Royal Giant Hunter Cycle Deck: A 2.9 Elixir Bats Plan

By NebulaNoodle · Deck Building · Oct 15, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

AI Overview: This Royal Giant Hunter cycle deck averages 2.9 elixir and cycles fast. The Fisherman and Hunter handle defense, and the cheap cards bring the Royal Giant back quickly. Royal Giant Evolution lists range from 56.9% to 79.8%, though this exact build has no tracker sample. Every price, rarity and 2026 change is rechecked below, so you can trust each number and skip the guesswork.

Last Updated: October 2026

Key Points:

• The deck costs 23 elixir, which is 2.9 on average, and the Royal Giant at 6 is the only card above 4.
• Royal Giant had no 2026 change, and Evolution lists range from 56.9% to 79.8%.
• Hunter’s best list wins 56.9% over 937, and only one of seven printed lists tops 50%.
• None of the eight printed Bats lists won above 50%.
• The Log’s Crown Tower damage fell from 41 to 35 on June 1, and its best list wins 65.1% over 3,500.

The Royal Giant Hunter Cycle List, Priced Card by Card

The big idea. Cycle fast, defend with value, and play the Royal Giant at the bridge more often than a slow RG deck would.

Matchups. Against Hog or X-Bow, the Royal Giant wins the race. Against Balloon, Bats and the Hunter handle it. Against Giant and Sparky, the Fisherman pulls the Giant, and Skeletons plus the Hunter kill Sparky. The cause is simple: pull first, kill second.

Check the table for each price and its 2026 notes.

Zoom out. A cycle deck with no building is weak against beatdown. If heavy decks stay popular and the Log and Skeletons slip again, this list has few ways to slow a big push. A weaker Fisherman would slow the whole plan, and that slowdown is the first negative to watch.

What Changed in 2026

The short version. The Royal Giant is unchanged. The Log and Fireball hit towers softer. The Heal Spirit lost a little health, though its best list wins 72.1%. Skeletons spread tighter on October 6. Bats are the weakest tracked card.

Plain talk. This deck is about tempo, not tricks. You play a card, cycle two, and play again. The Royal Giant is the bill, and the cheap cards are the coins that pay it. When the coins run out, stop and defend.

One more way to see it. Think of the deck as a relay race. The cheap cards pass the baton fast, and the Royal Giant is the last runner. If the baton drops, the race is lost, so keep the cycle clean.

In plain English. The Royal Giant is the same, the cheap spells are weaker against towers, and the cycle cards are mostly fine. The deck still cycles fast, so the plan survives.

Claims, rechecked. The write-up says the deck is popular in the top 200 and in Grand Challenges. That is a snapshot from one season, so read it as history. The 2.9 average adds up: 23 elixir over eight cards. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.

The fine print. The Hunter is solid but not special, and the Fisherman has no 2026 change found in the site data. Together they are the deck’s defense. Skeletons, at 68.6% best, are the quiet star of the cycle.

Card pages: Royal Giant, Hunter, Fisherman, Bats and Heal Spirit.

Zoom in. The Royal Giant, Fisherman and Hunter are the only sturdy troops here. If any one of them is short of levels, the cheap cards cannot cover the gap. If the Hunter slips in a coming patch, expect the deck to feel clumsy until you adjust.

How to Play It Today

Cycle on purpose. Cards like Heal Spirit, Skeletons and the Log bring the Royal Giant back fast. Do not waste elixir, so you reach your strong cards quickly.

Quick recap. Cycle fast, pull with the Fisherman, finish with the Hunter, and send the Royal Giant at the bridge. Skip the long games, and beat beatdown by being early.

Reality check. Without a building, the deck has a clear weakness. If you keep losing to beatdown, swap Bats for a card that helps against tanks.

Bottom line. Choose this list if you like fast cycles and own the legendaries. Pull, kill, then send the Royal Giant at the bridge.

Worth knowing. The Heal Spirit restores the Fisherman and Hunter almost at once. Use it right after they take a hit.

Upgrade order. Level the Fisherman, Hunter and Royal Giant first. The Fireball comes next. Bats, Skeletons, Heal Spirit and the Log can wait.

Tips. Play the Hunter and Fisherman as reactive cards, not as back-line investments. Cycle the Hunter quickly against beatdown. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.

Pair the Fisherman with the Hunter. The Hunter only deals big damage up close, and the Fisherman hooks units into range. Use the combo with the cycle cards to kill pushes.

Elixir math. The Royal Giant costs 6 of the 23 elixir, and the other seven cost 17, or 2.4 each. That is fast enough to out-cycle X-Bow and 2.6 Hog decks.

Try it yourself: the Clash Royale Deck Builder can open Royal Giant Hunter Cycle Deck with all eight cards placed. Its average cost is 2.9 elixir. Treat it as a classic list, since the tracker holds no win rate for it.

Zoom out again. The deck is strong against cycle decks and weak against beatdown, and that matchup spread can swing a season. Check which decks are popular before you queue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Royal Giant Hunter cycle deck good in 2026?

Royal Giant Evolution lists range from 56.9% to 79.8%, and Skeletons’ best wins 68.6%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Bats slot first.

What is the average elixir cost?

23 elixir across eight cards, or 2.9 on average.

What decks does it beat?

Cycle decks such as 2.6 Hog and 2.9 X-Bow, since the Royal Giant outranges X-Bow.

What counters it?

Evolution Golem, Graveyard and beatdown in general, since the deck has no building.

Does this deck need legendary cards?

Yes. It uses two legendaries, Fisherman and The Log, plus the Hunter epic.

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 guys, it’s Nebula back with another guide!

Today I want to show you a really fun deck that is currently very popular on Top 200 ladder and Grand Challenges too. It makes use of the new and improved Fisherman, who has seen a rise in use and success ever since the hook’s range buff. Despite the recent slight nerfs, the Fisherman is definitely a changed card from the obsolete fish-slapper of a few months back.

This new RG deck has been shaking up the meta!

The Deck

Cards:

Royal Giant: 

The big boy is, of course, your main win condition. He is good played together with the Fisherman because the Fisherman can distract troops from the RG. A Hunter in the push can help quickly destroy the troops which the Fisherman pulled. Because this is more of a cycle deck than a control deck, don’t be afraid to play the RG at the bridge more often than if you were playing a deck like RG Furnace. You can cycle back to RG quickly with cards like Heal Spirit, Skeletons, and Log.

Unlike other cycle decks‘ main conditions, e.g. Balloon, Hog, XBow, the RG can easily counter XBow cycle.

Fisherman:

The standout card here! The Fisherman can function as a Tornado in troop form, pulling Hogs, Giants, and Golems to the King. However, keep in mind that it is different from a Tornado because it can only pull troops as opposed to pulling cards within the Tornado’s range.

As I said before, it also synergises extremely well with the Hunter because the Hunter only deals its insane damage up close, so pair it with the Hunter as much as you can. This combo can kill many pushes combined with cycle cards. For example, if the opponent plays a Giant Sparky push, it is easy to isolate the Giant by pulling it to the King with the Fisherman, then killing the sparky with a combo like Skellies + Hunter.

The Fisherman’s relatively slow movement speed, low damage, and moderate health mean it is not very suitable for offensive pushes, however it can act as a distraction for the RG.

Hunter:

The Hunter is your main tank killer here, and can easily destroy Balloons and Hogs. For just 4 elixir, this card can provide so much value and is still underrated, with other air defences like Musketeer generally preferred.

It is much better played as a reactive card as opposed to an investment in the back, and should not be played on offence, similar to the Fisherman. He will be an absolute nightmare to deal with once he’s up close and personal with the opponent’s troops.

Try and cycle him as quickly as you can against Beatdown decks because this deck is generally weak against Beatdown, being a fast cycle deck without a building.

These three cards, RG, Fisherman, and Hunter, are the only ‘sturdy’ troops in this deck so you will need to gain as much value as you can with the cycle cards and not waste elixir so you can quickly cycle these stronger cards!

Bats:

Bats are your secondary anti-air unit. It is the cheapest defence against a Balloon in the game being a high DPS card (albeit fragile).

Bats can also provide a big offensive boost for just 2 elixir. Usually the opponent will have to take a negative elixir trade to counter them if they don’t have Bats, as the RG and other cycle troops (or Hunter/Fisherman) will be tanking/distracting.

Skeletons

Good ol’ skeletons- the ever-present cycle card. It can distract cards like Prince, Sparky, and other high damage cards very well so you can spank them with the Hunter.

They sacrifice themselves so your other troops can do their work- so make sure to use them as often as possible!

Heal Spirit

Ever since its release, the Heal Spirit has made a marked jump from the DEAD Heal card to the amazing utility card that it is now.

It can heal your defensive troops (which is important because Fisherman and Hunter don’t have the highest HP) almost instantly because your enemy won’t have the chance to react to it fast enough before it kamikazes straight into their troops.

It is also very good on offence and counter-pushes especially, being able to heal up your 1HP troops from the defence.

Log + Fireball

These two cards are very common in cycle decks so I’ll talk about them together.

In cases where your RG can’t get much damage, against defence-heavy decks like Graveyard, it is best to Fireball cycle. Make sure to make your mind up as early as possible so you don’t waste 6 elixir on your RG only for it to get obliterated, while you’re left with minimal Elixir to defend the counter-push.

The Log is an excellent small spell for cycle decks because cycle decks rely on chip damage, with the Log being able to provide more reliable and constant chip damage on the opponent’s tower when you Log back your opponent’s troops.

A maxed-out Fireball + Log deals 413 damage. Keep this in mind when you’re in overtime struggling to get that damage. You need to remember that it’s not always the right option to just chuck your Fireball at that Princess tower. You should always keep a general count on your opponent’s Elixir.

Handy tip: If they play something at the back they’re likely to have had 10 elixir. Check your elixir to see how much you’re down/up.

General gameplay:

Best starting moves: Heal Spirit at bridge, Skeletons at back, Log to cycle, RG at bridge if your opponent just played something like a PEKKA or Sparky in the other lane (try not to play Fisherman or Hunter first play.)

1xElixir:

You will want to be cycling RG as frequently as possible in order to figure out your opponent’s cards and how many/what counters your opponent has to the RG. Sometimes you don’t even need to play the RG with too much support, this isn’t an elixir-heavy deck. Often Bats + Heal Spirit can suffice. You should also try and get as much value out of Fireballs on the tower + card played in the back.

Defend with minimal elixir by making positive trades with the Hunter and the Fisherman but try and avoid as much damage as possible in 1x Elixir and take a good chunk off the opponent’s tower, because this deck does not have an extremely sturdy defence.

2xElixir:

In 2x, you should be putting the pressure on as much as possible, by making constant pushes. This is especially important against beatdown decks because you don’t want them building up lots of elixir to mount a massive push against you which you won’t be able to defend very easily. You need to know when to tower trade too. Because RG decks work so well in two-tower games (as the RG can just be played in the pocket) it is better to just let the Golem (or whatever card) go and then defend your King minimally with things like Fisherman and Bats while you pressure heavy in the pocket with RG.

Of course, this is the ideal situation (a 1-1 game) but this is the general gist of how you should approach the game in 2x.

Overtime:

In overtime, you should be pressuring with RG, but still being cautious and slowly chipping away the opponents’ tower with Logs and Fireballs. Keep cycling and cycling, often times you will have to risk your tower for all-out offence so don’t be afraid! It’s just one game, after all.

Matchups:

Golem:

This will be very difficult, as the lack of a building in such a cheap deck like this with 3 fragile cards and 2 spells is disadvantageous, but don’t despair!

You will need to keep up the pressure and stop them building massive Golem pushes because if they do, 9/10 times you’re toast. So stay on the offence!

Pull the Golem to the king the first time they use it to help you out massively, and if they play it again, use the Fisherman to pull the Golem within range of three towers.

Graveyard:

This is also a tricky one because you don’t really have a high DPS range/splash card like Dart Goblin or Archers. You will need to block their tank at the bridge with a Hunter (best case scenario) and something else to distract for as long as possible so your Princess tower is shooting at the Graveyard’s skeletons. Use Bats + Log and whatever you have to avoid too much damage.

2.6 Hog:

This deck is almost like it was practically BUILT to hard counter 2.6 Hog! The good thing is, you can pretty much keep up with their cycle if you play cards as fast as them, while you can easily destroy their cannon with a Fireball so your RG has a clear path to their tower. In fact, the RG can demolish the Cannon by itself anyway, so focus on destroying the Musketeer first in most cases.

Hunter, Bats, and Fisherman are both excellent counters to the Hog.

2.9 XBow:

The RG was made to destroy XBow! The average elixir of both these decks is both 2.9 but your win condition can easily counter their win condition. It will be basically impossible for them to get any damage if you keep up with their cycle, and they will have to save their Tesla for defending your RG instead of on offence protecting the XBow, making it even easier for you.

You really shouldn’t be losing THIS matchup…..

Here’s some top gameplay of this deck:

Well that’s it! I hope you enjoyed the guide and that I maaaaybe convinced you to try out this deck because after all, it’s incredibly fun to play.

Any remarks, questions, etc.? Drop it in the comments below.

Peace! <3

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