Top 5 Crowd Control Champions in the Banner Lords!
Crowd control is one of the most effective ways to lock down enemy waves and PvP opponents. Whether it's through Stuns, Freeze, Provoke, Sleep, Fear/True Fear, Petrification, Sheep, or other effects like Block Active Skills and Block Passive Skills, controlling the enemy team can completely swing a fight. While effects like Turn Meter manipulation, Increase Skill Cooldowns and Taunt are also forms of control, this series will focus primarily on debuff-based crowd control. You can click the debuff links to explore which effects are best suited for the encounters you're facing, as each has strong use cases in different scenarios.
In this series of articles, we'll be highlighting who we believe are the strongest champions in this role across every faction and any rarity. We're focusing on champions who aren't just powerful controllers, but well-rounded picks overall, bringing meaningful utility alongside their crowd control. If a faction is stacked with standout options, we may also include a few honourable mentions. With that said, let's dive into some of the best crowd control champions from the Banner Lords!
Most Valuable Players
Archmage Hellmut
Archmage is a free Epic players can acquire by collecting fragments from Normal Doom Tower Secret Rooms, and he's a genuinely strong option for both control and offensive support. His control comes from the A2 – a single-target attack that becomes AoE if the first hit is critical – with a strong chance to Stun enemies and reducing the Turn Meter of those without the Stun. This makes him excellent for managing waves, especially when paired with his A3, which grants Increase SPD, Increase C.RATE, and Increase C.DMG to all allies. For progressing players, he also brings a 17% SPD Aura for Arena, and is immune to Turn Meter manipulation.
Staltus Dragonbane
Staltus' control comes from his A2, which deals solid damage and has a 65% chance on each hit to apply Stun to all enemies. His A3 places Increase DEF on himself to boost both his damage and survivability, then attacks all enemies and applies either Decrease C.DMG or Decrease SPD depending on whether the target's ATK is higher or lower than their DEF. As a DEF-based champion, he's naturally harder to kill, and his overall kit strikes an excellent balance of damage, control, and self-sustain in both PvP and PvE.
He also brings a unique passive that reflects Weaken, Decrease DEF, and Poison back to enemies who try to place them on him – making him especially useful against bosses like the Dragon, as well as debuff placing enemies.
Timit The Fool
Unlike his name suggests, Timit is no fool. The standout part of his kit is the combination of Increase Accuracy and True Fear in the same skill, allowing him to reach the stats needed to control high-RES targets while also boosting his team's accuracy. Although he gains extra value when paired with Kaja – thanks to the Extra Turn synergy on his A2 and the passive Provoke when enemies lose turns from True Fear – he's still very strong on his own.
His A2 can reduce enemy buff durations by 3 turns, and if no enemies have active buffs, he gains an Extra Turn even without Kaja. His passive also fills his Turn Meter by 10% whenever enemies successfully use a skill while feared, helping him cycle his abilities more quickly. Altogether, he's a powerful option for boosting accuracy, applying True Fear, and decreasing buffs from enemies.
Sigmund The Highshield
Sigmund is a past fusion champion who's been overlooked for a while, yet he brings strong kit for both support and control. His A3 offers a 75% chance per hit to place Provoke on enemies and a 100% chance to apply Decrease ATK, giving you reliable crowd control while reducing incoming damage. This works well with his passive, which has a 20% chance to decrease the duration of buffs when hit – an effect that rises to 40% against bosses like the Hydra.
For team protection, he places both Shield and Strengthen on all allies on a 3-turn cooldown, allowing for frequent uptime. Altogether, he's a straightforward but highly effective champion for control, damage mitigation, and disrupting enemy buffs.
Cillian The Lucky
There were a few contenders for this spot, but Cillian ultimately takes it. His biggest highlight is the 100% chance to apply Block Active Skills, a powerful way to stop enemies from using key abilities or prevent Mythicals from switching forms in areas like PvP or Faction Wars Hard. He also brings a single-target, 2-turn Stun on his A3, along with a 50% Turn Meter steal for extra control, and this skill can reset if he secures the kill.
On top of that, he deals solid damage across his kit and has a unique passive that grants him two random offensive or defensive buffs each turn, adding either extra power or survivability. There's some RNG in which buffs he gets, but they're all useful – making him a strong blend of damage, control, and self-sustain.
Honourable Mentions
TITUS BLACKPLUME
This monster of a champion is best known for destroying bosses like Chimera, Demon Lord, and Hydra when paired with Vaultkeeper Wixwell, but he also brings a form of control. His A2 can place Provoke on all enemies, but only if the initial target survives the hit. This can work in certain wave-based encounters, though killing the target removes the AoE control potential. Even so, it remains very strong for controlling bosses like the Head of Decay or the Magma Dragon. He also has an A1 with a chance to place Block Active Skills on the target.
LUGAN THE STEADFAST
He isn't one of the strongest champions in the game, but he does bring an AoE Block Active Skills – an effective way to stop enemies from using key abilities or prevent Mythicals from switching forms in areas like PvP or Faction Wars Hard, though it's on a 4-turn cooldown. Beyond that, he provides self Increase DEF, full-team Ally Protection, and an A1 that grants himself a Shield and heals his allies.
GISCARD THE SIGILED
This champion is quite underrated for an Epic, offering solid control with a 3-turn cooldown and a 75% chance to place Provoke on all enemies while granting himself a Shield. This helps him survive the hits from the enemies he controls, and his A3 provides Increase ATK and Increase DEF to all allies to boost both their damage and durability. He can also gain 15% Turn Meter when hit by enemies under Increase ATK or Provoke, helping him cycle his skills more quickly.
SENESCHAL
As an overall champion he isn't the strongest, but his A3 – once booked – does offer a 100% chance to Provoke all enemies on a 4-turn cooldown. This can be useful if you're lacking stronger options in the faction for Faction Wars. Outside of that, he brings a small chance to apply Leech on his A1 and can place Perfect Veil and Continuous Heal on a single ally. His team support is average, but his Provoke chance is excellent, especially when paired with sets or masteries that can help reduce the cooldown of the skill.
RONDA
This one is definitely niche, as she's primarily known as an Arena damage dealer. That said, she's excellent at controlling single targets with an irresistible Block Passive Skills and Block Active Skills. This is especially useful when dealing with enemies who have dangerous abilities or annoying passives, and it can completely turn the tide of a fight – while she continues to deal strong damage across all her skills.