Image Credit: Supercell
I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love racing games, MMOs, and shooters, but I'll play just about anything.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
In Clash Royale, “tanks” are one of the most important types of cards. They soak up damage so your more threatening troops have time to do more damage, so they’re an essential part of a huge portion of decks. Giant is the original tank, having been in the game from its very start. Giant was even in Clash of Clans before Clash Royale, so he’s a long-time Supercell staple. In this article I’ll take a quick look at how to play Giant, then I’ll give three great decks that feature him!
Note: The decks I recommend are a combination of the popular ones I’ve seen in the game and/or in the TV Royale function, top-ranked RoyaleAPI decks, and general ideas based on what’s meta/popular right now.
How to Play Giant
Giant is a simple card. He has a ton of HP, only targets buildings, and doesn’t really do anything else. In the years since his introduction at the beginning of Clash Royale, a lot of tanks have been released. Most have some unique feature that lets them do more than just target buildings (Goblin Giant spawning Goblins, Electro Giant zapping troops, etc.). But the original Giant’s simple nature allows him to excel at his role better than most others. His elixir cost of 5 is lower than most other big tanks, so he fits better into a standard elixir curve and puts less of an emphasis on the double elixir period. You can either use him as a distraction or put a bunch of support troops behind him and try to take a tower, as either way works.
On the other hand, Giant is pretty easy to counter. Swarms destroy him and so do most buildings. Thanks to this, cheap spells like Zap or the Log that can clear swarms are strong, and having a way to deal with buildings helps too. Mini P.E.K.K.A. is also one of the best counters since it’s super high DPS can take Giant out before he reaches towers.
Giant Deck 1
Cards:
- Witch (Evo)
- Snowball (Evo)
- Giant
- Graveyard
- Royal Hogs
- Mini P.E.K.K.A.
- Minions
- Vines
This first deck has a little bit of everything. Giant fulfills his usual role as an all-around solid tank for fairly low elixir, but there are more ways to win than a typical Giant push. While Giant with support in the form of the Witch (with her evolution, if you have it) is still a great combo, I also included Royal Hogs and Graveyard. Royal Hogs can either go behind Giant or by themselves for some quick damage, and I like the sense of urgency they had. Then Graveyard is able to take opponents by surprise. I feel like people don’t really expect Graveyard, and if you can land it while their tower is distracted with Giant, you can easily take a tower with no issues.
Snowball is also in this deck as one of the evo cards, and it has two purposes. The main one is just to do a bit of damage and clear swarms and/or knock back troops as a cheap spell. But the evolved version is much more helpful. Evolved Snowball can clear a perfect path for Giant or Royal Hogs to be able to take out a tower, so it’s a great underrated pick. Defensively, I like Mini P.E.K.K.A. a lot right now for taking out high-HP troops, then Minions for anything that flies (or tanks as well). Then Vines is a must-include in almost every deck right now since it’s basically Freeze and the Log in one.
This deck is pretty aggressive, especially in double elixir. There’s really no wrong way to go about playing since there are so many routes to victory, but I’ve found that focusing on defense until double elixir, then trying to make as many Giant + Hogs/Witch pushes as possible is the best strategy. Then use Graveyard when openings come up or if you have a Giant tanking for an enemy tower.
Giant Deck 2
Cards:
- Bomber (Evo)
- Inferno Dragon (Evo)
- Giant
- Lightning
- Vines
- Arrows
- Guards
- Minions
This deck is a little more focused on the Giant himself than the first one. Giant arguably works best when he’s backed up by support troops, and sometimes that’s really all you need to do. Bomber and Inferno Dragon are this deck’s evolution cards, and they both fit the support role. Bomber is a pure support, and Inferno Dragon is both support for Giant and a counter for any tank. The evolved version, in particular, is really great since the damage doesn’t reset when Inferno Dragon stops attacking. That alone can take out a tower in the right situation.
In addition to the evo cards, one thing that makes this deck stand out is the three spells it uses. Lightning can take out troops with pretty high HP like Witch or Wizard, then Vines is a must-have since it’s so overpowered right now in general. Arrows is just for clearing out swarms, which are particularly dangerous to Giant. Guards and Minions are also included for obvious purposes, as I think both are equally strong at defending.
This deck doesn’t really have a “preferred” playstyle. Being patient works since it allows you to better time your Giants, make better use of spells, and make sure you don’t over-commit to a push. On the other hand, if you get more aggressive you can pull off some really strong pushes utilizing spells more offensively.
Giant Deck 3
Cards:
- Skeletons (Evo)
- Dart Goblin (Evo)
- Balloons
- Giants
- Minion Horde
- Minions
- Arrows
- Vines
And for this last Giant deck, I have another one that uses Giant as more of a distraction than the main win con itself. Balloon is the real star of the show with this deck, but Giant allows it to be so good. Giant distracts, then Balloon clears out towers for free. You can also go a more traditional Balloon route, using support troops like Dart Goblin and Minions to back it up.
The defense side of this deck isn’t much different than anywhere else. Skeletons is the second evo card, and I like it because of how cheap it is (obviously) and how much potential value you can get out of it. While it is easily countered, evolved Skeletons are a tank destroyer for 1 elixir if left unchecked. We also have both Minion Horde and Minions, which is kind of overkill, but sometimes it’s warranted. While these swarms are easy to counter, having this many of them makes it a lot harder to counter the whole strategy with just one spell/troop. And speaking of spells, we have our own with Arrows and Vines, which shouldn’t be surprising.
I find it best to play this deck patiently. Balloon is a high-risk, high-reward card, so you can’t just spam it. Minion Horde is very similar, as it can take out tanks in just seconds, but a single Wizard hit or Arrow volley can take them out. Once you get a good feel for what your opponent is playing, you can get more aggressive with Giant + backup plays. Plus with Vines being so good right now, it’s a lot easier to counter pushes, so you can be a bit more aggressive.
Clash Royale Navigation
- Clash Royale: All Cards Ranked (2025)
- Clash Royale: Spirit Empress Guide
- Clash Royale: Best Tower Troops
- Clash Royale: Best Cards for Draft Battles
- Clash Royale: How to Win Mega Draft and Best Cards
- Clash Royale: All Champion Abilities Ranked
- Clash Royale: All Spell Cards Ranked
- Clash Royale: Best Evolutions, Ranked
- Clash Royale: All Champion Cards Ranked Worst to Best
- Clash Royale: Best Legendary Cards, Ranked
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 20 (Boot Camp)
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 19 (Dragon Spa)
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 18 Silent Sanctuary
- Clash Royale: Best Deck for Arena 17 (Royal Crypt)
- Clash Royale: Best Deck for Arena 16 (Executioner’s Kitchen)
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 13 Rascal’s Hideout
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 11 Electro Valley
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 8 Frozen Peak
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 7 Royal Arena
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 3 Barbarian Bowl
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 2 Bone Pit
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 1 – Starter Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 5 Builder’s Workshop
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 15 Miner’s Mine
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 9 – Jungle Arena
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 12 Spooky Town
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 6 P.E.K.K.A.’s Playhouse
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 10 Hog Mountain
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 14 Serenity Peak
- Clash Royale: Best Decks for Arena 4 Spell Valley
- Clash Royale: Best Ways to Spend Gems and Gold
- Clash Royale: Spirit Empress Guide
- Clash Royale: Merge Tactics Beginner’s Guide
- Clash Royale: 7 Best Win Cons (2025)
- Clash Royale: Best Tower Troops
- Clash Royale: How to Win Mega Draft and Best Cards
- Clash Royale: All Champion Abilities Ranked
- Clash Royale: A Getting Started Guide
- Clash Royale: News & Events
- Supercell Games: Clash Royale vs Clash of Clans vs Brawl Stars
- Clash Royale: Beginner Guide, Tips, and Strategy
- Clash Royale: Best Giant Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Sparky Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Evolved Baby Dragon Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Miner Decks (2025)
- Clash Royale: Best Prince Decks (2025)
- Clash Royale: Best Free-2-Play Decks (2025)
- Clash Royale: Best Royal Recruits Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Touchdown Decks
- Clash Royale: Best War Decks
- Clash Royale: Best 2v2 Decks
- Clash Royale: Best Mega Knight Decks
- Clash Royale: Super Witch & Hexed Havoc Best Decks Strategy
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