Stick Merge

Stick Merge applies the standard merge-game rule, two identical units combine into one stronger unit, to an actual army rather than fruit or numbers, which turns the usual "keep the board clear" merge logic into a direct trade-off between army size and army strength.

Because merging reduces your total unit count in exchange for individual power, merging low-tier stick figures the instant a pair appears usually beats letting the board fill up while waiting for a bigger combo, a cluttered board blocks new units from spawning at all. Holding back a few unmerged units as a numbers advantage rather than merging everything possible can matter in fights where sheer troop count outweighs a handful of stronger fighters. Fruit Merge runs the same merging math in its more traditional fruit-combining form.