Buffies have quietly become the most expensive decision in Brawl Stars. Every Claw Machine pull costs 1,000 Coins + 2,000 Power Points, a targeted Buffie costs up to 199 Gems, and there are now 27 Brawlers across 9 Claw Machines competing for those resources. Put them on the wrong Brawler and you've burned a week of progression on a Brawler who sits at the bottom of the win-rate charts.
This tier list ranks every Brawler that currently has Buffies by how strong that Brawler is in the current meta now that their Buffies are live, using win-rate data pulled on October 24, 2026, the official balance notes, and what the competitive community is saying. If you just want to know what Buffies are and how the system works, start with our Brawl Stars Buffies explained guide. This page is about where to spend.
Quick answer (TLDR): The best Buffies in Brawl Stars right now (October 2026) belong to Amber, Shade and Nita. They're ranked #1, #3 and #6 of 108 Brawlers on Brawl Time Ninja's win-rate ranking. Gus, El Primo, Frank, Bo, 8-Bit, Meg and Emz are a strong A tier. The worst value is Mortis, who is the most-played Brawler but ranks 108th of 108, followed by Crow and Colt. Buffies unlock at 1,000 Trophies. A random pull costs 1,000 Coins + 2,000 Power Points. A specific Buffie costs 149 Gems (Gadget), 179 (Star) or 199 (Hyper). If you're buying with Gems, our pick is the Gadget or Star Buffie first, because the Gadgets and Star Powers they upgrade are where the kit's biggest win-rate swings show up.
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How does this Buffies tier list rank Brawlers?
A Buffie doesn't exist on its own. It upgrades a Gadget, Star Power or Hypercharge the Brawler already has, so the useful question isn't "which Buffie effect sounds coolest?" It's "which Brawler is worth investing in now that Buffies are live?" No public tracker measures Buffie ownership directly, so this is an editorial ranking built on three inputs:
- Win-rate rank from Brawl Time Ninja, which ranks all 108 Brawlers from millions of recorded battles (Shade alone has 4.1M picks logged). Two caveats: the data covers a rolling two-to-four-week window, and it comes from players who look up their own profiles, so raw win rates run above 50%. That's why we compare ranks, not raw percentages. The Gadget and Star Power percentages quoted below compare players who own that piece against players who own none. They show which piece of the kit matters most. They don't measure the Buffie on its own.
- Recent Buffie balance changes: the September 16 balance changes hit the newest Buffie trios hard (Shade, Amber, El Primo, Colette), and older ones were trimmed in January, February, April, June and July.
- Kit synergy: whether the Buffie upgrades the piece players actually run, not a dead Gadget nobody picks.
There are 27 Brawlers with Buffies as of October 24, 2026. Each Brawler has three Buffies (Gadget, Star and Hyper), so that's 81 gameplay Buffies in total, plus 27 cosmetic Bling Buffies.
What does the Brawl Stars Buffies tier list look like?
| Tier | Brawlers | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| S | Amber, Shade, Nita | Buy their Buffies first. Top-10 win-rate ranks of 108 Brawlers. |
| A | Gus, El Primo, Frank, Bo, 8-Bit, Meg, Emz | Strong, safe investments. Top half of the roster. |
| B | Poco, Shelly, Bull, Bibi, Griff, Spike, Rico, Brock, Surge, Leon | Fine if you main them. Not a priority otherwise. |
| C | Chuck, Colette, Edgar, Max, Colt, Crow, Mortis | Poor value right now. Only buy for a main. |
Which Brawlers have the best Buffies? (S tier)
Amber: win-rate rank #1 of 108 (67.0%) Amber is the clearest example of a Buffie set that turned a Brawler into a meta pick. Her Gadget Buffie lets Fire Starters place up to 2 barrels, and her Hyper Buffie makes main attacks burn like oil. Supercell already nerfed both in the September 16 maintenance: Fire Starters health dropped 1,750 → 1,300 and the Hyper Buffie burn damage was cut by more than half (500 → 240). She still sits at #1. On Brawl Time Ninja, players running her Wild Flames Star Power win 7.1% more often than players without a Star Power. That makes her Star Buffie the best first buy.
Shade: rank #3 of 108 (66.9%, 2.86% use rate) Shade's Buffies are the most controversial set in the game. The Jump Scare Gadget Buffie gives him a shield when he jumps (sized at roughly 27% of his max health, so it scales with Power Level), and the Hardened Hoodie Star Buffie extends his incorporeal Super. On r/BrawlStarsCompetitive, u/Dertyrarys summed up the frustration: "His sets of buffies are like giving sam his hyper procced at all Time." The September 16 balance changes cut the Hyper Buffie bonus damage from 75% to 30% and the Jump Scare fear radius from 1,000 to 600. Shade is still a top-3 Brawler, though. Jump Scare is the piece that matters: players with it win 6.9% more often than players without a Gadget. Buy the Gadget Buffie first.
Nita: rank #6 of 108 (69.6%) Nita is the sleeper. She's barely played (0.78% use rate), but her Buffie set has never been nerfed since it launched in February 2026. Bear Paws gives her bear +50% damage on its next attack, and the Hyper Buffie makes her Hypercharged attacks faster, wider and longer. For the price, she's the best Buffie value in the game. Start with the Star Buffie (Hyper Bear: +25% reload speed for 3 seconds after summoning the bear).
Which Buffies are worth buying next? (A tier)
| Brawler | Win-rate rank | Best Buffie to buy first | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gus | #16 | Star (Health Bonanza) | Spirits slowly move toward the nearest ally. Brock + Gus + Piper has the most recorded wins of any team on Brawl Time Ninja (7.9k). |
| El Primo | #27 | Gadget (Suplex Supplement) | Slams the grabbed enemy into the ground for area damage. His Asteroid Belt Super gain was cut by 50% on Sept 16. |
| Frank | #35 | Star (Sponge) | Takes 10% less damage above 50% health. Players with Sponge win 3.7% more. |
| Bo | #36 | Star (Snare a Bear) | Much faster trap placement. Players with Snare a Bear win 5.3% more. |
| 8-Bit | #38 | Gadget (Extra Credits) | Bouncing projectiles. Players with Extra Credits win 6.0% more. |
| Meg | #44 | Star (Force Field) | +20% movement speed while shielded. Players with Force Field win 4.4% more. |
| Emz | #46 | Hyper (Overhyped Haze) | Sprays poison enemies. Her Hype Buffie was nerfed to 0.5s invulnerability in January. |
Gus gets a special mention. He's one of the three most-played Brawlers right now, and he appears in 3 of the 10 teams with the most recorded wins on Brawl Time Ninja. That's a volume stat, not a team win rate, but it shows how often he gets drafted. If you play ranked or team comps, his Buffies get used in a lot of matches.
Which Buffies are only worth it for mains? (B tier)
These Brawlers win at roughly average rates for the season (ranks #50–#78). Their Buffies aren't bad, but they won't change which Brawler you should be playing.
- Poco (#50): Tuning Fork's Buffie gives teammates in the healing circle +25% reload speed. Screeching Solo is his strongest piece (+7.0% for players who own it), so his Star Buffie (silence on Super hit) is the buy.
- Shelly (#53): Clay Pigeons' Buffie slow was cut from 60% to 30% in January. She's playable, but no longer special.
- Bull (#54): T-Bone Missile's Buffie healing was cut from 50% to 25% in April.
- Bibi (#59): She was the poster child for overtuned Buffies, and two April nerfs pulled her back to the pack.
- Griff (#61): Business Resilience is his best piece (+6.7%). The Piggy Bank Buffie was nerfed in June, then partly restored in August.
- Spike (#65): The Hyper Buffie makes needle grenades detonate twice. Fun, but he's mid-table.
- Rico (#69): The Robo Retreat Buffie gives up to +50% movement speed at low health (cut from 60% on September 1).
- Brock (#73): The exception. His win-rate rank is middling, but he's in 5 of the 10 teams with the most recorded wins on Brawl Time Ninja, almost always next to Piper. That reflects how popular he is in comps, not a higher team win rate. If Brock + Piper is your duo, his Buffies are worth more to you than his rank suggests.
- Surge (#75) and Leon (#78): Solid designs with weak current win rates. Leon also lost his Lingering Smoke Mythic Gear when his Buffies arrived.
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Which Buffies should you avoid right now? (C tier)
- Mortis (#108 of 108): This is the most important line on the list. Mortis is one of the three most-played Brawlers on Brawl Time Ninja, but he has the lowest win rate in the game (57.4%). His kit has taken four Buffie-related nerfs across three patches since February 2026, most recently in June, when both Creature of the Night's damage and its Buffie healing were cut. Don't put Gems here unless he's your main.
- Crow (#103) and Colt (#102): Both have well-liked Buffie designs, but neither wins right now. Colt's Speedloader Buffie was cut twice in January–February.
- Max (#95): Her Hyper Buffie Super charge was cut twice (8% → 7% → 6%), and her Phase Shifter Buffie was trimmed in August.
- Edgar (#94): His Fisticuffs Buffie healing was cut from 30% to 20% in June.
- Colette (#85) and Chuck (#84): Chuck's Pit Stop Buffie was buffed on September 16, but it wasn't enough to move him.
Some players see a pattern here. In a r/BrawlStarsCompetitive thread, u/LukeTheDuke_55 wrote that Buffied Brawlers "would shot up to S++ tier and then be nerfed to A or B tier and then pushed further down by the next wave of broken brawlers." The balance history backs that up for the December 2025 and February 2026 trios: Mortis, Colt, Crow, Bibi and Shelly all had Buffies or kit pieces trimmed within months of launch. That's why we weight recent win rates over launch hype.
How much do Buffies cost in Brawl Stars?
| Method | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Claw Machine pull | 1,000 Coins + 2,000 Power Points | A random Buffie from that machine's trio |
| Gadget Buffie (Gems) | 149 Gems | That specific Gadget Buffie |
| Star Buffie (Gems) | 179 Gems | That specific Star Buffie |
| Hyper Buffie (Gems) | 199 Gems | That specific Hyper Buffie |
| Buffie Key | 1 Key | Any one specific Buffie |
| Bling Buffie | 10,000 Bling | Cosmetic only, after you finish a machine |
The per-machine prices come from the Claw Machine screen itself and the Brawl Stars Wiki Buffies page. A full Gem set for one Brawler is 527 Gems (149 + 179 + 199). Clearing a whole Claw Machine with resources takes 9 pulls, or 9,000 Coins + 18,000 Power Points.
Supercell's own pitch for the system is simple: "Buffies are buffs (get it?) to your Starr Powers, Gadgets, and Hypercharge!" (Brawl Stars official news). Bling Buffies are the exception: they only add a fourth color and have no gameplay effect, so skip them until everything else is done.
What's the smartest way to spend on Buffies?
- Use Claw Machine pulls on a machine with an S or A tier Brawler. Each machine holds one trio, and Supercell's Claw Machine drop chances give each of the 9 gameplay Buffies an equal 11.11% on a fresh machine, with no duplicates. So if you own all three Brawlers, your first pull on Poco's Bandstand (Poco, El Primo, Amber) or Ghost Station (Gus, Chuck, Shade) has a 2-in-3 chance of landing on a Brawler from our top two tiers.
- Spend Gems only to finish a top-tier set. If a random pull already gave you Amber's Hyper Buffie, use 179 Gems on her Star Buffie, not on a C-tier Brawler.
- Don't buy a Hyper Buffie before the Hypercharge. A Hyper Buffie does nothing until the Brawler owns its Hypercharge (Power 11). Check our Hypercharge tier list first.
- Match the Buffie to the piece you run. Per Supercell, each Brawler gets "one for both Starr Powers, one for both Gadgets, and another one for the Hypercharge," but you only equip one Gadget and one Star Power in a match. Use our best Gadgets and best Star Powers rankings to see which piece actually gets picked.
- Grab free Buffies from events and drops. Ultra Chaos Drops have a 26.74% Buffie chance, Brawler Blast can turn 4 Gem Fragments into a Buffie (one per opening), and Brawl-O-Ween's Scary Coffins included a Buffie in its 24-reward pool.
Which Claw Machine has which Brawlers?
| Claw Machine | Brawlers | Added |
|---|---|---|
| Ranger Ranch | Shelly, Colt, Spike | Dec 16, 2025 |
| Mortis' Mortuary | Mortis, Frank, Emz | Dec 16, 2025 |
| Bull's Diner | Bull, Crow, Bibi | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Rumble Jungle | Nita, Bo, Leon | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Gift Shop | Colette, Edgar, Griff | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Starrcade | Rico, Brock, 8-Bit | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Super City | Max, Surge, Meg | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Poco's Bandstand | Poco, El Primo, Amber | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Ghost Station | Gus, Chuck, Shade | Sep 1, 2026 |
New trios have arrived roughly every two months: December, February, April, June and September. On that pace, the next batch would likely come with the next major update. For what's coming, see our next Brawl Talk preview. For the overall meta beyond Buffies, see the full Brawl Stars tier list.
FAQ
What are the best Buffies in Brawl Stars right now? As of October 24, 2026, the best Buffies belong to Amber, Shade and Nita, who rank #1, #3 and #6 of 108 Brawlers on Brawl Time Ninja's win-rate ranking. Gus, El Primo, Frank, Bo, 8-Bit, Meg and Emz make up a strong A tier.
Which Buffie should I buy first with Gems? We recommend the Gadget or Star Buffie for an S or A tier Brawler you already play, because the pieces they upgrade show the biggest win-rate swings (for example, players with Shade's Jump Scare win 6.9% more often, and players with Amber's Wild Flames 7.1% more often, than players without a Gadget or Star Power). Leave the 199-Gem Hyper Buffie until the Brawler has its Hypercharge.
How many Brawlers have Buffies in Brawl Stars? 27 Brawlers across 9 Claw Machines as of October 2026. The newest trios are Poco/El Primo/Amber and Gus/Chuck/Shade, added on September 1, 2026. Each Brawler has a Gadget, Star and Hyper Buffie, plus a cosmetic Bling Buffie.
How much does a Buffie cost? A random Claw Machine pull costs 1,000 Coins + 2,000 Power Points. A specific Buffie costs 149 Gems (Gadget), 179 Gems (Star) or 199 Gems (Hyper), or one Buffie Key. Bling Buffies cost 10,000 Bling and are cosmetic only.
Are Mortis' Buffies worth it? Not right now. Mortis is one of the most-played Brawlers but ranks last of 108 by win rate, and his kit has taken four Buffie-related nerfs since launch. Only buy them if he's your main.
When do you unlock Buffies? At 1,000 Trophies. Getting a Buffie early from an Ultra Chaos Drop or a special event unlocks the menu immediately.
