It is time for a new common card rankings for all the common cards in Clash Royale! We will be having a power ranking, 20-1, of the common cards in Clash Royale as of November 2017. As many of you know, I have done this ranking before, when there were only 19 common cards. The top 5 cards then, in order, were zap, minions, elite barbarians, goblin gang, and royal giant. Let’s see how much those rankings were shaken up over the past couple balance changes and updates!
You can view the old ranking here: https://clashfordummies.com/2017/06/24/clash-royale-common-card-rankings/
How the Common Cards are Ranked
When ranking these cards we put a lot of thought and effort into what makes the best common card the best. We are considering a variety of different ways to rank which are order in importance as follows:
- Versatility
- Cost/Damage Ratio (is the card worth it?)
- Strength on defense and offense
So now that you know what we are judging on, lets go ahead and get into the rankings, starting with number 20!
Note: Text color indicates which way the card is trending in regard to the June rankings.
Common Card Rankings
#20- Mortar
Coming in at the bottom of the common card rankings is the mortar, just like the previous common card rankings. The issue with the mortar is that it is too difficult to play with as a win condition. There are more reliable win conditions out there than the mortar, so players will go with those. I think the mortar would be better a defensive card instead of an offensive one.
#19- Bomber
Our first troop for the common cards is going to be the bomber. To be honest, the common cards really aren’t that bad overall (that’s where the epics come in), but the bomber just isn’t at the same level as the other ones. It is very weak and easily taken out, all while dealing an average DPS.
#18- Royal Giant
The royal giant is going to have the biggest drop since last rankings. In the last common card rankings, the royal giant was way up at #5, but now he drops towards the bottom at the #18 spot. Similar to the mortar, there are just better win conditions than the royal giant out there. Also, in order for the RG to be a good card, it HAS to be overleveled!
#17- Cannon
In my opinion, the cannon isn’t too bad of a card, it is just extremely underused. With the rise of the tesla and the ever present inferno tower, the cannon is overshadowed by stronger defenses. Still, the cannon can be a great card for countering the hog and other non-defense seeking structures like the bandit or knight.
#16- Tesla
In the last common card rankings, the tesla just missed out on the bottom spot, only thanks to the mortar. While it is still fairly low in our rankings, the tesla has made a whole bunch of progress, starting with the big damage increase received in the last balance changes. The tesla is now a great card for taking out giants and LavaLoonion pushes.
#15- Barbarians
While barbarians are a great defensive card, they are just too expensive to really have any real impact on the meta. Also, with so many splash damage cards like the executioner and wizard being at the top of the meta, it is tough to use barbarians to counter pushes. Still, they do a great job for the most part, but don’t give much offensive value.
#14- Spear Goblins
While spear goblins are, overall, not too bad of a card, compared to some of the other common cards they just don’t stack up. With bats, you can get a stronger air defense and with goblins, you can get a stronger ground defense. I still like spear goblins as a card, but like all the common cards below them, the spear goblins often get overshadowed by other, better cards.
#13- Fire Spirits
Despite disappearing right after use, the fire spirits actually add up to a lot of damage. They are pretty good once you figure out exactly how to use them. While the biggest flaw is that they don’t live after use, they can be played smartly. Combined with a balloon or giant, the spirits can eliminate minions or goblin gang that is played to counter.
#12- Arrows
When zap is at the top of the meta, arrows will never be. The arrows are actually lower than they were in the last rankings, showing the prevalence of zap in most decks. The main claim to fame that the arrows have are that they can completely kill minions, but besides that, zap is usually the right call in most decks.
#11- Skeletons
Skeletons were #11 last ranking, and they stay even here. Despite the skeletons gaining Larry back, he was taken away back in June. Even with this clear nerf, the skeletons still come middle of the pack for the common cards, offering an extremely cheap counter to a whole lot of different ground cards.
#10- Archers
The first card in our top ten is going to be archers, which are a great 3 elixir counter to basically any card. Archers are great because there are two of them, which means that prince, bandit, and other single targeting cards can’t kill them both at once. While not up to the level of the goblin gang, archers are still a decent counter card.
#9- Elite Barbarians
Just like the royal giant, elite barbarians were originally in the top 5, but have fallen quite a bit. While not too powerful at 4,000 trophies and below, the elite barbarians terrorize Hog Mountain, providing a low skill way to win easily. This is a very unskilled card to play, which makes it easy to win with, which thus puts it still at #9 on our list!
#8- Minion Horde
Despite the fact that the minion horde can offer some of the worst elixir trades in Clash Royale, being so powerful leads it to be quite a high card on the common card rankings list. Being paired with miner and giant, the minion horde can survive a zap and then proceed to wreck havoc on a tower, with it only being at half health.
#7- Goblins
Goblins are going to be the biggest jumpers in this edition of the common card rankings, climbing 8 spots up to #7. With the drop of 4th skeleton, goblins became the go-to, cheap defensive counter to ground troops. Another huge reason for the rise is the ability to no longer die to zap, which makes them great on offense.
#6- Ice Spirit
Will the ice spirit ever drop out of the top 10? Doubtful, because it is such a useful card for only 1 elixir. The versatility of the ice spirit makes it one of the best common cards in Clash Royale, being able to combined in any deck. The ice spirit can be played on defense or as support, providing a great 2 second freeze to allow your units to get a couple more shots in.
#5- Minions
Even at the #5 rankings, minions have taken a couple spot tumble since the last rankings, mostly due to the introduction of bats. Minions are still an amazing card though, doing well at any point in the game except against splash damage troops. Having the advantage of not dying to zap allows it to be played as a fantastic support card.
#4- Goblin Gang
Just like with goblins, the goblin gang received a massive buff with goblins not being able to die to zap. In a lot of cases, it put it ahead of the skeleton army since the SA would die to zap. A lot of decks now carry goblin gang as a nice ground defensive unit. It is very popular within log/zap bait decks as well, providing the perfect cover.
#3- Bats
Bats, not being in Clash Royale before this power ranking, debut at number 3 in our rankings. Bats have definitely become one of the top defensive cards in game, providing an extremely cheap air counter that does a whole lot of damage. Especially with the introduction of the skeleton barrel, we can only expect for bats to keep rising up!
#2- Zap
What else can you expect but zap to be in the top 3? Zap is one of the best cards in all of Clash Royale because it can kill all swarm troops, giving it a huge edge on offense. Combine that with the fact that it can reset sparky, inferno dragon, and inferno tower, and you get one of the two best spells in Clash Royale and a deadly counter to most decks.
#1- Knight
How. The. Meta. Changes. In our first common card rankings, the knight was ranked last. LAST. The knight was quoted from the old article being “the straight up worst card in the game”. Now, the knight is at the forefront of nerf calls, with it being able to counter literally every card in Clash Royale. He offers insane value for only 3 elixir.
So that is going to wrap it up for our common card rankings for November of 2017! Stay tuned soon to see our rare, epic, and legendary card rankings soon. Thanks for reading and comment below what you think of the rankings!
Check out our videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNo3IxCrp34erbCRLmG8HIA
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My least favorite common card is the Elite Barbarians
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I whole-heartedly agree with you!
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Back then I put RG at 11th place out of all common cards, but put the Elite Barbarians way up high at 4th place. Now RG is 4th last for me while EBarbs also tumbled down quite a bit (Still top 10 though)
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Elite barbarians are only good below 4k. Once you get above there, superior players are able to counter easier
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Actually, EBarbs are just annoying for ladder, where people overlevel them to win. But where the Elite Barbarians really shines though is in touchdown. Unlike Royal Giant Which is garbage in it, Elite Barbarians has insane damage which let’s them reliable on defence. But what made them insanely OP is their very fast speed, which can make them rush to the touchdown line as long as supported, especially after Hog Rider got banned. Is the Elite Barbarians used just for no skill wins? I’d definitely say yes for touchdown, but not really otherwise.
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Yeah, EBs are great for touchdown because of their speed. 1v1 with overleveled EBs is definitely a small skill way to win… drop the elite barbs and hover zap!
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Heard that the Knight has lost a lot of usage rate at the top 200. I don’t think the nerf affected anything, but what hurts him a lot is the Royal Ghost
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Yep, royal ghost is just a stronger, invisible knight. Hard to top it!
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My ranking
21. Bomber
20. Spear goblins
19. Cannon
18. Royal Giant
17. Fire Spirits
16. Skeletons
15. Barbarians
14. Mortar
13. Arrows
12. Skeleton Barrel
11. Tesla
10. Archers
9. Goblins
8. Elite Barbarians
7. Minion Horde
6. Bats
5. Knight
4. Minions
3. Ice Spirit
2. Goblin Gang
1. Zap
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Oooohh, knight so low?? I still think it is definitely top 3!
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Kinda get affected by Royal Ghost a bit……
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True that… 😦
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My favorite common card is the Goblin Gang
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My favorite common has to be the zap
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I think Elite Barbarians should be altered a bit. They’re too strong at ladder, but their HP isn’t high enough in tournaments. I think they should have more HP but slow down their hit speed by 0.1 seconds
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The problem comes down to they can be overleveled too easily. The only way to fix the discrepency between ladder and tournament is to make them into a rare or epic card.
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Thank god Knight was nerfed, but I think he should be nerfed further more, his damage is overall fine, but man his HP
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Yeah the HP is the killer. For 3 elixir, it gives way too much value
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Would you rather see the Knight being as useless as before or being extremely OP as he is now?
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Probably OP; the knight was a joke before. I always want to see cards at least get some use
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I sure hope cards like Clone do Heal will also be like that
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hopefully!
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Why do you like Minions so much?
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Just a great 3 elixir support card that can fit well in any deck type… whats not to like?
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I like them A LOT more than the Bats
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Me too! They can’t get zapped down which is SO nice!
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“When zap is at the top of the meta, arrows will never be.” Even If Zap wasn’t at the top meta, arrows still won’t be at the top since we got the Log and Fireball
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Yep, arrows are at a very tough spot
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Back then, Arrows are so good
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Elite Barbarians are pretty overpowered in touchdown, they also looked so cool with their new helmet
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Yeah having super fast speed is the biggest advantage you can have in Touchdown
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My favorite common card is still the zap, while my least favorite is still the elite Barbarians
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My least favorite is definitely the elite barbarians but my favorite is probably the minions
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RG is only used for guaranteed damage, while EBarbs is just skill less win, which is why people hate EBarbs more than RG
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Exactly! I have no problem with royal giant at all!
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That’s why RG sucks, but Elite Barbarians are extremely dangerous
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True, no one really has an issue with RG anymore
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I dislike the Bats
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“The straight up worst card in the game” wow, I thought knight is always good, just overshadowed by others before
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Early on, NO ONE used him! Everyone chose mini-PEKKA or valkyrie over him
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I think supercell shouldn’t remove the 5th bat, but make the deal less DPS
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I agree, bats are too strong right now, but too weak with only 4
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Buff the Bomber and Cannon!
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When will you do the rare cards?
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Monday, I have other posts lined up until then
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Do you hate Knight or Elite Barbarians more ?
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Elite barbarians, because you can win with those, you can’t win solely based on the knight
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My rank
20. Cannon
19. Royal Giant
18. Bomber
17. Mortar
16. Barbarians
15. Spear Goblins
14. Skeletons
13, Fire Spirits
12. Tesla
11. Arrows
10. Archers
9. Minion Horde
8. Elite Barbarians
7. Goblins
6. Ice Spirit
5. Bats
4. Minions ( I like them more than bats)
3. Goblin Gang
2. Knight
1. Zap
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I can agree with most of these! Zap/knight is a tough 1-2, but they are definitely the top 2 common cards!
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“Just like with goblins, the goblin gang received a massive buff with goblins not being able to die to zap.” and the recent spear goblins buff made this successful card even better.
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Yep, both the goblin buffs have impacted the goblin gang a ton!
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Do you mind if I say “Supercell buff the Royal Giant and Elite Barbarians?”
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I think most of the community would HATE you!
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I’m serious with RG, but just joking about the elite barbarians. I don’t like them as well!
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I think RG definitely needs some kind of buff, but its tough to not make him OP
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But please don’t do anything with Elite Barbarians
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Elite Barbarians DO stand a chance if they aren’t overleveled, unlike RG which sucks thanks to his bad damage
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Nerf the Knight!
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PLEASE!
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He’s getting as annoying as the Elite Barbarians, so I’d say my least favourite common card is both Knight and Elite Barbarians
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Yeah knight has just gotten completely out of hand
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Wish granted
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Thank the lord!
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I disagree with the bats. I think Goblin Gang is slightly better as it can offer more distraction . The spear goblins buff made them better!
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I think that bats and goblin gang are very comparable, but with the prevalence of log, I have to give the edge to bats!
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Log…… good point! Log isn’t my top 3 legendary though! But I thought zap is more popular and the Goblin Gang won’t completely die unlike bats
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Oooohhh not top 3? Wait until you see where I put it!
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Well, I guess you’re putting it at 2nd!
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We will see… 😉
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Mortar isn’t bad at all! It counters a lot of spawners! Mortar cycle is so powerful, and Can overall deal heavy damage. Don’t forget it got buffed 2 months ago!
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I agree completely with you. It’s not an awful card, there are just too many good common cards for it to be higher.
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True, although I think it’s better than Cannon and Royal Giant
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