Don’t know how to best build your decks in the Clash Royale’s meta? With the help of Team Dignitas Clash player George "Trainer Diputs" Galvin, we have prepared a variety of meta decks to help you grab those trophies!

PART 1: BEATDOWN

Beatdown decks rely on using expensive cards on troops with heavy damage. It’s an aggressive deck playstyle that focuses on applying a lot of push power that requires quick reactions from your opponent. Generally, beatdown decks consist of damage-heavy troops that are also elixir cost-effective, such as the Giant or the Golem cards.

There isn’t much difference between the first two beatdown decks (1 & 2) since both of them require slow play in a single elixir and getting positive elixir trades while taking minimal damage to your tower. In Trainer Diputs’ words, “The main thing about Golem decks is knowing when to eat damage. That’s the key. Once double elixir comes, you build up a big push, but be smart to choose cards based on the opponents’ spells.” Although Golem decks shine in the meta, they struggle against Three Musketeers decks or a good Miner-Poison deck. Opponent spells can also weaken your push, so take advantage of early elixir trades and keep the pressure on.

#1: Elixir Collector, Night Witch, Golem, Tornado, Lumberjack, Baby Dragon, Mega Minion, Zap

#2: Lumberjack, Mega Minion, Zap, Poison, Golem, Elixir Collector, Bandit, Night Witch

Decks with Giant and both Prince and Dark Prince (3 & 4) are mainly simply spell-bait decks. “You play the deck pretty slowly at the start, but you punish your opponent once they use their spells,” Trainer Diputs explains. However, as strong as the deck is in the meta, you might struggle against Graveyard and Pekka decks.

#3: Electro Wizard, The Log, Dark Prince, Mega Minion, Giant, Poison, Prince, Zap

#4: Bats, Spear Goblins, Dark Prince, Goblin Gang, Giant, Poison, Prince, Zap



The fifth deck is played in a similar way to Golem decks. It is best to play slowly during single elixir and to use pumps for learning about opponent’s spells. Trainer Diputs adds, “Once you’ve baited out your opponents’ spells, you should build up your push. If you know they can’t take out your Three Musketeers card, put everything in the same lane. If they have good spells, try to split push.” This deck is likely to lose against Pekka and Hog Rider decks.

#5: Elixir Collector, Giant, Battle Ram, Minion Horde, Zap, Bats, Golem Gang, Three Musketeers



Golem-Tornado-Rocket (6) is a hybrid deck of control and beatdown. As with the most beatdown decks, it’s played very slowly at the beginning. Try to match and defend against your opponent’s cards. Make favorable trades. Once you have a good elixir lead, it’s time to build up the push. However, Trainer Diputs warns, “The Golem-Tornado-Rocket deck struggles a lot against Pekka decks because of its lack of a heavy hitter.” It can be difficult to take out Pekka and the Graveyard decks on offense since they can easily punish your high elixir spending.

#6: Guards, Mega Minion, Baby Dragon, Tornado, Golem, Rocket, Dark Prince, The Log



PART 2: CONTROL

Control decks are considered the most skilled archetype decks and tend to do well in the tournaments. These decks all have similar playstyle - mainly slow play with progressive chip damage throughout the game. As such, these decks are perfect for showing off one's defensive skill.

Graveyard decks (7-10) are played as a spell bait. “You play it slow and continue to defend until they make a mistake. Once that happens, you use the Graveyard counter, go in, and punish them”, Trainer Diputs advises. While these decks shine against heavier decks, they do struggle against other control decks.

#7: Musketeer, Guards, Mega Minion, Ice Golem, The Log, Poison, Graveyard, Goblin Hut

#8: Ice Wizard, The Log, Tombstone, Mega Minion, Graveyard, Poison, Tornado, Ice Golem

#9: Tombstone, Mega Minion, Ice Golem, Royal Ghost, Zappies, Poison, The Log, Graveyard

#10: Spear Goblins, Mega Minion, Ice Golem, Graveyard, Poison, The Log, Rascals, Tombstone



Miner-Poison decks (11 & 12) are decks that you see the best of the best shine with. In Trainer Diputs’ words, “The decks are mainly played by playing it slow, defending, counter pushing, and chipping away with Miners.” Although these decks can be weak against Tornado card, they work well against beatdown and other control decks.

#11: Minions, Bandit, Poison, Electro Wizard, P.E.K.K.A, Royal Ghost, Miner, Zap

#12: Tesla, Dart Goblin, Ice Spirit, Rascals, The Log, Poison, Miner, Guards



Hog Rider control (13-16) is a very skilled deck, and Trainer Diputs says these decks can beat most others if played right. One of the main ways to win with the Hog Rider control deck is to out-cycle the opponent and/or predict their defense. They might struggle against Tornado, but as said, these decks do well against almost anything.

#13: Ice Wizard, The Log, Tombstone, Mega Minion, Hog Rider, Fireball, Tornado, Ice Golem

#14: Three Musketeers, Ice Golem, Royal Ghost, The Log, Hunter, Hog Rider, Skeletons, Fireball

#15: Ice Golem, Mega Minion, Tornado, Hog Rider, Fireball, Guards, The Log, Princess

#16: Ice Golem, Lumberjack, Inferno Dragon, Hog Rider, Ice Spirit, Zap, Fireball, Guards



“Balloon control (17) is a deck we see succeed a lot on the ladder, and it also does very good in the tournaments as well," says Diputs. This deck is very skillful, and the games are won by predicting the opponent’s defense and understanding their cycle, in order to use the Balloon card when they don’t have any defense. However, the deck struggles against the X-Bow and decks with Mega Minion or Tornado.

#17: Tombstone, Mega Minion, Ice Golem, Inferno Dragon, Miner, Zap, Fireball, Balloon



PART 3: BAIT

Bait decks (18-21) are a pretty simple deck type and all revolve around the same playstyle. “It’s a simple concept, but it’s very hard to achieve since memorizing your opponent’s cycle is not an easy task,” Trainer Diputs commented. The main path to winning with these decks is to bait out the opponent’s spell and punish them once they do so. As such, these decks can struggle against decks with 3 spells, as well as those that have Tornado or The Log.

#18: Bandit, Goblin Gang, Princess, Rascals, Dark Prince, Goblin Barrel, Poison, The Log

#19: Princess, Knight, Goblin Gang, Rocket, The Log Dart Goblin, Tombstone, Goblin Barrel

#20: Bats, Skeleton Barrel, Goblin Gang, Inferno Dragon, Rascals, The Log, Miner, Poison

#21: Spear Goblins, Goblin Gang, Prince, Skeleton Barrel, Miner, Zap, Bats, Princess



PART 4: BRIDGE SPAM

Last but not the least, come the Bridge-Spam decks (22-24). Although the decks are very different, they all require the same playstyles. They’re played very slowly, trying to get an elixir lead and waiting and/or forcing the opponent to make a mistake. In Diputs’ words, “Once you are able to get the opponent to use their counter or you are up a lot of elixir, you can drop all the spam cards at the bridge, or you can build up a huge push from the back.” With these decks, it’s easy to win against beat heavy decks, but you might find yourself struggling against good control players.

#22: Royal Ghost, Bats, Goblin Gang, P.E.K.K.A, Battle Ram, Dart Goblin, Zap, Poison

#23: Miner, Battle Ram, Minion Horde, Goblin Gang, Ice Golem, Elixir Collector, Three Musketeers, Zap

#24: Minions, Dark Prince, Inferno Dragon, Fireball, Bandit, Zap, Ice Golem, Battle Ram





Thank you Trainer Diputs for your tips, and to our dear readers, we hope we’ve been of help!