Hitman Card Game Ranked Card Tiers

Ranked is a 1v1 ladder whose Competitive mix now includes Pirate (Quick Play), Rewind (Support), and Shield (the Teams absorb tool). This page ranks those tools and explains how the main tier list bends when there is no third player to Reverse into. Queue walkthroughs live on Ranked mode. REP milestones live on ranks. Shield’s original kit notes still live on Teams.

Ranked-only S/A tools

Rewind — S. The next two cards that hit the play pile return to their owners’ hands. Best spent on Angel (survive Hitman and recover the Angel), Attack, or Steal. You cannot stack a second Rewind while one is active. Pirate is the exception: Rewind does not bounce Pirate unless that Pirate was Canceled. Broken line: Rewind live → Mirror an already-played Angel → Rewind hands you a real Angel.

Pirate — A. After a card is played, Pirate tries to steal a duplicate of that card from the owner’s hand. Hit a duplicate and you keep Pirate. Miss, and they take your Pirate. You cannot Pirate Mirror itself (it pirates the mirrored card). Timing is the same turn the pile card was played. Target Angels first; endgame Skips second, because people hoard them. Steal often returns junk; Pirate returns the exact type you just saw. Shield now auto-fails Pirate aimed at the shielded player, so scout whether they already spent it before you gamble the steal.

Shield — A. Ranked imported this from Teams. It soaks Pirate, Attack, Steal, Inferno, and similar negatives aimed at you. It does not save Hitman draws. Spend it on the first real stack, not on a speculative Bottom. You will not see Super Attack or Old Shuffle in Ranked — only Shield crossed over.

1v1 value shifts

Reverse = Skip. With two players, Reverse only passes the turn. Keep both as endgame fuel, not as “direction” tricks.

Cancel / Inferno rise. There is no teammate to eat an Attack stack for you. Every Cancel is a match save. Ranked guides call them the most important pair after Angel.

Shuffle becomes a fork. If the opponent just Angel-saved, Quick Play Shuffle. They either Cancel/Inferno (spending survival) or draw random Hitman. In a one-card endgame, Shuffle after you play Angel so they cannot Mirror the Angel underneath.

Chain after Attack. Freeze their Skip or Angel for three turns while the stack is live. Shield now sits in Ranked and blocks Chain the same way it did in Teams — check whether they already spent it.

Self-Attack is real. After Future shows three safeties, Attack yourself for extra cards. In 1v1 you will need that extra Cancel later.

Ranked micro-tiers

Rank	Cards	Why
S	Angel, Rewind, Cancel	Lives and take-backs
A	Inferno, Pirate, Shield, Skip, Mirror	Interaction, soak, and peeks
B	Attack, Future, Shuffle, Chain	Tempo
C	Steal, Reverse, Bottom	Still playable, easier to waste

Lines that win Magician+ lobbies

1. Pirate on first Angel. If Starter Angels is on and they just played Angel then got Mirrored, they still hold the second Angel. Pirate it.
2. Rewind + double Steal. Two Steals (or Steal + Mirror) under Rewind can strip four cards for two spends — enough to yoink the last Angel in a short hand.
3. Inferno Angels when you are broke. If you already spent yours, burn theirs before you Attack.
4. Never Rewind Shuffle. You do not want that card back.

What this list is not

It is not a cosmetic ranking. Ranked still rewards banners and sleeves at each REP gate, but those do not Cancel Pirate. Spend Chips using the shop guide after you can execute the Rewind-Angel recover without thinking.

If you are still learning the default deck, stay on the card tier list and Getting Started until your Casual win rate is real. Ranked adds Pirate, Rewind, and Shield, not a new genre — but those three punish sloppy Quick Play more than any Casual five-stack will.