Hog Rider Freeze Deck: A 3.3 Elixir Cannon Plan

By Clash World · Deck Building · Oct 16, 2026

AI Overview: This Hog Rider Freeze deck averages 3.3 elixir and plays as a cheap Hog cycle. The Hog and Goblins push, the Freeze surprises the defense, and the Cannon and Minions hold the other side. Freeze’s best list wins 72.3% over 792 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 eight cards cost 26 elixir, which is 3.3 on average, and no card costs more than 4.
• Freeze now lasts 3.5 seconds, down from 4, and its best list wins 72.3% over 792 battles.
• The Cannon’s Evolution barrage fell from 281 to 261 on October 6, and all eight printed base-card Cannon lists win 53.0% or more.
• Fireball hits a Crown Tower for 159, and Zap hits for 48, so both spells are weaker than last year.
• The Hog Rider had no 2026 change, and his best list wins 61.2% over about 3,800 battles.

The Hog Rider Freeze List, Priced Card by Card

The big idea. Build a Hog and Goblins push, then freeze the defense at the last second for a clean hit.

Matchups. Against Giant decks, the Cannon and Minions hold. Against Balloon, the Minions answer. Against Log Bait, Zap and Fireball help. The rule: cycle, then freeze.

The table shows each card’s price, role and 2026 note.

Zoom out. Freeze is a surprise card, and a surprise only works once. If Freeze loses more time or tower damage, the finisher gets weaker, and the deck becomes a plain Hog cycle.

What Changed in 2026

The short version. Freeze lasts 3.5 seconds, not 4, and hits a tower for 37, not 45. Fireball hits a tower for 159. Zap hits for 48, not 58. The Goblins were reworked on August 4. The Hog Rider and Musketeer did not change.

Another habit. Look at their spells after each trade. It tells you when the Freeze is safe.

Short on time? Read the table, cycle the Hog, and save the Freeze. That covers most of the deck.

Final word. Surprise is the whole point. Keep the Freeze hidden for as long as you can.

Plain talk. This is a simple cycle list. It works when you stay patient.

One more way to see it. The Hog and Goblins are the knock on the door. The Freeze is the key turning in the lock. You use it when no one is looking.

In plain English. The Freeze got shorter, the spells hit softer, and the Hog stayed the same. The plan is a cheap cycle with a surprise at the end.

Claims, rechecked. The write-up says Hog Freeze will be one of the most popular combos. That was a guess for one event, so it does not carry over. It also calls the Minions the best card in that pool, which was an opinion, though their 65.2% best list is strong. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.

The fine print. Freeze’s best list wins 72.3%, and the Hog Rider’s best wins 61.2%. The Musketeer’s best Hero list wins 62.1%. Cannon lists with the base card win 53.0% or more, and seven of those eight are Hog cycle decks. The deck is on solid ground.

Card pages: Hog Rider, Freeze, Cannon, Musketeer and Goblins.

Zoom in. The original built this list for a retro event with a limited card pool and predicted Hog Freeze would be popular. The event is over. The deck still works as a cheap, versatile cycle.

How to Play It Today

Save the Freeze. Keep it until you hold an elixir lead. The original says to wait until the opponent least expects it.

Last word. Keep the cycle quick. The deck wins by hitting often and surprising late.

Small habit. Watch their elixir. When it drops below four, the Freeze is nearly free.

Extra tip. Play the Goblins first on the opposite lane. They bait a spell, and the Hog slips through.

Last tip. Freeze both the tower defense and the troops. A single hit is not enough to justify four elixir.

Quick recap. Hog, Goblins, Freeze, Cannon. Cycle first, freeze second.

Reality check. A surprise card only works if you do not show it early. Do not use Freeze on defense unless you must.

Bottom line. Pick this list if you like a cheap, quick deck. Cycle the Hog, hold the Freeze, and strike when they are tired.

Worth knowing. The original page also lists other combos for that event, such as Giant Balloon and Giant Musketeer. This page covers only the Hog Freeze list.

Upgrade order. Level the Hog Rider, Freeze and Fireball first. The Musketeer and Cannon come next. The Zap, Goblins and Minions can wait.

Tips. Use Zap for the Skeleton Army and the Goblin Barrel. Keep the Musketeer back until you have a lead. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.

Use the Cannon for the Hog. The Cannon pulls Hogs and stops cheap pushes. Place it where it also guards the tower.

Elixir math. Freeze and Fireball cost 8 of the 26 elixir, and the Hog costs 4. The other five cost 14, or 2.8 each. So the cycle stays quick.

Try it yourself: load Hog Rider Freeze Deck into the Clash Royale Deck Builder and test it with your own card levels. It averages 3.3 elixir. No tracker has sampled this exact build, so there is no 2026 win rate to quote.

Zoom out again. Cheap Hog decks need room to cycle. If the next patch lifts buildings or makes the Cannon stronger for the opponent, the Hog will lose damage, and the Freeze will matter more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Hog Rider Freeze deck good in 2026?

Freeze’s best list wins 72.3% and the Hog’s best wins 61.2%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Cannon slot first.

What is the average elixir cost?

26 elixir across eight cards, or 3.3 on average.

When should you use Freeze?

After the Hog and Goblins are already pushing, and when you hold an elixir lead.

Why use a Cannon with a Hog?

The Cannon pulls Hogs and shuts down cheap pushes, and it holds the tower while you cycle.

Do the Minions matter?

They hold air and cycle fast. The original calls them probably the best card for that event.

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.

The new Clash Royale Anniversary Event is live! And in order to get to the next stage, you need to win this Retro Royale Challenge!

Basic Information

• In Retro Royale, we can only use the cards that were released along with the Soft Launch, so cards like Royal Giant, Three Muskets, Dark Prince, Poison and all the legendaries cannot be used.
• The card stats are their current stats, not the ones when they were released. So, build your decks according the current good cards. Don’t try to use the decks that were strong 2 years ago.
• Hog Freeze is gonna be one of the most popular combos so you either use it or make a counter for it.
• Do your best to get 10 Crowns as soon as possible to enter the next stage, the Modern Challenge.
• Your card levels will be set to Tournament Standard whether they are above or below the threshold.
• It’s free to join this Challenge. You only need to join one time because losing doesn’t matter.

Best Decks for Retro Royale Challenge

As I told before, Hog Freeze is gonna be popular. So I am gonna use it in the following deck.

This basically a cheap Hog Freeze deck which is actually quite powerful.

I am not gonna go deeply in this guide as its pretty simple to use and I don’t want to face someone and lose against him/her who using my deck.

Just kidding :p.

This is pretty versatile deck which is strong is defense as well as offense.

You have the Retro (pun intended) Hog Goblins combo with Fireball and Zap which is actually pretty devastating.

Minions are probably the best card to use in Retro Challenge Decks as they are so good and versatile.

Use them on defense, offense and what not. Musketeer good support, the runner in this decks and a card having good range and DPS.

Cannon for defense against Hogs as you are gonna see them a lot probably. And Freeze the suprise element of this deck. Save it till you get elixir advantage and opponent least expects it.

You should read this guide about Hog Freeze for more tips.

Other Strong Combos for the Retro Challenge

1. Giant Balloon
2. Giant Musk Lightning
3. Golem Baby Draggon Lightning
4. P.E.K.K.A Balloon
5. Golem Balloon
6. Jason’s Beatdown Deck
7. Balloon Freeze
8. Hog Lightning
9. Original Trifecta with Freeze
10. Giant Skeleton Spell Bait( Might be effective)

Shared by Blaze Stone

Unbeatable Retro Royale Deck by Habagat

Hi guys, I’m Habagat and this is my first ever deck for Clash Royale. I’ve been lurking here for quite some time now and I though it’s about time for me to share some little knowledge that I have.

Alright, so everyone now is enjoying the new tournament called Retro Royale. It can never get as nostalgic as it is since the players seem to be transported to the past and play the game like it used to be.

This deck of mine is my go-to deck ever since I hit the Legendary Arena at Level 9 F2P. It is completely off-meta that can counter any deck types.

It is also, arguably, the most balanced deck in terms of offense and defense.

Cards Breakdown

Hog Rider – This is the main win condition of the deck. It’s focus in attacking the tower – be it a one-hit or two-hit raid – can spell big difference in the outcome of the game.

Goblins – Cheap defensive troop that is good in either supporting the Hog Rider in offense, or the Cannon/Inferno Tower in defense, or in eliminating the likes of Wizards, Musketeers, or any solo troop that tries to attack your tower.

Minions – This is basically the flying counterpart of the Goblins. Good in eliminating the Miner or Goblin Barrel. Perfect support for the Hog Rider in offense, and for the Cannon/Inferno Tower in defense.

Goblin Hut – This building is the critical part of this deck as it plays a very important role both in offense and defense. Just like any type of offensive building (Furnace, Barb Hut, etc.), it attracts so much attention from your opponent as he needs to counter it with either Fireball or Rocket immediately. Otherwise, it Spear Gobs will hurt his tower slowly but surely. Later in this guide, I’ll discuss it’s very important role in defense.

Cannon – The initial counter for Hog Rider. This is also my main defensive card for Elite Barbs. Cannon plus Goblins can eliminate those Barbs with ease.

Inferno Tower – Best defensive building in my opinion. The good thing with having this is that most deck types don’t expect it, especially if I already played the Cannon. Most of the time, it distracts the opponent’s cycles and strategies especially those with Giant, Golem, Lava Hound tanks.

Zap – Cheap spell that comes in handy for the entire duration of the game.

Fireball – The go-to spell of this deck. Perfect for any kind of situations – offensive buildings, elixir collector, barbs, group of troops. etc. It can finish off the game as well.

Average Elixir Cost is 3.5. Not really cheap, but not expensive either making it a well-rounded and most balanced deck. Not to mention that it only has 2 Rares, the rest are commons. Perfect for Retro Royale tournament.

General Gameplan

Okay, so the basic start of this deck is for you to play the Goblin Hut and position it right on top of the King’s Tower (center)

I normally choose the left side since most players attack from their right. So the Hut will be in the center-left, directly on top of the King’s Tower. This position will also allow you to use it as your secondary defensive building as it will pull the Hog Rider or the Giant or the Elite Barbs to attack it once they are done with the Cannon or with the Inferno Tower.

In the process, saving your Tower from getting any damage.

Your next move will depend on his reaction to your Hut.

If he plays a Giant at the back, on your left lane, then prepare your Inferno Tower and Fireball since most of the time the Giant will be supported by a Witch.

When his Giant approaches the bridge, drop your Hog Rider in the opposite lane

The possible scenarios are either he drops the support to his Giant which will leave him defenseless to your Hog, or he’ll counter your attack with any troop or building leaving his Giant push pretty much useless.

The general rule of course in playing against Tanks is to never ever engage in a same lane counter push.

If he decided to change his focus in the same lane where your Hog Rider is attacking, then might as well shift your push to the opposite lane.

Disrupting his strategy will give you superior advantage since your deck is primarily built for defense and sneaky offense.

If the hut is not available in your starting hand, then you can try using your Hog as initial play.

Try to size up his cards and play your Hut as soon as it becomes available.

If he’s using a fast-cycle deck featuring Elite Barbs, the main counter is your Cannon and Goblins/Minions.

Maximize the use of your Zap and Fireball.

Remember that fast-cycles are dangerous in double elixir time, so the usage and positioning of your Hut plays an important role. But since we’re talking about the Tournament, no need to worry for the Elite Barbs, lol!

Against the infamous trifecta deck user – Hog, Musketeer, Valkyrie – your Fireball plays an underrated role.

Their normal counter to your Goblin Hut is that they play their Musketeer at the back of their Tower. Then of course, when the Musketeer is in the bridge already, they’ll surprise you with the Valk+Hog combo making it a very deadly push. Not even your Cannon + Goblins + Hut can make a stand against that. So never let that happen.

Enter the Fireball strategy. Immediately after he drops his Musketeer, Fireball it. One Fireball plus one hit from the Goblin will kill that push. A Valk+Hog push without a Musketeer can be taken cared of by your Inferno Tower putting him in an elixir disadvantage.

The only loss that I suffered so far is against a Hog-Freeze user. And it was more of eagerness error on my part in the last 10 seconds when I tried to become aggressive.

Remember that the deck is meant to defend more than to attack. So choosing to become aggressive should be very much calculated.

Freeze user will often surprise you, but since you have the Cannon to counter his Hog, he’ll have a hard time deciding whether he’ll play his Freeze right away or just wait for the moment when the Hog reaches your Tower. But mind you, with the positioning of your Hut, his Hog will never reach your Tower, leaving him in a difficult situation to play his Freeze.

Against the Mortar/X-bow user, which is very rare in the Tournament, you should be playing it with ease since you have the proper buildings to counter.

Just don’t let him surprises you, or else you’ll get overwhelmed and will destroy your cycles.

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