It is time for a new common card rankings for all the common cards in Clash Royale! We will be having a power ranking, #22 to #1, of the common cards in Clash Royale as of May 2018. As many of you know, I have done this ranking before, back when there were only 21 common cards. The top 5 cards then, in order, were ice spirit, zap, bats, goblin gang, and minions. 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/2018/02/18/clash-royale-common-card-rankings-february-2018/

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:

1. Versatility
2. Cost/Damage Ratio (is the card worth it?)
3. 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 February rankings.

Common Card Rankings

#22- Bomber

Without a doubt, the bomber is one of the worst and most underused cards in Clash Royale. While most splash units are a lot more expensive, they are worth that extra value since they can shoot air. With the prevalence of the knight and minions, taking out a bomber behind a tank is way too easy. Hopefully some sort of tweak comes to the bomber soon!

#21- Royal Giant

The royal giant does manage to pass the bomber on this list, taking him out of the basement of the common card rankings. Despite the hate that the royal giant gets in Clash Royale, he is actually not a great card, being way too easy to overcounter and get limited damage onto the tower. I’d like to see a small attack speed increase for the RG to bring him back a bit.

#20- Barbarians

This is one of the most powerful cards in Clash Royale, yet it doesn’t offer too much offensive value which sends it plummeting to the bottom of the common card rankings. The issue with barbarians is that they are way too easy to counter by the multitude of splash cards in Clash Royale. Once passed Arena 7, it becomes difficult to get value out of the barbarians.

#19- Fire Spirits

Definitely the worst of the two spirit cards, the fire spirits do have some great niche uses in Clash Royale. However, for the most part, it is better to spend the extra couple elixir for the troop that will stay alive. Besides, fire spirits end up doing a bit more damage than a zap if all connect and the zap is a lot more reliable to get the damage you want.

#18- Skeleton Barrel

While the skeleton barrel is still towards the back of the common card rankings, it did get boosted two spots after the last balance changes added a skeleton back into the barrel. Still that one skeleton back in isn’t enough for the skeleton barrel to return to its high spot in the meta. With the mega knight deck no longer as great, the skeleton barrel needs a new deck to fit into.

#17- Elite Barbarians

As my most hated card in Clash Royale, I’m happy to see the elite barbarians appear this low on the rankings. With the addition of rascals to Clash Royale, there’s another hard counter to this cancerous card. In the lower arenas, elite barbarians-rage is a great strategy, but once you faced skilled players in the higher arenas, it becomes easier to stop these two barbs.

#16- Skeletons

Unfortunately, skeletons are kind of stuck as an OP card or as a cheap cycle card. With four skeletons, this card is one of the most valuable in Clash Royale, but with only 3, there aren’t enough skeletons to effectively counter a lot of cards. Nothing can really be done here, so skeletons will be stuck as a slightly off-meta card.

#15- Goblins

For whatever reason, the goblins are the biggest fallers from the February rankings, dropping from #10 to #15 in the rankings. Goblins themselves weren’t nerfed, but have definitely seen a fall in usage over the past couple months. With spear goblins (and goblin gang) growing, I think those two have replaced goblins as a cheap counter card.

#14- Cannon

The cannon is back baby! In February, I had the cannon at #18 in the rankings, which was almost at the bottom. However, now, a lot of players are finally seeing the cannon as a great defensive option for cycle decks, giving a 3 elixir card that can completely counter a giant and a hog rider. This defense can also be used to help kill elite barbarians and golems.

#13- Rascals

Rascals are the newest card in Clash Royale, not even available for unlock yet unless you won them in the rascals draft challenge. Based on the stats, I think that rascals will actually be a great card, both for offense and defense. They should fit well into both log bait and beatdown decks, but we will have to wait a little bit longer to see how they fit in the meta.

#12- Arrows

With the prevalence of the zap in the current meta, arrows have suffered just a bit. Arrows are definitely still a great choice for lava hound or giant decks, but zap can offer more versatility, cheaper cost, and faster deployment time than arrows. Arrows just barely don’t make it in the top 50% of common cards, but definitely have use in the meta.

#11- Spear Goblins

Even with the huge spear goblin buff that was long awaited in the April balance changes, this card has still seen a ton of usage in the top of the ladder and in challenges. Because of their cheap cost and quick attack speed and movement, the spear goblins are a great support unit in behind quick cycle decks featuring the battle ram and hog rider.

#10- Mortar

At one point in the last three months, between the two rankings, the mortar would have definitely have ranked within the top three of common cards. However, for some reason, the mortar has fallen off a bit since the April balances, probably because of the nerf to the multiple support cards used with the mortar, including tornado and ice spirit.

#9- Archers

As one of the premier support cards to the two siege cards, the x-bow and the mortar, the archers have decreased in value since the x-bow and mortar have fallen off a bit. However, archers are still one of the best cards to defend with, giving you some air support as well as ground support to help disperse a wide variety of cards.

#8- Minion Horde

Without a doubt, the minion horde is one of the most dangerous cards in Clash Royale. This common card can deal insane amounts of damage to the tower if uncountered. With a zap bait card in your deck, you can absolutely punish your opponent with the minion horde in behind your tank card. Also, the minion horde is a great defensive card for killing large pushes.

#7- Tesla

In this common card rankings, the tesla is the biggest riser, moving up 5 spots to the #7 spot. Possibly the top defense in Clash Royale now, the tesla deals insane damage to both ground and air units, putting it as a better option as the cannon and inferno tower. It doesn’t hurt that the tesla can fit into any type of deck as well!

#6- Knight

Even with the extreme popularity of the ice golem right now, the knight works great as a mini tank, for defense and for counterpushing. In my opinion, the knight is one of the best three elixir cards in the game for playing defense. His high health makes it tough for units to take him out, giving him a huge advantage over swarm counters while playing defense.

#5- Ice Spirit

It shouldn’t be a big surprise that the ice spirit fell off from its #1 ranking in the February rankings. During the April balance changes, the ice spirit received an absolutely brutal nerf, getting a 4% nerf to damage and getting its freeze duration decreased from 1.5 seconds to only 1 second. Still, you can’t beat the cheapness of the ice spirit with decent value as well.

#4- Minions

Minions are still a great support unit to every kind of deck, giving a ton of air value for only three elixir. Despite bats being pretty high up in the meta, the minions give a different take, giving you a card that can’t get zapped down and is a solid support for larger tanks like the giant or golem. I don’t see minions losing their top 5 spot any time soon!

#3- Bats

As mentioned above, bats give a different take from minions, offering a cheaper, weaker version of minions for a quick counter for left over troops. Bats are also great combined with the hog rider, making a tough play for your opponent for only 6 elixir. Hopefully, we don’t see a skeleton type nerf with the number of bats being reduced to 4 again.

#2- Goblin Gang

Ever since goblins could no longer be zapped down, the goblin gang has been an electric counter, no longer dying to a quick zap. Without a doubt, the goblin gang is one of the best defensive cards in Clash Royale and should only be getting stronger in log bait decks with the release of rascals as yet another card that is easily countered by the log.

#1- Zap

And the number one common card in the May 2018 common card rankings is going to be the zap. As I have mentioned many times throughout the article, the zap has been killing it offering a cheap counter to so many different troops, as well as giving a vital reset and .5 second freeze with its use. With more log bait cards coming, zap needs to remain strong!

So that is going to wrap it up for our common card rankings for May of 2018! 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!

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