It is time for a new epic card rankings for all the epic cards in Clash Royale! We will be having a power ranking, 22-1, of the epic cards in Clash Royale as of November 2017. As many of you know, I have done this ranking before, when there were only 21 epic cards. The top 5 cards then, in order, were golem, executioner, tornado, skeleton army, and baby dragon. 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/2017/06/30/clash-royale-epic-card-rankings/
How the Epic Cards are Ranked
When ranking these cards we put a lot of thought and effort into what makes the best epic 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 22!
Note: Text color indicates which way the card is trending in regard to the June rankings.
Epic Card Rankings
#22- Clone
And probably to no one’s surprise, we start off with the clone spell coming in last for our epic card rankings. The clone spell is most likely the worst card in Clash Royale, offering 0 value except in extremely niche situations. It can combine well with a lava hound or giant skeleton deck, but as of the meta right now, clone is at the basement.
#21- Mirror
Similarly to the clone, the mirror can only be used in niche situations, which gives it little overall value. With a lot of players bringing both zap and log in their decks, mirrored goblin barrels aren’t as effective as they once were. Still, there are some ways that you can punish your opponent by playing mirror; you just have to find the right opportunity.
#20- X-Bow
While x-bow saw a brief surge in popularity after the deploy time buff, it has remained towards the bottom of the epic card rankings. The issue with the x-bow is that it is simply too hard to play. Master x-bow players can use it for ruthless efficiency, but the average player finds a lot of trouble in attempting to get it to lock onto the tower.
#19- Giant Skeleton
Based purely on a 2v2 perspective, giant skeleton would probably rank in the top 5 of the epics. However, in 1v1, the giant skeleton is almost useless, since it is distracted way too easily by small units. There are stronger tanks out there that serve almost the same purpose as the GS like the PEKKA and giant, which is why the giant skeleton remains at the bottom of the meta.
#18- Lightning
As recently as September, lightning was on the rise as one of the best spells in Clash Royale. However, after a random radius nerf, lightning began sinking fast. Now, you rarely see lightning in battle, as fireball and rocket have taken over across all arenas. While lightning stills works well for shutting down inferno towers, rocket has the edge currently in the meta.
#17- Guards
While skeleton army remains popular, it is going to be nearly impossible for guards to reach the peak of the meta. Their shields do offer a lot of value, but since the card is only 3 elixir, it is almost pointless to have the shield, especially when they are removed by something as little as a log. Guards need some type of buff to allow them to compete with the skeleton army.
#16- Rage
Balloon-rage is currently sweeping the meta game, but rage has a lot more purposes than just getting the balloon towards the tower fast. You can combine the rage spell with massive beatdown pushes to see a heavy increase in damage that will almost ensure the tower falling. And, as much as it pains me to admit it, elite barbarians and rage makes a deadly combination.
#15- Freeze
Freeze is one of the most surprising cards in the game, making your opponent have to react to its placement. Right now, you see freeze with balloon and hog the most often, though its usage is faltering. The 4 elixir from the freeze can allow you opponent to build up a large counterpush, so you need to make sure you are doing big damage if you play this card.
#14- Dark Prince
If you could state the definition of an average card in Clash Royale, dark prince would be some of the first words. The dark prince is neither good nor bad, sitting at a place with minimal use while still being dangerous. The issue right now is that the battle ram and the hog rider are better options for offense and the knight and valkyrie better options on defense.
#13- Bowler
The bowler is going to be the biggest faller of epic cards, dropping 6 places from number 7. Just like with the giant skeleton, the bowler isn’t being used as much any more because of the prevalence of bigger and badder tanks. While still great when combined with graveyard, the bowler is a bit too easy to counter to be a top of the meta card.
#12- Prince
With bridge spam quickly fading in the rearview mirror, the prince is aching from that loss. Combined with the bandit and battle ram, the prince could do a ton of damage. However, now, while still a very decent card, the prince has taken a major hit, especially with the rise of zap/log bait, which the prince is very vulnerable to.
#11- Witch
The witch remains one of the premier support cards in Clash Royale, but as we trend towards a quicker and cheaper meta, her 5 elixir cost is hurting her just a little bit. Regardless, the witch still pairs insanely well with the giant, golem, and PEKKA, lending her skeletons to help distract the inferno tower. Add that to the fact that she can kill air and you’ve got a first rate support card.
#10- Cannon Cart
When the cannon cart was first debuted, it would have sat at the very bottom of these rankings. However, as time has gone on, the cannon cart has rose up as players have discovered uses for the previously disadvantaged card. Pairing well with miner and giant, the goal is to get the cannon cart close enough to the tower, so even if its wheels are destroyed, it’s still shooting!
#9- Baby Dragon
Golem-night witch decks have been dying down across Clash Royale which indirectly hurts the baby dragon. The BD was one of the best support cards paired with the golem, but now you mostly see it with LavaLoonion decks. With the rise of bats, there have become cheaper options for flying defensive cards as well, also contributing to the baby dragon’s fall.
#8- Goblin Barrel
As I have mentioned many times, log/zap bait has been on the rise, which obviously benefits the goblin barrel greatly. Now, it is pretty common to see goblin barrels flying across the arena. One reason is because zap can no longer kill equal level goblins and the other is that log will be baited out by other cards, leaving little options for countering the barrel.
#7- Balloon
Back in June, the balloon was one of the most dominant win conditions in Clash Royale, but again, with the introduction of bats, the balloon has been hurting. Bats by themselves can completely erase the balloon without it landing a single shot on the tower. LavaLoonion has also been on the decline, which has hurt the balloon even more.
#6- Poison
Rising up ever since the buff that allowed it to do more damage in a shorter time, the poison now sits on a spell tier with the rocket, just behind fireball, zap, and log. The poison is the perfect counter to the new graveyard, able to completely shut it down without any answer from your opponent. Despite no longer slowing, it is still a great card for killing units in a big range.
#5- PEKKA
The PEKKA is going to be the biggest climber in our epic rankings, moving up an incredible 8 spots! It is clear to see why, as the PEKKA has quickly become one of the best tank cards in Clash Royale. For 7 elixir, you can build up a gigantic push, with the PEKKA being able to tank for multiple units, mainly the three musketeers and the witch.
#4- Skeleton Army
Despite the heavy prevalence of goblin gang, the skeleton army remains high in the meta in Clash Royale, mostly for its ability to shut down almost any card. The skeleton army’s big weakness is that it can be killed quite easily, but if you act fast enough, the skeleton army can even take down splash cards like the wizard and executioner for a huge positive elixir trade.
#3- Golem
Dropping off from our #1 spot in the last rankings, we have the golem maintaining a pretty healthy #1 ranking. The golem is still a great card and one of the best tanks in Clash Royale, but the hog meta makes it dangerous to try and build up a beatdown push with the golem. Despite this, the golem can be super effective, taking down towers before your opponent knows what hits them.
#2- Tornado
While not really known as a damage spell, the tornado loses out on the number one spot just by a hit because its effectiveness of grouping and rearranging units. With the heavy use of splash cards like the executioner, wizard, baby dragon, and even sparky now, the tornado can pull together a whole bunch of units that all get taken down in one hit from the splash card.
#1- Executioner
Paired with the tornado, you get the BEST synergy in all of Clash Royale. The executioner is, without a doubt, the strongest splash damage card in the game, being able to kill so many units with just one throw. Add that to the fact that the executioner can be paired with literally any type of deck and you get the best epic card in all of Clash Royale!
So that is going to wrap it up for our epic card rankings for November of 2017! Stay tuned soon to see our legendary card rankings. Thanks for reading and comment below what you think of the rankings!
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I’m a bit concerned about what will happen to both Giant Skeleton and Bowler, like both of them suck now, but they don’t buff them yet (that 5% HP is NOTHING) , Wizard and PEKKA are much better options
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Yeah, bowler is completely gone from the meta….
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And Giant Skeleton will probably never be in the meta
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At high arenas , I don’t think Skeleton Army is good anymore, Goblin Gang and Guards are too strong now while being nearly twice as reliable, plus there’s too much splash damage dealers for them to be reliable (Especially Wizard and Executioner)
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I agree, the rise of guards is really overshadowing it, as well as the constant presence of goblin gang
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Feel sorry for those who troops who activated the king tower early because of the tornado…….
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Yeah, one of the worst feelings in Clash Royale for sure!
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Seriously, nerf the tornado
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Yeah, I think both executioner and tornado deserve to be nerfed heavily
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Executioner just slightly, but tornado heavily
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Yep, totally agree that tornado should be hit before exe
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My new rank
23. Clone
22. Lightning
21. Mirror
20. Giant Skeleton
19.Rage
18. Freeze
17. Bowler
16. Hunter
15. Cannon Cart (It’s falling again)
14. X-Bow
13. Guards
12. Skeleton Army
11. Witch
10. Prince
9. Baby Dragon
8. Goblin Barrel
7. Dark Prince
6. Poison
5. Balloon
4. PEKKA
3. Tornado
2. Golem
1. EXECUTIONER
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That’s almost spot on with my personal rankings!
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I’m loving the Executioner now!
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Executioner is sooo strong!
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Hunter is a pretty good card if you ask me, but he’s too fragile
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Yeah, he really can be useful, but unfortunately his health is a killer
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Overall balanced though, only hate it when he missed
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Why do you like Golem so much?
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Really strong tank that actually does a lot of damage
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Yeah, countering Golem is DEFINITELY harder than countering a PEKKA
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Exactly! With support units, its tough to take out a full golem push
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For me, the best win conditions is either the Hog Rider, the Golem, the Miner or the Balloon.
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Oh yeah, miner is definitely up there too!
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Some People like me might disagree with the Dark Prince and Bowler, but I can understand why. Dark Prince and Bowler are really similar as they’re both splash damage troop that only target ground. Dark Prince however is a lot stronger and faster thanks to his charge, he’s also cheaper, while Bowler has more HP and has a linear attack which can knockback. It’s obvious that Dark Prince is way better than Bowler on offence because of his charge, while Bowler is better on defence because of the knockback, However I think Dark Prince is overall better, he also have good defensive value as he can beat up dangerous threats like Elite Barbarians, just not as effective as Bowler, while Bowler has very little to no offensive value, and his HP (including shield) isn’t too far behind Bowler
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Yeah, dark prince has really been on the rise lately (maybe a top 10 epic card??)
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My new rank
23. Clone
22. Mirror
21. Lightning
20. Giant Skeleton
19. Freeze
18. Rage
17. Bowler
16. Hunter (I have no idea where to put him actually, but I can clearly tell he’s not the bottom)
15. X-Bow
14. Skeleton Army
13. Guards
12. Witch
11. Cannon Cart
10. Dark Prince
9. Prince
8. Goblin Barrel
7. Poison
6. Balloon
5. Baby Dragon
4. Golem
3. PEKKA
2. Tornado
1. Executioner
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Yeah, that’s pretty spot on. I think I’d be inclined to put PEKKA a bit lower, (definitely behind golem). Also, I think the skeleton army is WAY too low, as it gives a lot of value and fits in log/zap bait decks nicely. Everything else though, I pretty much agree with. (Other small things: x-bow a bit too high, baby dragon a bit too high)
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I understand with Baby Dragon and Skeleton Army, But man X-Bow? I think it’s good enough to be 15th, despite hard to use, if used correctly it’s deadly (Apart from 2v2, X-Bow really suck at 2v2)
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It’s been up a bit over the past month, we will have to see where it falls next rankings!
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Balloon’s 1st strike seems to be way too fast…
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Yeah, honestly they need to fix that. It’s like as long as it gets to the tower it gets a hit.
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You forgot to mention that tornado can activate the king tower early
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That is true! Huge PLUS for the tornado!
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One of the most unfair cards honestly…….
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I think the Giant Skeleton should be way up there, It just has so much value, as it can destroy pushes if used correctly
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I think that only in 2v2 does it offer real value. Remember at a 3 second bomb delay, troops can easily get out of the way
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Yeah, Giant Skeleton really sucks now, he needs a big buff soon
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The problem is that its hard to find a suitable buff, sort of like sparky
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Sparky already have amazing buff already! She’s now really balanced, not to weak but not too strong. I hope Giant Skeleton would be like that too…….
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Yep, I still think Sparky is a little bit weak (but it always will be with prevalence of zap, e-wiz, and ice spirit), but its a lot better than it used to be
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Honestly every card (But Heal) has its own purpose, even Clone does!
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That’s true! One of the pros of Clash Royale as a game
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What do you think about the X-Bow buff?
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I think X-Bow needed a buff, but I’m just scared they will go too far and make X-Bow OP
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Why is Golem still OP even with P.E.K.K.A. at the top?
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Honestly, most people don’t really counter golem with PEKKA. There are better, cheaper counters available.
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4100 copas
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Why am I so bad at tornado?
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Hahaha, it just takes practice!
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My least favourite epic card AND the least favourite card in the entire game is the Lightning
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Hahaha, why the hate for the lightning?
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It kills my hard counters against the Balloon…. and I used to hate Balloon, then realized it was the Lightning which is behind the Balloon
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Oh true, musketeer, e-wiz, and wizard all fall to that
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Thankfully I’m using Executioner and Baby Dragon
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Make Prince and Bowler Great Again!
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I feel like both of them will be getting buffs over the next couple balance changes
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It’s confirmed that Prince will get buffed, but not Bowler unfortunately
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Where’s the confirmation?
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Check News Royale icon in the game
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Got it!
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I think PEKKA is better than Mega Knight
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I agree, I don’t think mega knight is that good
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X-Bow third last? You must really underestimate siege.
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Like I said, I know that x-bow is powerful; its just that it is too hard to use succesfully
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But again, at least it has a spot in the meta unlike Freeze, Giant Skeleton, Clone and Guards
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Yeah that is true; those other cards have no use whatsoever
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And that’s why I think in this list, X-Bow should be placed above freeze
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I used to hate Balloon, but as I tried Executioner + tornado, I don’t think it’s THAT big threat , it’s still extremely annoying though because when it touches your tower, your tower will instantly suffer more than 700 damage
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Yeah, as long as you have a lot of air defense, you’ll be fine against the balloon!
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Dark prince is always my favorite!
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My favorite epic is probably the golem
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To be honest I’d rather use Giant Skeleton instead of the Royal Giant even though he’s A poor card
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I just used RG to get to 4300
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“The poison is the perfect counter to the new graveyard” and it can support it too!
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Exactly, it has really been getting good lately!
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Clone is definitely the worst epic, but I don’t think it’s the worst spell
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Would you say heal is worse?
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Exactly! Heal is the #1 worst card in the game. Heal offers no value while clone have some
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But heal is very niche with three musketeers and can offer a ton of value there
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As long as Fireball and Rocket remained popular , heal will be useless even in 3Musketeers deck. I saw a lot of overlevelled fireballs really often
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Yep, 3M-heal has definitely dropped off a lot with the rise of overleveled fireballs!
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Plus Rage and Mirror is definitely better than both clone and heal. Even though Rage and Mirror is also weak spells, it can fit into better decks
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Oh yeah for sure! While clone and heal don’t have great uses, rage and mirror always have specific cases where they work great!
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Dark Prince should be higher, he is very strong against Elite Barbarians…..
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But if he doesn’t have his charge, he isn’t that effective against the EBs
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As long as he was supported by the crown tower, then Dark Prince will beat them up, allowing him to form counterpush
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Apart from Exenado, this is my favourite part about the tornado:
I send out the Dark Prince to finish the opponent’s tower, Opponent tries to defend and used Knight and Valkyrie to stop it, but I used tornado to pull them to the tower. And when the Dark Prince gets to charge, he hits the Knight while his charged area damage splashes the tower and destroyed it
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That’s some pro play! I’ve often seen people moving troops behind the tower so that their troop can lock on!
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But the Funny part is that’s when opponent tries to kill my PEKKA or Mega Knight with Inferno Dragon, I pulled him to th other length and he just flies away!
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My ranking
22. Clone
21. Mirror
20. Freeze
19. Guards
18. Giant Skeleton
17. Lightning
16. Rage
15. Bowler
14. Prince
13. X-Bow
12. Witch
11. Cannon Cart
10. Poison
9. Skeleton Army
8. Dark Prince
7. Goblin Barrel
6. Balloon
5. Golem
4. Baby Dragon
3. Tornado
2. P.E.K.K.A.
1. Executioner
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Man, that PEKKA is really high! I think it’s too easily countered to be at the very peak of the meta.
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PEKKA isn’t a offensive unit, she’s a defensive. I’ve tested: She’s a lot more reliable than the Skeleton Army and Mega Knight in most case
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I really like the new defensive PEKKA against a hog!
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Me too!
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Ok maybe I’ve underestimated the poison
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Still hate the lightning, a lot!
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I get annoyed when people take out my musketeer!
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I hate it ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY KILLED MY EXECUTIONER AND BABY DRAGON WHEN THEY’RE DEALING WITH THE LAVALOON
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Executioner is soooo good against lavaloon!
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Same goes with Wizard and baby dragon as long as you’re using tornado
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Yeah, the tornado can absolutely DECIMATE LavaLoonion when grouped
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I think Skeleton Army shouldn’t be 4th, they’re way too easily countered
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That’s true, but if your opponent doesn’t have a counter it is devastating!
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“elite barbarians and rage makes a deadly combination.” I sure hope you’re using PEKKA
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Unfortunately, I’m using skeleton army and it gets zapped right away 😦
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Which is why I used Dark Prince and PEKKA
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For what he can do, I think Executioner has too much HP, I think supercell should decrease it a bit
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I agree, lightning should be able to take it out!
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Don’t underestimate the X-Bow! X-Bow is at a really good spot in the meta nowadays. It should be in the middle in my opinion
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The problem, as I said, is that it takes too much skill to play
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I know! But at least it has a spot in the meta unlike Giant Skeleton
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Thats true; giant skeleton sucks right now
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Poor Giant Larry……. rework him so he’ll be strong at 1v1 but more controllable in 2v2
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Yeah, something needs to happen for him to be balanced
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I think Dark Prince is better than the Prince as he can deal area damage, he’s more reliable to defeat swarms, Sparky, Witch etc. and can offers great value on both offence and defence, especially after his buff, although it’s true that Knight, Hog Rider and Battle Ram is better. I’m not sure about Valkyrie though, since she’s also suffering at the meta
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I think that overall damage plus health of the prince helps him a lot
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