Rick Flair
Clash Royale achieves incredible depth with just 121 cards at hand. Out of them, there are just 29 commons. Common cards are commonly neglected by players because they consider them less useful than, say, rare cards. Don’t be tricked into thinking this way, too. Commons are among the most important cards in your deck. They provide important compatibility with other cards that might not be there initially. It can even add that oomph to the deck that was already good. Treat them as a seasoning that completes your dish. In this guide, we will talk about the best common cards in Clash Royale.
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Clash Royale Top 10 Common Cards
We’re ranking not only the common version but also the Evo version of the card. Some cards can be higher on the list purely because of their evolved versions. We also take into account the current meta, although common cards are rarely nerfed that much. We will also occasionally give advice on what decks to use the cards in. Now let’s talk about Clash Royale’s top 10 common cards first:
- Skeletons: Players often prefer the regular version over the evolved one to save their Evo slots for stronger cards. Skeletons cost only 1 elixir, provide cheap cycle value, strong kiting ability, and quick DPS for their cost. They fit into almost every deck: Hog Cycle, Royal Hogs, Log Bait, Royal Giant, you name it. A very versatile and viable common. It’s the best common card in Clash Royale in 2025.
- Berserker: Considered slightly better than Knight. For 2 elixir, she functions as a mini-tank that survives a Fireball and deals huge DPS. Works well in Miner Poison, Miner Mortar, Graveyard, Golem, Mega Knight, and Royal Giant decks. Very flexible and efficient for her cost.
- Minions: Still top-tier despite an incoming nerf to their hit rate. After their range buff, they became dominant in Miner Cycle, Mortar Poison, Lava Hound, Giant Graveyard, and Golem decks. They outperform Bats and Skeleton Dragons as air support units.
- Ice Spirit: The regular Ice Spirit is now better than the evolved version because the Evo’s stun nerf hurts it more. Extremely versatile in cheap cycle decks like Hog, Royal Hogs, Goblin Drill, and X-Bow. Reliable freeze effect and fast cycle utility keep it high on the list.
- Knight: Still an excellent mini-tank with strong stats for only 3 elixir. Core pick in Graveyard, Goblin Drill, and X-Bow control decks. Great mix of durability and solid damage. Slightly behind Berserker, but remains a meta staple. One of the best common cards for beginners in Clash Royale.
- Arrows: The best common spell. Even after a radius reduction, Arrows stay powerful due to the prevalence of Minions and Minion Horde. Reliable swarm removal makes them essential in many decks, especially air or bait matchups.
- Electro Spirit: A 1 elixir card that provides insane value by stunning and damaging multiple units. Commonly used in Royal Giant and X-Bow decks, sometimes even in Hog Cycle. Excellent against Graveyard, Bats, and swarm cards. More popular than Fire Spirit.
- Cannon: Probably the best common building. Even without evolution, Cannon offers high defensive value and versatility. Often used in Hog Cycle, Log Bait, Goblin Drill, and even some Electro Giant decks. Reliable defense for just 3 elixir. It’s among the Clash Royale’s best common cards.
- Bomber: Strong splash-damage support for only 2 elixir. Great against Goblin Drill and swarm troops. Works in multiple archetypes such as Golem, Lava Hound, and Giant decks. Highly efficient for its elixir cost.
- Goblin Gang: Still a solid common after the Spear Goblin attack-speed nerf. Provides both melee and ranged pressure, offering more value than standalone Goblins. Core in Log Bait, Mortar, and Recruit Spam decks due to strong spell-bait potential.
That concludes the list of the best common cards. Now we’re going to move on to other cards and see what they have to offer. Bear in mind that they’re lower in the list purely because of the current state of meta. Well, at least for the most part. A minor number of common cards is so bad that they never fit the meta. We’d say pay attention to the next 10 cards mentioned, as they can easily return to the top tiers. BLOG20
Clash Royale Common Cards Ranked
After discussing the current best of the bunch, we’re moving on to the cards that are less meta. They can still bring value, and in some cases can even be really good. They’re not as versatile and all-around good as the aforementioned cards, at least for now. Don’t neglect them just because they are lower on the list. Now, take a look at how we have Clash Royale’s common cards ranked:
| Name | Description |
| Mortar | Slightly better than Tesla in the current meta. Benefits from Minion buffs and works well with Evo Furnace. Even non-evolved Mortar is competitive again, serving as an effective win condition in control and chip decks. One of the Clash Royale’s common wincon cards that's worth upgrading. |
| Fire Spirit | Worst common spirit card, but a good card anyway. In Goblin Drill decks, it does tons of damage for just 1 elixir. After the Furnace rework, many people prefer it to Fire Spirit. |
| Tesla | Regular Tesla is pretty valuable in Goblin Drill and X-Bow decks. Even without Evo, it's pretty good. The ability to attack flying units is decent. |
| Royal Giant | Better with Evo. You won't see any Royal Giant players without him evolved. A very average card. It's pretty decent, but not great at anything, which is why it's placed right in the middle. Counter it with building cards like Cannon. |
| Giant Snowball |
Both regular and Evo are good. Unfortunately, there aren't that many decks that benefit from using it. LavaLoon and Giant Graveyard are two decks that run it. |
| Spear Goblins | One of the best common cards, but they were nerfed, unfortunately. Nevertheless, they might return to the top 10 in the future. They're still pretty good at inflicting some chip damage. |
| Royal Delivery | An okay defensive spell. Pairs really nicely with Tesla. Better to use some other spells that are versatile and more viable. |
| Minion Horde | Since the Minions buff, the Minion Horde has gotten much better. No longer one of the worst common cards. Pretty good with Mortar decks or with Miner. Pro Tip: run some other arrow-bait cards to draw away from Minion Horde. Great spam deck. |
| Royal Recruits | They're very annoying, but with Evo, they just get into ragebait territory. Combined with Recruit Hogs, they're pretty fun to play. Furnace counters the card pretty well, though, so watch out. |
| Bats | This concludes the list of okay cards. Further down from this are cards that are outright bad. Bats are decent to bait Zap or Arrows, but the Minions are much better. You can use them inside Mortar decks. |
| Skeleton Dragons | What a fall off. Used to be a staple in Lava Hound and Mortar decks. Recently, after a Minions buff, they've been replaced. Pretty much a Fireball bait right now. |
| Skeleton Barrel | Neither the regular nor the Evo is that good. They're not bad, but you have to use them in a sort of bait deck or Mortar deck. Buildings and spells are good against it, so it is easy to stop them. |
| Firecracker | Both regular and Evo are bad right now. They nerfed her knockback significantly, and now she's easier to deal with. You pretty much only see her in Hog decks now. |
| Zap | Regular Zap isn't that good. Most people who use Zap use the evolved version as it is much stronger. It can easily take out Minions, Archers, and a Firecracker. Don't run the regular version, it's too weak. |
| Archers | Fairly weak card right now, as the only deck they're used at is X-Bow, and it's nerfed. Even then, in X-Bow, people are using the evolved version. Arrows also counter them easily. |
| Goblins | The card is just outperformed by other cards of a similar kind. Skeletons, Guards, and Goblin Gang wipe it out. Little reason to use and upgrade them. |
| Barbarians | The only way to use it is in Evo form. Their regular version just gets the Fireball in their face. You can sometimes see it in Lava Hound decks, but that's it. |
| Elite Barbarians | Right next to the regular barbarians. Unless you're mid-ladder, this card isn't good. Very easy to kite with small units like Skeletons. |
| Rascals | There's been a rework of them, with Rascal boys doing more damage and Rascal girls doing less, but it didn't prove worth it. Zero point in running them in any decks |
This concludes our ranking of all common cards in Clash Royale. Now you have a better understanding of what’s dominating the current meta. As we mentioned, don’t ignore common cards. They’re great and sometimes bring even more value than legendary or champion cards.
Conclusion
With 29 cards available, it’s easy to get confused about which cards to add to a deck. With our list, you have a better understanding of which cards are the best. You can now also have an idea of what archetype to use the cards in. There are more rankings on cards coming, so stay tuned!
F.A.Q
What is the best common card in Clash Royale 2025?
Despite Skeletons being meta, the best common card in Clash Royale is a Knight. It’s very well-rounded.
What is the strongest common deck in Clash Royale right now?
Try the following one:
- Knight as defender
- Skeletons as a cycle/distraction
- Zap for resets
- Archers for defense or offense
- Giant as a win condition.
Which common cards in Clash Royale should new players unlock first?
For new players, focus on commons that deliver high value at low cost and stay relevant across metas. Some common examples are:
- Knight
- Skeletons
- Zap
- Arrows
What common cards are bad in Clash Royale?
They usually differ from meta to meta, but some bad cards in this season are:
- Rascals
- Firecracker
- Elite Barbarians
