Clash Royale: Best Decks to Climb Trophy Road (2026)

Author XP

Human Made

I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first Xbox 360.

Climbing Trophy Road is one of the longest tasks in Clash Royale, and it’s probably the most important. Since climbing higher in Trophy Road is the main way to unlock new card types, game modes, etc., it’s not something you can ignore. The most important trait to consider when picking a deck for Trophy Road is consistency, as you’ll need to win thousands of games to make it to the top. In this article I’ll go over my picks for the 3 best decks to climb the road with, but first let’s check out the main milestones you’ll find along the way.

Main Milestones along Trophy Road

For this article, I’m going to be talking about decks to use along any point of trophy road. However, there are certain important milestones that will affect what kind of decks you’ll be able to make. Evolutions and hero/champion cards are extremely important, but they don’t become available until you reach certain trophy counts.

Evolution Slot – Arena 3 (600 Trophies)
Hero/Champion Slot – Arena 5 (1300 Trophies)
Wildcard Slot – Arena 10 (3000 Trophies)

The slots do exactly what you think. The evolution slot allows you to play an evolution card, and the hero/champion slot allows you to play a heroic card or Champion. The wildcard slot lets you play another of those two. For the decks I recommend, if you don’t have any of the aforementioned slots unlocked, just use a substitution. I haven’t included any decks where the evolution or hero/champion card are absolutely required, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Hog Rider Cycle

Cards:

Musketeer (Evo)
Ice Golem (Hero)
Cannon (Evo)
Hog Rider
Fireball
The Log
Skeletons
Ice Spirit

This deck is all in on the Hog Rider–easily one of Clash Royale’s most popular cards. The main goal here is to play Hog Rider as many times as possible, made easier thanks to the overall low elixir cost of the deck. The deck only has a few cards to use, so you have to be very careful when defending. Because of this, it’s a deck type that lots of people play a ton and specialize in. It’s proven itself as a staple of Clash Royale over the last decade, as some form of Hog Cycle deck has pretty much always been in the meta, even when Hog Rider wasn’t that great. Because of this, I’d say it’s probably the first deck I would recommend to someone whose main goal is to quickly climb Trophy Road.

When defending with this deck, your main tools are Musketeer, Ice Golem, and Cannon. Musketeer handles flying troops, and her evolution is critical for taking out dangerous counters to Hog Rider from across the map. Some people play Firecracker instead in this spot, and while I do prefer her gameplay-wise, she’s still suffering from all the nerfs Supercell gave her. In the future she is a top candidate for this deck once they re-buff her. Ice Golem is used more for distracting than anything else. While he offers limited offense, his slow movement is great for baiting other slow threats into a mindless chase. Or you can use him and his hero ability to create a more aggressive push alongside Hog Rider. Then Cannon has its obvious role as a defensive building, with a powerful evo ability that helps a ton if you have it.

Hog Rider decks are 100% aggressive. If you’re not attacking, you’re probably losing. It takes a while to learn how to properly defend with this deck, but once you get it, you’ll feel unstoppable. There’s a reason Hog Rider is the most infamous card in Clash.

Golem Push

Cards:

Baby Dragon (Evo)
Magic Archer (Hero)
Electro Dragon (Evo)
Golem
Tornado
Berserker
Barbarian Barrel
Vines

Golem is a pretty obvious choice for climbing Trophy Road. The main reason for this is that Golem is simply the most aggressive tank in the game. While Royal Giant and Mega Knight might be more flashy troops, Golem’s pushes are by far more lethal. If you want to go for 3-crown victories and get them as quick as possible, look no further than Golem. By far the most important thing about Golem decks is the support for the Golem, and this deck has the most “generic” options for the job. Baby Dragon’s AOE attacks and speed boost in evo form are perfect for the slow-moving Golem. Then Electro Dragon is more effective for dealing DPS to any potential counters (even after the pointless nerf).

Golem + dragons is a time-tested combination that always seems to work. We also have Tornado in this deck to group up enemies so the dragons’ AOE attacks can do more damage. Berserker is included as the primary ground defender. While she might be cheap, along with our other flying troops, she’s able to handle just about any threats for long enough that the rest can finish them off. Magic Archer as the hero here helps with this, as he’s great for pairing up with Berserker when not defending Golem.

Patience is the key to playing Golem. You only need one big push to win the game, so there’s no need to rush. This deck has a great line-up of defensive and support troops, so make use of them!

Mega Knight + Witch

Cards:

Mega Knight (Evo)
Goblins (Hero)
Royal Ghost (Evo)
Ram Rider
Barbarian Barrel
Electro Wizard
Goblin Gang
Arrows

It’s hard not to recommend Mega Knight for climbing up Trophy Road. Mega Knight has always been one of the most annoying troops to face, especially if he’s over-leveled. While he might be easy to counter, his evolution creates enough chaos that it’s worth playing anyway. Since he has to be answered, you can use that opportunity to throw Ram Rider on the other side and take advantage. Or you can use Mega Knight to tank for Ram Rider. Either option works, and the versatility of the deck is one of the reasons it’s so good on the ladder. Royal Ghost as the second evolution is a simple choice since it’s so generally good right now as a defensive troop, plus it goes well with Mega Knight.

The hero card for this deck is Goblins, largely since they work well with Mega Knight. Big swarms and fast threats are best with Mega Knight, so Goblins is an obvious choice. This is also why Goblin Gang is included. They create a large swarm of a push with a massive tank at the center, so what’s not to like? Electro Wizard is one of my favorite cards to include with Mega Knight since Inferno cards are so good against him. It’s also really good against rushing cards like Ram Rider or Prince, both of which are popular on the ladder. I honestly think that Electro Wizard is one of the most underrated cards in Clash Royale.

Playing around Mega Knight mostly involves playing him to see how opponents will react, then trying to overwhelm them by combining him with swarms like the Goblin cards and difficult-to-counter cards like Royal Ghost. When all else fails, just drop Mega Knight on the bridge and hope that’s good enough. It often is.

Clash Royale: Best Decks to Climb Trophy Road (2026)

Faster ways to make the climb.

Main Milestones along Trophy Road

Hog Rider Cycle

Golem Push

Mega Knight + Witch

Visit the HGG Shop, Traveler?

Join the Discussion

Clash Royale: Best Hero Barbarian Barrel Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Magic Archer Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Mega Minion Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Ice Golem Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Musketeer Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Goblins Decks

Clash Royale: Best Decks to Climb Trophy Road (2026)

Faster ways to make the climb.

Main Milestones along Trophy Road

Hog Rider Cycle

Golem Push

Mega Knight + Witch

Clash Royale Navigation

Visit the HGG Shop, Traveler?

Join the Discussion

Clash Royale: Best Hero Barbarian Barrel Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Magic Archer Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Mega Minion Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Ice Golem Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Musketeer Decks

Clash Royale: Best Heroic Goblins Decks