AI Overview: This Mortar Elixir Collector deck averages 3.3 elixir and is a gentle start into siege play. The Mortar hits the tower from range, and the Collector pays for the push. Mortar base lists won 41.9% to 51.9%, so it needs care, and this exact list has no tracker sample. Read on for the card-by-card check.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- The deck costs 26 elixir, which is 3.3 on average, and the Collector is the heaviest card at 6.
- Mortar base-card lists won 41.9% to 51.9% in the 2026 sample.
- Archers have a best list at 70.6% over 695, and their Evolution shot fell from 168 to 140.
- Fireball’s Crown Tower damage fell from 207 to 172 to 159, though its best list wins 60.4%.
- The Knight’s best list wins 67.1% over 1,000 battles, and his Hero shield was cut from 768 to 512.
The Mortar Collector List, Priced Card by Card
The setup. Siege means hitting the tower with a building from afar. Two or three Mortar hits per push counts as a success, and the rest of the deck exists to keep it alive.
Matchups. Against beatdown, the Mortar pays off because slow tanks cannot reach it in time. Against Hog cycle, the Knight and Skeleton Army become your main defense, and the Mortar should only go down when you hold the elixir to protect it. Against bait, keep Fireball and Zap ready, since the opponent will try to drain them. The idea is simple: siege rewards patience, so avoid forcing a Mortar into a full-elixir defense.
| Card | Elixir | Job in the deck | 2026 status |
| Mortar | 4 | Siege win condition | Base-card lists 41.9% to 51.9% |
| Elixir Collector | 6 | Elixir engine | Only six tracked decks run it; touched in the October patch |
| Archers | 3 | Ranged support | Best list 70.6% over 695; Evo Power Shot 168 to 140 |
| Skeleton Army | 3 | Swarm defense | No 2026 change; Evolution best 65.1% over 3,500, base best 55.6% |
| Knight | 3 | Mini tank and all-round defender | Best list 67.1% over 1,000 (LogBait); Hero shield 768 to 512 |
| Fireball | 4 | Medium spell and finisher | Crown Tower damage 207 to 172 to 159; best list 60.4% over about 4,700 |
| Fire Spirit | 1 | Cheap chip and swarm kill | Hitpoints 230 to 215 (Aug 4), damage 207 to 215 (Sep 16); best list 62.9% over 707 |
| Zap | 2 | Cheap spell and reset | Crown Tower damage 58 to 48 on June 1; Evo Zap 77.0% over about 1,000 |
Check the table for each card’s cost and how it holds up in 2026.
What comes next. The Mortar is a common that hits for a long time, but the data shows it sits near a coin flip. If it loses range or damage again, beginners will feel it first, because they cannot out-skill a weak card.
What Changed in 2026
The short version. Fireball deals 159 to a tower, down from 207. Zap deals 48, not 58. The Fire Spirit has 215 hitpoints. The Archers’ Evolution shot is 140. The Skeleton Army had no 2026 change. The Collector was touched in the October patch.
Claims, rechecked. The deck is said to use only one epic, the Skeleton Army, plus two rares and five commons. That is correct. The 3.3 average adds up from 26 elixir. The claim that the Mortar is more beginner friendly than the X-Bow rests on cost and rarity, both of which still hold. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.
The fine print. Only six tracked decks run the Collector, so there is little proof it pays back in a modern ladder game. The Skeleton Army’s base-card best is 55.6%, a decent number for a swarm defender.
Card pages: Mortar, Elixir Collector, Archers and Skeleton Army.
The risk. The Collector is a target. A Miner, a Fireball or a Rocket kills it, and then the deck has spent six elixir with nothing to show. If your opponent punishes it twice, the siege plan falls apart.
How to Play It Today
Step one. Place the Mortar one tile behind the bridge, off to the side of the lane you want to attack. Keep the Knight or Archers in front of it, so a rushing troop meets them first.
Worth knowing. Two successful pushes are enough in many games. If the first Mortar gets two or three hits, switch to defense, keep the Knight home, and wait for the next cycle.
Upgrade order. Level the Mortar, Archers and Knight first. The Mortar needs the extra health to survive a couple of hits, the Archers give steady damage, and the Knight is your cheapest wall. Fireball and the Collector come next. Because the Skeleton Army is the only epic, you can swap it for Minions and lose little, which keeps the deck easy to build for new players.
Tips. Do not place the Mortar if the opponent just played a Collector or sent a Hog. Use it defensively to pull units, then cycle back to another one. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.
Step two. Play the Collector when the opponent is passive, such as after a split Archers play. Defend the Mortar with the Skeleton Army, and use the Fire Spirit and Zap to clear small swarms.
Elixir math. The Collector and Mortar cost 10 of the 26 elixir. The other six cards cost 16, or 2.7 each, so the cycle returns to the Mortar fast enough to build a second siege.
Try it yourself: Mortar Elixir Collector Deck is ready to play: the Clash Royale Deck Builder loads it in one click. It costs 3.3 elixir on average, and because no tracker covers this exact list, there is no 2026 win rate.
What to watch. A forgiving deck can hide bad habits. If the Mortar becomes the only thing you play, better opponents will learn to ignore your defense and hit the tower every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Mortar Elixir Collector deck good in 2026?
Archers’ best list wins 70.6% and the Knight’s best list wins 67.1%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Elixir Collector slot first.
What is the average elixir cost?
26 elixir across eight cards, or 3.3 on average.
What does siege mean in Clash Royale?
Hitting the tower from range with a building such as the Mortar or X-Bow.
Can Minions replace the Skeleton Army?
Yes, at 3 elixir, if you want a different kind of defense.
Why is the Mortar good for beginners?
It is a common, it costs little, and each push gives practice.
Original Guide, Kept in Full
The text below is the original page, kept in full. It was written between 2016 and 2024, so some details are out of date. The tips and numbers above use 2026 sources.
Hello guys, NItrome95 here with the new Arena 6 Mortar Deck! Hope you have all had a great holiday season, but now it’s time to start writing articles again (Stop slacking Nitrome!).
This is going to be a Mortar deck that is a great start for any player that wants to play siege in the future.
Arena 6 Mortar Deck
So what is Siege anyway?
Siege is a deck archetype that uses buildings to damage the tower, whether it be Mortar or X-Bow. Even though X-Bow is generally stronger, I feel that Mortar is more “beginner friendly” because:
- It’s a common whereas X-Bow is an epic.
- Mortar costs less Elixir, so there is less risk when playing it.
- You will have to form many successful pushes with the Mortar for success, giving you more practice.
- The splash damage is great at taking out troops your opponent puts in front of your Mortar.
This deck only uses one epic, the Skeleton Army, which is replaceable with 3 Elixir Minions. Other than that, the deck only uses 2 rares and the rest commons.
Cards Breakdown
Mortar – Your main win condition in this deck, You will want to use the rest of the cards in the deck to have the Mortar reach the tower. 2-3 hits on the tower is considered a successful push. If needed, you can place the Mortar defensively to pull units, and then cycle back to the next Mortar. That way, your previously defending Mortar will be defending your attacking Mortar.
Elixir Collector – Such an important card in this deck. It allows you to build up more Elixir to send back to back Mortars to keep up the pressure on your opponent. You will want to defend as little as possible with this deck, so you will want to have 2 Collectors at all times. Only place these guys when you have at least 9 Elixir.
Archers – Your only defense against air, so use them wisely. You can split them down the middle to pull melee units further. (can u put a hyperlink Will if possible for how Archer split? Thx). If you know your opponent has Graveyard, save your Archers for when they use it.
Skeleton Army – You will use these guys to take down support troops behind your opponent’s tank. Simply use your Knight to distract the support troops and then simply place your Skeleton Army. On offense, you should use these guys if your opponent uses single target units to take down your Mortar.
Knight – I explained above how to use them on defense above. On offense, you will want to have the Knight in front of your Mortar to stall your opponent’s counters. Once you know your opponent’s counter to your Mortar, use the correct troop to “counter the counter”.
Fire Spirits – One of my favorite cards in the game. You can use them to take out swarms like Minion horde, barbarians, or even Goblin Barrel. You will mostly use Fire Spirits to defend your Mortar.
Fireball- This card is a bit redundant, but you will use this to clear buildings in your Mortar’s way, as well as slowly chipping down the opponent.
Zap- Just don’t do anything stupid. Finish off barbarians that you firespirited, clear swarms, retarget units, clutch games with tower damage.
General Gameplan
I will mostly cover all of the strategy in the video below, but you can also read my summary.(The audio got screwed up for some of the video because I blocked the mic lol. It’s my first time using audio so give me a break :D)
Offense
You will want to play your Mortar aggressively once you have 2 Elixir Collectors down, preferably with a Knight in front. Once you play your Mortar down, you will have to predict what your opponent will counter with. Based on what your opponent uses, here’s what you use:
- Inferno Tower – Prematurely drop the Skeleton Army or Knight
- Barbarians – Fire Spirits and Zap, or Fireball
- Minions –Fire Spirits
- Mega Minion –Fireball Zap
- Minion Horde – Be prepared to drop Fire Spirits as soon as their Horde drops, or the Fireball
- Skeleton Army – Zap or Fire Spirits
- Hog Rider – Skeleton Army, or Archers and Knight
- Big Tanks – Skeleton Army
- Single Target Troops- Skeleton Army
(List adapted from this guide)
Defense
This is where this deck gets a bit tricky. You will want to choose the most valuable troops to use your Skeleton Army on. Use your Knight to tank the troops and Skeleton Army to deal all of the damage. Use your other troops to clean up the remaining. Your main goal is to counterpush to deal even more damage than you took.
Matchups
Giant Beatdown – Watch the video.
Hog Control/Cycle – Use Skeleton Army to try to get the best value out of taking out your opponent’s hog push. For example, hog rider elite barbarians combo is completely shut down by Skeleton Army. Use the heavy Elixir advantage to launch a counterpush.
Spawner Decks – Just go for the tie.
Conclusion
From what you’ve all seen, this deck is obviously not the strongest ever; it relies extremely on the Skeleton Army for defense.
This Arena 6 Mortar Deck is more used to build up your fundamentals for much other siege decks.
Siege is a hard archetype to play, so this deck can hopefully make a smoother transition to playing siege.
Sources
Researched from the following (no links, listed for transparency):
- CryptoAIMeta card guides for these cards, built from RoyaleTracker October 2026 samples and SeeMeta 2026 balance changes
- SeeMeta, Clash Royale balance changes 2026 (page updated October 2026), read through search summaries
- Supercell official Clash Royale API, card list (elixir cost, rarity, unlock arena)
- The original clash.world page (2016 to 2024), kept in full below