Custom Keyboards Tier List Hub

This tier list hub is how Custom Keyboards players compare three different objects that all sit on the same plot: keycaps you roll and step, keyboards you buy for Kick Power, and mutations that change how a cap looks and pays. The ranks are criteria, not drop tables. The developers have not published percentages, named secret lists, or keyboard SKUs in a public wiki-ready form, so this site will not invent them.

Use the three child pages instead of treating one S-tier screenshot as law:

• Keycap tiers for what you keep on the board versus sell-by-rarity.
• Keyboard tiers for when the next Kick Power purchase beats another slot.
• Mutation tiers for which visual or stat twists traders actually ask about.

Ranks below are a shared language for those pages. They apply on live 4-player servers after the 13 July 2026 launch, with trading already in the title.

Ranking criteria

Rank	Meaning in this tycoon
S	Best money per step, or the Kick Power jump that unlocks the next loop. Trade bait if mutated.
A	Strong keepers. Fill slots with these when S pieces are missing.
B	Fine early, replace as soon as Kick Power or slots allow.
C	Steppable filler. Sell when a better roll arrives.
D	Only exists to be sold by rarity or to complete a quest that explicitly asks.
F	Clutter. Auto-sell candidates. Never trade these for S pieces.

Money per step is the primary keycap score. Kick Power per cash spent is the primary keyboard score. Mutation score is “does this make a mediocre cap into trade bait, or is it a cosmetic?” Demand on a 4-player server can outrank raw step money: a mutant that two players want this hour is S for trading even if it is A for AFK.

How to use the lists without fake odds

Do not read an S rank as “this drops once per X kicks.” You cannot know X from public sources. Raise odds the only honest way: buy Kick Power, train the keyboard, upgrade speed, play during Boba if the event box helps rolls, and trade for pieces you cannot roll. How to get rare keycaps is the farming companion to this hub.

Equip-best buttons are a starting point, not a tier list. Equip-best often sorts by rarity tag, and rarity is not the same as money per step. A lower-rarity mutant can beat a higher-rarity blank. Check the step number on the cap after you place it. If the HUD shows earnings, trust that over the color of the label.

Early, mid, and late reading

• Early. Anything that pays more than your starter caps is S for you. Buy the next keyboard before you obsess over mutation ranks. Follow Getting Started.
• Mid. Slots matter. A board of A caps with empty slots loses to a full board of B caps. See best setups.
• Late. Trading and mutations dominate. Duplicate S caps become currency. Use keycap value and trading instead of stepping every duplicate.

Rebirth changes the reading. If rebirth resets money and some upgrades, an S keyboard you cannot afford after the reset is not S this minute. Read the in-game prompt and rebirth before you rank a purchase you are about to lose.

What this hub refuses to do

• Name fictional keycap products or artisan sets.
• Publish numeric drop rates.
• Mix Build a Keyboard, Paint My Keyboard, Custom Keyboard Tower, or +1 Speed Keyboard Escape items into these tiers.
• Treat shop packs and spin-wheel cosmetics as S unless they change Kick Power or step money.

Skin plots are for display. They do not earn. Rank them F for progression and S only if you personally care about the look of the plot. Spend leftover cash after Kick Power, train speed, station, and slots. Upgrade priority exists so this tier list does not talk you into a pretty bankrupt board.

When a patch adds a new rarity band or mutation family, this hub will shift A and S pieces based on observed step money and trade asks, not based on a leaked spreadsheet. Recheck updates after likes-milestone drops, then come back and rerank what is actually on your keyboard.