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Classic Decks (Season 11) Matchups

May 18, 2020 · 4 min read

Season 11 moved more in the unbalanced direction, with two very good decks, two very bad decks and two mediocre decks. The two very [...]

classic decks

Season 11 Classic Decks Matchups and Win Rates

Season 11 moved more in the unbalanced direction, with two very good decks, two very bad decks and two mediocre decks. The two very good decks, “Mega Goblins” and “Lava Clones” have winning records against the other four decks; and the two very bad decks, “Hog’Nado” and “Snow Balloons”, have losing records against the four other decks. There is no “rock/paper/scissors” here, just a rank order from best to worst. This season, you’d better hope that you draw the right deck in the classic deck battle if you want to be favored to win.

1. Mega Goblins

The best deck this season is “Mega Goblins”. Similar to last season, the best deck has many troops — in this case, Goblins and Skeleton Barrel — which are best defended by The Log, but it is in only present in one other deck. Plus, with Mega Knight and Inferno Dragon on defense, it is very hard for the opponent to break through. It has just a razor-thin edge over the number 2 deck and a favorable matchup against the other 4.

bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
0 NW
0 W
0 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
.02 NW
.51 W
.49 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
.21 NW
.61 W
.39 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
.11 NW
.56 W
.44 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
.07 NW
.54 W
.46 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
.48 NW
.74 W
.26 L

2. Lava Clones

Coming in as a close second is the other top deck, “Lava Clones”. The cloned troops will launch a devastating attack if you can get them close enough to the opponent’s tower, especially if raged up by the Lumberjack’s spell. Ground defense can be a bit weak, with Lumberjack as the only beefy ground troop, but the abundance of air troops more than compensates. This deck could easily be considered number 1 this season, since its average advantage is better than Mega Goblins.

baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
-.02 NW
.49 W
.51 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
0 NW
0 W
0 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
.11 NW
.55 W
.45 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
.40 NW
.70 W
.30 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
.06 NW
.53 W
.47 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
.12 NW
.56 W
.44 L

3. Pigs on Parade

The first of the two relatively well-balanced decks is “Pigs on Parade”. The Royal Hogs have always been an offensive asset, with the dual threat of a singe or two-lane push. Together with the Bandit and backed up by Bats, the Flying Machine and Snowball the pigs definitely pack a punch. The defense is rounded out by the Musketeer and Barbarians. This deck has a strong matchup advantage versus the two weaker decks, and slightly dominates the next deck.

bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
-.21 NW
.39 W
.61 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
-.11 NW
.45 W
.55 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
0 NW
0 W
0 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
-.06 NW
.47 W
.53 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
.52 NW
.76 W
.24 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
.35 NW
.68 W
.32 L

4. Spark the Goblin

Sparky is always a bit hit-or-miss, but given the absence of reset cards in most of the opposing decks, it can be quite strong among the Classic Decks. The Goblin Giant is a great tank, with the two spear goblins in his backpack, together with the Lightning spell taking out the troops put down on defense. Even if Sparky is taken out, the Goblin Giant and support troops often take their toll on the opponent’s tower. The one failing of this deck is its slow cycle, which may have trouble keeping up with the opposing decks.

dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
-.11 NW
.44 W
.56 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
-.40 NW
.30 W
.70 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
.06 NW
.53 W
.47 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
0 NW
0 W
0 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
.29 NW
.64 W
.36 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
.54 NW
.77 W
.23 L

5. Snow Balloons

This brings us to the first of the two weaker decks, “Snow Balloons”. This is the cheapest and fastest-cycling classic challenge deck, but it struggles because of the abundance of air counters in the other decks. This deck relies on out-cycling the other deck, and getting the Balloon to the opposing tower, preferably raged up by the Lumberjack’s spell. However, as the Balloon is the deck’s only win-condition, so you have to choose your moment. The weak defensive cards are also a disadvantage. This deck only has a favorable matchup against the next deck, the weakest of the bunch.

balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
-.07 NW
.46 W
.54 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
-.06 NW
.47 W
.53 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
-.52 NW
.24 W
.76 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
-.29 NW
.36 W
.64 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
0 NW
0 W
0 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
.53 NW
.77 W
.23 L

6. Hog’Nado

This is the second-fastest cycling deck, but the abundance of Hog counters in the other decks puts it at a disadvantage. Like Snow Balloons, this deck relies on a single win condition, and one has to find a way to make effective use of it. The deck lacks the very quick cycle of the 2.6 Hog cycle deck, and doesn’t have as many good defensive counters. The choice of rocket instead of fireball is not optimal, because of its expense and narrow radius. Given that this deck has an unfavorable match-up against all 5 of the other decks, you better hope you don’t draw this one.

executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
bats
giant-snowball
goblin-gang
inferno-dragon
mega-knight
miner
skeleton-barrel
spear-goblins
-.48 NW
.26 W
.74 L
baby-dragon
bats
clone
flying-machine
lava-hound
lumberjack
skeleton-army
zap
-.12 NW
.44 W
.56 L
bandit
barbarian-barrel
barbarians
bats
flying-machine
giant-snowball
musketeer
royal-hogs
-.35 NW
.32 W
.68 L
dark-prince
electro-wizard
giant-snowball
goblin-cage
goblin-giant
lightning
mega-minion
sparky
-.54 NW
.23 W
.77 L
balloon
barbarian-barrel
bats
giant-snowball
ice-golem
ice-spirit
lumberjack
musketeer
-.53 NW
.23 W
.77 L
executioner
goblins
hog-rider
ice-spirit
rocket
the-log
tornado
valkyrie
0 NW
0 W
0 L

Thoughts?

Do you have any tips to put up a fight against the hard matchups? Let us know in the comments of Reddit!

Here are all the decks again, in case you have missed our season introduction:

Season 11 Classic Decks Clash Royale

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