Supercell’s Clash Royale is full of unique cards (which we’ve ranked in our tier list), but knowing which to use with so many potential deck combinations can be overwhelming.
The meta is also constantly shifting, so it’s important to stay on top of it to keep securing those wins. If you don’t feel up to experimenting with builds, however, we’ve got some recommendations for the best and most popular decks in the game right now.
Best decks (December 2024)
Ultimate Punisher
As the name suggests, this deck is all about punishing opponents who waste Elixir. Your primary goal is to be aggressive with P.E.K.K.A and wield Zap and Arrows to prevent enemy spam.
On the defensive end, the Hunter, Guards, and Knight can keep you safe while you let P.EK.K.A deal the most devastating damage.
The cards you’ll need for Ultimate Punisher and their Elixir costs are:
- P.E.K.K.A (7 Elixir)
- Royal Hogs (5 Elixir)
- Magic Archer (4 Elixir)
- Hunter (4 Elixir)
- Knight (3 Elixir)
- Guards (3 Elixir)
- Arrows (3 Elixir)
- Zap (2 Elixir)
Hog 2.6 Cycle
The Hog 2.6 Cycle is one of the most elixir-efficient decks in Clash Royale and has remained extremely popular for quite some time.
By holding onto your big hitters until after your opponent has used their elixir, you can deliver notable damage to the enemy’s towers regularly with this mixture of cards.
If you master the deployment time of your troops, this deck is truly a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
These are the cards included:
- Cannon (4 Elixir)
- Fireball (4 Elixir)
- Hog Rider (4 Elixir)
- Ice Golem (2 Elixir)
- Ice Spirit (1 Elixir)
- Musketeer (4 Elixir)
- Skeletons (1 Elixir)
- The Log (2 Elixir)
“Pocket” Golem
This is an extremely adaptive deck that mainly focuses on offensive but it can be defensive if needed. The Golem is key here but you’ll want to keep it on the back burner until the late game. You can use it to surprise your opponent and disrupt any flow they may have gained to secure yourself a victory.
During the early game, make rapid pushes with your other cards until you feel ready to pull out your Golem and catch your opponent off guard.
This deck is made up of the following cards:
- Firecracker (3 Elixir)
- Wall Breakers (2 Elixir)
- Hunter (4 Elixir)
- Lumberjack (4 Elixir)
- Furnace (4 Elixir)
- Bandit (3 Elixir)
- Skeleton Army (3 Elixir)
- Golem (8 Elixir)
Lumberloon Freeze
This is one of the most infamous decks in Clash Royale history as Mugi took home a $200,000 prize playing with it in the 2021 World Finals. It’s still a solid deck in 2024, and even though Balloons aren’t quite as powerful as they once were, Lumberloon Freeze is still pretty tough in the right hands.
You’ll want to hold off on aggressive play with this deck until you reach Double Elixir, but once you do aim to combine a Balloon hit with executing a Freeze on the Princess Tower. Freezing your enemy’s air defense will also put you in a safer position, so stay aggressive to try and force them to use all of their air defense.
Overall, the combined power of Lumberjack, Balloon, and the Freeze spell can be a formidable combination in Clash Royale.
These are the cards you’ll want for the deck:
- Lumberjack (4 Elixir)
- Balloon (5 Elixir)
- Baby or Electro Dragon (4 or 5 Elixir)
- Inferno Dragon (4 Elixir)
- Bowler (5 Elixir)
- Freeze (4 Elixir)
- Tornado (3 Elixir)
- Barbarian Barrell (2 Elixir)
Ram Rider P.E.K.K.A Ghost
Putting Ram Rider and P.E.K.K.A together as the foundation for decks has been popular in the Clash Royale community for quite some time now. PEKKA is a powerful card in its own right due to its big damage output and high hit points. Pairing it with the Ram Rider can make it even stronger, however.
This deck sees PEKKA and Ram Rider attacking alongside Royal Ghost and Bandit. Their combined strength is ideal for both destroying enemy towers and fending off any army swarms that your opponent deploys.
If pure strength sounds up your alley, then this deck is a great choice. You’ll need these cards to put it together:
- P.E.K.K.A (7 Elixir)
- Ram Rider (5 Elixir)
- Royal Ghost (4 Elixir)
- Bandit (3 Elixir)
- Electro Spirit (1 Elixir)
- Zap Evolution (2 Elixir)
- Wizard Evolution (5 Elixir)
- Void (3 Elixir)
Lava Hound Balloon Deck
You’re primarily relying on Lava Hound to get the job done with this one, but the supporting cards make a huge difference in how effective this strategy turns out to be.
While it’s relatively easy to figure out how to play LavaLoon, mastering the timing of Fireball and Lightning will determine your skill level when using this deck.
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If you’re interested in trying it for yourself, this is what it’ll take:
- Balloon (5 Elixir)
- Fireball (4 Elixir)
- Guards (3 Elixir)
- Lava Hound (7 Elixir)
- Mega Minion (3 Elixir)
- Skeleton Dragons (4 Elixir)
- Tombstone (3 Elixir)
- Zap (2 Elixir)
Royal Giant Ghost
The Royal Giant Ghost is a balanced deck in Clash Royale, focusing on both attacking and defensive playstyles. The main objective of this deck is to overwhelm your opponent with massive numbers and hitpoints combined with a rock-solid defense.
The Log and Lightning can quickly push back and fry opponent cards. On the other hand, the Royal Giant acts as a tank, while the Royal Ghost, Fisherman, and Electro Spirit can wreck both opponent cards and towers.
To build this particular deck, you’ll need to use the following cards:
- Electro Spirit (1 Elixir)
- Fisherman (3 Elixir)
- Hunter (4 Elixir)
- Lightning (6 Elixir)
- Royal Ghost (4 Elixir)
- Royal Giant (6 Elixir)
- Skeletons (1 Elixir)
- The Log (2 Elixir)
Royal Hogs Royal Recruits
This deck is all about counter-pushing to deal damage. Royal Recruits act as your main counter-push card, and the Royal Hogs are additional support and can help pressure your opponent.
Defending with Zappies and Fireball is essential, and you’ve got Barbarian Barrel to deal with ground swarms. Overall, it’s got a lower skill floor so it’s easy to pick up and learn but takes time to really master.
The cards that make up this deck are:
- Royal Recruits (7 Elixir)
- Royal Hogs (2 Elixir)
- Flying Machine (4 Elixir)
- Goblin Cage (4 Elixir)
- Zappies (4 Elixir)
- Fireball (4 Elixir)
- Arrows (3 Elixir)
- Barbarian Barrel (2 Elixir)
Legendary Roster
According to the creator, DepthCharge, this is a meme deck that works surprisingly well. It’s made up completely of Legendaries (aside from Tornado.)
If you’re running this one, you’ll want to chip away at your opponent’s towers with Princess and draw them out with Royal Ghost.
If you find yourself up against the Hog 2.6 deck mentioned above, this combination of cards can easily beat it. Be mindful of air-focused decks however including Lumberloon and Lavaloon combinations.
Overall, this is a unique fun deck with a relatively straightforward play style that uses these cards:
- Mega Knight (7 Elixir)
- Sparky (6 Elixir)
- Royal Ghost (4 Elixir)
- Princess (3 Elixir)
- Fisherman (3 Elixir)
- The Log (2 Elixir)
- Electro Wizard (4 Elixir)
- Tornado (3 Elixir)
Log Bait
Bait decks exist in many forms in Clash Royale but Log Bait has remained one of the most popular over the years.
With Log Bait, you’ll want to have multiple cards in your deck are are all weak to The Log that you can play with the intention of baiting your opponent into using it. If you successfully trick them into using it, you’ll be free to deal some heavy damage after. Once their Log is out of rotation, use Goblin Barrel to deal some good damage.
You can also slowly chip away at the enemy’s towers before your weaker units are taken out by The Log.
To put this together, you’ll need:
- Knight (3 Elixir)
- Goblin Barrel (3 Elixir)
- Princess (3 Elixir)
- Goblin Gang (3 Elixir)
- Ice Spirit (1 Elixir)
- Inferno Tower (5 Elixir)
- Rocket (6 Elixir)
- The Log (2 Elixir)
No Air
If an aggressive playstyle is what you want to run with this No Air deck could be perfect. This deck simply doesn’t give your opponent any time to react properly. The Skeleton King ability is great if you need to stall for time, and Barrell can really pack a punch dealing 200+ damage if it connects.
The only types of decks that can counter this one effectively are Lava Loon and big spell cycle decks.
You’ll need the following cards to put it together:
- Mortar (4 Elixir)
- Skeleton Barrell (3 Elixir)
- Skeleton King (2 Elixir)
- Skeleton Army (3 Elixir)
- Goblin Gang (3 Elixir)
- The Log (2 Elixir)
- Cannon Cart (5 Elixir)
- Dart Goblin (3 Elixir)
Those are our picks for the best Clash Royale decks in December 2024. For more, check out the game’s creator codes, Star Points explained, how to add friends, and the best mobile games in 2024.
