AI Overview: This Miner Princess control deck averages 3.4 elixir and holds three legendary cards. It defends pushes, builds an elixir lead and chips with the Miner, Princess and Furnace. Princess’s best list wins 65.1% over 3,500 battles, though this exact list has no tracker sample. Every card below gets its current cost and a 2026 reality check, so keep reading for the full breakdown.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- The deck costs 27 elixir, which is 3.4 on average, and the Inferno Tower is the heaviest card at 5.
- Miner’s tower damage fell from 49 to 39 on July 6, and his best list wins 66.0% over 535 battles.
- Princess has a best list at 65.1% over 3,500 battles, and her Evolution got a buff on August 4.
- The Log’s Crown Tower damage fell from 41 to 35 on June 1, and its best list wins 65.1%.
- Furnace range fell from 6 to 5.5 tiles on June 1, though its best list wins 72.1% over 1,100.
The Miner Princess Control List, Priced Card by Card
Why it matters: a control deck wins by trading well and waiting. Defend with the cheap cards, build an elixir lead, and let three chip cards do the damage.
| Card | Elixir | Job in the deck | 2026 status |
| Miner | 3 | Chip win condition | Crown Tower damage 49 to 39 on July 6; best list 66.0% over 535 |
| Princess | 3 | Long-range chip and swarm clear | Best list 65.1% over 3,500 (LogBait); Evo buff on August 4 |
| The Log | 2 | Swarm clear and pushback | Crown Tower damage 41 to 35 on June 1; best list 65.1% over 3,500 |
| Mega Minion | 3 | Air defense and support cutter | No printed list above 50% (Hero 47.7%, base 44.7%) |
| Furnace | 4 | Chip building and bait | Range 6 to 5.5 tiles on June 1; best list 72.1% over 1,100 |
| Skeleton Army | 3 | Tank shredder | No 2026 change; Evolution best 65.1% over 3,500, base best 55.6% |
| Inferno Tower | 5 | Tank killer and only big building | No 2026 change; best list 65.8% over about 3,000 (LogBait) |
| Fireball | 4 | Medium spell and finisher | Crown Tower damage 207 to 172 to 159; best list 60.4% over about 4,700 |
The table lists all eight cards, their elixir costs and where each stands after the 2026 patches.
Control decks suit patient players. The negative effect: the Miner, Log and Furnace all lost something in 2026, and a deck made of small trims can feel noticeably slower than it did a year ago.
What Changed in 2026
Short version: the Miner hits for 39, not 49. The Log hits for 35, not 41. Furnace reaches 5.5 tiles, not 6. Fireball deals 159 to a tower, down from 207. The Princess came out stronger. The Inferno Tower and Skeleton Army had no 2026 change.
Claims, rechecked. The Princess is described as hitting a tower for 140 per shot, which depends on card level and cannot be confirmed here. The deck is correctly called legendary heavy, with the Miner, Princess and Log in the list. The 3.4 average adds up from 27 elixir. Use every figure as a starting point, not a rule.
The catch. Mega Minion is the weak card in this list: no printed list above 50%, with the Hero at 47.7% and the base at 44.7%. Inferno Tower is the star, with a best list at 65.8% over about 3,000 battles.
Card pages: Miner, Princess, Furnace and Inferno Tower.
The Inferno Tower and Skeleton Army are a strong defensive pair. The negative effect: if the opponent Zaps one and has an answer to the other, both are gone, and the control plan has no heavy backup.
How to Play It Today
Think of it this way: the Miner is for chip, not defense. Send him to the tower often, but use the Skeleton Army and Inferno Tower for tanks. Against a Giant, put the Skeleton Army far from the tower so only one gets Zapped.
Worth knowing. Think of the deck as two halves. The Miner, Princess and Furnace are the chip half. The Skeleton Army, Inferno Tower and Mega Minion are the defense half. Keep both halves balanced in your hand.
Tips. Save the Inferno Tower for a tank, not for a lone Hog. Throw the Miner first when you want to learn which counters the opponent holds. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.
Here is the order: Princess behind the tower for small swarms, the Log for the push, Fireball for the squishy support. The Furnace goes down when the opponent is low on elixir, and a Miner on the tower finishes it.
Cost check: the Inferno Tower is 5 and the Fireball 4, with the Furnace also at 4. The other five cost 14, or 2.8 each, so the cycle is quick enough to bring the Miner back.
Try it yourself: the Clash Royale Deck Builder has Miner Princess Control Deck preloaded, so you can swap a card or two before a match. The average sits at 3.4 elixir. No 2026 win rate exists for this exact list.
With three legendaries the deck is expensive to build. The negative effect: players with lower-level legendaries can struggle against higher levels, and the Furnace is the only card that still works well when it is under-leveled. Another trim to the Miner or Log would hit the deck’s chip plan directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Miner Princess control deck good in 2026?
Miner’s best list wins 66.0% and Princess’s best list wins 65.1%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Mega Minion slot first.
What is the average elixir cost?
27 elixir across eight cards, or 3.4 on average.
Which cards are legendary?
The Miner, Princess and the Log.
Can Zap replace the Log?
Yes, as can Arrows or Fire Spirits, though the Log pushes back ground troops.
Can the Furnace work under-leveled?
Yes, since its value comes from steady chip damage, not from level.
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.
Hey what is going on guys, this is RSivak back again with a great Legendary Control Deck I stumbled upon.
I lost to this deck and decided to try it out and found it to be a great control deck.
Legendary Control Deck for Arena 10
A little background on Control decks, this is a play style for those who defend the enemies pushes, while building up an elixir advantage and chipping away with that advantage. It’s a fun deck to use but not one in which players who like to be the offensive will prefer. Lets get into the cards! Bear in mind this is a Legendary heavy deck.
Cards Breakdown
Miner: Your chip damage card, dealing some damage to the tower for a cheap elixir cost, use him often to whittle their tower down to zero. This card cannot be replaced. Miner will mostly land guaranteed hits on a tower, Goblin Barrel, Knight cannot be so surefire.
Princess: Shoots flaming arrows in a circle to decimate small swarms of pesky troops, great for chipping a tower from a distance, she can deal 140 damage onto a tower per shot and can take out a weakened tower solo. Cannot be replaced, she is so versatile and her ability to stay away from the melee and deal damage gives her a huge benefit.
Log: The last legendary, and the only replaceable one. Arrows, Zap, Fire Spirits all work, but the Log is the most effective. Shoves back the push, and kills any weak or weakened troops, meant to hold off the opponent push for a couple seconds so your troops shut down the push faster.
Read the best tips for The Log at here!
Mega Minion: The Meta Minion, your air defense and Bowler smasher, this card is a must since a lot of your troops are weak to Arrows, and Zap I wouldn’t recommend switching for Minions. Great defense card and should be pretty much used only on defense, since it moves so slow it can be a bit underwhelming and easily shut down on offense.
Furnace: Strong chip damage card, I don’t think Furnace is overpowered just because it can land a hit on the tower, Goblin Hut Goblins and Barb Hut Barbs guarantee hits on the tower if undefended, so why should the Furnace be different? Anyway, the great thing about this card is it can be used even if under leved. I am using a level 7 Furnace in the 3500’s range against level 10’s and I find myself holding my own quite well with this deck. It is great at weakening the enemies push, and dealing some chip damage if you throw a Miner at the tower before it can focus on the spirits, allowing them to deal a hefty 300+ damage not counting the Miner whacking away as well!
Skeleton Army: Your strongest tank shredder, got a Hog Rider, or Elite Barbarians coming at your tower and at low elixir? Skarmy and then poof, they get cut down so fast, weak to Zap of course, so I recommend you bait the Zap, if you have an Inferno Tower down and they sending in a Giant, drop Skarmy well away from the Inferno Tower, so they Zap only one while the other takes down the tank.
Inferno Tower: The second defense building, this will cut thru Golems, Lava Hounds, Giants and Hog Riders with ease. Save it for when you need, no point in dropping it and they push with a tank after it dies. Your backup with Skarmy, make the opponent Zap only one while the other kills their push.
Fireball: Fireball has been on the rise lately, and for good reason, instant 200+ Crown tower damage for a 4 elixir cost, I like to Fireball glass cannons when they walk near the tower I am focusing on, gives we a good bit damage and weakens their push. Perfect because it is not too expensive.
Read more about Fireball at here!
General Gameplan
This is not an offensive deck!
You want to counter the opponents push for a positive elixir trade. Then drop a Miner and Furnace for a bit of chip damage.
I like to start off with a Furnace, and then if I can drop a Miner on the tower the Fire Spirits are heading to right after, this can deal a hefty 400-500 damage if not defended against.
Another thing I like to do is when the Fire Spirits leave the Furnace, I drop a Princess at the bridge and this forces them to wait a second or two until the Fire Spirits are clear before they attack the Princess allowing her to get 2-3 shots onto the tower, of course don’t do this unless the Arena is empty of distractions for your Princess, you want damage onto their tower, not one wasted on a couple of skeletons heading the other way.
Defend, defend, defend, this deck can deal with pretty much any deck that you come across.
Double Elixir makes this deck stronger than ever, with the ability to get 2-3 Furnaces down, your swarm of Fire Spirits can be nightmare for your opponent to counter and with a Miner whacking away with his shovel can make an enemy desperate.
Stay calm and defend their pushes, I like to place a Furnace between the two Arena Towers and if they push with a Tank, the Inferno Tower right in front of the Furnace can be a deadly defense.
If you defend well you should have no trouble, I find myself winning games with 2000+ hp on all towers.
Counters:
I find Lightning and Rockets can be troublesome until double elixir when I get so many Furnaces down that they have trouble killing them all. Giant decks can be the most troublesome of all the Beat down decks as they can get multiple Giants down with relative ease, you can usually get multiple Inferno’s down with ease as well.
Tips:
- Drop a Furnace or Princess down at the start if you can, or split a Skarmy in the back if you have nothing good.
- Once you drop a Furnace, wait a second, then drop the Miner on the Tower the Fire Spirits are running to, this will usually kill any weak melee troops attacking the Miner and deal some chip damage on the tower.
- Once Fire Spirits leave the Furnace, drop a Princess at the bridge to deal some chip damage at their tower.
- Fireball + Log/Arrows/Zap can kill some of the glass cannons behind your opponents tank. Don’t be afraid to do so if you can gain an elixir advantage from such a move!
That’s it guys! Hope you liked the guide and found it useful. Hope it helps you guys push further! Cheers!
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