It’s magical stuff (Picture: Supercell/Metro/MylesGoode)

Mirror, Mirror, in my hand, what’s the greatest card in the land?

‘Me!’ is what the Mirror should really say.

PS5 price is £450 in UK, release date is November with Game Pass equivalent

There are currently 70 cards available in Clash Royale, the most recent being the much-anticipated Goblin Gang.

You can only bring eight of them to a duel though, which means there are around 9,440,350,920 different possible decks.


So which ones to pick?

Mirror is a unique card in the game – no set elixir cost, damage, or stats at all really.

It copies the last card you played, but for extra cost.

Why would anyone want to waste a slot on that?



1. Surprise!

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Or Mirror (Picture: Supercell)

Surprise is the key to winning any war.

Haven’t you ever watched Game Of Thrones? Or indeed any TV/film war?

Surprise armies always win the day.

Nobody expects Mirror. Nobody.

2. Double up on counters

Already let your arrows fly at a minion horde, and have a skeleton army bearing down on you? Don’t worry, Mirror-wielder (Picture: Supercell)

With only eight slots available, most decks have a single counter to each kind of threat.

Mirror lets you double up on all your counters.

You’ve released your arrows to take out a pesky princess and now the minion horde are coming?

Here, have another helping of arrows, you flying migraines.

You cannot know the satisfaction of plonking down a second tombstone in front of elite barbarians after your first has been ogged – until you actually try it.

3. Double up on attacks

Here, have a hog rider. Actually, have two hog riders (Picture: Supercell)

As above – your opponent will usually only have one counter to each of your threats, too.

After your hog rider destroys that cannon, why not just send another now the way is clear?

4. Rotation, rotation, rotation

There is nothing worse than getting stuck on a bad rotation.

Once a Mirror-less deck deploys a card, it has to wait a full rotation of four more cards before it becomes available again.

No buyer’s remorse with Mirror – every card you deploy is still in your hand.

5. Anti-zap bait

Mirror > Zap-bait (Picture: Supercell)

A popular and extremely irritating breed of deck is made up of zappable cards: Skeleton Army, Goblins, Spear Goblins, Goblin Barrels, Minions, Minion Horde etc.

The idea is that you use your zap on one and then have nothing to counter when you are rushed by another.

But guess who’s packing two zaps?

6. That boost

Boost those Legendaries and ignore tournament caps (Picture: Supercell)

Obviously, one of the greatest perks to Mirror is the level boost it gives – and it no longer depends on the level of the card it is mirroring, but rather the level of the Mirror itself.

Mirror was the first Epic I upgraded to level 5, which allows me get level 3 Legendaries, even if my own Legendaries are only level 1.

Any Epic becomes level 6, Rares become level 9, and Commons become level 11.

I have not upgraded any of my cards to these levels, yet I have access to them all with Mirror.

This is especially helpful in tournament format where the card levels are capped and only a Mirror player can go above them.

7. Finish him!

Finish him! (Picture: Supercell)

If you run any direct damage card, which you should, Mirror makes a fantastic finisher.



Just get a tower HP to double the damage the card does and then ignore it and defend, or switch your sights to the opposite tower.

With seconds left on the clock, hit the weakened tower with direct damage X2.

It is fireball and rocket’s best friend.

8. More – not less – options

Most people avoid the Mirror because they see it as wasting one of those precious eight slots.

‘Why not pick a different eighth option to offer a different utility,’ I hear them say.

In fact, mathematically, having a Mirror actually increases your combo options and control over them.

At any given point in a duel, normal decks only have 16 one-two combinations they can foresee and deploy – any combination of you four in-hand cards, plus your ‘next’ card as a second option.

However, with mirror in your hand, it’s like having two ‘next’ slots instead and one of them gives you a choice of three cards to queue up.

With practice, you become much more proficient at setting up combos

9. Respect of your peers

Mirror – for skilled players only (Picture: Supercell)

Admit it – when you see someone using a Mirror, you think ‘Woah! Nice!’

When was the last time you saw a Mirror deck on Clash TV?

Like Freeze, Clone, Goblin Barrel and Graveyard, these cards take skill to use and can’t just be plonked down.

10. It’s not a ‘jerk’ card

You play Royal Giant? You suck (Picture: Supercell)

Do you play Royal Giant?

How about Elite Barbs?

Then guess what? You’re a jerk.

What sort of genius strategies do you employ?

Oh, you drop them on the bridge and then sit back?

Sorry, you’re a jerk. If you don’t believe me, take a long hard look at a Mirror.


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