Ranking Every Halo Wars 2 Leader - 2026 Edition

Annual leader ranking for 2026. This is completely subjective based on personal opinions and play styles in Halo Wars 2.

S Tier (The Best)

Atriox

One of the most fun leader wheels
Great as a base leader (no DLC required)
Really good with Super Turtles
Hero is really strong, really easy to vet up
Quite dangerous, particularly with spamming cringe air as it gets later into the game
No liability with his hero

Colony

Not only one of the most fun leaders to play, but some of the most creative ways to play
Can rush with Goliaths or have a hero rush with skitters attached to units (especially Reavers)
Symbiotes constantly healing with Combat Repair
Wide variety of unit compositions - not limited to one style
Can turtle or rush effectively

Johnson

King of Super Turtling
Johnson hero with Y ability that creates a heal
Turrets can get a siphon, buildings with Digging in Deep can be free
Bunkers to garrison your infantry
Mantis can move quickly and be invincible thanks to Mech Overcharge
Still gets Combat Salvage and the EMP mech
Can be an economic powerhouse - build free gens on many bases once you get Digging in Deep
Gets really out of hand quickly as the game progresses, like Decimus
Best Super Turtle combo in twos: Atriox + Johnson

Voridus

Combat Spoils is amazing - best passive leader power in the game
Get Combat Spoils 2 and just go attack someone's base
Can get enough power to buy T2 and T3 - could be T3 in just a handful of minutes on one gen
If someone is unprepared for Voridus, you'll never catch back up
One of the most creative leaders with the infusion play style
Really need to master it to be effective (like Arbiter)

A Tier (Great Leaders)

Anders

Ability to spam Sentinels and aggro/destroy bases really quick
High-risk, high-reward play (takes 3-4 leader points for full Sentinel upgrades)
Really good with Turtling with Protector Sentinels from Siege
R&D powers for cheaper unit upgrades
You know what you're getting: Siege, Sentinels, or fast upgrades

Arbiter

Great with Double Arbiter and Decimus - Vortex on someone's base
Plasma Bolt early with your second point
Two Plasma Bolts can insta-destroy a Gen or valuable building early game
Really great with the Phantoms - that's the whole power behind Arbiter
Hit or miss on performance - one of the more difficult leaders to learn

Decimus

Arguably A+ tier between A and S
Might be a little weaker early, but gets more powerful as game progresses
Wait too long and Decimus is really hard to stop
Boundless Fury, Boundless Siphon (works out of combat despite what 343 said)
Doesn't have any nukes or active heals like many other leaders
Decimus hero Y ability is like a mini-eradication

Captain Cutter

Has so many good unit drops
Can take nodes faster with Cutters
ODST drops, close air support (not costing any power)
OP Cyclops drop
Very resource-heavy leader with all these drops
Don't have to train as many units if using all these drops

Sergeant Forge

Rolling Economy gets you ahead pretty quick
Grizzlies might be outplayed by Isabel's Best Defense Scorpions
Pelican Transport, Heavy Metal, Combat Salvage
Forge Hero with the Forge Hog is awesome
Shines on maps like Sentry with Vulture Spam + Heavy Metal + Combat Salvage

Yap Yap the Destroyer

The Banished version of Cutter in terms of drops
Gets beam, deployable shield gens, methane party, shade turret drop, grunt mine
Grunt Goblins - probably the best Y ability of any hero in Halo Wars 2
Can heal a base, Scarab, or Condor instantly
One of the most fun leaders for early troll plays with cannon fodder and heavy grunts
Grunt riders and methane wagons are fun additions

B Tier (Good Leaders)

Isabel

Maybe B+ tier
Ghost in the Machine is completely game-changing if used correctly
Holographic Decoy is heavily underrated
Shares a lot with Forge in the Leader Power Wheel
Gets Combat Salvage for Vulture Spamming
Wish she had more unique units - nothing special outside of Best Defense buffing Scorpions and Nightingales

Jerome

Like the Mastodon play out of Jerome
Hero is incredibly expensive (one of the most expensive, up there with Colony)
Jerome's T1 hero upgrade is the most expensive T1 upgrade out of the gate
Victory Turret is really good
Love Omega Team and Enduring Salvo (the Garbage Drop)

Pavium

So good at defense, but maybe not the best offensively
The Lich is one of the strongest drops in the entire game
Amazing at taking out units, buildings, bases - plus the bubble ball to build units from
Love the troll play of Pavium in a bunker or stealing opponent's X-Bow base
Love Mega Turrets and Rain of Fire on bases
Pavium hero is way too slow traversing
Can fall into one dimensional and really fall behind on economy prioritizing Mega Turrets

C Tier (Situational)

Serina

A little bit better than Kinsano
Better hero unit with the Ice Cream Truck
Cryotic Advances is awesome
Cryo Troopers are more fun to play than Kinsano's Hellbringers
Kinsano gets Flame Hogs - why can't Serina get Frost Hogs?

D Tier (Weakest)

Kinsano

Just feel like Kinsano is missing something
Serina gets Cryotic Advances and Frost Siege - how come Kinsano doesn't have Flame Siege?
Inferno is pretty great
Kinsano hero Y ability Flame Wall is a troll play
If you stop the Kinsano hero with Ram Cycling and go anti-vehicle for Flame Hogs, you've figured Kinsano out
Can do really strong airplay with Redline 2

Special Mention

Shipmaster

Never play Shipmaster.

Key Observations

Base Leaders vs DLC

Atriox is really good as a base leader (no DLC required). Out of the six base leaders plus Forge that you get for free, Atriox is really, really good.

Best Passive Abilities

Voridus Combat Spoils: Best passive leader power in the game
Johnson Digging in Deep: Build free gens on many bases

Best Hero Y Abilities

Yap Yap Grunt Goblins: Probably the best Y ability of any hero - can heal a base, Scarab, or Condor instantly

Best Leader Combos

Atriox + Johnson: Best Super Turtle combo in twos
Double Arbiter + Decimus: Vortex debuff + Plasma Bolt can insta-destroy generators early game

Learning Curve

Arbiter and Voridus are among the more difficult leaders to learn. They have particular play styles that really need to be mastered to be effective.

Summary

Here's the complete 2026 tier ranking:

S Tier: Atriox, Colony, Johnson, Voridus
A Tier: Anders, Arbiter, Decimus, Captain Cutter, Sergeant Forge, Yap Yap
B Tier: Isabel, Jerome, Pavium
C Tier: Serina
D Tier: Kinsano
Unranked: Shipmaster (never play him)