The Best Brawlers for Bush-Heavy Maps in Brawl Stars

If a map is packed with bushes and walls, that’s when close-range brawlers take over completely. A brawler who looks completely average on a wide open map can turn into an absolute nightmare the moment there’s enough cover to actually use.

Here are the brawlers built to dominate tight, bush-heavy maps, and why open maps are basically their worst nightmare.

Why map type changes who’s strong

Most brawler rankings, including our own, are based on overall win rate averaged across every map in rotation. That number is useful, but it hides a lot of nuance, since a brawler can be mediocre on average while being genuinely dominant on one specific map type.

Bush-heavy, wall-packed maps are exactly that kind of exception. Several brawlers below currently sit lower on our live Tier List than you’d expect from this list, and that’s not a contradiction, it just means their strength is concentrated here rather than spread evenly across the whole rotation.

Check our Maps page for the current rotation and which brawlers are recommended on each map specifically.

Here’s the full list:

• Shelly
• Bull
• Leon
• Crow
• Mortis
• Buzz
• Edgar
• El Primo
• Rico
• Sam

Shelly

Her shotgun only really works up close, so a map full of bushes to hide in is exactly what she needs to get there safely. Step out of a bush right next to someone, and her Super can end the fight before they even process what happened.

Shelly‘s Super Shell knocks enemies back and destroys the wall they were hiding behind at the same time, which is exactly the kind of moment bush-heavy maps set up for her.

Bull

He hits like a truck at close range, but getting there against anyone with range is normally the hard part. Bushes solve that problem for him completely, letting him close the gap without eating damage the whole way in.

Once Bull is on top of someone, there’s very little they can do about it.

Leon

His invisibility already makes him hard to track, and bushes give him even more ways to disappear and reposition without anyone noticing. On a map with enough cover, tracking Leon becomes nearly impossible until it’s already too late to react.

Crow

His poison rewards getting in, tagging someone, and getting back out before they can punish him, and bushes make every part of that rotation safer.

Crow can slip in, land a hit, and vanish before the enemy team even realizes he was there.

Mortis

His dash needs a target to actually be worth using, and bushes let him get close enough to line one up without getting shredded first. On an open map, Mortis is an easy target the second he commits to a dash with nothing around to hide behind.

Buzz

His hook works best when enemies don’t see him coming, and walls and bushes give him exactly the angles he needs to appear out of nowhere.

A hook thrown from an angle nobody’s watching is basically a guaranteed opening for Buzz.

Edgar

Bush-heavy maps reward a lot more than just assassins and tanks, and Edgar is proof of that. His whole kit is about jumping in close and punching before anyone can react, and bushes give him the setup he needs to land that jump safely instead of getting punished the second he commits.

That’s exactly why Edgar thrives here.

El Primo

He’s built entirely around closing distance and fighting up close, and on a bush-heavy map, he can use that cover to get into range without losing half his health just walking over in the open.

El Primo belongs on this list for exactly that reason.

Rico

His bouncing bullets are made for maps with lots of walls specifically, letting him hit enemies from angles they’d never expect.

Rico catches people who think a wall is actually keeping them safe.

Sam

His whole playstyle is diving in, doing damage, and retreating before the enemy can respond, and bushes give him safer entry and exit points to actually pull that rhythm off consistently.

Sam is also the strongest overall performer of this group by live win rate, so bush-heavy maps are far from his only strength.

Match your pick to the map

So that’s ten brawlers built for maps like this: Shelly, Bull, Leon, Crow, Mortis, Buzz, Edgar, El Primo, Rico, and Sam.

Every single one of them struggles the moment you put them on a wide open map instead, so match your pick to the map you’re actually playing, not just your favorite brawler.

FAQ

Does this ranking match these brawlers’ overall Tier List standing?

Not necessarily, since most of these brawlers currently sit lower on the overall Tier List than this list might suggest. That number averages performance across every map in rotation, while this list is specifically about bush and wall-heavy maps.

Which of these brawlers also performs well overall, not just on this map type?

Sam. He’s currently one of the strongest brawlers in the entire game by live win rate, so bush-heavy maps are a bonus for him rather than his only strength.

What should I do on an open map instead?

Switch to a long-range pick. Brawlers like Piper, Colt, and Mandy thrive on open maps for the exact opposite reason these ten struggle there, so check the Maps page to see what’s coming up in rotation before locking in a brawler.

Does this ranking change with balance updates?

Yes, both overall win rate and map-specific performance shift with balance patches. Check our Tier List for the current numbers and our Maps page for which brawlers are recommended on each map.

Related tools & resources

Line these ten up side by side with the Compare Brawlers tool.

Check the Maps page for the current rotation and which brawlers are recommended on each one.

See where these ten, and the rest of the roster, rank on the live Tier List.

Look up exact stats and abilities for any brawler on this list in the Brawlers Database.