 sunflower. The weak point is the grass side, which falls apart without a T3 unit.

Lineup 1 covers the grass side with Frugagon, the T3 frog, at the back of lane 5 behind Stalkerix and Cluckeroo, and with a grass column in lane 1 of Sackling, Pearpair and Hootlet, whose terrain stacks Slowdown on anything inside. Cactobud has been swapped in for Hootlet.

Blubbles is the support doing the heavy lifting in the centre. From the back of lane 3 it sends sound waves, and allies they touch get healed and pick up stacking Joysong: DMG Boost and DMG Reduction. Maskfry pulls enemies in at the front and Ripplewing's water bombs slow them and put them to sleep, dealing damage when they wake.

The tweaks suggested were moving the frost cat down a row and, in a variant with a penguin swapped in, lining it up with Firecoil. Lane 4 fields Pyrohound, Kitjitsu and Flametail; Firecoil has replaced Kitjitsu. Voltling, Cheerlet and Frostpaw hold lane 2.

The 9-80 boss is tanky, and the advice is simple: put more damage in the middle lane. Without Voltkit evolved to T2, one tester at level 175 left the boss on 10 to 20 percent HP and needed more levels. Others needed a T3 cat or an evolved Ashlarva before it worked for them, and one report said the second lane from the left held while the two right lanes died. The general fixes offered were the usual ones: level up, feed your tatari, do the dojo or evolve.

Lineup 1's middle is lane 3, four deep. Electroar knocks back at the front, Cheerlet heals and buffs, Boltskipper binds and Sparkdoe pierces from the back. Zapuni has been the swap for Boltskipper.

Sonarbat is what makes the damage stick. From the middle of lane 4, behind Sparkeet, the T3 bat marks enemies over a wide area with Perfectly Scouted and makes them Fragile, then deals damage when the mark expires. Frostique slows and pierces behind it.

Lane 2 consists of Firecoil, Tikowl's slowing terrain, Azurion and Pandaroot's bamboo. Stalkerix and Frugagon bracket lane 1, and lane 5 has Cobbledon and Rockfu, with Turtuff replacing Rockfu in five clears.