Quick Answer
Guildrun best characters are role-dependent. Nyx, Irini, Zuri, Sal, Tilly, Dragomir, Ratna, Yuuna, Niklas, Ming, Fiona, Skorn, Pimenta, Kai, and Grace all have source-supported reasons to matter, but not all for the same job. The best character is the one whose role, specialization, items, relics, and mode match your current run.
Best Tanks and Frontline
Skorn is the safest conventional tank answer from the collected tank material. Pimenta is a Red Rift tank/carry candidate, and Kai is the clearest shield-tank choice. Zuri and Niklas can also become frontline or hybrid frontline pieces when their specialization and support fit.
Grace is especially important from Backup. The best-backup material calls her a strong defensive or general-purpose Backup. In harder modes, the right defensive support can be more valuable than adding another damage unit.
Best Carries and Scaling Heroes
Ratna, Tilly, Dragomir, Yuuna, Nyx, Irini, Sal, and Ming all have carry or scaling angles. Ratna scales through Magic, Crit, Starfall, and specialization routes. Tilly can become a Luxurious attack-speed, Crit, Shield, or Shard engine.
Dragomir can snowball through Greedy, Sanguine, or Kingpin routes, but he has clear failure points. Yuuna has Shadow, Collector, and Nightshade routes, while Nyx can work as Wild carry, Keen-Eyed support, or Spark status engine. Irini and Sal both depend heavily on trigger or attack-speed support.
Best by Mode
For Red Rift, prioritize reliable tanks, Frost application, boss planning, and challenge routing. Sal, Nyx, Aria, Rowan, Kai, Zuri, Skorn, and Pimenta appear in relevant Red Rift or comp material. For Endless, prioritize repeatable or permanent scaling, not just early fight power.
For SS and SSS, frontline quality and economy matter more. A low-rank “best” hero can underperform if the board cannot support it. A high-rank, well-supported hero that matches the relics may be better than chasing a tier-list name.
How to Pick
Pick by job first. If the team dies early, choose a tank or defensive Backup. If the team survives but cannot kill, choose a carry or damage specialization. If the team lacks scaling, choose a hero whose engine keeps adding value.
Do not turn this page into a final hero ranking without patch checks. The material includes multiple examples of buffs, nerfs, redesigns, and old videos becoming partially stale. Use character pages for the detailed answer.