Clash Royale Tier List​ (January 2026): Best Cards Ranked

If you wish to know which are the best Clash Royale cards this season, you have come to the right place. The current Clash Royale Tier List consists of cards that are performing the best in the current meta. For this list, we have decided to rank cards based on how objectively good they are in matches, also accounting for their pick rates and win rates in the decks they are used. Keep on reading to learn which cards made it to the Clash Royale Tier List of January 2026 and understand why you should be using them more in the decks.

The Clash Royale Tier List depicting the best cards in the game every season is ever-changing. Since new cards get introduced often, along with most of the other cards getting buffs and nerfs, you will frequently find your favorite cards becoming unplayable in the current meta. As such, you must always know what the current meta is if you are serious about climbing up the ranks, since other players most definitely do.

Here are my choices for the best cards in the Clash Royale Tier List this season (January 2026), where the highest-tier cards provide the best value in the decks they are played in.

Clash Royale Tier List (January 2026)

Before you scroll down, you should know that I have decided not to include any Tower Troop cards, Evolution cards, or Hero cards in this Clash Royale Card Tier List since they are upgraded versions of regular cards, and Tower Troops have completely different mechanics from the others.

Moreover, apart from looking at the raw stats of each card when maxed out at Level 16, we will also consider how effective they are at synergizing with other cards during deckbuilding. This Clash Royale Tier List is divided into four tiers - S, A, B, and C, with S being the highest and C being the lowest.

S-Tier

In this Clash Royale Tier List, S-Tier cards represent the best cards that provide immense value for their elixir cost, along with being viable in most decks that we see in the current meta. The top five cards in this tier are:

• Skeletons: If you look at the stats, you might think that I'm joking when I say that Skeletons, the cheapest and weakest troop in this game, is currently the best card in Clash Royale. Costing only one elixir, I saw this card in most meta decks that I faced this season, since it's excellent for distracting and luring enemies, especially charging troops like the Hog Rider, Royal Hogs, and more.
• Log: The Log is the current best spell card in Clash Royale. Being the cheapest spell that can one-shot many squishy and annoying troops like the Princess, Skeleton Horde, and more, this card is a must if you use decks that have charging ground troops like the Hog Rider, Prince, and more.
• Arrows: Costing one elixir more than the Log, Arrows are excellent at damaging enemies from a distance, one-shotting most squishy troops, including the flying ones that the Log cannot touch. I used this spell in many decks since I kept running into decks using the Evolved Skeleton Barrel, Evolved Skeleton Horde, and Minions.
• Cannon: The Cannon is the best building in Clash Royale, dealing decent damage and having moderate health. Considering it's a three-cost card, I found insane value in this card since the current meta uses a lot of decks that focus on using tanky troops like the Evolved Mega Knight, Hog Rider, and more.
• Hog Rider: I like troops that charge directly at enemy buildings and towers since I prefer an aggressive playstyle. This is where the Hog Rider shines the brightest since it deals good damage and only costs four mana, which lets me place other units behind him as supporters (like any of the available Witches or Wizards).

A-Tier

A-tier cards in this Clash Royale Tier List are almost as good as the S-tier cards, with the only downside being that most S-tier cards provide more value for their elixir cost. The five best cards in this category are:

• Ice Golem: The Ice Golem is an amazing two-elixir tank that can set up your attacks perfectly if offensive units behind it support it. Plus, it slows enemies on death for a second, which can be helpful during defense when you have fast troops charging towards your towers.
• Dart Goblin: This pesky Goblin has high DPS since it attacks fast with each dart dealing decent damage. Since it attacks from a distance, I found the optimum value by placing it behind tanks during attacks and behind my tower during defense.
• Zap: Zap is one of the best spells in the game, with the Log being its direct competitor. While it does less damage than the latter, it gains the ability to damage flying enemies, which is great for clearing out Skeletons that get in my way.
• Goblin Barrel: The Goblin Barrel is great for directly targeting the enemy towers as long as one of your other units soaks up damage from the towers in its stead. However, I feel it's only overshadowed by the more consistently performing Miner, unless you have the Evolved Goblin Barrel.
• Balloon: As a fast-moving airborne troop, it can deal massive damage if left uncontested, and more so if it hits your towers. I used this with other AoE-damaging troops, like Witches and Wizards, to set up offensive plays.

B-Tier

B-tier cards in this Clash Royale Tier List are pretty decent at what they do. However, they are overshadowed by the higher-tier cards that have better synergies with other supporting cards during deckbuilding. The best cards in this tier are:

• Baby Dragon: This cute Dragon has been one of the best four-cost airborne troops in this game. However, its slow speed and subpar damage are its main drawbacks, which prevent it from being a decent attack initiator.
• Executioner: This is one of the best five-cost offensive tank supporters, outclassing its main rivals, the Wizard and the Witch, since it has more HP than they do. Only the Evolved Witch is better.
• Valkyrie: The Valkyrie deals a lot of damage and has a ton of health. However, she can be easily killed by flying units and can be countered by a well-placed building (except for the Tombstone). I used this card mostly during defense, and let it be an attack initiator if it survived.
• Royal Giant: The Royal Giant's attacks can deal a lot of damage, albeit being very slow. Since most decks in the current meta use a lot of buildings, its value has gone down significantly.
• X-Bow: The X-Bow can be difficult to deal with if it's directly targeting your towers and you have no airborne troops to deal with it. As such, it's best to target towers quickly before your opponent plays another card to become its target.

C-Tier

Finally, we have the C-Tier cards in this Clash Royale Tier List, which are underwhelming compared to others, while synergizing badly with most of them. Still, the best of this bunch are:

• Mega Knight: While its evolved variant is one of the best in this game, its standard version has lost a lot of its glory with the Giant being a better and cheaper tank in most meta decks. I hardly see people using the regular version in decks this season.
• Magic Archer: The Magic Archer has great range, but relatively low damage output and health for being a four-cost card.
• Three Musketeers: This trio of Musketeers can be devastating as a nine-cost card, but can be easily taken care of by a four-cost Fireball, which has become my favorite trick to pull off.
• Cannon Cart: This moving building drops a fully-loaded Cannon upon death, which is better suited for defense rather than offense. Just use the cheaper Canon instead for more value, since it's a defensive card and I have rarely seen the Cannon dropping directly in front of the enemy tower.
• Prince: The Prince does great damage and has high HP. However, the one-elixir cheaper Dark Prince is undeniably more viable for deckbuilding since it left me with better synergies during deckbuilding when the elixir cost comes into consideration.

That's all for our Clash Royale Tier List ranking the best in-game cards. Therefore, go and start upgrading the higher-tier cards quickly so that you can build meta decks with them. Also, if you are interested, check out our guide on how to play Clash Royale on PC to try your hand at playing the game on PC.