Heroes and champions sit in the same slot in most Clash Royale decks, so it makes sense to judge them against each other rather than in separate pools. Twenty-five of them are currently in rotation, and the gap between the strongest and the weakest is wide enough that picking the wrong one costs you games before the first elixir is spent.
Quick answer: Goblinstein and Ice Wizard are the two strongest picks right now. If you want a safe, deck-agnostic slot filler instead, Valkyrie, Golden Knight, or Knight will not let you down.
Full heroes and champions tier list
Placements reflect the live balance state in September 2026. Cards are grouped by how much value they return across a normal spread of ladder matchups, not by their ceiling in one perfect deck.
| Tier | Heroes and champions |
|---|---|
| S | Goblinstein, Ice Wizard |
| A | Mega Minion, Mighty Miner, Knight, Tombstone, Golden Knight, Valkyrie |
| B | Skeleton King, Berserker, Bowler, Archer Queen, Barbarian Barrel |
| C | Giant, Wizard, Balloon, Boss Bandit, Ice Golem |
| D | Dark Prince, Musketeer, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Magic Archer, Monk |
| F | Goblins, Little Prince |
Note: Three things decide a placement here. How often the ability is worth its elixir, how many archetypes the card fits into, and how recent balance changes have treated it. A card that wins one matchup outright but does nothing in the other nine stays low.
Why Goblinstein and Ice Wizard top the list
Goblinstein is the best champion in the game right now. Damage buffs to the Doctor turned it from a clunky two-part card into a genuine threat, and it slots cleanly into Royal Hogs and Graveyard shells where the tower support matters as much as the push itself.
Ice Wizard earns its spot on the ability alone. Two elixir buys a seven-second freeze, which is long enough to stall a committed push, reset a tank’s momentum, or buy the time you need to build a counterattack. Few abilities on this list convert that little elixir into that much tempo.
A tier: The reliable slot fillers
The A tier is where you go if you want something that never feels like a mistake. Valkyrie handles ground swarms and still applies pocket pressure on offense, which is why it shows up in serious ranked decks. Golden Knight’s dash is cheap enough to fire off repeatedly and changes how a fight resolves rather than just adding damage to it.
Knight’s taunt shield remains one of the most forgiving defensive tools available, even after past trims to its duration and radius. Mighty Miner is the pick for Hog, Royal Hogs, and Mortar or Drill decks thanks to its ability to defend and then relocate the pressure to the other lane. Tombstone is stronger than its cost suggests in Lava Hound and Graveyard builds, and Mega Minion’s rework landed in its favor.
B and C tier: Playable, with conditions
B tier cards are meta-viable without being the reason you win. Berserker is tanky enough to be a safe include almost anywhere. Barbarian Barrel is a low-risk defensive answer that fits a lot of archetypes. Skeleton King is a genuinely average champion that does its job in Elixir Golem, Royal Giant, and Mortar decks. Bowler and Archer Queen both sit here after taking hits, Bowler to its range and boulder throws, Archer Queen to the change in how often champion abilities can be used.
C tier is where matchup dependence starts to hurt. Giant is a win condition first and an ability second, and it gives you very little against cycle decks. Balloon and Boss Bandit still function as pressure tools but have lost ground. Ice Golem no longer applies its freeze, leaving it as a solid but plain defensive option in Balloon and Hog shells. Wizard defends well and has a cheap one-elixir ability, though the base card’s stats hold it back.
D and F tier: The cards to avoid
The bottom of the list is mostly nerf damage. Dark Prince fell after changes made it much harder to land the charge on a tower. Magic Archer’s damage reduction cut directly into the chip pressure that justified running it as a win condition. Mini P.E.K.K.A lost the healing synergy that made it worthwhile in beatdown decks like Golem. Musketeer asks three elixir for its ability, which is steep when evolved Musketeer exists. Monk is limited to a narrow set of Royal Giant and Three Musketeers builds.
Two cards sit below all of that. Goblins now respawn one goblin short, and losing a third of the swarm gutted the value that made it a staple. Little Prince is the weakest champion in the game, because its ability simply does not return enough for what it costs you to run it.
The champion ability rule that reshuffled the rankings
A universal change to champions restricts each one to a single ability use per deployment. That hit champions built around repeated activations hardest, and it is the main reason Archer Queen no longer sits near the top. Champions whose value is front-loaded into one decisive activation, like Boss Bandit, came out of it far better.
Keep that in mind when reading any older ranking. A card’s placement here is a snapshot of how it performs under the current numbers, and a single balance update can move a hero two tiers in either direction. Check what changed to a card’s ability cost, range, or spawn count before assuming its old reputation still holds.
