Brawl Stars Best Star Powers (September 2026): Top Star Power Picks for Every Meta Brawler

Accurate as of September 23, 2026 — Season 54 "Royal Academy" (Update 69, "Brawler Blast"). Brawl Stars rebalances every few weeks, so win rates and Star Power picks shift with each patch.

Star Powers are the loadout slot players get the most wrong. Every Brawler has two, you unlock them at Power Level 9, and you equip exactly one before every match — pick the weaker one and you quietly hand the enemy a free edge in every fight. The September 1, 2026 balance pass reshuffled which Star Powers are worth running (Tara and Jacky got buffed, Poco and Meg got nerfed), and Cosmo's arrival as the game's 107th Brawler added a brand-new best-in-slot debate. This guide covers how Star Powers work in the current Season 54 "Royal Academy" / Update 69 "Brawler Blast" meta, which Star Powers changed in the September patch, and the single best Star Power pick for every meta Brawler.

Quick answer (TLDR): Every Brawler has two Star Powers, both unlock at Power Level 9, and you equip exactly one per match — it is a permanent passive or active upgrade, not a one-time effect. For the current top of the meta after the September 1 patch: Cosmo's Ammo Attractor (picked ~89% on live build data) reloads two ammo on a Super hit, Wendy's Solar Shield (picked ~69%) adds +2,000 HP to her shield generator, and Bolt is a genuine coin-flip between Toss Up and Unstoppaball (~57% / ~61% depending on the tracker). Across the wider roster the rule is the same: pick the Star Power that flips a fight — team heals (Sandy's Healing Winds, Gene's Magic Puffs), clutch survival (Shelly's Band-Aid), or execute damage (Crow's Carrion Crow) — over the one that only adds convenience. Full per-Brawler picks below.

What are Star Powers in Brawl Stars?

A Star Power is a permanent upgrade that changes how a Brawler plays — a passive buff (extra healing, more speed, bonus damage) or a triggered effect baked into your kit. Unlike a Gadget, it is always on; you don't tap a button for most of them. Each Brawler has two, and you choose one on the loadout screen before a match.

The details that decide games:

• Two Star Powers per Brawler, one equipped per match. Both unlock at Power Level 9 (Gadgets unlock earlier, at Power 7). You cannot run both at once and you cannot swap mid-match — the pick happens on the loadout screen.
• They are permanent, not consumable. Once unlocked, a Star Power costs nothing to use and never runs out during a match. That's why the right pick compounds: a strong Star Power is working every single second you're on the field.
• They stack with your Gadget and Gears. A maxed Brawler runs one of two Gadgets, one of two Star Powers, and two Gears. The Star Power is the slot that most often defines the Brawler's identity — Shelly with Band-Aid is a comeback tank; Shelly with Shell Shock is a control shredder.

Since Update 69, you can also earn Star Powers directly from the Brawler Blast mini-game that replaced Starr Road — unlocking a Brawler with Credits now fires a bonus round that can hand out Power Levels, Gadgets, Gears, Star Powers, Hypercharges or Buffies. That's separate from the loadout choice: Brawler Blast is how you get a Star Power; this guide is about which one to equip.

What changed in the September 1, 2026 patch?

The September 1 balance update was a large one — roughly 27 Brawlers buffed and 20 nerfed, with 9 getting both, per brawlplanet.com's balance log (we break down every change in our September 2026 balance changes guide). Several of those changes hit Star Powers directly, which is exactly why an August "best Star Power" list can steer you wrong today. The confirmed Star-Power-relevant moves, cross-checked against Supercell's "Release Notes August 2026" and brawlplanet:

• Tara — Black Portal buffed. The shadow summoned by her Super went from 3,400 → 4,000 HP and 800 → 1,000 damage. Both of Tara's Star Powers came out ahead this patch, pushing her back up the tier list.
• Jacky — Hardy Hard Hat buffed. Her damage-reduction Star Power went from 20% → 25%, making the brawl-in tank even harder to kill.
• Poco — Da Capo! nerfed. Poco's signature team-heal Star Power had its healing cut from 936 → 576. It's still the standard pick over Screeching Solo, but the sustain it provides is noticeably weaker now.
• Meg — Force Field nerfed. Damage reduction dropped from 40% → 30%.
• Rico — Robo Retreat nerfed. The low-HP speed boost fell from 60% → 50%.

The broader theme was the same as the tier-list shuffle: buffs to underused picks and nerfs to the recently dominant ones. If a Brawler you main appears in that list, re-check your Star Power — a slot that was correct in August may not be anymore.

Best Star Powers for the current top-meta Brawlers

These are the Brawlers leading the September meta after the patch. Win-rate and pick-rate figures are pulled from live build data (noff.gg, brawltime.ninja) rather than editorial opinion — but note that brand-new Brawlers like Cosmo sit on a small, novelty-inflated sample, so treat their exact numbers as directional.

Cosmo (#107, Mythic Controller) — Ammo Attractor

Cosmo is the newest Brawler in the game, live since his mid-September release event, and immediately one of the strongest Controllers. His two Star Powers:

• Ammo Attractor — hitting an enemy with his Super (the gravity "black hole" that magnetizes a target) instantly reloads two ammo. On live build data this is picked roughly 89% of the time — a landslide.
• Precession — increases his main attack's orbit speed by +25%, so his three orbiting projectiles land more consistently at range.

Best pick: Ammo Attractor for almost every mode — the ammo refund turns his Super into a burst-and-reset that keeps him firing through team fights. Precession is the reasonable alternative for solo/ladder players who value hitting shots consistently over the ammo economy; some editorial guides recommend it for exactly that reason. When sources disagree, follow the 89% pick rate: default Ammo Attractor. (For his full loadout, see our Cosmo guide.)

Wendy (#106, Mythic Support) — Solar Shield

Wendy remains one of the best Support Brawlers even after her September nerfs, carried by the biggest team shield in the game. Her Star Powers:

• Solar Shield — adds +2,000 HP to her Super's shield generator ("Planet Protector"). Picked around 69%.
• Slowing Shield — slows enemies who stand inside the generator's field, an area-control tool.

Best pick: Solar Shield as the reliable general choice — a bigger, longer-lasting team shield is value in every mode she's good in (Gem Grab, Brawl Ball, Knockout, Hot Zone). Switch to Slowing Shield in coordinated Ranked play where the slow zone controls a chokepoint.

Bolt (Epic, Speed Tank) — genuinely contested

Bolt is the one top pick where the "best Star Power" answer is honestly a coin flip, and the trackers disagree. Per a verbatim leak of his kit, his two Star Powers are:

"Star Power 1: Toss Up — Bolt will knock enemies upwards when he's at full speed. Star Power 2: Unstoppaball — Bolt is immune to crowd control and gains 15% top speed during his Super."

topbrawl.com reports the split as roughly Toss Up 57% / Unstoppaball 43%, while a noff.gg/brawlify data snippet flips it to Unstoppaball ~61%. Both are viable. Rule of thumb: take Unstoppaball in modes full of stuns and knockbacks (the crowd-control immunity is a hard counter to control comps), and Toss Up when you want the disruptive knock-up to peel for teammates. Don't stress the pick — this is one of the rare cases where either choice is defensible.

Best Star Power for every meta Brawler (by role)

For the wider roster, the pick rarely changes patch to patch — these are the long-standing best-in-slot answers, with the September changes folded in. Where a name below could not be verified against a September 2026 source, it's flagged rather than asserted.

Tanks & brawlers (get in, stay in):

• El Primo — El Fuego. The burn-on-attack applies extra damage over his brawl-in, the competitive pick over Meteor Rush.
• Rosa — Plant Life. Heals while she stands in a bush, layering onto her Super shield for a nearly unkillable bush fighter.
• Jacky — Hardy Hard Hat. Now 25% damage reduction after the September buff — the clear default.
• Bibi / Shelly — survival first. Shelly's Band-Aid heals 30% of max HP when she drops below 40%, the comeback button that wins 1v1s.

Assassins (burst and reset):

• Mortis — Coiled Snake. Recharges his dash bar faster, the standard aggressive pick (Mortis mained around a 22% pick rate among Assassins).
• Crow — Carrion Crow. Adds roughly +120 damage to enemies below 50% HP, the execute Star Power that closes out poisoned targets.
• Leon — Smoke Trail. +30% movement speed while invisible, for repositioning and escapes.
• Stu — Zero Drag for escape mobility, or Gaso-Heal if you want post-dash sustain (Zero Drag sits around a 59% pick).
• Edgar — build-dependent. Genuinely no single "best": Hardcore for competitive, Fisticuffs for Duels. Pick to your mode.

Marksmen & damage dealers (range and pressure):

• Piper — Ambush. Around +800 damage when firing from a bush — the sniper's signature.
• Brock — Incendiary. Rockets leave fire dealing roughly 600 damage/second, strong area denial.
• Colt — Slick Boots for kiting speed, the mobility pick that keeps his high DPS safe.
• Surge — Serve Ice Cold for consistent damage output.
• Spike — Fertilize, which heals the team inside his Super area, a top area-control Star Power.

Supports (keep the team alive):

• Sandy — Healing Winds. Allies heal roughly 250 HP/sec inside his sandstorm — one of the best team-heal Star Powers in the game.
• Gene — Magic Puffs. Turns his ally pulls into healing, letting him peel and sustain at once.
• Poco — Da Capo! Still the pick over Screeching Solo, but note the September nerf dropped its healing to 576 (from 936) — the sustain is weaker than it was in August.
• Max — Run n' Gun for the reload-while-moving pressure that makes him a top mobility Support.
• Byron — Injection for boosted heal-and-poison output (around a 59% pick).

Controllers (lock down space):

• Bo — Circling Eagle for extended bush vision, the preferred pick over Snare the Bear.
• Tara — Black Portal, buffed hard this patch to a 4,000-HP / 1,000-damage shadow. Healing Shade is the alternative if you want sustain.

A few picks are genuinely split between trackers and worth confirming in-game before you commit Coins: Nita (brawlify lists Bear With Me as best; noff.gg shows Faux Fur as most-used) and Jessie (Energize is the area-control default, but the runner-up varies by source). When two reputable trackers disagree, the tie-breaker is your own mode: take the Star Power whose effect matches how you actually play the Brawler.

How to choose a Star Power: the rule that beats memorizing every card

There are over 200 Star Powers in the game and they change every patch, so don't memorize a static list — learn the priority. In roughly this order, pick the Star Power that:

• Wins or survives a fight. Team heals (Sandy, Gene, Spike), clutch survival (Shelly Band-Aid, Rosa Plant Life) and execute damage (Crow Carrion Crow) all directly swing the outcome of an engagement. As the fundamentals go, the best Star Powers flip a fight — heals, survival, and execute damage — over ones that only add convenience.
• Matches your mode. A slow, area-denial Star Power (Wendy Slowing Shield, Jessie Energize) shines in objective modes like Hot Zone and Gem Grab; a mobility/escape one (Leon Smoke Trail, Stu Zero Drag) shines in Showdown and Bounty where positioning is life.
• Fixes your Brawler's weakness. If your Brawler dies too fast, take the survival Star Power; if it can't finish kills, take the execute one.
• Follows the live data — but not blindly. A high pick rate (Cosmo's 89% Ammo Attractor, Wendy's 69% Solar Shield) is a strong signal, but a brand-new Brawler's numbers are noisy. Cross-check win-rate trackers (brawltime.ninja, noff.gg) against your own experience before spending Coins.

Because Star Powers are permanent and cost Coins to unlock, prioritize the second Star Power only on Brawlers you actually play — a maxed main with the right Star Power beats three half-built Brawlers with the wrong one.

FAQ

When do Star Powers unlock in Brawl Stars? Both of a Brawler's Star Powers become available at Power Level 9. Gadgets unlock earlier at Power 7, and the second Gear slot at Power 10. You unlock them with Coins (or receive them from the Brawler Blast mini-game when you unlock a Brawler with Credits).

Can you use two Star Powers at once? No. Each Brawler has two Star Powers but you equip exactly one before a match, chosen on the loadout screen. You cannot swap mid-match, so pick the Star Power that fits the mode and comp before you queue.

What is the best Star Power for Cosmo? Ammo Attractor is the data-backed default — it reloads two ammo on a Super hit and is picked around 89% of the time. Precession (+25% orbit speed) is a reasonable alternative for solo and ladder players who prioritize landing shots consistently, but Ammo Attractor is the safer general pick.

Which Star Powers changed in the September 2026 patch? The September 1, 2026 update buffed Tara's Black Portal (shadow to 4,000 HP / 1,000 damage) and Jacky's Hardy Hard Hat (to 25% damage reduction), and nerfed Poco's Da Capo! (healing cut to 576), Meg's Force Field (to 30% damage reduction) and Rico's Robo Retreat (to 50% speed boost). Re-check your Star Power if you main any of those Brawlers.

Are Star Powers the same as Gadgets or Gears? No. A Star Power is a permanent, usually-passive upgrade (one of two, equipped per match, unlocked at Power 9). A Gadget is an active ability you tap during a match, on a cooldown (unlocked at Power 7) — see our best Gadgets guide for the top pick on every Brawler. Gears are passive stat bonuses bought with Coins (slots at Power 8 and Power 10); our Gears guide covers which two to run. A maxed Brawler runs one Star Power, one Gadget and two Gears together.

How do I get free Star Powers? Legitimately, Star Powers come from spending Coins, from the Brawler Blast mini-game (which replaced Starr Road in Update 69), and occasionally from Starr Drops — a Legendary Starr Drop has a roughly 42.7% chance to contain a Star Power. There is no such thing as a "free Star Power generator"; those are scams and should be avoided.