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Grass Evolution Verdicts: Buy, Hold or Skip at Every Tier

GrassUpdated Oct 25, 2026

Grass is the element I would build if I could only build one. Manteeny's line gives you a tank that kills things, Buddi's line becomes the strongest single-target healer around, and between Pandaroo, Budboo, Funglet and Hootlet there is a support or a three-lane attacker for every mode. The Grass T4 Aura also raises the HP of the whole team, which is a bonus nobody turns down. The catch is that Grass is crowded, so the hard part is saying no. Below, every family gets a plain verdict at each step: Buy (do it as soon as you can afford it), Hold (worth it, but after the Buy list) or Skip (only for a specific mode, or not at all).

Step one: T1 to T2

Unit → next form	Verdict	Why
Manteeny → Stalkerix	Buy	The best Grass tank, and it hits back. Heals itself, has long reach for a front-liner, and shreds the Worm in Horde. Works in Gold Rush too.
Frugling → Frugatoad	Buy	Cheap, with respectable splash damage from its exploding fruit.
Pandaroo → Pandaroot	Buy (or Budboo)	Bamboo that slows and damages three lanes, and it lasts longer at T2. Strong Boss Challenge scores; weaker in Horde since its Lv 7 lost some of its attack and defence buff.
Budboo → Snapshade	Buy (or Pandaroo)	Unlocks three-lane hits and Poison, which adds damage over time and makes targets take more. Less consistent than Pandaroo, but the better Horde attacker, with the longest reach of any Grass damage dealer there. Partners with Cactobud in Boss Challenge.
Buddi → Sunfleur	Hold	Heals one ally and does no damage yet. Its whole value arrives at T3.
Funglet → Trippet	Hold	Speeds up allied attacks and doubles how long buffs last. A fixture in Boss Challenge and a fine story support; T3 adds much more.
Hootlet → Tikowl	Hold	Slows across three lanes with light area damage, and from the middle lane it can touch all five. Unreliable until T3. At Horde Lv 3 it can heal and tank.
Bonobean → Titanape	Skip (Horde only)	Lobs bananas that split, and once hurt enough, sometimes drags random Zobos into your line. Handy for Horde lane control, risky everywhere else, useless in Gold Rush where pulls do not work.
Sackling → Jarachnid	Skip	Second-best Grass tank, but it stops attacking while its shield rebuilds and the rebuild is slow. Story, Dojo and Boss Challenge only.
Cactobud → Cactobloom	Skip (bosses only)	Sting stacks melt bosses and fat Zobos but do little against groups. A Boss Challenge and Dojo specialist.
Goonbug → Capobeetle	Skip	Applies Fragile and charges a lane. Mainly useful for deliberately triggering the Miner, Grass and Road Bully types.
Lollama → Slobberlama	Skip	Low damage and patchy area effects. Boss Challenge filler.

Pick Pandaroo or Budboo first, not both: Pandaroo if you mostly push story and Boss Challenge, Budboo if Horde is your mode.

Step two: T2 to T3

Unit → next form	Verdict	Why
Frugatoad → Frugagon	Buy (first)	Cheap. Every second fruit now explodes and slows. The plus-shaped blast misses sometimes, but it earns a slot nearly everywhere, Gold Rush included.
Sunfleur → Solaflora	Buy	Cheap and transformative: no healer in the game tops it on a single target, and now it deals some damage. Put it behind Serrabloom and that pair keeps a lane by themselves. Still the Horde healer of choice; many players stop at Lv 1 after the Lv 3 change, though Lv 3 still helps survival.
Stalkerix → Serrabloom	Buy	Now applies Fragile, which sends its damage way up. With Solaflora behind it, it clears lanes. Top tank-damage pick against the Worm and in every other mode.
Trippet → Hyphoria	Buy	Adds team-wide damage reduction to the attack speed buff and puts Fragile on Zobos. A universal Boss Challenge and story support that can replace the bat swap, lacking only an attack buff.
Pandaroot → Pandarrior	Hold	Faster attacks, more bamboo, and Slow over three lanes. Common in Boss Challenge; after the Horde Lv 7 cut, Tikowl may serve you better.
Tikowl → Chronerva	Hold (pick one of these three)	The zone widens to 3×3 (it was 3×2), meaning more Zobos are hit, slowed and stunned, and it spreads Waveflutter's Sleep wider. Its Horde Lv 3 heal can bring it back from near death to three-quarters HP.
Snapshade → Thornwisp	Hold (pick one)	Leaves three small Poison zones that stack on anything inside. Matches Cactoczar in Boss Challenge, strong in the current Horde meta (Lv 5 pierces, Lv 7 hits a big area), and spreads Sleep well.
Cactobloom → Cactoczar	Hold (pick one)	Kills pass its Sting stacks to nearby Zobos, giving it a small area effect. For Boss Challenge and boss stage scores.
Titanape → Grangutan	Skip	Recovers nearly all lost HP when its push comes off cooldown, but the push can still shove Zobos past your defence. Some Horde use from its Lv 7.
Jarachnid → Terracrawler	Skip	Serrabloom does its job better. Shield returns faster, which only matters for patching empty Boss Challenge lanes or as a Dojo backup.
Capobeetle → Donscarab	Skip	Adds knockback, but its niche was already covered at T2.
Slobberlama → Ptooielama	Skip	Gains a slowing zone that helps against Road Bully, but the patchy area effects remain.

Step three: T3 to T4

Because the Aura is a team-wide HP boost, every Grass T4 helps more than a Water one would. Spend in this order.

Unit → next form	Verdict	Why
Serrabloom → Orchitoria	Buy (first)	The all-rounder. Better still against the Worm, self-sustaining, and strong next to Heliabloom.
Chronerva → Hypnostrix	Buy	Big zone, stacks of debuffs and that Horde Lv 3 heal, so it tanks, heals and hits at once. Strong in Gold Rush as well.
Thornwisp → Chomperwraith	Buy	Grass's best single-target attacker alongside Cactoczar, with Poison to raise damage taken. Its Lv 7 was cut but still lands hard. Fine to take ahead of Frugagon.
Frugagon → Frugantuan	Hold	The easiest to unlock but used less than the three above. Dependable single-lane splash and Slow.
Hyphoria → Ecstamira	Hold	Pricey in food levels, yet it is in so many teams that the Aura pays off.
Solaflora → Heliabloom	Hold	Stronger heals for Horde and story.
Pandarrior → Pandagrand	Hold	Steadier three-lane damage than Frugantuan; mostly Boss Challenge and story now.
Grangutan → Primakong	Skip unless Horde	A Horde tank with some Boss Challenge use.
Cactoczar → Cactobodhi, Ptooielama → Blechlama	Skip unless chasing scores	Boss Challenge only.
Donscarab → Beetleknight, Terracrawler → Weaverfang	Skip	Little to gain; Orchitoria makes the second one redundant.

The pinball bill

Grass trials run on pinballs. According to a fan-run trial database, most Grass T3 trials ask you to shoot 20,000 pinballs (plus raising stats three times), and every Grass T4 asks for 60,000 pinballs and feeding to B quality, plus one extra task:

Manteeny and Sackling: own three 24-star Grass Tatari.
Buddi: buy 20 buildings.
Hootlet: own 25 badges.
Frugling: open 30 Tatari . Its T3 is different too: hit difficulty 12 in a Boss Challenge.
Pandaroo and Goonbug: feed 15 Bamboo Stew.

The T2 steps are light: Frugling needs 400 pinballs, Buddi and Sackling 800 harvested pinballs, Manteeny 20 cleared stages, Hootlet two login days, Pandaroo three Sunshine Salads, Goonbug ten Boss Challenge entries. With a T3 costing 20,000 shots, two Grass T3s in the same week can drain a pinball stash fast, so time them with the event cycle plan.

Shortlist

Buy at T2: Manteeny, Frugling, Pandaroo or Budboo. Buy at T3: Frugagon, Solaflora, Serrabloom, Hyphoria. Buy at T4: Orchitoria, Hypnostrix, Chomperwraith. To see how Grass fits beside the other elements, check the evolution roadmap.

Opening upgrades (T1 → T2)

S · Build these first

Fruglingevolves into Frugatoad
A backline hitter whose fruit bursts on crowds; the line appears in 1,405 lineups.
Manteenyevolves into Stalkerix
Manteeny slashes without pause at anything in front of it; Stalkerix (Triple Slash, up from Double) is in 930 saved lineups. The bigger reward is Serrabloom, which adds Fragile and is the most-used Grass pick from chapter 20 onward.

A · Strong follow-ups

Pandarooevolves into Pandaroot
Pandaroo plants bamboo shoots that keep hurting and slowing whatever walks over them, and the shoots hit harder as they grow. Pandaroot's description doesn't change, so the T2 brings no new effect, and Pandarrior later plants faster. There are 150 saved lineups with Pandaroot: 49 from chapter 20 on and 47 in the Grass dojo.
Budbooevolves into Snapshade
Budboo mostly fires single seeds, with the odd venom seed that splashes and poisons. Snapshade throws 3 venom seeds at a time, and poisoned enemies both take extra damage and keep losing HP. Usage is low, though: 35 saved lineups for Snapshade, 20 of them in the Grass dojo.
Buddievolves into Sunfleur
Buddi's healing sunlight picks up a defence boost at Sunfleur. Few teams run the T2 itself, 47 saved lineups, but Solaflora carries the line into 274 lineups from chapter 20 on.
Fungletevolves into Trippet
Funglet's spore ring nicks your own Tatari a little but speeds up and strengthens them. Trippet carries that trade into the late game, appearing in 274 of 739 chapter 20+ lineups; Hyphoria later adds Fragile and damage reduction.
Hootletevolves into Tikowl
Hootlet lays a patch of ground in front of it that hurts and stacks Slowdown on anything inside. Tikowl lets those stacks turn into a Stun, and Chronerva widens the patch. It's rarely fielded: Tikowl has 15 saved lineups, though 3 of them are boss teams.

C · Low on the list

Bonobeanevolves into Titanape
Bonobean's line is a Grass front-liner built around bananas. Titanape's bananas split into smaller piercing pieces, and once it has lost enough HP it gains a defence boost and starts dropping Banana Peels. Zobos that step on a peel take damage, get slowed and are shoved a short way, although some Zobos ignore the push. This line has yet to appear in any of our 2,420 saved lineups, so there is no usage data to back an early evolution.
Goonbugevolves into Capobeetle
Goonbug charges forward while invincible and deals area damage as it goes. Capobeetle adds Fragile to that charge. It's used more than its band suggests, 121 lineups from chapter 20 onward, so treat it as a solid side option.
Sacklingevolves into Jarachnid
Sackling pauses its bubble attack whenever its Liquid Shield is down, using that time to rebuild it. Jarachnid makes the shield stun nearby enemies when it breaks, and Terracrawler rebuilds it faster. Count-wise, Jarachnid sits at 126 saved lineups, 39 from chapter 20 on.
Cactobudevolves into Cactobloom
Cactobud piles Sting stacks onto targets, and Cactobloom makes those stacks burst for area damage when the target dies. Cactobloom has 89 saved lineups, 4 on boss pages.
Lollamaevolves into Slobberlama
Slobberlama trades Lollama's Slow for Blind; 27 saved lineups.

Core upgrades (T2 → T3)

S · Build these first

Frugatoadevolves into Frugagon
Frugatoad's fruit only sometimes explodes; Frugagon's goes off often and slows whatever it hits. That jump is why Frugagon sits in 1,185 of our lineups, including 118 x-80 clears and 89 Grass dojo runs. Barely anyone keeps Frugatoad at T2 past chapter 20 (4 lineups), so evolve it first.

A · Strong follow-ups

Sunfleurevolves into Solaflora
Sunfleur heals and grants an attack and defence boost; Solaflora also fires seeds that bring extra sunlight when they land. It is the only Grass T3 we have seen against all five bosses, 11 boss lineups in total, and 252 of its 299 teams are late-chapter. Keep it far back, row 5 being the favourite.
Stalkerixevolves into Serrabloom
Stalkerix is a T2 staple (930 lineups), and Serrabloom keeps the momentum: 521 late-chapter teams, 51 x-80 teams and 12 boss runs. Its nonstop strikes start applying Fragile after the evolution, which helps everyone behind it. Row 2 is where it normally stands.
Trippetevolves into Hyphoria
Here is a case where the T2 is already busy late: 274 of Trippet's 323 lineups are from chapter 20 on. Hyphoria adds Fragile to the spores and gives allies damage reduction alongside the speed buff, which offsets the small chip damage it deals to them. As a T3 it appears in 11 boss lineups, usually in the middle lane.

B · Good in the right team

Pandarootevolves into Pandarrior
Pandarrior simply plants its slowing bamboo faster. Pandaroot gets regular use at T2 (150 lineups), but only 4 teams carry the T3, and just one of those is from a late chapter, so it moved down a band. Three of those four are boss runs, which is its best argument.
Tikowlevolves into Chronerva
Tikowl's terrain slows Zobos in stacks until they are stunned, and Chronerva just enlarges that patch. It is solid crowd control, but we have one Chronerva lineup in total.
Cactobloomevolves into Cactoczar
Cactoczar passes leftover Sting stacks to nearby Zobos when a target dies, so the implosions can chain. A clever upgrade with just 3 lineups behind it; Cactobloom itself shows up in 89.
Snapshadeevolves into Thornwisp
Thornwisp leaves a Poison Zone behind its venom volley, a useful extra for a single-target shooter. Our records hold one Thornwisp lineup and 35 for Snapshade.

C · Low on the list

Titanapeevolves into Grangutan
Grangutan heals itself when its HP drops past the threshold, on top of the defence boost and banana peels. That is a sensible tank upgrade, but neither form appears in any lineup we have.
Jarachnidevolves into Terracrawler
Terracrawler rebuilds its Liquid Shield faster, so it spends less time not attacking. You will find Jarachnid in 126 of our teams, yet no one has evolved it.
Capobeetleevolves into Donscarab
Capobeetle's invincible dash already applies Fragile, and Donscarab adds knockback to it. Capobeetle is fielded fairly often at T2 (273 lineups), while Donscarab has only 14, so there is no hurry.
Slobberlamaevolves into Ptooielama
Ptooielama adds a Slow Zone to Slobberlama's two spit modes. Just one lineup in our data fields Ptooielama; only llama fans need apply.

The final step (T3 → T4)

S · Build these first

Serrabloomevolves into Orchitoria
Serrabloom is the Grass unit we see most past chapter 20, with 521 lineups there, and it fights on three boss pages. Orchitoria adds the Grass Aura, lifting max HP for the whole team, which suits a row-2 bruiser.

A · Strong follow-ups

Frugagonevolves into Frugantuan
Call Frugagon the Grass workhorse: 1,185 lineups and 118 x-80 clears. Frugantuan grants the max-HP Aura while keeping the slowing fruit, so it is close behind Orchitoria.
Solafloraevolves into Heliabloom
Solaflora was rated as a minor support before, but 252 late-chapter lineups and a presence on all five boss pages lifted it a band. Its T4, Heliabloom, adds the Grass Aura to the sunlight heals and buffs.

B · Good in the right team

Chronervaevolves into Hypnostrix
Hypnostrix gives the slowing terrain the Grass Aura. Chronerva has exactly one late-chapter lineup in our data, which is why it fell from its old high slot.
Thornwispevolves into Chomperwraith
For the poison shooter, Chomperwraith means the Aura and nothing more. With a single Thornwisp lineup on record, we pulled it down a band.
Pandarriorevolves into Pandagrand
Pandagrand's bamboo works the same, now with the Grass Aura. Pandarrior appears in four lineups, three of them boss runs; good enough for a boss specialist, not for a top slot.
Hyphoriaevolves into Ecstamira
Hyphoria's spores show up in 11 boss lineups spread over four bosses, a strong share for a unit with only 36 teams. On Ecstamira the spore buffs stay and the Aura arrives; a good pick if bosses are your bottleneck.
Grangutanevolves into Primakong
Primakong: the banana tank, plus the Aura. No Grangutan appears in our 2,420 teams, so it dropped out of the upper bands.
Cactoczarevolves into Cactobodhi
The chaining Sting implosions survive the jump to Cactobodhi, which picks up the Aura. Three Cactoczar lineups make it a side project at best.
Ptooielamaevolves into Blechlama
Blechlama is Ptooielama with the Grass Aura attached. A lone Ptooielama lineup is all we have, so spend elsewhere first.

C · Low on the list

Donscarabevolves into Beetleknight
Beetleknight's dash is unchanged and the Grass Aura comes along. Donscarab sits in 14 lineups, 10 of them late, which keeps it at the back of the queue.
Terracrawlerevolves into Weaverfang
Bubble shield and stun both carry into Weaverfang, along with the Aura. Terracrawler never appears in our lineups, so it ranks last for Grass.

Tatadex verdict

If Fox had to pick one Grass Tatari to evolve first, it would be Manteeny: a tank that also deals damage, and useful in both Gold Rush and Horde. Few Tatari do that many jobs.

Between Pandaroo and Budboo, Fox thinks you only need one early on. Pandaroo is steadier, Budboo suits Horde better, so pick based on the mode you play most. Save Buddi for later, since it only really shines at T3.

Overall evolution roadmap →