Anime Last Stand Tier List (December 2025) Best Units Ranked
Welcome to the most comprehensive Anime Last Stand tier list you’ll find anywhere! I’ve spent countless hours analyzing every unit…
Version 3.7 of Honkai Star Rail brings an incredible lineup of seven limited 5-star characters, making it one of the most packed banners in the game’s history. With Cyrene’s debut alongside powerful Chrysos Heir reruns including Castorice, Phainon, Hyacine, Tribbie, Mydei, and Cipher, you’re probably wondering where to invest your hard-earned Stellar Jades. I’ve spent countless hours analyzing every character’s kit, team synergies, and endgame performance to bring you this definitive tier list that’ll help you make the smartest pulling decisions.
Before diving into individual character rankings, let me explain what makes a character truly valuable in the current meta. With Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction, and Apocalyptic Shadow all featuring massive HP pools and tight turn budgets, the best characters are those who deliver consistent damage, compress multiple roles, or provide universal team support at E0 (base copy). Characters who need expensive Eidolons or signature Light Cones to function properly rank lower in my priority list, especially for F2P and low-spending players.
| Character | Tier | Path | Element | Primary Role | Pull Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castorice | S+ | Remembrance | Quantum | DPS/Sustain | Highest |
| Hyacine | S+ | Remembrance | Wind | Healer/Support | Highest |
| Phainon | S | Destruction | Physical | DPS | Very High |
| Tribbie | S | Harmony | Quantum | Support/Amplifier | Very High |
| Cyrene | A | Remembrance | Ice | Support | Situational |
| Mydei | B | Destruction | Imaginary | DPS | Moderate |
| Cipher | B | Nihility | Quantum | Debuffer/Sub-DPS | Moderate |
Castorice stands as my absolute top recommendation for Honkai Star Rail 3.7, and honestly, she might be the most valuable character in the entire game right now. What makes her truly unique is her global passive ability that revives all your characters once per battle, even when she’s not in your active team. This safety net alone transforms how you approach difficult content, giving you a second chance when things go wrong.
Beyond her incredible passive, Castorice functions as one of the strongest DPS units in the game. Her kit revolves around HP-scaling damage with her Memosprite Netherwing, dealing devastating AoE bursts that can clear waves effortlessly. She drains HP to generate “Newbud” resources for her Ultimate, and when Netherwing is active, it shreds enemy resistances while dealing massive damage. Her pseudo-revive mechanic called Mooncocoon further enhances team survivability, making her invaluable in all endgame modes.
Building Castorice is remarkably straightforward compared to other premium DPS characters. You primarily need HP stats with a decent crit ratio, which means less relic farming stress. She performs exceptionally well even without her signature Light Cone, though “Make Farewells More Beautiful” does enhance her capabilities significantly. In terms of team composition, she synergizes beautifully with Hyacine, Evernight, Tribbie, and Cyrene, creating some of the strongest team compositions in the current meta. If you’re skipping anyone in 3.7, don’t skip Castorice.
Hyacine has completely revolutionized what it means to be a healer in Honkai Star Rail. She’s not just the strongest pure healer in the game; she’s also capable of dealing substantial damage, making her a true hybrid powerhouse. Her Memosprite Little Ica provides massive team healing that scales off HP, along with AoE Wind damage calculated from her healing output. This dual functionality means you’re never sacrificing damage for survivability.
What sets Hyacine apart from traditional Abundance units like Luocha or Huohuo is her offensive contribution. She features a built-in 100% CRIT Rate in certain states, and her kit includes Max HP buffs that can reach +50% with E1. She also cleanses debuffs automatically, keeping your team operational against control-heavy enemies. Her signature Light Cone “This Love’s Eternal Dream” adds +30% SPD and creates additional damage opportunities through her Memosprite.
The only reason Hyacine isn’t the undisputed #1 pick is because players recently received Dan Heng Permansor Terrae for free, slightly reducing the urgent need for another sustainer. However, if you’re running Castorice, Evernight, or any HP-scaling team, Hyacine becomes absolutely essential. She also works phenomenally with Blade teams. Her E2 is particularly powerful for characters like Mydei who benefit from SPD buffs. For anyone serious about clearing endgame content consistently, Hyacine is a must-pull investment that’ll serve you for years to come.
Phainon is arguably the most accessible top-tier DPS in Honkai Star Rail, making him the perfect choice for F2P players and those with limited premium supports. His kit revolves around a unique transformation mechanic where he converts into Khaslana for 8 turns, unleashing devastating Physical damage with both AoE and single-target capabilities. During his Ultimate state, Phainon gains immunity to crowd control, keeps allies safe by moving them off-field, and deals toughness damage regardless of enemy weakness type.
What makes Phainon exceptional is his self-sufficiency. While he reaches peak performance with supports like Sunday, Bronya, and Cerydra, he doesn’t strictly require them like some other hypercarries. Even with free-to-play supports and a 4-star Light Cone, Phainon can achieve impressive zero-cycle clears when properly supported. His “Coreflame” mechanic charges from ally actions, making him team-friendly and allowing flexible compositions.
Phainon’s damage output in Khaslana form is absolutely monstrous, and he can extend ally buffs during this state, creating a snowball effect of escalating power. His signature Light Cone “Thus Burns the Dawn” provides +132% DMG boost after using Ultimate, but it’s not mandatory for strong performance. He excels in all endgame modes including Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction, and Apocalyptic Shadow. The bounce mechanic in his kit spreads damage efficiently across multiple enemies, though it does have minor RNG elements. For anyone needing a reliable, future-proof DPS who doesn’t demand your entire savings, Phainon is your answer.
Tribbie represents the perfect example of a universally valuable support character. She’s one of those rare units that slots seamlessly into almost any team composition, providing immediate value regardless of your DPS choice. Her kit centers around All-Type RES PEN (24%), which is incredibly rare and powerful in the current HP-bloat meta where enemy resistances significantly reduce your damage output. She also creates a damage zone that increases enemy DMG Taken by 30%, essentially amplifying your entire team’s damage.
What I love about Tribbie is her follow-up attack mechanic that triggers after ally Ultimates, allowing her to contribute personal damage while supporting the team. She scales off HP herself, making her stats easy to build. The RES PEN buff she provides is particularly valuable because very few Harmony units offer this type of penetration, making her irreplaceable in many scenarios. Her attack frequency is extremely useful for characters who trigger effects on teammate attacks, like The Herta or Archer.
Tribbie’s signature Light Cone “If Time Were a Flower” grants +60% CRIT DMG and energy after follow-up attacks, but she functions well without it. Her E1 adds True DMG conversion (24% of ally damage) and significantly boosts AoE performance by +30% in multi-target scenarios, making it highly valuable for those who can afford it. She works phenomenently in teams with Castorice, Phainon, The Herta, Hyacine, and Cyrene. If you’re looking for a support that’ll remain relevant through future patches and work with virtually any DPS you pull, Tribbie is an incredibly safe long-term investment.
Cyrene is the most controversial character in Honkai Star Rail 3.7, and honestly, I understand why many players are skipping her despite being the banner’s headline character. As the “capstone” support for Chrysos Heirs, Cyrene provides unique buffs to each of the thirteen Heir characters through her “Ode” system. She deploys Zones that convert 24% of ally damage into True DMG, auto-charges all teammates’ Ultimates once, and summons a Memosprite that provides character-specific buffs to Heirs and generic DMG% buffs to non-Heirs.
The problem with Cyrene is that she’s incredibly backloaded and restrictive. Her Ultimate requires 24 “Recollection” points gathered through ally “Future” stacks, which takes considerable time at E0. This slow ramp-up means she struggles in zero-cycle content unless you’re running multiple Heirs who generate Recollection faster. While she does provide permanent +50% CRIT Rate after using Ultimate and +20% team DMG, these buffs aren’t necessarily stronger than what universal amplifiers like Tribbie, Robin, or Sunday already offer.
For F2P and low-spending players, Cyrene’s value diminishes significantly. She’s most effective at E2, which starts with +12 Recollection and increases True DMG conversion by an additional 24% per unique Memosprite ally. Without E2, you’re getting a slower, more conditional support. Her signature Light Cone “This Love, Forever” is nearly essential to hit important SPD breakpoints (180+). If you’ve heavily invested in Chrysos Heirs like Phainon, Castorice, Hyacine, or Mydei, Cyrene can be the missing piece that pushes your teams to the next level. However, if you’re casual or haven’t built multiple Heirs, you’re better off prioritizing the more universal characters ranked above her.
Mydei occupies an interesting niche as an extremely durable HP-scaling hypercarry with impressive survivability mechanics. His kit revolves around HP consumption to generate “Charge” and “Vendetta” stacks, transforming him into an immortal bruiser who can unleash devastating “Godslayer” nukes. He features three built-in revives, making him nearly unkillable in most content. When properly supported, Mydei can function in auto-battle mode effectively, which is unique among DPS characters.
The reason Mydei ranks lower isn’t because he’s weak—quite the contrary, he’s very strong. The issue is opportunity cost. When you’re choosing between him and characters like Phainon or Castorice who offer similar or superior DPS with better universal support options, Mydei becomes a harder sell. His best support is Cyrene, who herself ranks as a situational priority. Without Cyrene, his team options become more limited, though he still functions with Tribbie, Sunday, and Hyacine.
Mydei’s signature Light Cone “Flame of Blood” provides +30% HP and healing with massive DMG boosts (50-100%) when using HP-draining skills. His E1 improves his Godslayer’s AoE capabilities by +30%, addressing his main weakness in multi-target scenarios. E2 adds 15% DEF ignore and improves Charge generation from healing. For players who already own Phainon and Castorice and want to diversify their DPS roster, Mydei offers a fun, tanky playstyle. He’s also expected to become more valuable in version 4.0 if HP-scaling meta continues, making him a decent forward-looking investment for those with resources to spare.
Cipher rounds out my tier list as the most niche character in Honkai Star Rail 3.7. As a Nihility character, she brings a unique “Patron” mechanic where she records damage dealt to enemies and converts it into devastating True DMG Ultimates and follow-up attacks. She applies a powerful +40% enemy DMG received aura, along with Weaken debuffs, making her valuable for amplifying team damage in specific compositions.
Where Cipher truly shines is in Follow-Up Attack (FUA) teams, particularly with Feixiao, who was the premier DPS for several patches. If you’ve invested heavily in a Feixiao team with Robin, adding Cipher creates explosive synergy where she tracks all the follow-up damage and converts it into massive finishing blows. She also pairs decently with Archer, the free character everyone received, making her somewhat accessible for budget teams.
However, for the general player base, Cipher’s value is limited. She doesn’t fit cleanly into most team archetypes outside of FUA compositions, and her signature Light Cone “Unknown Path” provides crucial +30% SPD and +24% DEF shred that’s nearly essential for optimal performance. Her E2 is transformative, adding a whopping 70% total DMG Taken aura to enemies (combining her base 40% with an additional 30%), but that’s a massive investment. If you don’t have Feixiao or aren’t planning to build FUA teams, Cipher should be your lowest priority among all 3.7 characters. But for Feixiao mains, she’s absolutely worth considering as a powerful upgrade to your team composition.
The current Honkai Star Rail meta heavily favors characters who can handle the three major endgame modes: Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction, and Apocalyptic Shadow. With version 3.x introducing massive enemy HP pools, the ranking factors I’ve considered include:
Universal Viability: Characters who work across multiple team compositions rank higher than specialists. Tribbie and Hyacine excel here because they fit into virtually any team, while Cyrene and Cipher require specific teammates to shine.
E0 Performance: The best characters should be strong at their base copy without requiring expensive Eidolons. Phainon and Castorice both deliver exceptional damage at E0, whereas Cyrene really wants E2 to reach her full potential.
Role Compression: Characters who fulfill multiple roles simultaneously provide more value. Hyacine healing while dealing damage, or Castorice providing DPS with built-in survivability, exemplify this perfectly.
Future-Proofing: HP-scaling mechanics and universal buffs ensure longevity. All the Chrysos Heirs feature HP-scaling kits that should remain relevant through version 4.0 and beyond, especially as HoYoverse continues the HP-bloat trend.
F2P Accessibility: Characters who perform well with 4-star Light Cones and free-to-play supports rank higher for the majority of players. Phainon’s flexibility with F2P teams makes him incredibly valuable compared to more demanding hypercarries.
Castorice is the best character to pull in Honkai Star Rail 3.7 due to her unique global passive that revives all characters once per battle, even when not in your active team. She’s also one of the strongest DPS units with easy building requirements, making her valuable for all players regardless of spending level.
Cyrene is worth pulling only if you’ve heavily invested in Chrysos Heir characters like Phainon, Castorice, Hyacine, or Mydei. She provides powerful exclusive buffs to these characters but has a slow ramp-up at E0 and isn’t necessary for Heir teams to function. F2P players should prioritize more universal characters first.
Both are excellent choices, but the decision depends on your account. Pull Castorice if you need a top-tier DPS with built-in team survivability and want her unique global revive passive. Choose Phainon if you’re F2P or have limited premium supports, as he’s more self-sufficient and doesn’t require specific teammates to perform exceptionally.
Yes, Hyacine is absolutely worth getting even with Permansor Terrae. She’s the strongest pure healer with offensive capabilities, making her essential for Castorice, Evernight, and other HP-scaling teams. Many endgame modes require two teams, so having both sustain units allows you to optimize both teams simultaneously.
If resources are limited, Cipher and Mydei are the safest skips unless you have specific team needs. Cipher only excels in Follow-Up Attack teams with Feixiao, while Mydei requires Cyrene for optimal performance and competes with stronger DPS options like Phainon and Castorice.
Tribbie provides All-Type RES PEN (24%) and increases enemy DMG Taken by 30%, which benefits every DPS regardless of element or path. Her follow-up attacks after ally Ultimates add personal damage, and she works perfectly with virtually any carry from The Herta to Castorice to Phainon, making her future-proof.
Yes, the 3.7 banner offers incredible value for F2P players, especially Castorice and Phainon who don’t require expensive investments to perform well. Focus on getting one top-tier DPS (Castorice or Phainon) and one universal support (Hyacine or Tribbie) to maximize your account strength with limited resources.
Cyrene’s banner runs for the entire version 3.7 patch (approximately 6 weeks from December 5 to mid-December 2025), unlike rerun banners which only last 3 weeks. This gives you more time to accumulate Stellar Jades if you decide to pull for her later in the patch.
