AI Overview: This Prince Bait deck averages 3.0 elixir and runs no Zap, so the Electro Wizard does the stunning. It is a spinoff of Surgical Goblin’s deck and said it got better after the Knight was nerfed. In 2026 the Prince had no change but his best list wins only 52.5%, and this exact list has no tracker sample. Keep reading for the full card breakdown.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- The deck costs 24 elixir, which is 3.0 on average, and the Prince (5) is the only card above 4.
- Prince had no 2026 change, but his best list wins only 52.5% over 1,300 battles, with only one of seven above 50%.
- Goblin Barrel’s first hit lands at 0.3 seconds, not 0.4 (October 6), and its best list wins 65.4%.
- Princess’s best list wins 65.1% over 3,500 battles, and her Evolution was buffed on August 4.
- The Log hits towers for 35, not 41, and Electro Wizard’s best list wins 72.1%.
The Prince Bait List, Priced Card by Card
Here’s the thing: trick the opponent with Goblin Barrels, Goblin Gangs and Princesses. The idea is simple. Use the Prince to tank for the Barrel, and use the Gang and Princess to draw out The Log or Zap.
| Card | Elixir | Job in the deck | 2026 status |
| Prince | 5 | Tank for the Goblin Barrel and damage dealer | No 2026 change; best list 52.5% over 1,300, only one of seven above 50% |
| Goblin Gang | 3 | Cheap defense and spell bait | No 2026 change; best list 62.9% over about 3,100 |
| Goblin Barrel | 3 | Main win condition | Best list 65.4% over about 1,500; first hit 0.4 to 0.3 seconds on October 6 |
| Princess | 3 | Long-range support and spell bait | Best list 65.1% over 3,500 (LogBait); Evo buff on August 4 |
| Electro Wizard | 4 | Utility card that stuns and covers the air | Best list 72.1% over about 1,100; Hero added in October 2026 (small samples) |
| The Log | 2 | Cheap spell for swarms | Crown Tower damage 41 to 35 on June 1; best list 65.1% over 3,500 |
| Ice Spirit | 1 | Cheap slow and cycle card | Hitpoints 230 to 215 on August 4; every printed list 56.7% or more |
| Tornado | 3 | Control card that activates the King Tower | No 2026 change; best list 64.7% over about 1,900 |
The table lists all eight cards, their elixir costs and where each stands after the 2026 patches.
A bait deck needs the bait to work. The negative effect: the Prince is the weakest card here on the data, at 52.5% in his best list, so the tank for the Barrel is the part of the plan most likely to fall behind.
What Changed in 2026
The Prince is unchanged. The Goblin Barrel lands 0.1 seconds faster. The Princess has a stronger Evolution. The Log hits towers for less. The Ice Spirit has fewer hitpoints. The Electro Wizard has a Hero version now, with small samples.
Claims, rechecked. The deck does amazingly on ladder. This exact list has no sample, so the claim is a personal view. The Prince’s own best list of 52.5% shows the tank slot is not a strength today.
The weak spots. The Prince’s best list is 52.5%, with only one of seven above 50%. The Goblin Gang’s best list wins 62.9%. The Tornado’s best list wins 64.7%. The deck has no Zap, so the Electro Wizard is the only reset.
Card pages: Prince, Goblin Barrel, Princess and Electro Wizard.
The Knight nerf made this deck better. The negative effect: that is a point about his season, and the Knight now has a best list of 67.1% in Log Bait shells, so the old advantage may be gone.
How to Play It Today
The Gang and Princess draw out the opponent’s Log or Zap, and then the Barrel does massive damage with something tanking the tower for it.
Roles. The Princess’s arrows fly farther than any other troop and she does area damage. The Goblin Gang punishes the opponent for tower damage. The Log is simple: select, drop, destroy.
Translation: the Electro Wizard helps against Sparky and Inferno Dragons since there is no Zap. Do not give the opponent spell value on the Electro Wizard. Use the Princess with Tornado, since her area damage hits many troops. Use Tornado to activate the King Tower too.
Elixir math: the Prince takes 5 of the 24 elixir. The other seven cost 19, or 2.7 each. A Prince plus Goblin Barrel push is 8 elixir, and a Barrel plus Gang play is 6, which is why the deck cycles so fast.
Try it yourself: want to see how it feels? Open the Clash Royale Deck Builder, where Prince Bait 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 negative effect: the Barrel now lands faster, which helps the player, but opponents also read placements better, and a Log Bait mirror is harder to win by guessing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Prince Bait deck good in 2026?
The Goblin Barrel’s best list wins 65.4% and the Princess’s best wins 65.1%, but this exact list has no tracker sample, so test the Prince slot first.
How much elixir does the deck average?
3.0 elixir per card on average (24 in total).
Why does the deck have no Zap?
The Electro Wizard stuns Sparky and Inferno Dragons instead.
What does the Prince do?
He tanks for the Goblin Barrel and deals high damage with his charge.
What is Tornado for?
Activating the King Tower and sweeping troops together so the Princess gets value.
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.
Hi, this is Heiny again!
This spinoff from Surgical Goblin’s Prince Bait deck does amazing on ladder. This deck is even more better since the Knight got recently nerfed.
Trick your opponent with Goblin Barrels, Goblin Gangs, and Princesses.
Card Roles
Prince: Buckethead is a tanky high damaging pony rider.
This pony rider dishes out high damage. He will give you 2 times the pain if you get in the way of his charge.
Use him to tank for your Goblin Barrel.
Goblin Gang: Part of your bait aspect.
These little guys are meant to draw out your opponents Log or Zap.
You can also use these mischievous green goblins to punish your opponent for tons of damage on the tower.
Goblin Barrel: Your win condition.
The Goblin Barrel will do massive damage with something tanking the arena tower for it.
Use this card to play mind games with your opponent and make them screw up with your tricky barrel placements.
Electro Wizard: Part of your defense.
You don’t have Zap in this deck so the E-Wiz helps with Sparkies and Inferno Dragons.
Don’t allow your opponent spell value on this stunning wizard.
Princess: Your favorite girl.
Her arrows fly farther than any other troop.
She also does area damage. If you use her with Tornado she can do lots of damage to many troops.
She will help to take out support troops against a big push.
Tornado: A massive control card.
Use this to activate your King Tower.
Or you can sweep everything together so the Princess can get maximum value.
The Log: The Log.
Pretty self explanatory.
Select, drop, destroy.
Ice Spirit: A cycle card.
This guy can help you cycle to the cards you want while doing chip damage to the tower.
If you Tornado everything together for the Ice Spirit, it will freeze everything for a period of time.
General Gameplan
3:00-2:00
This deck is a very fast pace deck.
If I have it in hand I like to play Goblin Barrel on the bottom most right or left corner (anti tornado position).
I see what they counter with it.
If they drop a Log or Zap, I will drop either Princess or Goblin Gang in the back. Respond to what they play.
Don’t go offensive in the first minute. Keep chipping at the Tower but don’t over commit.
Try to get their Tower down to 1500-2000 in the first minute.
You don’t have a Rocket in this deck so you want to take the Tower quickly.
Against a Hog deck, you should make sure you always have Tornado in hand.
If your opponent drops a Golem during the first minute use Prince and Goblin Barrel or Prince and Goblin Gang opposite lane to punish.
You also can’t kill pumps so Goblin Barrel it if it is in the corners or Log it if it is in the middle.
If they drop a Giant or P.E.K.K.A in the back drop a Ice Spirit Goblin Barrel combo opposite lane. Then place Princess in the back opposite lane.
You will want to play Prince on supporting splash or single target troops. Then play Goblin Gang to distract the P.E.K.K.A.
You can Tornado everything together for your Princess. If they killed your Princess you should have cycled back by now.
If it is needed drop Princess and Tornado.
When you Tornado, you can also choose to drop the Electro Wizard by the Tower to slow the tank down. Don’t support any counter pushes in the first minute.
Know that you know their deck you can play a little more offensively in the second minute.
2:00-1:00
During this period of time right before Double Elixir you want to prep.
Try to chip your opponents Tower down to 1000-1200.
If you are against a Golem deck, don’t let them Pump up for Double Elixir. Either Goblin Barrel or Log the Pump, or you can punish them with a Prince.
A good push to take out a Pump in the corner is play the Goblin Barrel on the Pump then Ice Spirit at the bridge to tank against the Tower and Freeze it.
Against a Giant or P.E.K.K.A they will most likely try another push.
You should do the exact defense against your opponent. But this time you should support your counter push and try to take the Tower.
Something to be careful of is not to split push.
Without a big spell it is already hard to take towers.
If you focus both towers you will get neither and then get wrecked. If you are at ten Elixir play something in the back or go for Goblin Barrel chip.
NEVER play the Prince offensively in the first 2 minutes. Unless you have a significant Elixir lead against your opponent, you should only play buckethead on defense.
These pushes are leading to Double Elixir.
1:00-0:00
Double Elixir is when chaos ensures.
You will be cycling ultra fast.
Vs Golem
Punish on the opposite side but don’t over commit. Play enough to just manage to take the Tower or lower it to critical HP.
You should then play Princess opposite lane. Then cycle to your Prince and place him in the back against the Golem. Log and Goblin Gang the supporting troops.
Play another Princess but this time same lane. Tornado all those troops together for the Princess while playing Electro Wizard on the outside corner of the arena Tower.
He should slow down the tank long enough for your troops to kill it.
If that isn’t already enough, you should play another Prince on the Golem to tank all damage. Then Goblin Gang to clean up rest.
You can also Log if any troops remain. You should pressure enough so that they can’t get another push.
If your opponent can get another Golem push going your Tower will most likely fall. Keep playing Goblin Barrels and Princes.
During Double Elixir, the only difference for the Princess is that you can play her at the bridge for extra chip damage.
Against Giant decks
Your opponent will probably play their tank in the back.
Again, punish like your playing a Golem deck but don’t invest as much Elixir when pushing against a Giant or P.E.K.K.A.
You should cycle with a Princess in the back opposite lane. A Prince should do the trick against the supporting troops with a Goblin Gang on the P.E.K.K.A or Giant.
Against a P.E.K.K.A
Do not let the P.E.K.K.A target your Prince. Then play another Princess (if needed) and Tornado everything together.
The Princess should clean up the rest if their push isn’t dead.
Then counter push and take the lower Tower.
If they still try to take your Tower you should attack and go for the 2 crown.
If you get the 2nd crown you basically won. Even if they have a massive push going for your king Tower this deck can stall/defend long enough for time to run out.
If it is currently 2-1 crowns you, they will not have enough time to go for the 2nd Tower.
Just try to run down the clock and win the game.
Strengths
The deck has a very fast and strong cycle.
It cycles amazingly during Double Elixir and even during single Elixir.
The Prince adds more DPS to this deck as well as a big pressure unit. No one likes the look or sound of the Prince connecting to their Tower.
Buckethead may make me mad sometimes because he doesn’t have brain, but he does serious damage.
Even with underleveled cards, this deck can get you into Challenger 1.
Weaknesses
This deck lacks a big spell.
It is also vulnerable against triple spell decks since they can have spells for each of your bait cards.
This deck also doesn’t play an Inferno Tower so it is a bigger challenge against big tanky beatdown decks.
I also find that it doesn’t play as efficiently against Miner control and Hog decks.
Decks with really strong defense like siege decks is hard to play against. With a X-Bow deck you need the Prince to tank. The Goblin Gang will have to kill. The E-Wiz will help but it is a really hard matchup.
So your worst matchups are Miner Poison control, Hog cycle, and X-Bow/Mortar decks.
Hardest Matchups
X-Bow
You want to get their Tower as quick as possible.
Never get under 5 Elixir and always have the Prince in cycle for their X-Bow.
I wouldn’t play Prince right in front of the X-Bow but in the middle of both Princess towers and like 4-5 tiles above the king Tower. Don’t forget to place it same lane.
Princess and Tornado their supporting defenses for their X-Bow.
If necessary, play Goblin Gang and Log.
Don’t let your opponent get a lock.
In Double Elixir I prefer to stack princesses on the X-Bow and kill all their supporting troops with Princess Tornado so the Prince gets a charge off on the X-Bow.
If you have their Tower you can place troops right on the X-Bow if they attack same lane that you have taken their Tower.
With siege decks if you take one Tower, it will either end up you winning or a draw.
Mortar
Mortar is even harder to play against than X-Bow.
You should play Ice Spirit in the middle to distract the Mortar for a couple shots. Then play Prince in the middle and Goblin Gang the Mortar.
In Double Elixir, stack Princesses and don’t let them get a lot of Mortars.
You should try to have already gotten their Tower before Double Elixir started.
If you have their Tower, you can place troops on the Mortar if they attack the lane that you have their Tower. If not you will have a difficult time.
I would use the Prince to tank the Mortar shots and Goblin Gang in the tile closest to the river in the pocket.
Miner Poison Control
Miner Poison control is very strong defensively.
It can cycle fast so don’t try to out cycle their counters.
You want to save Goblin Gang for the first couple of Miners.
They will try to keep chipping at your Tower and you can’t allow that.
First thing is to activate your King’s Tower by Tornadoing their Miner.
You will get most of your damage during Double Elixir.
During Double Elixir, if they Miner Poison, you should use the Prince on their Miner. You should then counter push with a Goblin Barrel.
You will have to switch up your Goblin Barrel placements or they will get you every time.
If they Log or Zap your Barrel, you can use Princess for some chip damage.
If your Prince isn’t dead yet you should support with a Goblin Gang.
When they send a Miner, play Ice Spirit by the arena Tower to Freeze the Miner, then drop another Prince on it.
If they don’t Poison, you can play a Goblin Gang.
You should keep Tornadoing their pushes or their Miner.
Hog Cycle
Hog cycle is annoying.
Luckily we have the Tornado to counter it. Start with activating the king Tower.
From there, whenever they play Hog you can Tornado it into the middle right before it reaches your Princess Tower.
If you don’t want a hit from the Hog because it is overleveled, play an Ice Spirit to.
On offense, since it has great defense, you should switch up your Barrel placements to try to get a couple stabs against the Tower.
Drop your Princess at the bridge for extra damage and Electro Wizard or Goblin Gang against the Hog if your Tornado isn’t in cycle.
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