Clash Royale Legendary Arena Most Effective Decks

Clash Royale Legendary Arena Most Effective Decks by Kairdox

Hi. My name is Kairdox (alias. My name is not actually Kairdox, nor is it my Clash Royale name). I have been in Arena 8 for as long as I can remember, and in this post, I will be telling you some of the most effective and common decks currently in Arena 8, as well as a brief description on how to use said deck. I will frequently refresh this list with new additions. If you happen to have seen decks other than what I have listed, feel free to leave them as a comment!

Deck 1 – Hog Freeze

This one was really a given. Essentially everyone in Arena 8 has put some pork in the freezer at some point in their Clash Royale experience, even those who protest the usage of this deck. Currently, this deck is still one of the most frequently used in Arena 8. However, I predict that once the update has rolled out and freeze gets hit hard, hog zap will reign king once again.

Most common Hog/Freeze deck-list:

• Hog

HOG RIIIDA!! This bad boy is what the deck is focused on. It is the main damage dealer of the deck, and absolutely demolishes. Currently, with it standing un-touched in the recent balance changes, it is one of the top-tier cards.

• Freeze

Prepare the crying emoji. This bad boy, if done correctly, will take down a tower in one push. Can also be played defensively extremely well. However, I do recommend checking strategy posts on how to play the freeze before attempting to, as a mis-play on your part will result in a deficit of 4 elixir, giving the opponent a supreme opportunity to counter-push.

• Cannon

I can already taste the hog rider tears. The cannon, when placed reactively, provides great value for 3 elixir. It can solo destroy a hog, solo destroy a dark prince, solo destroy a valkyrie, and so on. If the hog is backed up with goblins, distract with a valkyrie/musketeer then initiate a counter push. It is not able to solo destroy a hog+goblin push.

• Elixir Collector

Developing an elixir advantage 1 second at a time. Currently, this card is a no-brainer. After all, the only counter to an elixir collector is your own elixir collector. There are absolutely no hard-counters to it. Fireball my elixir collector? It still produces more than 1 elixir. Rocket it? Thanks for the instant 1 elixir advantage. Deploy the elixir collector opposite of the side you are pushing, because the opponent will fireball your troops + the tower + the elixir collector given the chance if deployed in the side of pushing, resulting in a massive elixir advantage for him. Use your elixir advantage generated to fund game-ending hog+valkyrie+musketeer+skeletons+freeze pushes during double elixir.

• 1 elix. Skeletons

Doot doot. The most versatile card in the game – a soft counter to almost any card. It can solo a lone mini-pekka and mitigate hundreds/thousands of damage that would’ve been dealt by a troop. Check out yarn’s “How to Use Skeletons – Advanced Tech” to learn how to use these elixir advantage generators. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AycNCL6Ibnc)

• Valkyrie

Swoosh, there goes your swarm of troops. Paired up with the hog rider and freeze for a deadly combo – her 360 degree spin will result in the opponent being unable to drop any melee troop to try and defend against the hog – it’ll just get destroyed. One shots all goblins and skeletons sent to defend the hog, as your opponent kills himself. Great defense against barbarians/wizards/witch/large amounts of low to med. HP troops, such as barbarians/swarms of goblins/etc.

• Musketeer

That’s a nice balloon you have there, would be a shame if it were to disappear. The musketeer is an excellent ranged troop that deals direct damage. It works great against troops such as the baby dragon, balloon, and wizard. If you give her a tank such as the Valkyrie, she can deal thousands of damage to a tower/troop and remain untouched. Overall, a great card.

• Arrows

The spam deck’s nightmare. Great defense against a princess, a minion horde, swarms of low hp troops, and direct damage to finish off a very low tower in overtime. Overall, very versatile. Can remove a pesky princess that is interfering with your hog push.

If you would like to watch a top player play the deck, I have found a video of Molt playing this very deck. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT4UIAZRvSE)

Deck 2: Hog Zap cycle deck

The second main hog-focused deck. Deals less damage in a single push than hog/freeze, but as the name suggests, cycles fast to a second hog push. Can finish off a tower in 1 go if the opponent mis-plays, but usually shaves off a couple hundred to a thousand health points. I predict this will be the go-to hog deck after the update rolling out in 5/18.

Most common Hog/Zap deck-list:

• Hog

Refer to the hog/freeze brief on the Hog Rider.

• Goblins

A new addition from the hog/freeze deck, this card goes extremely well with the hog. With the method of pig-pushing featured in a yarn video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCfi9ot9tko), it is a go-to card for every hog deck. These bad boys, with the hog as a tank, deals critical damage. If locked onto the tower and supplied a tank, they can take down a tower with ease. Common pushing strategy is Hog+Goblins with a pig push formation – provides your opponent almost no time to react.

• Princess

A great backup damage dealer. Out-ranging every single card except the Mortar/X-Bow, it snipes everything from a distance. Can be placed behind a hog/goblin push to deal extra damage. If left untouched, it can take down a tower by itself. Ultimately, a fantastic card with essentially no hard counter.

• 1 elix. Skeletons

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the 1 elix. Skeletons.

• Minion Horde

Thats a nice tank you got there. Destroys a balloon before the opponent has a chance to arrow (as long as he does not pre-fire). Can solo a tower if not defended with either a splash air troop, arrowed, or fireballed. If the opponent has used all his splash/direct damage spells, a hog/goblin/minion horde push essentially ends the game while in double elixir.

• Zap

ZAP! A mini-freeze that deals damage too. One shots all squishies used to defend the hog, such as goblins/skeletons, and stuns the tower for a full 1 second – usually enough to fit in an extra shot by the hog rider, resulting in an extra ~300 damage. Great against lone minion hordes for a +3 trade.

• Cannon

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Cannon.

• Fireball

A deadly card if pre-fired correctly. If you notice the opponent consistently deploys a minion horde or barbarians to defend against your hog, a pre-fired fireball (along with goblins to finish off barbarians) will result in a cracked screen. Great at destroying tight packs of troops. I found an informative video by Ash on fireball strategies (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuuqOTTLxuk).

Deck 3 – Royal Giant

A new type of deck that has risen after the recent balance update that has made the Royal Giant incredibly overpowered. Essentially a deck that chips away at a tower until destroyed, it is, contrary to popular belief, a defense-turned-into-offense deck. Likely to soon be nerfed.

Most common Royal Giant deck-list:

• Royal Giant

That’s a nice defensive building you have there – would be a shame if I destroyed it from the other side of the arena. Kind of like a musketeer on steroids, he is the main damage dealer of this deck. In this deck, he is used as a tank as well as a damage dealer. He is used as a method to ‘cash in’ your elixir advantage, such as in the Hog/Freeze deck. Due to the fact that he can shield his support troops behind him, in a way that prevents the enemy from placing troops behind him, he is incredibly overpowered.

• Goblin Hut

2000… 1940.. 1900.. 1860.. Slowly but surely. Slowly chips the tower down while your opponent cries himself to sleep. With a royal giant as a tank paired up with the goblin hut + spear goblins, it can easily overrun an enemy. Normally placed 3 tiles from the king tower/5+ tiles from the bridge in the middle of your side of the arena. Do not place this card 4 or less tiles from the bridge, as it can get shot from the other side of the arena by a Royal Giant.

• Barbarians

Royal Giant shredder. An excellent defensive and offensive card. Can distract reactively placed defenses by placing them in front of a royal giant. Makes work of a hog rider before it can reach the tower for a swing. Great to turn from defense into offense – use for defense, then plant down a royal giant to turn them into offense.

• Spear Goblins

Build up troops behind the royal giant from the goblin hut, deploy spear goblins, and consider an opponent that does not have zap/arrows dead. Things can quickly get messy and filled with Spear Goblins.

• Elixir Collector

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Elixir Collector.

• Arrows

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Arrows.

• Cannon

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Cannon. Can be used to defend against enemy Royal Giants.

• Fireball

Refer to the Hog/Zap brief on the Fireball.

If you would like to watch a top player play this deck, Chief Pat has an excellent video on this exact deck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuZDSTpRZk).

Deck 4 – Miner/Mini-Pekka

An extremely new deck that has popped up very recently. Utilizing the miner as a tank, the mini-pekka and spear goblins make work of the tower. Seen very frequently in Arena 8.

Most common Miner/Mini-Pekka deck-list:

• Miner

A mobile tank that can demolish the princess for an even trade + tower damage. Essentially a Goblin Barrel that has high HP and low DPS than vice versa. The main tank of this deck – the deck revolves around him.

• Spear Goblins

A support troop that is cheap and reliable. Placed behind the Mini-Pekka as support. Great as backup damage, and great to chip away on the opponent’s tower.

• Mini-Pekka

A direct damage unit that is the main damage dealer of this deck. The entire focus of this deck is to make this mini-pekka reach the tower. If it does, it deals thousands of damage – if not takes it down. Be sure to deploy spear goblins behind her – she’ll get easily distracted.

• Zap

Did you just try to defend my mini pekka with skeletons/goblins/minion horde? Laughable. Great at stunning minion horde whilst leaving them with a sliver of HP, as well as one shotting all squishy troops such as skeletons and goblins.

• Minion Horde

Refer to the Hog/Zap brief on the Minion Horde.

• Elixir Collector

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Elixir Collector.

• Princess

Refer to the Hog/Zap brief on the Princess.

• Cannon

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Cannon.

Deck 5 – Sparky

Utilizing other troops to defend sparky, a single shot from sparky will result in a broken phone. An extremely fun deck to keep you laughing for a while, if you’re lucky enough to have Sparky.

Most common Sparky deck-list:

• Sparky

Main damage dealer. Never leave her alone – always back her up with something – remember, she can even be countered by 1 elixir skeletons of the opponent surrounds her. A unsupported Sparky is a recipe for a loss.

• Giant

Main tank for the sparky. Tanks up all the shots while the sparky removes the defense, then goes to work on the tower. Deals very good damage once he has reached the tower, contrary to popular belief. A great tank for the prince, ultimately.

• Barbarians

Refer to the Royal Giant brief on the Barbarians.

• Spear Goblins

A cheap and extremely reliable support troop. Placed behind the sparky, it can defend against a multitude of things. Can be used to cycle through the deck while getting some chip damage on a tower.

• Arrows

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Arrows.

• Elixir Collector

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the Elixir Collector.

• 1 elix. Skeletons

Refer to the Hog/Freeze brief on the 1 elix. Skeletons

• Princess

Refer to the Hog/Zap brief on the Princess.

And that’s all I got for now. New additions will be made regularly. I hope you can benefit from this post.