AI Overview: This Giant Prince starter deck averages 3.4 elixir and keeps things simple. The Giant pushes one lane, and the Prince hits the other when the opponent runs low. Giant’s best list wins 71.6% over 587 battles, 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 27 elixir, which is 3.4 on average, and the Giant, Barbarians and Prince cost 5 each.
- Giant had no 2026 change, and his best list wins 71.6% over 587 battles.
- Barbarians gained hitpoints, 691 to 716, on August 4, and their best list wins 53.1%.
- Prince had no 2026 change, but his best list wins 52.5% over 1,300, and one of seven lists tops 50%.
- Arrows lost Crown Tower damage, 93 to 75, on June 1.
The Giant Prince Starter List, Priced Card by Card
The big idea. Two lanes, one rule. Push with the Giant on one side, and keep the Prince for the other when the opponent has spent their elixir.
Matchups. The write-up flags that the deck gets crushed by Hut or Zoo decks. Play defensively if the opponent starts placing huts. Against Hog and Freeze, the Skeletons and Spear Goblins pay off. The takeaway: know your weak matchup.
| Card | Elixir | Job in the deck | 2026 status |
| Giant | 5 | Tank and win condition | No 2026 change; best list 71.6% over 587 |
| Prince | 5 | Heavy hitter on the opposite lane | No 2026 change; best list 52.5% over 1,300, only one of seven above 50% |
| Barbarians | 5 | Ground defense and sponge | Hitpoints 691 to 716 on August 4; best list 53.1% over 731 |
| Musketeer | 4 | Ranged damage dealer | No 2026 change; Evo and Hero lists mostly 53% or more, best Hero 62.1% |
| Bomber | 2 | Cheap splash support | Damage 225 to 212 on September 8; best list 68.7% over 1,400, one of six lists above 50% |
| Spear Goblins | 2 | Cheap air and ground chip | Hit speed 1.7 to 1.6 seconds on August 4; best list 54.9% over 915 |
| Skeletons | 1 | Cheap distraction and cycle | Spawn spread tighter on October 6; best list 68.6% over about 3,800 |
| Arrows | 3 | Swarm spell | Crown Tower damage 93 to 75 on June 1; best list 68.7% |
Here is each card with its price and its 2026 notes.
Zoom out. Starter decks are easy to learn and easy to beat once players climb. If the Prince and Barbarians slip in a patch, the list needs a second plan sooner than most people expect. A weaker Prince would slow the whole plan, and that slowdown is the first negative to watch.
What Changed in 2026
The short version. The Giant and Musketeer stand still. Barbarians gained health, and Spear Goblins got faster. Arrows hit softer. The Bomber hits for 212, not 225.
One more way to see it. The Giant is the big truck on one road, and the Prince is a motorbike on the other. Both are slow without cheap cars around them, so keep the small cards flowing.
In plain English. Nothing in this list changed much. The cheap cards got small tweaks, the Prince is the same, and the Giant is as strong as ever. That is exactly what a starter deck wants: nothing new to learn.
Claims, rechecked. The write-up says the list uses all Arena 1 cards. The Prince is an epic, so that does not hold for the list as printed. It also says the deck pushed a player to 1,700+ trophies, which is a single account’s run. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.
The fine print. The Prince is a gamble: his best list wins only 52.5%, and six of seven printed lists did worse than 50%. The Musketeer is the opposite, with Evolution and Hero lists mostly at 53% or more.
Card pages: Giant, Prince, Barbarians, Musketeer and Bomber.
Zoom in. The Giant, Barbarians and Prince are three 5-elixir cards. When they all arrive late, the cheap cards must hold the line, and a new player may panic. If the Barbarians slips in a coming patch, expect the deck to feel clumsy until you adjust.
How to Play It Today
Push with order. From a full bar, deploy one troop behind the King Tower, in this order: Giant, Bomber, Barbarians, Musketeer. If you play a tank, add a power unit behind it.
Quick recap. Push one lane with the Giant, hit the other with the Prince, and keep the cheap cards moving. That is the whole plan, and it is enough early on.
Reality check. A low-level Prince is a weak card. If he sits far below the others, swap him for a card you trust and keep the plan the same.
Bottom line. Pick this list as an early deck, and stay with it for a few weeks. Learn one rule per matchup, then build a second plan.
Worth knowing. Combos help: Skeletons then Spear Goblins gives a two-elixir lead plus two extra goblins. Giant plus a power unit takes down an X-Bow.
Upgrade order. Level the Giant, Musketeer and Prince first. Barbarians come next. Bomber, Spear Goblins, Skeletons and Arrows can wait.
Tips. Prefer the Giant to the Giant Skeleton, since the Skeleton can be distracted and the Giant cannot. The Musketeer counters big troops behind the Crown Tower, especially a Baby Dragon. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.
Use the Prince late. While the opponent spends elixir on the first lane, send the Prince on the opposite side. Add Arrows or a Bomber behind him.
Elixir math. Three 5-elixir cards cost 15 of the 27. The other five cost 12, or 2.4 each. So the cheap cards cycle fast and keep the big ones coming.
Try it yourself: send Giant Prince Starter Deck to the Clash Royale Deck Builder and tweak it to fit your levels. The average cost is 3.4 elixir; as a classic list it carries no 2026 win rate.
Zoom out again. At higher trophy ranges, no one expects a basic deck. That works for a while, but it ends once players learn your cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Giant Prince deck good for beginners in 2026?
Giant’s best list wins 71.6% and the Musketeer’s best Hero list wins 62.1%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Prince slot first.
What is the average elixir cost?
27 elixir across eight cards, or 3.4 on average.
What are the replacements?
Giant Skeleton for Giant, Knight for Barbarians, Wizard for Bomber, Archers for Spear Goblins, Goblins for Skeletons and Zap for Arrows.
What beats a Giant Prince deck?
Hut or Zoo decks that bring constant swarms, plus an Inferno Tower for the Giant.
Does this deck need epic or legendary cards?
It needs only one epic, the Prince, and no legendary.
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.
This Arena 1 Deck is a very cool deck to use, as you can technically use all Arena 1 cards and still push to 1700+ trophies. After you get there, you can continue using deck like I did, otherwise you can use a lot of other stunning Decks on Clash Royale Arena. I hope you guys will like this Deck and thanks Courier_6 very much for sharing this deck!
Best Clash Royale Arena 1 Deck
Reasons that this Arena 1 Deck works for all new players
- Surprising deck
- Basic deck
- Elixir efficient
Cards
First card is my preferred deck, others are replacements if one is looking for different stats
- Giant/Giant Skeleton: Your main tanker. I prefer Giant to Giant Skeleton because the Giant Skeleton can be distracted while the Giant cannot. Use him to tank for the power units.
- Barbarians/Knight – The Knight acts as a secondary tanker behind the Giant. Barbarians should be better, as they can be used on offense AND defense, and there are four of them. However, Knight takes 2 elixir less to play.
- Bomber/Wizard/Dragon: Bomber costs the least out of them all, so I prefer him. It also does more damage than a Dragon. I haven’t fully tried out the Wizard yet.
- Musketeer: Use this to counter big troops behind the CT, especially Baby Dragon. Then use a tanker and push.
- Spear Goblins/Archers: They are extremely effective on both offense and defense. Can be played to keep the rotation going.
- Skeletons/Goblins: The same reason as above.
- Arrows/Zap: Arrows can destroy squishy units better than Zap unless Zap is high-leveled. Use this to gain the elixir advantage.
- Prince: He is the main damage dealer of this Arena 1 Deck. This handsome guy was nerfed. But only a bit. He can still wreck towers.
In the higher trophy ranges, no one expects you to use such a basic deck. They will think they can crush you and make many mistakes. You can easily counter them if they do and win. This is probably one of the most elixir efficient decks that work.
Warning: This deck gets crushed by Hut/Zoo decks, so be aware of the fact that if your opponent starts deploying huts, play defensively.
Combos
Hog + Freeze – Deploy Skeletons. After the Freeze spell is deployed, deploy a power unit or Spear Goblins.
Prince – Deploy Skeletons, and Spear Goblins right after. You end up with a two elixir advantage and two extra spear goblins.
X-Bow – Deploy Giant and a power unit to take down the X-Bow. Then use the Prince on the other lane if the opponent uses a bunch of elixir to defend the X-Bow.
Example Strategy
Note that there are many ways to play with this deck, and this is only one of them but it’s the best way to play at Arena 1-3. I will try to update this in the future If this strategy has enough attention :D.
From 3:00 To 1:00
With this deck, pushing first is Okay. It is actually what I do many times. First, you want to deploy ONE of these troops behind your King Tower after the elixir bar has filled up (don’t waste a second, try to time it just right). From order to deploy in when you have more than one – Giant, Knight (if you are using it), Bomber, Musketeer.
If you don’t have any of these, use Spear Goblins to damage the enemy’s Tower a bit.
If you deployed a tanker, deploy a power unit behind it. If it was a Knight, you can also deploy a Giant in front of the Knight after you deployed a power unit. The order that the units should move towards the enemy’s tower is best as Giant, Bomber, Barbarians (or Knight), and Musketeer. While your opponent is spending all his Elixir defending against that push, you can play Prince on opposite lane and either:
- Have Arrows ready to counter
- Play Bomber after Prince
This way, they will have to invest more elixir on the opposite lane, and you can start attacking on the first lane. Repeat this process for two minutes to wear down the opponent.
1:00 to End
Once the Elixir starts rolling in, start deploying tankers and power units right after. Do it rapidly in the lane where your tower is damaged more than the other. That way, the tower will be protected, and when they try to go all out on that lane, you can use the Prince on the other. Usually, you will have already taken out a crown tower by now. IT DOESN’T MATTER! Attack the other crown tower with all your troops while maintaining elixir to counter pushes on the other lane.
If you are at Arena 6 or above, here are some tips for you:
Replacements:
- Arrows to Fireball.
- Prince to Hog (unless Prince is really high level).
- Skeletons to Elixir Collector.
Fireball is better than Arrows at this level due to the massive use of buildings. It can also take out many good troops that wouldn’t be taken out by Arrows, like Musketeer. The Hog is better than the Prince because it is faster and is one less elixir. It has less HP but is still good. Elixir collector gives you elixir advantage and can be used as a defensive building when you are winning and want to end the game.
Remember – there are many different ways to play this deck. Play what suits your opening hand. There are no real combos that this deck relies on, so it is easy to recover from faults.
Okay guys thanks for reading guys! Please ask me any question whenever you need help!
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