Best Clash Royale Decks for Climbing The Arena(1-7)

Hello Clash Royale players! I have played this game extensively and looked at countless guides and videos to compile useful information to help you climb in the arena. I gathered all the best Clash Royale decks for climbing the Arena, so you can use them to your advantage.

Hero	Type	Speed	Adventure	Easy Siege	Normal Siege	Arena	Tower	Drag. Raid	Boss Raid
Rudy	Defensive	19	S-	S (Monday)	S+ (Monday)	SS	SS	A+	C
Spike	Universal	21	S+	S+	S+	S+	S	A+	A+
Eileen	Universal	21	S+	S+	A+	S+	S	S	B
Kris	Universal	21	S+	C	C	SS	S+	B	C
Rachel	Universal	21	S	SS	SS	A+	SS	B	SS
Jave	Universal	21	SS	C	C	SS	S	C	C
Delonse	Offensive	31	S+	SS	SS	S+	S+	SS	S+
Ace	Universal	22	SS	S+	SS	SS	S	C	SS
Yeopo	Universal	20	S-	B	C	SS	A-	C	C
Wukong	Universal	20	S+	B+	C	SS	B+	C	C
Lin	Magic	32	SS	A-	B-	SS	S+	C	C
Karma	Universal	20	SS	S	S (Monday)	SS	S+	S+	S
Kyle	Offensive	32	SS	A	B-	SS	SS	C	C
Yeonhee	Magic	33	SS	C	C	SS	SS	C	C
Alicia	Universal	26	S+	C	C	A-	A	C	C
Kiriel	Magic	26
Ryan	Offensive	26
Evan	Defensive	14	B+	B+		A+	B+	B+
Karin	Support	12	B+	S+ (Sun)		A-	A-	B+
Yuri	Magic	26	S	B+		S-	A+	C
Lee	Universal	16	B	B-		B+	C	C
Yui	Support	12	A	S+ (Thurs)		C	B-	A-
Ariel	Magic	26	S+	B+		A+	B+	B+
Hellenia	Defensive	14	B+	S+ (Sun)		A-	A-	B+
Hevnia	Offensive	26	A	B+		S-	B	A-
Jupy	Offensive	26	A+	SS		B+	A+	S-
Sniper	Offensive	26	B	C		A	B	C
Karon	Support	12	B-	SS		C	A-	SS
Victoria	Universal	16	A	S+ (Tue)		C	B	S+
Lucy	Support	12	B-	A-		S-	S-	A+
Velika	Magic	26	SS	C		B	C	SS
Sylvia	Magic	26	A+	S		B	A+	C
Jocker	Magic	26	B	S+ (Mon)		C	B-	C
Ming Ming	Magic	27	S	C		S	C	C
Xiao	Offensive	22	B-	B-		A-	B-	C
Rook	Defensive	14	B-	B		C	C	C
Chancellor	Universal	16	B	A+		C	C	C
May	Offensive	26	S+	S		S	S	B+
Alice	Support	12	S	A-		S	S	A-
Aragon	Universal	20	S-	A		A	B+	C
Noho	Magic	30	SS	C	C	SS	SS	C	C
Ruri	Offensive	30	S+	B+		SS	S-	C
Espada	Magic	26	B-	C		S	S-	SS
Nia+Bolt	Universal	16	SS	B+		SS	S-	C
Sein	Offensive	26	A+	SS		B+	S+	SS
Sieg	Universal	16	B-	S+		B-	S-	SS
Jane	Offensive	26	B	A+		B-	A-	A-
Black Rose	Offensive	30	A+	B+		SS	B+	C
Sera	Magic	30	SS	A-		SS	A+	B-
Ballista	Offensive	30	A+	A+		S+	A+	A-
Leo	Universal	16	B	S (Sun)		C	B	C
Bane	Universal	16	A	C		B	C	C
Cleo	Universal	16	B	C		A-	C	C
Rania	Universal	16	B-	S- (Sat)		A-	C	C
Knox	Universal	16	B+	C		A-	A-	C
Sara	Support	12	B+	S		C	SS	C
Jin	Defensive	14	A	B+		B+	B+	B
Lina	Support	12	SS	SS		B+	SS	SS
Daisy	Magic	26	B	B-		B-	B	S-
Ray	Offensive	26	SS	C		A	C	C
Soi	Offensive	27	S-	B+		A+	A-	S
Pungyeon	Magic	28	SS	A		S	A+	S+
Qingtao	Universal	16	B+	C		B+	C	C
RingRing	Magic	27	A+	S		A-	A	C
Musong	Offensive	27	B+	C		B+	B+	C
Baeglyong	Offensive	29	S-	C		S+	A	C
Yeejung	Defensive	26	A+	SS (Mon)		S+	A+	C
Sogyo	Magic	29	S	A		SS	A-	C
Yushin	Magic	29	S	A+		S+	A+	A
Gwunho	Magic	27	S	A		S+	S	C
Baekgak	Universal	17	A-	A+		C	A	S+
Bidam	Offensive	32	S+	A+		SS	A+	B
Nata	Universal	21	S+	B		SS	A+	C
Choun	Offensive	29	S+	S+		A+	A+	A+
Choseon	Support	12	S+	S+		S-	S+	S+
Gongmyeong	Magic	29	A+	SS		S-	S+	C
Gwanu	Defensive	16	A+	B+		SS	A+	C
Jake	Defensive	15	S-	B+		A+	B+	SS
Asura	Universal	17	B+	S-		C	B	SS
Giparang	Universal	26	SS	C		A+	A	C
Pascal	Magic	30	B-	SS		C	S	SS
Kwonho	Offensive	29	A
Nezha	Universal	21	A	B	B	S	A	B
Teo	Offensive	31	A+	S	A+	SS	S	A
Bai Jiao	Universal	17	B			A	A

Arena 1 to 4(Up to 1100 Trophies)

This is by player: tarjoilija – picture. This is very good as you can climb to Arena 4(P.E.K.K.A.’s Playhouse) as a level 3 player and unlock useful cards such as Freeze and Hog Rider.

[easytable] Deck, giantcard archerscard skeletonarmycard arrowscard fireballcard goblinscard musketeercard babydragoncard [/easytable]

Elixir Average: 3.6

Giant – A very good offensive and defensive unit that can sink damage.
Archer – It’s the only viable ranged unit I had initially. I think Spear Goblins are too squishy.
Skeleton Army – I use this to slow down enemy units and eat their tanks. If the enemy lacks good AoE, you can quickly take towers with this.
Arrows – Good spell to clear low elixir units.
Fireball – Taking down priority targets also works well against Barbarians.
Goblin – I use these little guys to distract enemy units.
Musketeer – Very nice damage and combines well with Giant.
Baby Dragon – Flying unit, deals AoE, and combines well with Giant.

He recommends:

Usually, at the start of the match, you want to wait for the enemy to make a move. If your elixir bar is about to get full, try to spawn a damage-dealing unit like Musketeer/Baby Dragon/Giant behind your middle crown tower and prepare for an attack. You can combine it with other units when it’s about to hit the river. This creates around 15 elixir push wave that is not easy to take down.

Constantly keep track of enemy cards and know his weakness. Do they have little to no AoE? You can use Skeleton Army offensively! Do they have Hog/Prince? Save your Goblins/Skeleton Army.

Climb To Arena 5 Deck (1400-1700 Trophies)

This is by player voltrics via Reddit.

[easytable] Deck, goblinscard bombercard arrowscard speargoblinscard knightcard tombstonecard giantcard babydragoncard [/easytable]

Elixir Average: 3.1

The counters:

Witch – Drop the knight right on her when she crosses the bridge. If there are other skeletons/goblins, drop the knight and follow up with the baby dragon or bomber.
Prince/Hog Rider – Drop goblins/spear goblins/knights/tombstones in front of the tower. Don’t let the prince charge up and hit the tower!
Balloons – Drop air-targeting units such as spear goblins/baby dragons or use a defensive unit like a tombstone in the middle to distract the loon.
Giant Skeleton – Drop goblins/spear goblins/knights/tombstones near the middle of your side as the giant skeleton crosses the bridge. Keep kiting the giant skeleton until the giant skeleton dies.
Baby Dragon – Use your baby dragon to counter with the help of your crown tower. Drop spear goblins when the baby dragon has focused on your tower already (it wouldn’t do that much damage)
Giant – Use goblins/spear goblins/tombstone/knight/dragon when the giant crosses the bridge. Throw an arrow if the opponent has cheap troops following the Giant.
Minion Horde/Goblin Barrel – Use arrows.
Valkyrie/Musketeer – Use a knight and spear gobs when she crosses the bridge.
Mini Pekka is the same as Valkyrie, but you could also use goblins.
Skeleton Army – Use bomber/arrow.
Barbarians – Use bomber/baby dragon/spear goblins.
X-bow – Use knights/goblins/bombers. You want to take the xbow and the troops they drop in front of the xbow asap.

Check out some of his vids:

Arena 3+ Deck

This is by player The_RumHam. His card stats: picture

[easytable]Deck, arrowscard goblinbarrelcard x-bowcard valkyriecard rocketcard tombstonecard minionhordecard babydragoncard [/easytable]

Elixir Average: 4.3

X-Bow

The deck’s namesake can feel like the most powerful card in the game, yet I rarely see it in high-level competition. This deck is designed to place an X-Bow to attack the enemy Crown Towers and then make favorable reactive trades to allow the X-Bow clear shots. An X-Bow can 100% kill a Tower if uninterrupted, so that’s what we are trying to do.

Read: Clash Royale Card Counters Guide

I tend to place them in the middle, tilting to one side (so it attacks that way first), but there are times when putting them in a side lane is the correct play.

There are a ton of nuances to playing X-Bow, and I’d hate to say there are hard and fast rules. If I draw one in my opening hand, I tend to cast it immediately as a test, but that can backfire if they have a good counter. Late game, I tend to wait til 8 Elixir so I can quickly Tombstone or Arrows to protect it.

Tombstone

Control decks tend to be very reactive, so I’ll start with the most purely reactive card in the deck. Tombstone blocks, Giants, Giant Skeletons, Hog Riders, and Balloons are coming for your Towers, especially X-Bows.

I fell in love with Tombstone the first time I saw it block a Prince’s charge and kill the Prince with the spawned Skeletons. If you take anything away from this article, 3 Elixir Tombstone trading with a 5-Elixir prince is one of the most powerful plays you can make in this deck.

Goblin Barrel

Like X-Bow, Goblin Barrel is the type of card that requires an immediate reaction or deals outsized damage for its Elixir cost. The best time to cast it is immediately after they cast an expensive card that will not affect the Barrel Goblins.

A common example is casting Goblin Barrel in reaction to a Prince, then dropping Tombstone in front of the Prince.

Arrows

This is a great counter card to so many things… The most common way for people to counter X-Bow is with swarm cards like Skeleton Army, Goblin Barrel, Minions/Minion Swarm, etc. Your 3 Elixir canceling out their 4+ Elixir every time you cast it is a great tempo swing that adds up over 3-4 casts per game.

If you are playing another defensive deck with Goblin Barrel, using Arrows on their Barrels with negate a huge amount of the damage their decks can put out, and you gain 1 Elixir of tempo.

Valkyrie & Baby Dragon

A deck can’t be purely reactive; these two slots are for cards we cast when nearing the Elixir cap that we are comfortable sending blindly down a lane. They are well-rounded units that are hard to counter directly; your opponent will never wipe all 4 Elixir of value out of them without losing something in exchange. If they trade well and survive, they can be bait for Arrows or Goblin Barrel.

I suppose these could be any two well-rounded units like Barbarians or Knights. Still, I chose Valkyrie and Baby Dragon for having AoE attacks while themselves being resistant to AoE attacks. They can function like a 2nd and 3rd copy of Arrows to counter light swarms while surviving to push the lane.

Valk was added over a prior card because of her effectiveness against Witches, one of the most difficult cards for this deck to handle.

Minion Swarm OR Minions

This is the slot for our swarm card. Giants, Balloons, Princes, Giant Skeletons, and P.E.K.K.A.s of all shapes and sizes get ripped to shred by swarms. I prefer the flying units as more hedging against Witches.

It’s preference whether to use the lower cost 3 Elixir squad. The Swarm is more valuable for the cost, BUT the whole swarm still dies to Arrows, which opens you up to the sort of big tempo swings we try to avoid with Baby Dragon and Valkyrie. If you use the Swarm, be mindful of their AoE spells.

Rocket

Fitting that the last card in the deck is often the last card you play. The ideal game ending for you is comfortably safe, with the announcer counting down and a Rocket in the air.

Defensive Spawner decks match up well against you, so Rocket becomes a much more aggressive play. It can destroy Goblin Houses immediately and often greatly reduce the lifespan of the Barbarian Huts.

Climb to Arena 5 Deck(Skeleton Deck)

This is by player DJTeebS. His card stats: picture

[easytable]Deck, giantskeletoncard witchcard skeletonarmycard goblinhutcard musketeercard valkyriecard arrowscard speargoblinscard [/easytable]

Elixir Average: 4.1

Why the Skeletons?

Giant Skeleton: The most cost-effective tank in the game. His bomb is invaluable for clearing enemies that over-commit. Normally drop him with a range behind.

Witch: Great for pushing, especially in the 2x elixir minute. This card always forces your opponent to respond. Game-winning if you have two in one lane

Skeleton Army: For those pesky Prince and P.E.K.K.A.s. They also do tons of damage if left unattended. This card is very powerful if you know your opponent just used Arrows.

Goblin Hut: Highly elixir efficient, especially when supported by skeletons. Also, game-winning when you have two in one lane.

Musketeer: Anti-air, anti-tank, and siege? What’s not to love?

Valkyrie: Great against Skeleton Army and Witch. This card played at the right time, allows you to build a huge elixir advantage.

Arrows: Highly versatile clear. Use it against barrels and hordes of weaker troops.

Spear Goblins: Cheap ranged support for Giant Skeleton/Witch pushes.

Description

This deck’s strengths are building elixir advantages with card-efficient drops that win matchups. To do that, one must adopt a reactive play style. When the opponent plays a card, respond with a counter card.

This allows the elixir advantage to build up in your favor so you can punish the opponent when they overcommit. Also, play in two lanes!

Read: Clash Royale Guide for Beginners [Tips]

Playing in two lanes plays to the deck’s strengths and heavily disrupts single-lane Hut/Tombstone and Beatdown Rush decks. When your opponent expends a large portion of their elixir pool on an attack, counter their army with a fraction of your elixir pool, then punish the other lane!

For example, The opponent drops a Giant + Prince to siege your tower. You respond with a Skeleton Army, which easily clears the threat. Meanwhile, drop Giant Skeleton and some Spear Goblins in the other lane.

At this point, your opponent has to deal with half a Skeleton Army on one side and a Giant Skeleton push on the other with about three elixirs. If the Giant Skeleton reaches the enemy tower, you can assume colossal damage will be dealt to it.

Arena 4 Deck to Arena 7

This is by player prodiigeez. His card stats: picture

[easytable]Deck, barbarianscard fireballcard speargoblinscard goblinbarrelcard minionhordecard teslacard arrowscard hogridercard [/easytable]

Elixir Average:3.9

The Strategy

1. Hog+Barbarians – Really solid combo to use if the enemy doesn’t have a fireball, bomber, and the bomber tower in hand or deck.

2. Hog+GoblinBarrel – The best combo for this deck! Place Hog Rider first so it tanks the tower while simultaneously throwing your Goblin Barrel.

3. Hog+Minions – Really good combo if you know your opponent has no aoe in hand or deck.

4. Spear Goblins+Goblin Barrel This combo catches a lot of people off guard because most of them don’t respond to the Spear Goblin push and never expect the Goblin Barrel before it’s too late for massive damage for the cost of 6 elixirs.

5. HogRider+FireBall/Arrows Prefire – This Catches many people off guard and is an amazing combo to do if someone uses minions/barbarians to counter your Hog Rider push.

Defensive Tips

The Tesla is the best defensive tower for this deck because it’s cheap, can target air+ground, and is harder to remove.

The barbarians and minions are your best bet at defending against Golems, Pekkas, Giants, Giant Skeletons, and Royal Giants. I’d recommend placing the barbarians behind any of these troops to try and take out the backline before hitting the Tank Troop.

Weaknesses: Golems and xbow/tower decks counter this deck the most. It isn’t impossible to beat them as I have before, but you better prepare yourself for a challenge.

Arena 7 P.E.K.K.A. Deck

This is by player En_Taro_Artanis. Proof: picture.

[easytable]Deck, pekkacard arrowscard musketeercard elixircollectorcard minionhordecard minionscard skeletonarmycard goblinbarrelcard [/easytable]

Elixir Average: 4.3

Strategy

Use P.E.K.K.A. + mass army to overrun your opponent.

Start with an elixir and leave five elixirs to defend against the potential enemy rush. Drop P.E.K.K.A. close to your King Tower. This gives lots of time to generate an elixir before P.E.K.K.A. reaches the bridge.

Now, you have two choices. If you’re feeling daring/know they used their Arrows, you can get a Minion Horde or a Skeleton Army out. These swarms will tear apart anything that tries’s to stop the P.E.K.K.A., allowing it to reach the tower and wreak havoc. However, this is the most risky play and not recommended for your first push.

A much less risky option is simply using the 3 Elixir Minions. They are still great at dealing with swarms and are much less susceptible to A.O.E. Ensure the crown tower shoots the P.E.K.K.A., not the Minions, for maximum effectiveness.

Minions also tend to draw A.O.E. If you see your opponent Arrow your minions, you commence Operation Spam-All-Of-My-Swarms-And-Laugh.

In all seriousness, this deck can defend very well for three reasons. First off, it has a lot of swarms. Prince gets blocked and shredded by Skeleton Army, Hog Rider, and Golem get torn apart by Minion Horde, and even Minions do their part, messing up the enemy ranged units.

Elixir Collector has A LOT of health. Place it in the middle, where you would usually place a tombstone, and laugh as their Hog Riders run toward it in a desperate attempt to kill it, only to get eviscerated by Minions. NOTE: This is only worth it when you have already taken a Crown and are merely trying to defend. Otherwise, just use a swarm and take one hit.

Uses of Goblin Barrel

The deck seems good so far. But wait! What’s that Goblin Barrel doing there? Seems useless, right?

Well, it has a lot of uses. First off, it’s great at baiting Arrows. Once your P.E.K.K.A is rolling down the lane; you can hurl the Goblin Barrel at their tower. Opponents will (correctly) arrow the Goblin Barrel, allowing you to commence Operation Spam-All-Of-My-Swarms-And-Laugh.

Matchups at High-Level Arena

Balloon– Minion Horde, Minions, and Musketeer pop the Balloon easily. No contest.

Prince – Easy matchup. Skeleton Army blocks any attempts at Prince-ing, and even if he lands some sick prediction arrows on the skeletons, P.E.K.K.A is always there to bail you out.

Prince+Dark Prince – Slightly more annoying than Prince. Skeleton Army is still good here; Dark Prince’s A.O.E. is not in a circle around him like a Valkyrie’s, so he doesn’t shred them as hard. However, Skeleton Army will not be enough. Minion Horde and P.E.K.K.A is key here.

Hog Rider – Swarms mess him up. Later in the game, you can stop attempts at clutching your tower by always keeping up a Collector in the middle.

Golem – P.E.K.K.A does so much damage to the Golem and shreds through it so fast it isn’t funny. Even if you don’t have him on hand, the amount of swarm makes it very tough for your opponent. Easy matchup.

X-Bow/Mortar – Annoying matchup. Gets much worse if they run Inferno. You should be trying to push very hard after they use their X-Bow/Mortar. Tip: You can block X-Bow and Mortar from targeting your tower with a P.E.K.K.A.

Huts – Probably the worst matchup for this deck. Barbarian Hut is very annoying, and the amount of Spear Goblins build up on your P.E.K.K.A from Goblin Hut gets a little ridiculous. I usually win by pushing the other lane hard after they drop a Hut.