Building Around a Carry and Supporting It Properly

Most winning boards have one Pokémon doing the majority of the damage — the carry — and eight other units whose entire purpose is to let that Pokémon do its job. Intermediate play is recognising that the carry is the plan, and that "supporting it properly" is a specific list of things, not a vibe.

Pick the carry deliberately

Your carry should be the unit that best satisfies:

• Scales hard — its ability roughly doubles per star and scales with a stat you can stack (see evaluating unit strength).
• You can reach — the right rarity for your level plan, and not hopelessly contested.
• Fits your synergies — ideally it's a member of your main type, so building the comp also builds the carry's support.
• Matches your items — if all your components point at AP, your carry should be an AP mage, not a physical bruiser.

Some comps run two carries (a primary and a secondary of a different damage type) — harder to counter, but you split items and neither gets fully fed. Default to one carry until you're comfortable.

What "supporting the carry" means

1. Keep it alive long enough to cast repeatedly. This is the front line's job (next chapter) and the carry's positioning — back corner, bodyguard, away from the enemy diver.
2. Feed it items. Its three best-in-slot items come before anyone else's second item. A tank with two items and a carry with two items is worse than a tank with one and a carry with three.
3. Feed it stars. Rolls go to the carry's copies first. A 3-star carry with a 2-star board beats a 2-star carry with a 3-star board in most comps.
4. Give it uptime. Synergies and support that grant AP, PP, Speed, or shield/immunity to the carry directly raise its output. A support piece whose ability lands on your carry is worth a slot.
5. Remove what threatens it. If a specific enemy unit reliably kills your carry, a status-applier, a silence, or an assassin of your own that deletes that threat first is support even though it deals no damage to their board.

The support roles around a carry

• Primary tank — soaks the first wave, ideally 2–3 star with defensive items.
• Secondary front-liner / bodyguard — stands next to the carry, buys it seconds against divers.
• Enabler — a unit whose ability buffs the carry (AP, attack speed, shield) or whose synergy does.
• Disruptor — applies a status to the enemy carry or key threat.
• Synergy filler — the remaining slots, filled with the strongest units that keep your thresholds active.

A test for board coherence

Go unit by unit and ask: "how does this make the carry's job easier?" Acceptable answers: it tanks, it buffs the carry, it debuffs the enemy, it holds a synergy the carry benefits from, it's a strong enough body to matter on its own. If a unit's only answer is "it's a Pokémon I have", it's a slot you can upgrade.