How ranked drafting works in Brawl Stars

The pick order

Ranked drafts alternate between the two teams. That means every pick after the first one is information: you can see part of the enemy composition before you commit. The later your pick, the more your choice should be a direct answer rather than a preference.

First pick is the riskiest slot. Take a brawler that is strong on the map and hard to counter directly, not a narrow specialist that the enemy can immediately answer.

Bans come first

Bans remove the brawlers that would decide the game on their own. On a map where one brawler is clearly dominant, banning it is usually worth more than saving the ban for a counter-pick, because you cannot answer a pick you never see coming.

Map beats tier

The same brawler can be a first pick on one map and unplayable on the next. Walls decide whether throwers work. Open lanes decide whether snipers work. Water and cover decide whether assassins can reach anything. Read the map before the tier list.

Mode changes the roles you need

Gem Grab needs someone who can hold gems and survive. Heist rewards raw damage against the safe and punishes brawlers with no burst. Brawl Ball rewards mobility and control around the goal. Knockout punishes any brawler that cannot take a fight at range. A composition that wins Brawl Ball can lose Heist badly with the same three brawlers.

Fill the roles, then check counters

A team of three damage dealers loses to a single tank that walks into all three of them. A team of three tanks loses to one thrower. Start by covering the roles the mode needs, then check each pick against what the enemy already has.

Tank

Soaks damage and holds ground. Tanks win close maps and lose to anti-tanks and throwers.

Assassin

Deletes a single target, usually the enemy carry. Needs cover to close distance; struggles on open maps.

Anti-tank

Exists to punish tanks. Weak into ranged damage dealers, essential when the enemy takes a tank first.

Support

Heals, shields or repositions teammates. Rarely wins alone, but decides long fights.

Control

Denies space with area damage or crowd control. Strong on maps with chokepoints.

Damage Dealer

Consistent damage at mid range. The default answer when the draft has no obvious hole.

Sniper

Punishes open lanes. Falls apart on closed maps where nothing can be hit at range.

Thrower

Hits over walls. Excellent on closed maps, nearly useless on open ones.

Gem carrier

Survives while holding gems in Gem Grab. Needs escape tools, not raw damage.

Counter-picking is a last resort, not a plan

Hard counters exist, but they are usually narrow. A counter that only works if the enemy plays badly is not a counter. Prefer a solid pick that fits the map over a specialist that beats exactly one enemy brawler and nothing else.