Clash Royale updates: Witch buff and Flying Machine nerf in April update

Welcome to our Clash Royale update hub! We’ll be collecting all the official balance changes and updates for Clash Royale as they’re released by the Finnish giant Supercell.

If you’re a hardcore Clasher, be sure to bookmark this page to stay up-to-date on the latest buffs, nerfs, new game modes, and new cards for Clash Royale. Below you’ll find the most recent update, followed by a list of new cards from this season. Previous Clash Royale updates can be found at the end of the page.

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Cycle your way through some of our other Clash Royale content:

• Everything you need to know about the Clash Royale League
• Five good Clash Royale decks showcased at the World Finals
• Five of the best Clash Royale decks straight from the pros

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Clash Royale update: The latest

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Clash Royale update: April update overview

Release date: April 1, 2019

The April Clash Royale update is here, and it’s no April Fools joke! Witch is getting a huge buff that puts here more in line with her melee peer Nightwitch. She will now spawn three skeletons upon defeat. Expect witch to make a lot more appearances in your matches.

A few other cards received minor nerfs, including the popular Flying Machine and Bandit troops. Goblin Hut was buffed as a response to the surging use of Lava Hound, although it’s not clear whether or not that will have the intended effect.

Clash Royale April update patch notes

Buffs

• Witch now spawns three skeletons upon death.
• Giant Skeleton first attack improved to .3 seconds (down from .5 seconds).
• Giant Skeleton mass increased to 18.
  • Now matches Giant and Golem.
• Goblin Hut spawn speed improved to 4.5 seconds (down from 4.75 seconds).
  • Now spawns one extra Goblin over time.

Nerfs

• Flying Machine hit speed reduced to 1 second (down from 1.1 seconds).
• Ram Rider’s Bola now slows 85% (no longer immobilizes).
• Bandit Hitpoints reduced by 4%.

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Clash Royale: New cards

One of the secrets to Clash Royale’s success is the constant updates, changes, and new cards. A single new card can open up tons of great deck possibilities, and add some longevity to the title released way back in 2016. The most recently added cards and their subsequent buffs/nerfs from each Clash Royale update are listed below.

Wall Breakers

A daring duo of dangerous dive bombers — nothing warms a Wall Breaker’s cold and undead heart like blowing up buildings.

Release date: February 26, 2019

• 3-elixir Epic available in Spooky Town or higher.
• Like their Clash of Clans counterpart, runs at buildings and explodes.
• Spawns two Wall Breakers, which can be split.
• Explosion does area damage, and will damage nearby troops.
• Very fast move speed but low hitpoints.

Wall Breakers buffs

• (4/4) Hit speed reduced to 1.2 seconds (down from 1.5).

Supercell

Ram Rider

Her bola snares enemy troops while Ram heads for the nearest building! Rams and Hogs don’t mingle at parties…

Release date: December 25, 2018

• 5-elixir Legendary available in Hog Mountain or higher.
• Like the Hog Rider, Ram Rider can jump over the river.
• Ram Rider charges like the Battle Ram, but does not explode upon impact.
• The Rider has an independent ranged attack that hits air and ground units.
• Rider’s bola attacks deal minimal damage but snare enemies for 2 seconds.
• Rider’s snaring bola can be chained to perma-snare large troops.
• Unlike Goblin Giant, Ram Rider does not spawn any units upon death.

Supercell

Electro Dragon

Spits out bolts of electricity hitting up to three targets. Suffers from middle child syndrome to boot.

Release date: November 9, 2018

• 5-elixir epic available in Electro Valley and higher
• Like the Electro Wizard, shoots lightning that stuns and chains to 3 targets
• Unlike the Electro Wizard, hitting only one target does not increase damage
• Not as tanky as the other dragon troops
• Can chain to awaken the King Tower if not careful

Electro Dragon nerfs

• (12/3) Electro Dragon hit points reduced 5%.
• (12/3) Electro Dragon first attack comes out slower.

Supercell

Goblin Giant

This jolly green Goblin Giant stomps towards enemy buildings. He carries two Spear Goblins everywhere he goes. It’s a weird but functional arrangement.

Release date: September 5, 2018

• 6-elixir epic available in the Jungle Arena and higher
• Like the classic giant, targets only buildings
• Moves faster than giant (medium vs slow)
• Much lower hp than the other giants, but good at solo pushing
• Two Spear Goblins strapped to his back target other cards independently
• Upon death, the spear goblins jump out of his backpack and continue fighting

Goblin Giant buffs

• (10/1) Hitpoints +6%
• (1/7) Hitpoints +3%
• (1/7) Spear Goblin range increased

Supercell

Royal Recruits

Deploys a line of recruits armed with spears, shield and wooden buckets. They dream of ponies and one day wearing metal buckets.

Release date: August 7, 2018

• 7-elixir common available in the Royal Arena and higher.
• Spawns a line of 6 troops horizontally across the arena.
• Medium damage and hitpoints, but have a shield.
• Great for defending both lanes at once against strong cards.
• Can be split unevenly between the lanes 4-2 or 2-4 by adjusting the deployment point.

Royal Recruits buffs

• (9/3) Damage increased by 12%
• (9/3) Can now be split unevenly between lanes.
• (12/3) Elixir cost reduced from 8 to 7.

Royal Recruits nerfs

• (Pre-release) Elixir cost increased from 6 to 8.
• (12/3) Hit speed reduced from 1.3 to 1.2.

Supercell

Royal Hogs

The King’s personal pets are loose! They love to chomp on apples and towers alike — who let the hogs out?

Release date: June 20, 2018

• 5-elixir rare available in Hog Mountain and higher.
• Spawns 4 helmet-wearing hogs that attack only buildings.
• Like the Hog Rider, the Royal Hogs can jump over the river.
• Move quickly, but don’t do as much damage as the Hog Rider.
• Moderate hitpoints.

Royal Hog buffs

• (8/6) Delay before initial attack reduced.

Royal Hog nerfs

• (11/5) Damage reduced by 6%.
• (11/5) Weight decreased, meaning they can no longer push around most units.
• (9/3) Hit speed reduced from 1.2 seconds to 1.1 seconds.

Giant Snowball

It’s HUGE! Once it began rolling down Frozen Peak, there was no stopping it. Enemies hit are knocked back and slowed down.

Release date: June 20, 2018

• 2-elixir common available in the Frozen Peak and higher.
• Damages and knocks back ground and air targets within its radius, like the Fireball.
• Knocked back enemies attacks have their attacks reset.
  • Can be used to change troop targets.
• Enemies hit are also briefly slowed.

Giant Snowball buffs

• (10/1) Damage increased by 10%.
• (10/1) Slow duration increased from 2 seconds to 2.5 seconds.
• (12/3) Damage increased by 14% to match Zap spell.

Supercell

Rascals

Spawns a mischievous trio of Rascals. The boy takes the lead, while the girls pelt enemies from behind… with slingshots full of Double Trouble Gum.

Release date: May 25, 2018

• 5-elixir common available in the Jungle Arena and higher.
• Spawns 3 troops: one Rascal Boy and two Rascal Girls.
  • Rascal Boy is a large unit with moderate hp and damage.
  • Rascal Girl is a ranged unit with low hitpoints and moderate damage.

Rascals nerfs

• (7/2) Rascal Boy hitpoints reduced by 5.3%.
• (7/2) Rascal Girl initial attack delay increased.
• (4/4) Units spawn one at a time with a .15 second delay, starting with Rascal Girls.

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Clash Royale update history

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Clash Royale update: March update overview

Release date: March 4, 2019

After introducing a number of new features in the February update, the Clash Royale March update mostly consists of minor tweaks and balance changes. The only major change relates to one of Clash Royale’s oldest troops: Barbarians.

The base Barbarian card now spawns five troops with slightly reduced hitpoints. This should boost their use and win rates, while having the side effect of nerfing other cards that spawn Barbarians, like the Barbarian Barrel, Barb Hut, and Battle Ram.

With yet another card that spawns five troops in the game, Supercell has also revisited how these troops spawn. Several swarm cards now feature a delayed spawn time, changing the way they interact with splashing troops. The same change was made to Minion Horde last year.

Clash Royale March update patch notes

Barbarian update

• Barbarian hitpoints decreased by 13%.
• Barbarian card now spawns 5 Barbarians (up from 4).
• Hitpoint change affects all other Barbarian spawning cards:
  • Barbarian Barrel.
  • Barbarian Hut.
  • Battle Ram.

Buffs

• Wall Breakers hit speed decreased to 1.2 (down from 1.5).
• Bomb Tower now explodes on death, dealing 2x are damage.
• X-bow hitpoints increased 4%.

Nerfs

• Several cards now spawn troops one at a time, .15 seconds apart:
  • Barbarians.
  • Bats.
  • Goblin Gang.
  • Rascals.

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Clash Royale Update: February Balance Update Overview

Released: February 4, 2019

Just a few weeks after the January balance update, yet another Clash Royale update is on the books. This time, Freeze and Three Musketeers are the targets. Freeze has had it’s duration reduced a full second, and 3M now cost a full elixir bar.

Those two changes alone will have a major impact on the meta, but the February Clash Royale update features a few minor changes as well. Cannon Cart, Knight, and Musketeer received small buffs, and the Clone spell now works slightly differently.

Clash Royale February Balance Update Patch Notes

Buffs:

• Musketeer damage increased 3 percent.
• Cannon Cart hit speed increased to 1.2 (up from 1.3).
• Knight hitpoints increased 2.5 percent.

Nerfs:

• Three Musketeers elixir cost increased to 10 (up from 9).
• Freeze damage decreased 6 percent.
• Freeze duration decreased to 4.0 seconds (down from 5).
• Dart Goblin attack speed decreased to .7 (down from .65).

Other:

• Clone spell now spawns troops behind cloned troops (instead of to the side).

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Clash Royale update: January update overview

Release date: January 27, 2019

It hasn’t been long since the January balance update, but this new Clash Royale update adds all kinds of new content. Most notably, there’s a brand new arena called Spooky Town that’s been slipped in between Electro Valley and the Legendary Arena. It’s filled with, well, spooky ghosts and ghoulies.

The January update also features two new game modes, one of which is focused on the Lunar New Year. In honor of the Year of the Pig, Royal Hogs spawn non-stop and run down a lane in this intense limited time game mode. Plus, the first new Clash Royale card since last year’s Ram Rider was announced, but don’t expect to field that one until February.

Clash Royale January update patch notes

New arena – Spooky Town

• Spooky Town has been added at 3,600 trophies.
• Legendary Arena moved up to 4,000 trophies.
• Rewards from chests above 4,000 trophies have been increased.

New card – Wall Breakers

• Wall Breakers will be released some time in February.
• The suicidal skeletons work just like they do in Clash of Clans.
• Two Wall Breakers spawn and run quickly toward a turret.

New game mode – Year of the Hogs

• New limited time 1v1 game mode to celebrate the Lunar New Year
• Royale Hogs spawn behind each players’ Princess towers
• As the time runs down, more Royal Hogs spawn at a time.

New game mode – Mini Collection

• Select your deck from a list of 40 cards.

Improvements

• When trading, you may now select up to four cards to trade away.
• Trading partners select one of the four cards to accept the trade.
• Private tournaments now have an option for ‘Max Losses’.
• Private tournaments are now automatically shared in Clan chat.
• Clan recommendations now show up to five clans containing players from your friends list.

Balance

• Several card unlocks have been moved to different arenas to accommodate Spooky Town.
• Depending on your trophy count, you may have new cards unlocked.
• Unlocked cards will not be lost, regardless of trophy count.

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Clash Royale Update: January balance update overview

Released: January 7, 2019

The first Clash Royale update of the new year rolls brings with it a host of small changes as well as a big one that could breathe new life into one of the game’s least popular cards. Heal has been reduced to just 1 elixir, making it a strong choice in a number of cycle decks.

Magic Archer may also see an increase in use, as his first attack nerf is being partially rolled back. Barbarian Barrel is going the other way, with half of the deploy time buff being rolled back. The only big nerfs to come through are to the Barbarian Hut and Battle Ram, but they should remain strong choices in this meta.

Clash Royale January balance update patch notes

Heal rework

• Costs 1 elixir (down from 3).
• Duration 2.0 seconds (down from 2.5).
• Healing per second reduced 63%.

Buffs

• Magic Archer first attack faster (not a full reversion of nerf).
• Goblin Giant hitpoints increased 3%.
• Goblin Giant’s Spear Goblins have increased range.
• Sparky range increased to 5 (from 4.5, now higher than Electro Wizard).
• Valkyrie hit speed improved to 1.5 (from 1.6)

Nerfs

• Golem’s Golemite pushback reduced.
• Freeze deals 65% less damage to turrets (in line with other spells).
• Battle Ram charge damage reduced 11%.
• Barbarian Hut hitpoints reduced 7%.
• Barbarian Barrel deploy time slower (not a full reversion of buff).

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Clash Royale Update: December Update overview

Release date: December 5, 2018

It’s been three months since the last major update to Clash Royale, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It finally brings new content for players who have stuck with the game throughout the years in the form of star levels and a revamped tournament system. It’s so big that it was broken into two parts (watch part two here).

That’s not all that this Clash Royale update brings. Later this month a new limited time game mode will come out to celebrate the release of Supercell’s latest game, Brawl Stars. The 1v1 Heist mode will even allow you to play two of the characters from Brawl Stars as troop cards.

Clash Royale December Update patch notes

New Features

Heist Mode

• 1v1 arena with no king or princess towers.
• The first to open the enemy safe wins.
• Two characters from Brawl Stars make a guest appearance.
• Bo replaces the Magic Archer and Shelly replaces the Hunter.

Star Levels

• Star levels unlock new cosmetics for max level cards.
• Most cosmetic changes turn cards to gold.
• Star level one unlocks a deploy effect and card border.
• Star level two unlocks cosmetic changes to the model itself.
• Star level three unlocks further cosmetic changes.
• To unlock Star levels, you need Star points.
• After hitting King level 13, all card upgrades and donations accumulate Star points.
• Star points will be rewarded retroactivity for current level 13 players.

Tournament Rework

• New global tournaments where any player from around the world can enter.
• New tournament reward system with a tournament leaderboard.
• Winning games moves you up the leaderboard, unlocking unique rewards.
• At the end of the tournament, you may unlock all rewards with gems.
• The first tournament will go live shorty after the update drops.

Other Changes

Mega Lightning Chests

• Mega Lightning Chests replace Super Magical Chests.
• They offer the same rewards, but with 8 strikes.
• This increases the chance of legendary cards significantly.

Miscellaneous

• Name changes can be purchased with gems (increasing by 500 each time, up to 10,000 gems).
• Both players now need a trade token to trade.
• Trade tokens now appear more than twice as often.
• Emotes can now be purchased with gems.
• Clan request timers can now be sped up.
• Clan bounties now offer greater rewards, including free gems.
• Clan search has been improved.
• 2v2 partners can be added as friends after a match.
• Special event challenges can now be continued with gems, eliminating losses but keeping wins.

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Clash Royale update: 12/3 Balance Update overview

Release date: December 12, 2018

The first balance update after the Clash Royale League World Finals is upon us, and it addresses many of the major concerns players voiced prior to the final showdown in Tokyo. The Electro Dragon might not have played as big a role in the Finals as expected, but nevertheless it’s found its way onto the nerf list alongside the heavily abused Barbarian Barrel.

This update also breathes new life into the Royal Recruits, reducing their elixir cost in exchange for a slower hit speed. The Freeze spell has also been reworked to level out its power as you level it up. It now has a fixed freeze time and deals area damage over time, similar to the Poison spell. Finally, the Elixir Collector no longer appears in starting hands, so players can’t gain an early advantage via sheer luck.

Clash Royale 12/3 Balance Update patch notes

Buffs

• Tesla tower’s first attack now comes out faster.
• Royal Recruits elixir cost reduced from 8 to 7.
• Giant Snowball damage increased by 14%, now matches Zap damage.
• Archer damage increased 2.5%.
• Ice Wizard damage increased 10%.

Nerfs

• Electro Dragon hit points reduced 5%.
• Electro Dragon first attack comes out slower.
• Royal Recruits hit speed reduced from 1.2 to 1.3.
• Archer hit points reduced 1%.
• Barbarian Barrel damage reduced 5%
• Ice Wizard hit points reduced 11%.

Miscellaneous

• Freeze spell now has a fixed duration of five seconds.
• Freeze spell now deals minor Area Damage.
• Elixir Collector no longer appears in opening hand

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That’s it for our Clash Royale update hub. Be sure to bookmark this article, as we’ll update it over the next few weeks and months with the latest releases. 

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