Anime Vanguards Update 9 has reshaped the competitive landscape, introducing balance changes and powerful new characters that define the current meta. Knowing the anime vanguards update 9 best units is crucial for tackling the hardest challenges and dominating both PvE and PvP. This guide breaks down the top five meta units, their abilities, optimal roles, and how to build them for maximum effectiveness.
1. God (Above Heaven) – The Ultimate Crowd Control
Acquisition: Secret Unit from the Anniversary Banner or as a 0.002% drop from Anniversary Dungeons.
Widely considered the pinnacle unit in Update 9, God (Above Heaven) offers unparalleled global control.
Role: Global Crowd Control / Boss Stopper
Why It’s Meta-Defining: His ability to completely halt all enemy advancement is a game-changer for both defense and setting up massive damage windows.
Key Skills & Mechanics:
God Arrives (Transformation): Allows God to transform into his God (Standless) form, unlocking his full potential and enhanced stats.
Above Heaven (Active Ability): This is his signature move. It stops all enemies on the map for 10 seconds while also dealing significant damage. This ability can save a losing round or guarantee a boss kill.
Optimal Placement & Build:
Placement: Due to his global range on “Above Heaven,” he can be placed anywhere safe, often along the enemy path but out of direct harm’s way.
Build Focus: Cooldown Reduction (CDR) and Durability. The goal is to keep him alive to use “Above Heaven” as frequently as possible. Items that boost HP and Ability Haste are ideal.
2. Brolzi Super (Wrathful) – The Critical Economy Engine
Acquisition: Unbound Unit obtained from a rescue quest in the Frozen Volcano.
Brolzi Super is a powerhouse that excels in dealing sustained damage while also providing a unique economic advantage.
Role: Critical Damage Dealer / Economy Support
Why It’s Meta-Defining: He combines high personal DPS with a team-wide critical rate buff and a cost-reduction mechanic that accelerates your entire team’s upgrades.
Key Skills & Mechanics:
Critical Hits & Rupture: His attacks have a high chance to critically strike. After three attacks, he inflicts Rupture, dealing bonus damage.
Economic Passive: His critical hits have a 30% chance to reduce his upgrade cost, allowing you to max him out much faster.
Team Buff (Active Ability): Increases the critical rate of all allied units by 20% for a duration, significantly boosting your team’s overall DPS.
Optimal Placement & Build:
Placement: An early-game placement is highly beneficial to start stacking his cost-reduction passive and build a economic lead.
Build Focus: Critical Damage and Attack Speed. Maximize the output of his critical hits. Items that enhance crit rate are less priority if his ability and base stats are already high.
3. Hollowseph (Pure) – The Scaling Executioner
Acquisition: Exclusive Unit from the Hollow Knight Event login bonus.
Hollowseph is a precision unit whose damage scales based on various conditions, making him a potent boss killer and elite remover.
Role: Single-Target Nuker / Executioner
Why It’s Meta-Defining: His ability to delete high-health targets based on their HP, distance, and his Soul Meter makes him indispensable for dealing with tanky enemies and bosses.
Key Skills & Mechanics:
Soul Meter: His damage scales with the amount of Soul Meter he has accumulated.
Massive Scaling Damage: His primary attack deals bonus damage based on the enemy’s HP, their distance from your home base, their distance from Hollowseph, and his current Soul Meter.
Optimal Placement & Build:
Placement: Typically placed in the mid-to-backline to safely build up his Soul Meter and take advantage of the distance-based damage scaling.
Build Focus:
Best Build (Summoner): Focuses on summoning allies to provide crowd control and slow enemies, giving Hollowseph more time to unleash his powerful attacks.
Alternative Build (Spellcaster): Boosts his ability power for a more direct damage approach, but Summoner is generally preferred for the added utility.
4. Hellkiller (Slayer) – The Burst Damage Specialist
Acquisition: Exclusive Unit from the Hellkiller Event.
Hellkiller is a pure damage unit that specializes in annihilating targets, especially those below a certain health threshold.
Role: Burst Damage / Execute Specialist
Why It’s Meta-Defining: He possesses immense single-target DPS and an execute mechanic, making him perfect for quickly eliminating high-priority threats.
Key Skills & Mechanics:
Ammo Stack System: Utilizes a unique ammo system for his weapons, requiring strategic management for sustained damage.
Execute Passive: Deals greatly increased damage to enemies who are below 50% HP.
First-Person Ability: His active ability switches him to a first-person mode, allowing for direct control to manually target and shoot enemies for massive damage.
Optimal Placement & Build:
Placement: He is most effective when placed near the home base where elite enemies and bosses will have already been weakened by your other units, triggering his execute passive.
Build Focus: Pure Attack Damage and Penetration. The goal is to maximize the damage of each shot, especially against low-health targets.
5. The Falcon (of Light) – The Supportive Debuffer
Acquisition: Secret Unit from the Legend Stage “Burning Spirit Tree: Fantasia Arrives EX.”
The Falcon is a versatile support unit that strengthens your entire team while severely weakening the enemy.
Role: Support / Debuffer / Buffer
Why It’s Meta-Defining: He provides a comprehensive package of utility, including a unique damage reduction ignore, powerful buffs for allies, and debilitating debuffs for enemies.
Key Skills & Mechanics:
Ignores Enemy Damage Reduction: His attacks naturally bypass a portion of enemy damage reduction.
Crowd Control & Buffs: His abilities can Slow and Repulse enemies. He can also summon “The Immortal” as a distraction.
Aura of Light: A crucial aura that increases ally damage by up to 40% and decreases damage from “Branded” enemy units by 20%.
Demon Cash Generation: Can spawn demons that can be sacrificed for cash, providing an economic trickle.
Optimal Placement & Build:
Placement: The center of the arena is ideal. This positioning allows his powerful auras and debuffs to reach the maximum number of allied units and enemy paths.
Build Focus: Cooldown Reduction and Area of Effect. Enhancing the uptime and range of his supportive auras is the top priority.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Who is the absolute best unit in Update 9?
A: While all five are top-tier, God (Above Heaven), particularly in his God (Standless) form, is generally considered the most powerful unit due to his game-stopping global ability.
Q: How often does Anime Vanguards get major updates?
A: The game typically receives a major update every month. Update 9 was released on November 1, 2025.
Q: Can I still get these units if I missed their events?
A: Secret Units like God and The Falcon enter the general pool or have their banners rerun. Exclusive Event units like Hollowseph and Hellkiller may become available again during future event reruns or through special shops.
Q: Is a team of only these five units the best?
A: Not necessarily. While these are the strongest individual units, a balanced team composition that includes early-game farmers, AoE clear, and dedicated tanks is often more effective than just stacking the top 5.
Conclusion
The meta in Anime Vanguards Update 9 is dominated by a mix of unparalleled crowd control, critical damage engines, and versatile supports. God (Above Heaven) stands at the peak, but units like Brolzi Super, Hollowseph, Hellkiller, and The Falcon provide the essential damage and utility needed to form an unstoppable team. By understanding their roles, optimizing their builds, and placing them strategically, you can leverage the power of these top-tier units to conquer all content in the current patch.