AI Overview: The Clash Royale July balance update on July 4th 2016 cut the Goblin Barrel to 3 elixir and buffed the Giant Skeleton, Dark Prince, Bomber, Wizard and two buildings. It also made the Elixir Collector easier to slow, and grew the Skeleton Army by one. The old write-up is kept below, so you can trust each point and skip the guesswork.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- The original says the update came on July 4th 2016.
- The Goblin Barrel went from 4 to 3 elixir and lost its impact damage.
- The Giant Skeleton gained 20% damage.
- The Skeleton Army grew from 20 to 21 skeletons.
- In 2026 the Giant Skeleton’s best list wins 72.1%.
Ranked: Who Won July?
How it works. The cards below are ranked by how well their 2026 numbers back up the July 2016 buff.
Good to know. The Giant Skeleton’s 20% rise was to his own damage, not his bomb, says the original.
Plain talk. Five buffs, five cards that still matter.
- Giant Skeleton: damage +20% in 2016. Today his best list wins 72.1%.
- Goblin Barrel: cost 4 to 3 elixir, impact damage removed. Today it costs 3 and its best list wins 65.4%.
- Inferno Tower: hitpoints +6%. Today its best list wins 65.8%.
- Tombstone: hitpoints +9%. Today its best list wins 63.8%.
- Bomber: damage +9%. Today his best list wins 68.7%.
The short version. The buffs lined up with cards that are still strong. The Goblin Barrel is the clearest case, since the cheaper cost made it a staple.
Zoom out. Price cuts change a card more than damage buffs do. If a key card gets cheaper again, expect it to appear in half the decks within a week, and expect a counter spell to follow.
Who Faded?
| Card | July change (original) | Today |
| Skeleton Army | Count 20 to 21 | Evolution best list 65.1%; base best 55.6%. |
| Dark Prince | Damage +8% | Hit speed 1.3 to 1.4 on May 4. Best list 57.9%. |
| Wizard | Attack speed 1.7s to 1.6s | Reworked on September 8. Best base list 51.3%. |
| Elixir Collector | Now affected by Poison, Freeze, Rage, Zap and Ice Wizard | Only six tracked decks run it. |
| Bomb Tower | Hitpoints +6% | No printed sample used here. |
Plain talk. Zap and Freeze also reset the Inferno Tower in the same update, says the original. That is why the tower got more hitpoints.
Quick recap. Fair, fair, fair, and one card that fell off the map.
In plain English. The Wizard and Dark Prince are fair. The Elixir Collector fell out of favor.
Claims, rechecked. The page says the Goblin Barrel puts the card on par with the Miner. That is the writer’s view from 2016, and the Miner today has a best list of 66.0%. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.
Zoom in. Making a building weaker to spells tends to push players off it. If the same trick is tried on another utility card, expect usage to drop within a month.
What to Take Away
Cost beats damage. The cheap Goblin Barrel is the story of July.
Reality check. A 9% buff to the Bomber helps only if you play him well.
One more way to see it. A price cut is a quiet buff that everyone notices.
Small habit. Look at the cost first, then the damage.
Inferno Tower and Tombstone are still core. Both have best lists above 63%.
Check the date. The page says July 4th 2016.
Worth knowing. For the Skeleton Army’s later story, see Skeleton Army. For the Goblin Barrel, see Goblin Barrel. The older March 23rd page covers the first big patch.
Zoom out again. If cheap win conditions keep getting cheaper, the ladder tilts to fast decks. The risk is a meta where nobody can afford to build a slow deck, and players who loved the slow ones leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Clash Royale July balance update?
The original calls it a July 4th 2016 patch with buffs to the Giant Skeleton, Dark Prince, Bomber, Wizard and some buildings, and a cheaper Goblin Barrel. Use it as a guide, and check the linked pages for the current details.
How much does the Goblin Barrel cost?
3 elixir. The official list shows 3 today.
What changed for the Elixir Collector?
It became affected by Poison, Freeze, Rage, Zap and the Ice Wizard.
What happened to the Skeleton Army?
Its count rose from 20 to 21.
Is the Giant Skeleton good in 2026?
His best list wins 72.1% over about 1,100 battles.
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.
Okay guys so Supercell is going to release a new Clash Royale balancing update on July 4th 2016. Let’s take a closer look to see what we are going to get in this new update guys!
Clash Royale Balance Changes – July Update
Skeleton Army: Skeleton count increased from 20 to 21
Okay so finally we found the fourth one from Skeletons! He joined the Skeleton Army! Such a nice guy!
As we all know, last time, Supercell decreased Goblin deploy time from 1.2s to 1s but it didn’t really hit the mark. As a result, 3 Elixir puts this card on par with the Miner! Let’s see lots of interesting attacks from these guys in the future!
Giant Skeleton: Damage increased by 20%
Of course, this is just his “damage”, not the bomb’s damage. Hopefully after this update, Giant Skeleton will make it to the opponent’s Tower easier. He can easily 1 hit Goblin now.
Dark Prince: Damage increased by 8%
Dark Prince should have his value in line with his brother, the Prince.
Bomber: Damage increased by 9%
Bomber userate in Clash Royale is pretty low. Hopefully the extra damage will make him a bit more deadly.
Wizard attack speed increase from 1.7s to 1.6s
A faster attack speed will make the Wizard’s value in line with his brother, the Ice Wizard.
Inferno Tower HP increased by 6%
In the upcoming update, both Zap and Freeze will reset Inferno Tower’s damage. So that’s why we have this balance change.
Elixir Collector now gets affected by effects from Poison, Freeze, Rage, Zap and Ice Wizard.
The Elixir Collector userate is still very high. It hasn’t been affected by effects from other cards. This change will tone the Elixir Collector down a bit.
Tombstone HP increased by 9%
As a 3 Elixir defensive building, the Tombstone has a pretty tough competition. Extra HP will make it a bit more appealing alternative to the Cannon.
Bomb Tower HP increased by 6%
Bomb Tower’s userate is extremely low at top, but it shows a pretty good job in low to mid Arenas. Hopefully some extra HP will make it more interesting in high Arenas.
What do you think about Clash Royale update guys? Please share your opinions!
Older Page: Clash Royale July Update – New Arena: Frozen Peak and 4 New Cards
This is an older page that was merged here. The text below is kept in full. It was written between 2016 and 2022, so some details are out of date. The tips and numbers above use 2026 sources.
New Arena called Frozen Peak is going to be added into Clash Royale in the next July Update. Also, lots of other new stuffs will be revealed soon!
Don’t forget to bookmark this page in order to keep everything updated guys!
New Arena: Frozen Peak – Clash Royale July Update
New Arena: Frozen Peak
According to Supercell, the new Arena is going to be unlocked at 2300+ trophies. So this is the new Arena 8!
4 New Cards Incoming
Yes, probably 4. In Ash’s sneak peek video, there are 58 cards in total, meaning there will be 4 new cards. Hopefully there will not be all Legendaries guys LOL.
Other new stuffs:
- Before joining a Friendly Battle, you will be able to choice which Arena to fight in (from Arena 1 to the one you are currently in).
- TV Royale button will be moved to the middle screen (Battle screen), meaning it will replace the old Training Button.
- Updating…
New Cards – Ice Spirit and Bowler
Yes that’s right! New cards will be released in the upcoming update guys! In order to read more about them, please take a look at the day 2 sneak peek page!
I will try to keep everything updated and combine them all in this page so please bookmark this page (use Ctrl + D If you are browsing via your computer). Also, please share this page with your friends! Your rock!
See how this change affects your own deck: the Patch risk tab in the Clash Royale Deck Builder scores every card by its recent balance changes.
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 2022), kept in full below