Badge Dojo · Water 2-3

The grid changes slightly and then holds for five stages. Lineup 1 keeps Cribbler and Maskfry in rows 2 and 3 of lane 1 and moves Frostpaw behind them to row 4. Skinklet stays alone in row 2 of the middle, and Swaystroll now holds lane 3 by itself in row 2.

The move of Frostpaw is the whole difference. Lane 1 becomes the strong column: Maskfry pulls enemies together in front of Cribbler, and Frostpaw's slowing ice lands on that same packed group, breaking into fragments that hit everything around it. A tight group is the best possible target for those fragments.

Frostpaw is an evolved form of Frostnip, and its slow also protects Cribbler, which as a first form needs the time.

The price is on the right. Swaystroll no longer has Frostpaw behind it, so its shield has to hold without the slow, and its crystal burst lands on enemies that are not yet weakened. Swaystroll is a tank, so it usually copes, but bigger waves can break it.

If lane 3 keeps falling, level Swaystroll, since the longer its shield holds, the harder the burst hits. If lane 1 is the problem, Frostpaw is the better target.