Clash Royale troop cards - see what you're playing with

Clash Royale is yet another title from Finnish developer SuperCell, who, we can say, revolutionized the mobile games market. Clash Royale is a highly competitive game with some relevance to the primary success title - Clash of Clans. On the wave of Clash of Clans' popularity, SuperCell decided to create a MOBA-like mobile version of CoC.

In MOBA - a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena - as the name suggests, you have an arena. The origins of the genre reach back to the early 2000s when the Defense of the Ancients Warcraft 3 mode was created. The gameplay revolved around three lanes connecting the opposing Ancients, with teams of players struggling to destroy the enemies’ main building.

Obviously, due to technical, device limitations, Clash Royale was stripped of some features, but it’s still closer to the likes of League of Legends, or DotA 2 than to its mother game, Clash of Clans. 

Table of contents:

What is Clash Royale?

What are Clash Royale troop cards?

Common

Rare

Epic

Legendary

Spell cards

Clash Royale Buildings Cards

Summary

FAQ

What is Clash Royale?

In Clash Royale, you are facing another player of similar tier and skill level determined by the trophies. It’s not a team game - you are on your own. There are only two lanes as opposed to LoL and DotA 2 three lanes. At the very end of the arena, there is a King’s Tower. Earlier in the lanes, there are two Princess’ Towers. The match lasts up to three minutes with overtime if no towers are taken down. The dynamic gameplay with a lot of tactical outplay potential makes the title another bestseller app from SuperCell, filling their pockets with millions of Euros. 

Some troops were transferred from Clash of Clans to Clash Royale with their traits more or less unchanged. Some troops were added, but they still fit into the SuperCell’s convention. In today’s guide, we’ll have a closer look at them.

What are Clash Royale troop cards?

There are several possible division methods as far as Clash Royale troops are concerned. Due to the fact that in the game you visit multiple Arenas, specific cards are available at a selection of them. For example, if you are stuck in the P.E.K.K.A.’s Playhouse, don’t expect to land an Ice Golem card.

By picking a card from your deck, you are sending certain troops into the battle, casting a spell, or placing a building. Each of them has different properties, and using these traits to their maximum potential can be game-changing. The mechanics of deploying the troops is something between the Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, but we will talk about basics in our Clash Royale beginners guide.

Clash Royale Troop Cards

Common 

Clash Royale is a card game where you need to collect a specific amount of troop, spell, or building card to upgrade it to the next level. Usually, common cards are the most popular and easiest to level up, which makes them strong early on. In the initial stages of your progress grind, you should stick to them until the very moment you are able to upgrade higher-tier cards reliably. 

It’s not that common cards in Clash Royale are useless once you obtain high enough Rare and Epic cards. Due to their traits, in some decks, they can fit in and provide clutch utility, which will make the deck thrive.

Minions

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: flying, short-ranged.

Good against: single units, especially buildings-focused tanks, and melee ones

Countered by: splash damage (Fireball, Arrows)

Synergizes with: they’re great as a support troop and response card. 

Archers

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged

Good against: high HP single units and smaller swarms

Countered by: splash damage units (Wizard, Bomber) and spells (The Log, Arrows)

Synergizes with: a tank, that will pull the aggro away from them.

Knight

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: melee, single target

Good against: it’s a great all-rounded unit capable in both defense and offense, not the best at any of these, but useful.

Countered by: swarms, especially air ones

Synergizes with: support troops of any kind.

Spear Goblins

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: group, ranged, single-target

Good against: buildings focused tanks

Countered by: splash damage

Synergizes with: a tank in front of them

Tips: they’re squishy, but they will deal a lot of DPS when left alone. This card can serve as bait for splash damage cards. 

Goblins

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: group, single-target, melee

Good against: buildings-focused ground troops, single-target high HP unit, slow attacking units (like Sparky)

Countered by: splash damage

Synergizes with: a tank.

Bomber

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage

Good against: ground swarms

Countered by: high HP single units, air units, damaging spells

Synergizes with: a tank or mini-tank in front of him, units able to shoot air troop

Tips: due to his traits, he’s better on the defensive end to counter swarms of Goblins and Skeletons when your AoE spells are off the deck.

Skeletons

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 1 Elixir

Traits: group, ground, melee

Good against: Skeletons work as an excellent cycle card, as they cost nothing, and bring some value of deployed properly. Can be troublesome, if no splash damage is at hand

Countered by: splash damage 

Synergizes with: a tank pusher or as bait for splash spells.

Barbarians

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, swarm

Good against: buildings-focused units and high HP single-target ones

Countered by: splash damage and air troops

Synergizes with: Rage, Lumberjack; decent support, or counter push troop.

Minion Horde

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: group, flying, single-target

Good against: single units, especially ground, melee ones

Countered by: splash damage (Fireball, Arrows, Zap)

Synergizes with: other troops capable of holding aggro on themselves long enough for the Horde to do damage.

Bats

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: group, flying, single-target

Good against: single units, preferably ground and melee, decent response card on defense after your enemy blows up his splash damage

Countered by: they’re extremely squishy and any form of retaliation will render this card useless

Synergizes with: a win condition, that drags the damage away. 

Fire Spirits

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: group, splash damage

Good against: any kind of swarms that has no shield, also good as a cycler

Countered by: high HP units that will render this trio of fireballs useless

Synergizes with: spells and troops that can hold enemies in a place like Tornado, Zap, or Ice Wizard.

Skeleton Barrel

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: group, ground, melee with a pop-up mechanic

Good against: this card is a decent filler in between win conditions, can often surprise the enemy

Countered by: splash damage after the pop-up

Synergizes with: cards that would bait enemy splash damage beforehand.

Royal Recruits

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 7 Elixir

Traits: group, melee, ground, line-spawned

Good against: hard-hitting units; Royale Recruits make a decent defense with mediocre offensive potential

Countered by: air units and air swarms

Synergizes with: a defensive troop that can deal with flying units, like an Ice Wizard or a regular Wizard.

Royal Giant

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, single-target

Good against: can work as a secondary win condition

Countered by: swarms, high single-target damage dealers

Synergizes with: a tank in front of him, that would collect aggro so that Royale Giant can deal damage freely.

Ice Spirit

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 1 Elixir

Traits: ground, splash damage, and CC.

Good against: powerful units that are susceptible to hard CC, also great in cycle decks

Countered by: a shot from afar, before it reaches any significant targets

Synergizes with: anything deployed beforehand, so that the Spirit jumps and freezes onto something. It’s its utility that makes the card excellent overall.

Rascals

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: group, mixed range

Good against: as a secondary win condition, as it requires dealing with them in multiple aspects, work well against tanks and mini-tanks

Countered by: a tank combined with splash damage, Giant Skeleton, for example

Synergizes with: swarms that would bait the splash damage spells out.

Goblin Gang

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: group, ground, two ranged, three melee

Good against: powerful single troops; works great as bait for Log or Fireball

Countered by: Log, Fireball, and splash damage overall

Synergizes with: a tank.

Elite Barbarians

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, group

Good against: splash damage defenders, tanks, 

Countered by: swarms, spawners

Synergizes with: splash damage spells and units, Rage.

Firecracker

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage

Good against: pretty much anything if she’s allowed to shoot at all

Countered by: damage. Any

Synergizes with: a tank and a defenseless enemy

Tips: be careful using her, as she may trigger the King’s Tower by accident.

Rare

Rare cards are not exactly what their name would suggest. Yes, they’re more scarce than Common ones, but still relatively easy to obtain and gather. They are not that much more powerful than previous ones or weaker than the next ones. Players usually use them for their traits rather than sheer rarity.

Mini P.E.K.K.A.

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target

Good against: ground tanks, great secondary win condition

Countered by: air troops, swarms

Synergizes with: splash damage protector, preferable air + ground.

Musketeer 

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, single-target

Good against: high HP units and mini-tanks

Countered by: ground and air troops

Synergizes with: Valkyrie + Hog Rider.

Giant

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, buildings-focused

Good against: many setups as a pure tank or second win condition

Countered by: swarms, high single-target damage

Synergizes with: support troops that can protect him, clear the way, or threaten with push while he’s tanking

Tips: you can use him to lure some troops away from the Towers.

Hog Rider

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, buildings-focused

Good against: buildings; heavy splash damage decks might have troubles stopping him

Countered by: fast swarms, hard crowd control

Synergizes with: Executioner who should protect him from hordes decently.

Valkyrie

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, splash damage

Good against: ground swarms and spawners

Countered by: high HP, high single-target damage, air units

Synergizes with: ranged units, high single-target damage units (Mini P.E.K.K.A.).

Battle Ram

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, single-target, buildings-focused

Good against: buildings if allowed to charge

Countered by: hard CC that resets its charge (E-Wiz, Zap), 

Synergizes with: a tank and area damage that will make sure the Ram makes it to the Tower.

Mega Minion

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: flying, single-target

Good against: air tanks, ground melee tanks 

Countered by: air swarms (Minion Horde)

Synergizes with: Flying Machine, ground tank if it takes aggro beforehand.

Wizard

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage

Good against: ground and air swarms

Countered by: high HP units

Synergizes with: most tanks, especially P.E.K.K.A.

Flying Machine

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: flying, single-target

Good against: spawner buildings and spells, ground melee troops

Countered by: air swarms, ranged swarms

Synergizes with: Balloon, Lava Hound, Mega Minion

Tips: when going heavy on-air, be mindful of the enemy counter pushing with ground troops that will ignore your flying units.

Royal Hogs

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, single-target, swarm, buildings-focused

Good against: Bridge hold decks, as Royal Hogs can jump over the River

Countered by: Bomb Tower

Synergizes with: Three Musketeers.

Three Musketeers 

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 9 Elixir

Traits: group, ranged

Good against: it’s a strong troop capable of dealing with anything, if not focused immediately

Countered by: AoE crowd control and damaging spells, its own Elixir cost

Synergizes with: Guards, that can take the initial hit onto their shield, Royal Hogs.

Ice Golem

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee

Good against: works well as a cycle card and fits well in Control decks

Countered by: buildings-focused troops can ignore him entirely

Synergizes with: Hog Rider, Fire Spirits; provides slow that allows for delayed spells to hit directly.

Dart Goblin

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, long-ranged

Good against: swarms on defense, as a split pusher

Countered by: damage, like at all (he’s made of paper)

Synergizes with: tank protection; works well as Runner.

Elixir Golem

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, splits upon death

Good against: opponents with low single-target defensive potential and cheap decks, which will not benefit much from additional Elixir

Countered by: heavy single-target damage and swarms, expensive decks

Synergizes with: as a secondary win condition.

Zappies

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: group, ground, ranged

Good against: units that hit hard but slow (P.E.K.K.A., Inferno Dragon, Sparky), good defensive units

Countered by: splash damage spells

Synergizes with: no particular synergy. It’s mostly a response, defensive card.

Battle Healer

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, healing

Good against: single-target damage dealers, that are a threat to our tanks; using the Healer will force the enemy to invest some more Elixir,

Countered by: air troops,

Synergizes with: ground melee tanks, that she can heal. 

Epic

Wall Breakers

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: ground, splash damage

Good against: buildings, if they make it to them

Countered by: crowd control, distraction buildings, their own low HP

Synergizes with: Rage (and Lumberjack)

Tips: 9/10 you will not see them making to the Towers; thus, it’s one of the weakest cards.

Prince

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, single-target, melee

Good against: tanks and buildings-focused ground troops

Countered by: swarms, crowd control, surrounding the deployment

Synergizes with: the Dark Prince, or any splash damage that can wipe swarms efficiently, preferably both air and ground.

Baby Dragon

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: flying, short-ranged, splash damage

Good against: ground, melee swarms, air swarms

Countered by: high single-target damage, enemy Baby Dragons

Synergizes with: a meat shield, preferably flying one

Tips: this unit will tear through lower trophy levels as you can’t expect new or weak players to be capable of dealing with him.

Skeleton Army

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, swarm, melee

Good against: tanks and heavy single-target damage 

Countered by: pretty much any splash damage and air units

Synergizes with: an opponent stripped of splash damage

Tips: it’s a relatively cheap response card that can work on both offense and defense. You can use it to counter enemy push and to push yourself if you know that enemy has nothing to stop it.

Hunter

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, mixed damage

Good against: tanky units in close-quarter fights, buildings-focused units; decent defensive unit

Countered by: flying troops, swarms deployed on top of him, Prince

Synergizes with: Fisherman, Tornado.

Witch

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage, spawning units

Good against: Witch is great in defense and setting up the counter push

Countered by: splash damage paired with fast, high damage unit

Synergizes with: a tank, that will drag the aggro away from her and her spawns.

Giant Skeleton

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, explosion upon death

Good against: swarms and structures, provided that he delivers the bomb close enough

Countered by: cheap swarm cards, a buildings-focused tank that will lure him away

Synergizes with: Balloon, Tornado, Clone, Ice Wizard.

Golem

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 8 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, buildings-focused

Good against: Golem is a popular main win condition in many beatdown decks

Countered by: ramping up damage, distraction buildings and sometimes Cannon Cart, high single-target damage units

Synergizes with: splash damage targeting air and ground (Wizard), ranged troops (Musketeer), cheap support troops

Tips: It’s hard to deal with him due to high HP, but it’s an expensive card, so be mindful of the support troops you pair with him.

P.E.K.K.A.

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 7 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target

Good against: single ground targets, tanks

Countered by: swarms, air units, ramping up damage (Inferno Dragon or Inferno Tower), troops with shields; crowd control (resets her slow hit speed),

Synergizes with: splash damage, preferably both ground and air like Wizard or Witch.

Tips: using Rage speeds her up. Against it, you may want to go with a strong push, as your enemy will be almost out of Elixir.

Balloon

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: air, splash damage, buildings-focused, deals death damage.

Good against: buildings heavy decks, ground melee heavy decks, great at taking down Crown Towers

Countered by: swarm air troops, heavy single-target ranged DPS, distraction buildings,

Synergizes with: Lumberjack (for the Rage effect), Lava Hound (for tanking), support swarm troops

Tips: Balloon has no use in defense. Keep your splash damage spells for any swarms that come to kill it. Be careful with air heavy decks, as it will suffer against the ground.

Dark Prince

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, has charged AoE double damage attack

Good against: if he’s able to charge, he’s unstoppable on the ground, good against units that hit hard but slow

Countered by: anything that can interrupt or survive his charge

Synergizes with: cards that will protect him from the air, preferably splash damage

Tips: on offense, you want to have him charging; on defense, you must stop it, period.

Guards

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, swarm, equipped with shields

Good against: hard-hitting units like Sparky or Prince, they shine on defense

Countered by: cheap splash damage units (Fire Spirits, Bomber)

Synergizes with: glass cannons like Mini P.E.K.K.A.

Tips: you should generally avoid using them on offense, but smart defense can net you a positive Elixir trade with ease.

Bowler

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, splash damage with knockback (ground only)

Good against: ground swarms, exceptional defender,

Countered by: air troops, high single-target damage dealers, crowd control resetting his attack timer

Synergizes with: support troops that can protect him from the air and add some damage

Tips: you should only use him on defense, as he provides little utility pushing. If timed well, he can set up a counter push, though.

Goblin Giant

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: ground, buildings-focused with two Spear Goblins on his back, that continue attacking after he falls

Good against: great all-around card, usually secures a positive Elixir trades as you need to deal with it on many fields

Countered by: crowd control paired with swarm troops, Freeze spell, distraction buildings

Synergizes with: an additional tank to take a hit for Spear Goblins after the Giant Goblin dies.

Cannon Cart

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, single-target; HP consists of two parts - one for the cart, one for the cannon. As the cart is broken, the unit becomes a building.

Good against: high HP ground troops and other glass cannons

Countered by: air troops, and pretty much any damage if focused

Synergizes with: like every glass cannon - with a tank in front of it, as well as troops that can protect it from air

Tips: it’s awesome at countering buildings-focused tanks, as not only it deals tons of damage, but also after the cart is broken, it draws their attention.

Electro Dragon

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: air, his attack chains onto max three units, applying a brief stun

Good against: any swarms, great at countering glass cannons protected by swarm troops and tanks with support swarms, hard but slow hitting units,

Countered by: units that make his chain bolt useless, Lightning spell, crowd control,

Synergizes with: tanks, that he can protect while dealing damage at the same time

Tips: be careful not to wake up the King by accident. 

Executioner

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage

Good against: tanks supported by swarms, spawning buildings; decent on defense, 

Countered by: hard crowd control (Snowball, Log, Freeze, etc.), high single-target damage, 

Synergizes with: high single target damage cards for a powerful all-rounded push

Tips: placing him on defense against an unsuspecting enemy who uses swarm troops can set up a nice counter push.

Legendary

Miner

Arena: P.E.K.K.A.’s Playhouse (4)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, can be deployed anywhere on the map

Good against: great card for providing distraction and tanking in pretty much any deck

Countered by: ground swarm troops, he will not have much to say about Guards especially

Synergizes with: fast pushing high DPS units that can quickly reach enemy structures like the Goblin Barrel or Barbarian Barrel, also units that take out the air troops

Tips: pay close attention to the deployment, as you may send him to attack the King’s Tower by accident.

Lava Hound

Arena: P.E.K.K.A.’s Playhouse (4)

Cost: 7 Elixir

Traits: air, single-target, buildings-focused, splits upon death

Good against: as a tank for air troops

Countered by: ramping up damage, distraction buildings, swarms, Executioner + Tornado

Synergizes with: Inferno Dragon, most air troops

Tips: Beware of the enemy crowd control and splash damage, as it can wipe your Lava Pups in one shot.

Magic Archer

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage, his shots pierce through units

Good against: swarms and spawning buildings; he can hit buildings if aimed correctly,

Countered by: tanks followed by DPS in a way that DPS is not hit by the Archer, Fireball or Poison (preferably hitting more units than just the Archer)

Synergizes with: tank troops that can keep the enemy firepower away from him

Tips: be careful not to trigger the King’s Tower. 

Night Witch

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, single-target, spawning 2 Bats every 7 seconds, and 4 Bats upon death

Good against: ground heavy decks, single-target damage, ground tanks

Countered by: splash damage, 

Synergizes with: splash damage, Graveyard,

Tips: she targets ground troops only, so additional protection from the air would be welcome.

Inferno Dragon

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: flying, single-target, ramping up damage

Good against: tanks,

Countered by: swarms, and whatever that can reset his damage,

Synergizes with: splash damage, e. g. Baby Dragon

Tips: Inferno Dragon, much like the Inferno Tower, has its damage ramping up, melting tanks in seconds.

Mega Knight

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 7 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, splash damage ability

Good against: great on the ground, with a little exception to high single-target damage with medium HP

Countered by: air units, ramping up damage, well-timed swarms (to avoid his jump), heavy tanks that will keep him in place, denying the jump

Synergizes with: troops that can clear the sky

Tips: deploying him close to the Bridge is a no-no as you deny him an opportunity to charge his jump

Princess

Arena: Royal Arena (7)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage 

Good against: swarms, and as a support troop

Countered by: damaging spells, Miner

Synergizes with: tanks

Tips: she has a very long-range that you should utilize. You shouldn’t expose her to damaging spells, but you can use her as a bait for these.

Lumberjack

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target; drops Rage spell upon death

Good against: almost every ground troop, that is not a heavy tank; can work in a counter push

Countered by: air swarms, hard CC, Ice Wizard

Synergizes with: troops that can benefit from the Rage he drops, as well as those who can protect him and support the push (Minion Horde),

Tips: sending some slow troops after him to make good use of the Rage spell might be an excellent idea.

Ice Wizard

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage, slows movement speed and attack speed

Good against: swarms, fast-moving and attacking troops; excellent defense card with a potential to become a support card on counter push

Countered by: crowd control, spells, Barrels, surrounding

Synergizes with: Tornado, Poison, Wizard

Tips: Ice Wizard is praised for his utility. Play towards it. 

Bandit

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target, dashing on offense becoming 

Good against: disrupting enemy pushes, forcing negative Elixir trade

Countered by: can be distracted and overwhelmed, by Goblins for example, or well-timed crowd control

Synergizes with: it’s a pretty independent card, providing a lot of mischief by itself.

Fisherman 

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, single-target; has a hook attack with the ability to pull enemies or pull himself towards the enemy buildings

Good against: any troop that likes to stay away (Princess) or stand in place (Inferno Dragon), his pull can counter charges if timed well

Countered by: swarms, close-range high damage (Hunter, P.E.K.K.A.)

Synergizes with: troops that get kited a lot, and have a hard time reaching enemies, or deal high close-quarter damage.

Ram Rider

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, splash damage; snares on attacks. While on Ram - targets buildings, once down - targets units

Good against: fast-moving units, also troops that are targeting buildings only. If ignored, she will reach the enemy tower fast

Countered by: large swarms, high single-target damage, as snare slows the movement speed, but not attack speed

Synergizes with: high damage troops that like to stay behind; for them, Ram Rider can act as a slowing bot.

Electro Wizard

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, multi-target damage; Zaps up to two enemies for a brief stun

Good against: as a walking Zap machine, he’s great at defending from pretty much anything

Countered by: split push, crowd control (Freeze, Ice Wizard), damaging spells

Synergizes with: tanks, that can take a hit for him

Tips: it’s his ability to stun enemies that make him so powerful. He will shut down slow attacking troops (P.E.K.K.A.) or those with ramping up damage (Inferno Dragon). In combination with splash damage spells and spawn damage, he will decimate swarms.

Sparky

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: ground, ranged, very high splash damage; 

Good against: pretty much anything, if it’s able to shoot; this thing slaps

Countered by: it attacks very slowly, so any hard CC before it fires will reset its attack timer - Ice Spirit, Zap, Electro Wizard, etc. Also, swarms and troops with shields will overwhelm it

Synergizes with: a tank that will give it time to attack; Ice Wizard will also provide much-needed control.

Royal Ghost

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground, melee, splash damage; spawns invisible

Good against: a decent unit overall due to the element of surprise, much like the Miner

Countered by: fast reaction and being prepared for everything. You can make it pop before it unveils

Synergizes with: much like Bandit, just his disruptiveness is a synergy with itself

Tips: as he spawns invisible, he will be underwhelming defensively. The sheer pressure of having the Royal Ghost in your deck will give you an advantage, as your enemy will never know if you used it or no.

Spell Cards

Common

Arrows

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: ground + air, radius 4

Good against: swarms

Countered by: heavy tanks, troops with shields

Synergizes with: single-target troops that need protection from swarms

Tips: it’s a cheap, splash spell to wipe e. g. Goblins or Skeletons if you see they’re making a dangerous push; beware of the fact that it has a deploy delay, so time it well.

Zap

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: air + ground, radius 2,5; briefly stuns targets inside the radius

Good against: disrupting charges like Prince, Dark Prince, or Sparky

Countered by: inexperience or mechanical floppiness; otherwise, it’s utility is way too high 

Synergizes with: Zap’s functionality is self-explanatory.

Giant Snowball

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: ground + air, 2.5 radius, knock back upon impact

Good against: charging units and swarms, but you have to time it due to delay

Countered by: heavy HP tanks, that can survive it

Synergizes with: push that relies on being protected from swarms.

Royal Delivery

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: splash damage deployment spell, deals damage upon impact releasing a single Royal Recruit

Good against: high single-target damage (Mini P.E.K.K.A., Prince) with swarm support troops (Minion Horde, Skeleton Army)

Countered by: single air troops (Electro Dragon, Baby Dragon, Mega Minion)

Synergizes with: Tornado, Freeze.

Tips: it has a three seconds delay, so count that in.

Rare

Fireball

Arena: Training Camp (Tutorial)

Cost: 4 Elixir.

Traits: splash damage spell, knocks smaller units back

Good against: swarms

Countered by: enemy mistake (miss), high HP units will withstand the damage

Synergizes with: single units that suffer from swarms 

Tips: it’s a powerful spell, so don’t waste it on low-cost swarms. Always try to use it to hit multiple units and preferably buildings too.

Rocket

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 6 Elixir.

Traits: very high splash damage after a high delay.

Good against: swarms and buildings, preferably hit at the same time

Countered by: the opponent's mechanical mistake and fast running units that are hard to time the hit

Synergizes with: slowing or immobilizing spells (Poison, Freeze) or units (Ice Wizard, Ice Spirit)

Earthquake

Arena: Jungle Arena (9)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: deals a lot of damage to buildings and reduced damage to ground troops.

Good against: siege decks when you can target multiple buildings

Countered by: air units, which will ignore the spell entirely

Synergizes with: buildings-focused troops that will finish off the buildings and splash damage spells to clear potential response swarm troops

Tips: the optimal use is when you hit both the building and the Crown Tower.

Heal

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 1 Elixir

Traits: heals allied units within its radius.

Good against: a selection of splash damage spells (if timed well); can work as a cycle card, but usually not worth it

Countered by: its own overall uselessness

Synergizes with: combined with Rage spell can boost a win condition troop; however, most of the time, it’s not able to outheal any damage significantly.

Epic

Goblin Barrel

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: launches a barrel that releases three Goblins upon impact.

Good against: low splash damage enemy 

Countered by: well-timed splash damage spell, Bomber, or Wizard

Synergizes with: swarms, as they can bait out spells for each other

Tips: the Goblins dropped onto the Crown Tower, will chunk the structure significantly, but you should bait out the opponent’s splash damage first. Due to its power, you can use the Barrel to bait The Log or Fireball to continue with your win condition.

Barbarian Barrel

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: the barrel rolls for 5 tiles dealing damage to ground units and buildings, releasing two Barbarians in the end.

Good against: any ground swarm push and as a cycle card

Countered by: a buildings-focused tank that will ignore the damage, and lure Barbs away from Crown Tower

Synergizes with: Graveyard, Skeleton Army, and others that could use a mini-tank in a push.

Lightning

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: three bolts of lightning come from the sky targeting the three highest HP targets in the zone

Good against: as a substitution for the Fireball, as it deals more single-target damage; great against the likes of Wizard, Musketeer, or Witch,

Countered by: units called “lightning rods” that absorb the damage and protect the core troops; easy to end up in a negative Elixir trade

Synergizes with: other splash damage; the Lightning is great at finishing targets off.

Tornado

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: vacuums the enemy units around to its center for 2 seconds.

Good against: great crowd control spell that can help clump enemy swarms up or hold their units in place

Countered by: high HP units, tanks, and mini-tanks that you will not really benefit much from holding back; it will not affect buildings

Synergizes with: splash damage.

Poison

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: deals Area of Effect damage within 3,5 tiles radius; able to damage buildings.

Good against: spawner strategies, troops that don’t die to Fireball

Countered by: fast units, split push, delivery spells, Miner, Heal

Synergizes with: spells and troops that can hold enemies within its radius like Ice Wizard, Bowler, Ice Golem, or Tornado. The spell serves great protection for the Hog Rider.

Freeze

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: freezes units and buildings within its range

Good against: disrupting the enemy win condition and creating positive Elixir trades; resetting attacks (Prince, Dark Prince) or the damage (Inferno Tower)

Countered by: split push, cycle decks

Synergizes with: due to its utility, it fits well into pretty much any deck, but it works wonderfully with delayed spells like Rocket or Fireball or DoT from Poison.

Rage

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: increases movement speed and attack speed of units within the radius.

Good against: slowing effects like Poison or Ice Wizard

Countered by: Freeze, Zap, Ice Spirit, Tornado, and other forms of hard crowd control

Synergizes with: slow-moving units, spawning buildings, Minion Horde.

Clone

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: clones units within its radius; cloned units have 1 HP and 1 Shield

Good against: enemies who lack splash damage, as this spell can take them by surprise

Countered by: basically any splash damage

Synergizes with: swarms, troops that have shields, troops dealing death damage, Mirror.

Tips: the synergy with Lava Hound is great. Not only can you clone the Hound, but his Pups will be cloned as well.

Mirror

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: copied card Elixir cost +1

Traits: allows you to repeat the last played card at the level of the Mirror card.

Good against: enemies who have only one counter to your troops, i. e. when enemies counter your Goblin Barrel with The Log, a mirrored Goblin Barrel will not be countered

Countered by: doesn’t really have a counter

Synergizes with: win conditions mostly, as it forces enemies into suboptimal solutions.

Legendary

The Log

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 2 Elixir

Traits: the spell sends a Log over 11 tiles, damaging and knocking back all ground units in its way; if placed less than two tiles from the Bridge, it can damage the Princess Towers. It can be cast only from the player’s side. 

Good against: swarms and spawning buildings

Countered by: air troops

Synergizes with: delayed high-damage spells; it’s a popular counter to swarm-based win conditions like Goblin Barrel. Sometimes whole decks rely on baiting this card.

Graveyard

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: spawns 16 Skeletons one by one on the edge of the radius. It can be placed anywhere on the arena.

Good against: fits into many decks as the main win condition

Countered by: Poison, Air swarms, splash damage units like Valkyrie or Wizard, Witch and Night Witch; in some scenarios, Dart Goblin and Lumberjack can hold the Skeletons off and set up a counter push

Synergizes with: High HP unit that will drag aggro away from the spawned Skeletons.

Clash Royale Buildings Cards

Buildings are yet another type of cards. By definition, they are stationary, which means that they will stay in a place where you planted them. Some buildings (like a Cannon or an Inferno Tower) will shoot at enemies. Some will release additional troops (like Goblin’s Hut), some are purely supportive (Elixir Collector). Overall, having them in your deck can be crucial, and sometimes it’s a win condition. 

Common

Cannon

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: capable of attacking ground units only.

Good against: high HP buildings-focused tanks, as not only will it deal a lot of single-target damage, but also lure them away from Towers

Countered by: air units, Dart goblin, Musketeer

Synergizes with: a tanky unit on defense.

Mortar

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: can reach Princess Tower from your part of the map, ground-only, has a blind-spot

Good against: as a part of a Siege deck 

Countered by: air units, fast melee units that abuse its blind spot

Synergizes with: another building capable of taking out the attacking troops would be awesome

Tips: the thing with the Mortar’s blind spot is that once it loses the target, it locks back onto the Tower; you can use it to your advantage to deal some chip damage.

Tesla

Arena: Electro Valley (11)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: hides underground when not attacking, thus not many units can outrange it

Good against: slow units and ranged ones, that would normally stay out of range, low HP swarms

Countered by: Freeze

Synergizes with: Mortar and X-Bow in siege decks.

Rare

Goblin Hut

Arena: Goblin Stadium (1)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: spawns Spear Goblins; spawns additional three Spear Goblins once it’s destroyed.

Good against: the building provides some Elixir-efficient troops that can fill in the push

Countered by: lane splash damage like The Log or Barbarian Barrel

Synergizes with: Rage, Lumberjack, cards that can bait the splash damage out.

Tombstone

Arena: Bone Pit (2)

Cost: 3 Elixir

Traits: periodically spawns Skeletons up to 12 with an additional 3 upon its destruction.

Good against: slow attacking troops (P.E.K.K.A., Prince), siege decks (with Mortar and X-Bow), ground heavy decks

Countered by: air units, The Log, Barbarian Barrel, another spawner building, Witch; also, Lava Hound with Balloon will ignore it entirely and go straight for the Tower

Synergizes with: a tank to form a massive push.

Tips: it’s a great, versatile card that can serve in both offense and defense.

Barbarian Hut

Arena: Barbarian Bowl (3)

Cost: 7 Elixir

Traits: spawns up to 10 Barbarians over its duration.

Good against: buildings-focused troops as a distraction; with Barbarians spawning, it can provide an excellent stalling

Countered by: the Bowler, air troops

Synergizes with: anti-air support troops; however, the card is better off in defense.

Inferno Tower

Arena: P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse (4)

Cost: 5 Elixir

Traits: its damage increases if it stays locked onto one target.

Good against: high HP tanks (Golem, Giant, Lava Hound)

Countered by: crowd control that’s resetting its attack (Freeze, Zap), aggro dropping units (Golem, Ice Golem when dying, Battle Ram once the Ram is destroyed), large low-hitpoints swarms

Synergizes with: splash damage to protect it from swarms.

Furnace

Arena: Spell Valley (5)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: spawns up to 12 Fire Spirits.

Good against: spawners and spawning buildings, decks relying on stacking multiple low HP units, Witch and Night Witch

Countered by: Poison, splash damage spells, Princess

Synergizes with: high single-target damage units like Mini P.E.K.K.A. or Musketeer.

Elixir Collector

Arena: Frozen Peak (8)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: speeds up the Elixir generation, resulting in a two Elixir overall profit.

Good against: this building fits into some expensive decks

Countered by: Rocket, Miner, 

Synergizes with: Mirror, Elixir-heavy cards (Golem, P.E.K.K.A., Three Musketeers),

Tips: don’t place it too close to your Towers, as enemies’ damaging spells will hit both buildings, let alone the Earthquake.

Bomb Tower

Arena: Hog Mountain (10)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: throws an area damage bomb onto enemy ground troops, unable to target flying ones.

Good against: any ground swarm pushes, also as a distraction for buildings-focused troops

Countered by: Dart Goblin, Princess, Magic Archer, Mortar, X-Bow, and all air units

Synergizes with: Inferno Tower, X-Bow, Tesla.

Goblin Cage

Arena: Spooky Town (12)

Cost: 4 Elixir

Traits: upon deployment, it’s a building that, after some time or after destruction, spawns a Brawler.

Good against: buildings-focused ground troops (it distracts, and then the Brawler deals damage)

Countered by: air troops, especially Balloon

Synergizes with: support troops to set up a counter push. 

Epic

X-Bow

Arena: Builder's Workshop (6)

Cost: 6 Elixir

Traits: long-ranged single-target high DPS building, capable on both offensive and defensive ends.

Good against: spawners and spawn buildings, moderate HP units; can take out the Crown Tower if left alone,

Countered by: swarms, crowd control, heavy high hitpoints units, that the X-Bow stays locked onto very long, the Rocket, air troops

Synergizes with: a tank that will drag the aggro away, spawners that provide cover.

Summary

That’s it for now. Now you know the basics of Clash Royale, and with the help of our Clash Royale Beginner’s Guide, you can start building your experience and skill on your way towards the top. Of course, in strategic games, knowledge has to be backed up by practice, so play a lot, learn a lot, use your deck wisely, and crush your enemies. 

FAQ

What are troop cards in Clash Royale?

In Clash Royale, cards are the only way of deploying troops, spells, and buildings onto the battlefield.

How can I use my Clash Royale deck? 

You can click the card, and then tap the screen, or drag the card and drop it.

What arenas are in Clash Royale?

There are Training Camp, Goblin Stadium, Bone Pit, Barbarian Bowl, P.E.K.K.A.'s Playhouse, Spell Valley, Builder's Workshop, Royale Arena, Frozen Peak, Jungle Arena, Hog Mountain, Electro Valley, Spooky Town, and Legendary Arena. All but the last one can give you arena-specific cards.