AI Overview: The Clash Royale May update came in May 2016 and added six cards: the Fire Spirit, Furnace, Guards, Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky. It also brought TV Royale, more rewards, Legendary cards in the shop and a set of balance changes to the Mortar, Bomb Tower and more. 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 six new cards came in May 2016.
- Three were Legendary: the Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky.
- Players could buy Legendary cards in the shop, with the first costing 40k gold.
- The Mortar lost 10% damage, and the Bomb Tower’s lifetime fell from 60 to 40 seconds.
- In 2026 the Lava Hound’s best list wins 78.8%, and the Furnace’s wins 72.1%.
The Six Cards, Then and Now
The big idea. Six cards in one update is a lot. The table shows what each one looks like today.
Next step. For the anniversary update that followed, see the March 2017 page.
Matchups. Against the Lava Hound, bring air defense. Against the Sparky, use a stun or a swarm.
| Card | At the reveal (original) | Today |
| Fire Spirit | New Common | Hitpoints 230 to 215, damage 207 to 215. Best list 62.9%. |
| Furnace | New Rare | Range 6 to 5.5 on June 1. Best list 72.1%. |
| Guards | New Epic | No 2026 change. Best list 50.1%. |
| Lava Hound | New Legendary | Damage 53 to 71 on October 6. Best list 78.8%. |
| Miner | New Legendary | Crown Tower damage 49 to 39 on July 6. Best list 66.0%. |
| Sparky | New Legendary | No 2026 change. Best list 56.2%. |
The table sets the 2016 reveal beside 2026 data. The Lava Hound and Furnace have the strongest lists. The Miner is steady. The Sparky is niche. The Guards are only fair, at 50.1%.
Zoom out. Big card waves reshape the game for a year. If another six-card wave comes, expect three or four to settle fast, and expect the rest to need patches.
What Changed Since Then
The short version. The Furnace lost range on June 1, and the Miner lost tower damage on July 6. The Lava Hound gained damage on October 6. The Guards and Sparky had no change.
Good to know. Another page on this site covers the same May update. This one adds the 2026 view.
Short on time? Read the table. Lava Hound first.
Final word. Updates fade. Cards stay.
Plain talk. This is a rechecked update page. It works as a reference.
One more way to see it. The May update was a new class at school. Some students stood out.
In plain English. Six cards, three Legendary, many rewards.
Claims, rechecked. The write-up says Supercell confirmed there would be no nerf at all. The same page lists several nerfs, so the claim is not repeated here. Treat every figure as a starting point, not a rule.
The fine print. The original also covers the Mortar, Bomb Tower, Elixir Collector, Cannon and Royal Giant changes. It says the Mortar needs level 9 for tournaments, and that the Royal Giant’s range rose by 1. Those are 2016 notes.
Card pages: Fire Spirit, Furnace, Guards, Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky.
Zoom in. The Lava Hound’s list is strong, but the sample is small. If more players copy it, expect a nerf, and expect the Miner pair to take the hit with it.
How to Use This Today
Play the Lava Hound with the Miner. It is the classic pair, and the older pages show why.
Small habit. Read the sample size before you copy.
Extra tip. Use the Fire Spirit to bait a spell.
Last tip. Drop the Miner where the tower is busy.
Quick recap. Spirit, Furnace, Guards, Hound, Miner, Sparky.
Reality check. A new card is not a better card.
Bottom line. The Lava Hound and Furnace lead.
Worth knowing. For the Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky today, see the Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky page.
Tips. Check the Furnace’s range before you place it. It fell on June 1. Open the linked card pages before you queue, since one balance patch can flip a trade.
Use the Furnace as a pressure card. Its best list wins 72.1%.
Skip the Guards unless you have a plan. Their best list wins only 50.1%.
Zoom out again. If new cards keep arriving faster than players can learn them, balance gets harder. The risk is a ladder where veterans win by memory and newcomers lose by surprise, and the new player who just learned the old cards has to learn six more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was in the Clash Royale May update?
The original lists six new cards, TV Royale, more rewards and balance changes. Use it as a guide, and check the linked pages for the current details.
Which cards came in the May 2016 update?
The Fire Spirit, Furnace, Guards, Lava Hound, Miner and Sparky.
What changed for the Mortar and Bomb Tower?
The Mortar lost 10% damage and its deploy time rose from 3 to 5 seconds. The Bomb Tower’s lifetime fell from 60 to 40 seconds.
Could you buy Legendary cards in the shop?
Yes. The original says the first Legendary cost 40k gold, and you could buy up to 3.
Is the Lava Hound good in 2026?
Its best list wins 78.8% over 241 battles, though the sample is small.
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.
In order to make Clash Royale more balanced, in May 2016, Supercell Clash Royale is going to release a new Clash Royale Update with lots of new cards, features and balance changes!
Clash Royale May Update!
New Clash Royale Cards
Hey guys! We are going to get 6 new cards in Clash Royale! To read more about these cards, please take a look at here.
- New Common Card: Fire Spirits
- New Rare Card: Furnace
- New Epic Card: Guards
- New Legendary Cards: Lava Hound, Miner, Sparky
New Clash Royale Features in the upcoming update!
- We will be able to watch Friendly Clash Royale Battle lives and see best battles from any Arena via TV Royale Channels.
- New Clash Royale Golem look will be released!
- You can throw confetti in the Clash Royale battle:
- New Clan Badges: Prince and King
- New Freeze look:
- Updating…
More Clash Royale Rewards
- Players will receive a decent amount of Gold for every Clash Royale win battle, even when all chest slots are full.
- Crown Chest contains twice as much reward as before.
- Super Clash Royale Magical Chest Drop chance to drop gets doubled!
- Magical Chest and Giant Chest chance to drop get increased.
- Clash Royale Higher Arena = More card request.
- You can buy Clash Royale Legendary Cards in Legendary Arena. The first Legendary Card costs 40k Gold and you can buy up to 3 cards.
- Maximum Clash Royale Gold increased to 1 million.
Read more about these new rewards at here.
More Cool Clash Royale Stuffs
- From now on, we can easily copy anyone’s deck!
- Move and arrange cards in the battle deck.
- Legendary Card is now viewable in most Arenas when tapping on it.
- A lots of new Clan Badges added:
- Gold costs of shop cards increase in a linear fashion.
- Clan Elders can only kick 1 member after every 20 minutes.
Clash Royale Balance Changes
Prince’s Charge no longer does x2 damage to building Supercell has confirmed that there would no nerf at all.
Players in Clash Royale Arena 8 will be able to buy Legendary Cards in shop
Hopefully it will not take up to 20k Gold to get a Clash Royale Legendary Card :D.
Mortar: Damage decreased by 10% and deployment time increased from 3s to 5s
In Clash Royale, Mortar is a defensive building which is usually used on offense. It is pretty strong currently and offers a lot of value for only 4 Clash Royale Elixir. The use rate of this card in Clash Royale Arena 8 is extremely high for such a contentious card. In addition, If you want to join the Clash Royale Tournament, your Mortar need to be at least level 9.
Clash Royale Bomb Tower: Lifetime gets decreased from 60s to 40s:
Hands down the Bomb Tower is very dominant at this time. It’s very hard to take it down without spending more than 5 Clash Royale Elixir, especially with players in low-mid Arenas. A lower lifetime will make the game more balanced. I totally agree with this change.
Clash Royale Elixir Collector: HP decreased by 20%
Undoubtedly Elixir Collector is one of the best Clash Royale cards at this time. People use it a lot in almost every Clash Royale deck. Using it as the distraction is very interesting but It’s just too good on offense. A change is needed.
Cannon: HP decreased by 11%
Another nerf to the Clash Royale Cannon, our favorite defensive cards. It does a lot of damage for the value of 3 Elixir.
Royale Giant: Attack range increased by 1
Royale Giant hasn’t found his purpose in Clash Royale yet since the last update. From now on, he can outrange a lot of Clash Royale defensive buildings in game. Hopefully people will use him more in the future with the longer Clash Royale attack range.
Mirror: Clash Royale Mirrored Common and Rare level increased by 1
Due to the Clash Royale Tournament Rules, Mirror level 4 is required to mirror all cards to their respective levels in Tournament.
Clash Royale Valkyrie and Mini P.E.K.K.A will get affected by pushback
For example, the Fireball can push them back. In my opinion this change is great. It is for consistency with other Clash Royale troops.
Fixed range values of all Clash Royale units
- Attack range handling will be fixed because of different sized units. This is just a change about graphic, it will not change the mechanical system in Clash Royale game.
- Some Clash Royale units have the same attack range encountered each other but they don’t always attack at the same time. This bug has been fixed.
- Fixed some small graphics bugs.
New Max level caps:
- Legendary level cap: 5
- Clash Royale Rare level cap: 11
- Common level cap: 13
- King level cap: 13
Okay what do you think about this Clash Royale update guys? Please share your opinions!
Also, please share this great news with your friends! You rock guys!
Older Page: Gold Reward and Legendary Cards in Shop
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.
Clash Royale Gold Reward and Legendary Cards in Shop
Hello guys, today I am going to give you a great news about the upcoming Clash Royale update which is releasing in May! We are going to get Clash Royale Gold reward after every win. There are also a lot of new features are waiting for you! Let’s take a look guys!
Clash Royale May Update!
New Gold Reward and Donation/Request Cap
| Arena | Gold | Clan Requests | Clan Donations | ||
| Common | Rare | Common | Rare | ||
| 1 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 12 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 8 | 20 | 40 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
We can get 20 Gold Rewards in total every day.
Clash Royale Legendary Cards in Shop
Yes! We can buy Clash Royale Legendary Cards in shop at Arena 8! The first card costs 40k Gold and we can buy up to 3 cards at a time in total!
And there are also lots of other new Clash Royale changes and features! You can take a look at here for more details!
Older Page: New Troops: Lava Hound, Skeleton Warriors + Reward Gold
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.
Hello guys, new troops will be added in the next Clash Royale update: Lava Hound, Lava Pups and Skeleton Warriors. Also, we will be able to get battle reward gold after every win match. Let’s take a closer look at this guys!
Once again, spAnser, somehow, gets access of Clash Royale server and share this great news to us!
New Clash Royale Troops: Lava Hound and Skeleton Warriors
According to the digged data, 3 new troops which will be added in the upcoming update are Lava Hound, Lava Pups (summoned upon Laval Hound’s death) and Skeleton Warriors:
| Name | Unlocked | Rarity | Cost | HP | Shield HP | Range | Damage | Attack Speed | Spawns on Death |
| height=”77″>Lava Hound | P.E.K.K.A’s Playhouse | Legendary | 8 | 3000 | – | 3.5 Tiles | ? | 1.3s | 8 Lava Pups |
| Lava Pup | – | – | – | 100 | – | 1.5 Tiles | ? | 1.3s | – |
| Skeleton Warriors | width=”64″>Royal Arena | Rare | 3 | 40 | 200 | 1.4 Tiles | 50 | 1.2s | – |
The Legendary Lava Hound will be a great tanker for any air attack with 3000 HP, also, he can summon 8 small Lava Pups upon death, which is awesome.
Battle Reward Gold
After every win, you will get a better reward gold with decent amount of Gold:
| Arena | Gold |
| Training Camp | 5 |
| Goblin Stadium | 5 |
| Bone Pit | 7 |
| Barbarian Bowl | 9 |
| P.E.K.K.A’s Playhouse | 11 |
| height=”38″>Spell Valley | 12 |
| Builder’s Workshop | 14 |
| height=”38″>Royal Arena | 15 |
| height=”38″>Legendary Arena | 20 |
Bellow are some images of the new troops for you:
Lava Hound:
Lava Pup:
Skeleton Warriors:
Updating…
What do you think about this new update guys?
Also, please share this great news with your friends guys! You rock!
Not sure your deck survived the update? Load it in the Deck Builder and check the Patch risk and Counter tabs.
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