AI Overview: This Miner Furnace deck averages 3.0 elixir and plays as a chip and control deck. Miner and Furnace both lost something in 2026, since the Miner hits towers for 39 and the Furnace reaches 5.5 tiles, but both have best lists above 66%, so the old chip plan still has real support. Figures are taken from October 2026 card data.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- The deck costs 24 elixir, which is 3.0 on average, and no card costs more than 4.
- Miner lost Crown Tower damage on July 6 (49 to 39), and his best list wins 66.0% over 535 battles.
- Furnace range fell from 6 to 5.5 tiles on June 1, and its best list wins 72.1% over 1,100.
- Fireball lost Crown Tower damage twice (207 to 172 to 159), and Zap lost it once (58 to 48).
- Mini P.E.K.K.A had no 2026 change, and Ice Spirit lists all win 56.7% or more.
The Miner Furnace List, Priced Card by Card
Here’s the thing: that he preferred chip cycle decks over beatdown, and that he built this list around the Miner after unlocking him. Every push includes the Miner, and the Furnace is there for when the opponent can stop everything else.
| Card | Elixir | Job in the deck | 2026 status |
| Miner | 3 | Win condition in every push | Crown Tower damage 49 to 39 on July 6; best list 66.0% over 535 |
| Furnace | 4 | Pressure and chip building | Range 6 to 5.5 tiles on June 1; best list 72.1% over 1,100 |
| Ice Spirit | 1 | Cheap cycle and freeze | Hitpoints 230 to 215 on August 4; every printed list 56.7% or more |
| Zap | 2 | Versatile spell | Crown Tower damage 58 to 48 on June 1; Evo Zap 77.0% over about 1,000 |
| Fireball | 4 | Burst spell for groups | Crown Tower damage 207 to 172 to 159; best list 60.4% over about 4,700 |
| Mini P.E.K.K.A | 4 | Tank stopper, turns defense into offense | No 2026 change; best list 60.6% over 1,100, only one of six above 50% |
| Minions | 3 | Air offense and defense | No 2026 change; best list 65.2% over 2,300 |
| Guards | 3 | Defense only, counters many cards | No 2026 change; best list 50.1%, the other seven 42.2% to 48.7% |
The table prices the cards and shows how each looks in October 2026.
Cheap cycle decks live on small gains. The negative effect: with the Miner, Fireball and Zap all trimmed on towers.
What Changed in 2026
Many players call the Miner the win condition of the deck, and he still is, at 39 damage a hit. The Furnace has a shorter reach, 5.5 tiles, but its best list wins 72.1%.
Those numbers belong to the old system and should be skipped. What carries over is the order of importance: Miner, then Mini P.E.K.K.A, then the cheap spells.
The defense cards held up. Mini P.E.K.K.A had no change and a best list of 60.6%, Ice Spirit lists win 56.7% or more, and Minions have a best list of 65.2%. Guards have a best list of 50.1%, and the other seven lists win 42.2% to 48.7%, so they are the weak link.
Card pages: Miner, Furnace and Mini P.E.K.K.A.
Guards are the one card in this list with weak 2026 numbers. The negative effect: many players call them his favorite defensive card, but with seven of eight lists below 49%, a player who relies on them may find that a swap for Skeletons or Goblins works better.
How to Play It Today
When facing heavy decks with an Elixir Collector, send the Miner to get a positive elixir trade. Against Hog cycle, counter with the Mini P.E.K.K.A and then start a counter-push with Miner and Ice Spirit.
Matchups. The Guards are for defense only, and he saved them for single cards that need to be answered. Against Hog cycle, the Mini P.E.K.K.A is the best counter. Minions punish decks with little air defense, and they can destroy ground troops running to your side.
Translation: Ice Spirit plus Zap can take down a Minion Horde or strip the Guards’ shield. Miner plus Ice Spirit plus Minions can destroy a tower if the opponent is not ready. If the opponent runs a Balloon, save the Minions for defense. Use the Furnace to force a reaction on your side.
Elixir math: no card costs more than 4, and the Ice Spirit costs 1. That is what lets the deck cycle back to the Miner in a few plays.
Try it yourself: want to see how it feels? Open the Clash Royale Deck Builder, where Miner Furnace Deck is waiting. At 3.0 elixir on average it is a clear example of its style; just remember it has no 2026 win rate behind it.
The Furnace is hard to play if it does not reach the tower. The negative effect: with its range cut to 5.5 tiles, the Furnace is a little harder to place well, and a further cut could turn it from a pressure card into a pure defense card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Miner Furnace good in 2026?
Miner’s best list wins 66.0% and Furnace’s best wins 72.1%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so read it as direction.
How heavy is this deck in elixir?
The eight cards add up to 24 elixir, so the average is 3.0.
Did the Miner change?
Yes. His Crown Tower damage fell from 49 to 39 on July 6.
Is Fireball still good?
It lost tower damage twice (207 to 172 to 159), but its best list still wins 60.4%.
Are Guards still worth it?
Seven of eight printed Guards lists win under 49%, so test a swap.
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 everyone, My nickname is Verdant and today I will be showing you my Miner Furnace deck that’s keeping me at 3.8k with 10/7/3/1. Also, I strongly believe that you can use this deck and get into Arena 9 with ease.
Miner Furnace Control Deck – Push to Legendary Arena
So I’ve been this game since March and have always preferred chip cycle decks over Beatdown decks. Before unlocking the Miner i used to run a Hog Cycle deck but ever since i unlocked him, I have been trying to find a perfectly balanced deck for him, and i think i did. Currently I’m on Phonecheetahs and working on my way to 4000 trophies.
The Deck
Miner (Lv 1): The win condition of this deck. All your pushes should include him. When facing heavy decks running Elixir Collector, always send your Miner to get the positive Elixir trade, force your opponent to react and not form a complete push.
Ice Spirit (Lv 10): Honestly one of my favorite cards in the game. Just for 1 Elixir this card can make a huge difference on offense. Ice Spirit+Zap can completely take down a Minion Horde or take the Guards’ shield. Ice Spirit + Mini P.E.K.K.A is my favorite defensive combo to deal with tons of pushes. I strongly recommend you take a look at this guide for more details!
Zap (Lv 10): By far the best spell in the game. Complements the Ice Spirit perfectly. Always try to add him to your pushes. Very versatile and can be used in almost any situation.
Fireball (Lv7): Used to be overshadowed by Poison but after the balance changes it has become very viable. Use it for Barbs, Mega Minions and huge clumps of Medium health troops, if you used correctly you will get amazing value. Take a look at this in-depth guide for more details about the Fireball!
Mini P.E.K.K.A (Lv7): The staple card of the deck. Your tank stopper and main damage dealer. Excellent at turning defense into offense. When facing Hog cycle decks always try to counter him with Mini P.E.K.K.A and start mounting a counter push with Miner and ice spirit. The best tank killer at the moment! Take a look at here to read more about the Pancake hero!
Minions (Lv10): Completely punishes decks with little air defense. Can destroy ground troops running to your side of the map and turn them into counter pushes. Miner+Ice Spirit+Minions can destroy towers if the opponent isn’t ready for it. If your opponent runs Balloon consider saving minions for defense.
Furnace (Lv7): I’m not going to lie, Furnace is a tough card to play if it doesn’t reach your opponents tower. If your opponent can completely stop your pushes, that is where the Furnace comes in. Forces your opponents to react to a card on your side of the map and letting you form a bigger push. Mainly used for defense or chip damage.
Guards (Lv 3): By far my favorite card simply because this bad boys counter so many cards. Exclusive for defense the Guards are one of the best cards in the current META. Save them for single target troops. If surround a Sparky with Guards it will take her 4 shots to completely kill them all. Can not be saved which makes them great Hog counters.
General Gameplan
Control the set of the game
This deck is great because it forces your opponent to generally attack you and help you form a counter push. The Furnace will help you get your opponent to either waste elixir or tank 200~ per spirit.
1x Elixir Period
This is your time to shine. You will want to have your Furnace or Miner on your starting hand. If you get your Furnace, play it slow and counter your opponent moves. If you get a Miner you will want to start a push at the bridge just to test the waters and see how your opponent counters. If you do not get either of this cards play Minions or Ice Spirit near your Crown Tower and you should already have a Miner of Furnace on your hand.
During this period you will want to learn all the cards that your opponent has and mess up his cycle. For example, if he has arrows always try to bait his arrows with guards or force his guards so your Mini P.E.K.K.A doesn’t run into trouble. You generally do not want to start pushes from the back nor push with a bare Mini P.E.K.K.A + Miner push.
Ways to play the deck
This is deck is so good because it has many versatile cards and can be played 3 different ways depending on your opponent cards and cycle.
- Miner+Mini P.E.K.K.A + Ice Spirit: Main push, deals great damage if your opponent doesn’t have a good counter. Can run into trouble when facing Guards, so what you will want to do is either time the fire spirits that come out of your furnace to help your push, or Ice Spirit+Zap to break the Guards’ shield. If your opponent keeps countering this push try using the next one.
- Miner+Ice Spirit+ Minions: Very similar to the first type of push but this one focuses on punishing decks weak to air. If your opponent has Arrows completely stop using this type of push and try using the one above. The Miner will tank and even if the minions are zapped they will survive with 1hp and the ice spirit will freeze the tower. Can completely take a tower if it isn’t countered correctly. In case that your opponent runs both Arrows and Guards refer to the last type of push.
- Furnace Cycle: The last method to reach your opponent tower ( and the most defensive one). What you will want to do is stack up 2 furnaces on the same lane and constantly pressure your opponent. Even though this method is mentioned last it can be as effective as the first two mentioned. When playing at tournaments this method isn’t recommended since it takes a lot of time to take a tower and time is gold when playing against the clock.
Matchups
- Lavahound Control decks: When facing a Lavahound immediately start cycling furnaces. Lavahound decks generally run Arrows, Guards/Tombstone; making the first two pushes obsolete (unless you force your opponent to waste any of this cards). The constant pressure shouldn’t allow for a big Lavahound push and fireball should kill all the pups when they spawn.
- Trifecta: This deck destroys trifecta if used correctly. First of all you should know that Trifecta is based on counter pushing, so you will want to push the opposite lane, forcing your opponent to split damage your towers. If your opponent plays a bad Valkyrie , take advantage of it and push with Mini Pekka+ Ice spirit+ Miner. If he/she plays an Ice spirit/Musketeer on the back, immediately send a Minions push down the opposite lane. Lacking of air coverage your opponent will not only be forced to use a Valkyrie to kill the miner but will also need to Zap the minions ( Zap and Valkyrie are huge assets for Trifecta to work correctly.
- Zap Bait decks: This deck is incredibly at dealing with big amount of troops. First you will need to establish what cards you’re gonna use on defense. Here a few good counters for spam decks:
- Skeleton Army: Minions and Zap are perfect answers
- Goblin Barrel: Zap and Guards clean up nicely
- Minion Horde: Furnace, Fireball and Zap+ Ice spirit destroy this fragile card
- Witch behind a tank: Guards surrounding the witch or Mini Pekka+Zap can easily take her down
- Three Musketeers: Fireball+Zap completely destroys them
Personal Tips
- Get to know your opponent ‘s deck and his counters. This deck is based on having a perfect read on your opponent’s deck and how he defends. Usually you will want to focus on one type of pushing method during the entire game.
- Make the best of your Ice Spirit. I cant stress enough how good this card is on offense. Adding it to a push can determine the difference between 3 Mini Pekka hits on a tower and none. Always have Zap to go with this troop.
- If you get a tower down to 300~, stop pushing that side. I’m surprised not many people do this but not destroying a tower when it has very little HP can actually win you the game.
- Once the first Crown is taken, your opponent’s King is activated and while it doesn’t matter when running a Beatdown deck, Miner decks are different and your attacks are much weaker when two cannons are shooting at your only tank. If you can hold on to taking a tower, do it.
Alright guys this has been it, hope you enjoyed this deck and hopefully give it a try. If you have any questions don’t hesitate on posting a comment!
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