Last year, Clash Royale introduced a new mechanic that took the game we’ve grown familiar with and turned it on its head: Card Evolutions.

Card Evolutions allowed a specific card to become an insanely more powerful version of itself after a couple of cycles, sporting new abilities that added a big twist to the traditional gameplay, and we could only have a single evolution per deck. 

This update brought us 4 evolution options, and each following season has introduced one more. Today, we have 11 evolutions available, all of which are common cards except for the latest evolution introduced this season: Valkyrie.

Another aspect that this update boosted was the value of having a Champion in your deck. Now, you can leverage the reduced cycle when a champion is deployed to get an evolved troop up and running.

Hold on tight because I’ll be diving into the top 5 evolutions right now, and spoiler alert: Your favorites may not have made the cut. 

5. Barbarians

Mega Knight? P.E.K.K.A? Giant? Golem? Eradicated.

Overview & Stats:

One of the first evolutions to hit the Arena - Evo Barbs activate after one cycle and spawn with 25% more HP than their counterparts and a terrifying ability that boosts their speed.

Ability: 

For each Attack the Evo Barbs landed, their movement and attack speed would add by a stackable 35%, lasting for 2 seconds from the last attack. 

Analysis:

Evo Barbs took quite a few nerfs since release, especially in October’s balance changes when both their damage and HP were reduced by 8% making them a bit easier to manage. 

But despite the nerfs, Evo Barbs have still seen lots of use - and can get a ton of value when played defensively, leading up to a terrifying counter push. 

Evo Barbs fit well with decks like Lava Hound, and are frequently seen in other, less popular decks like GobGiant and Elixir Collector… Not to mention the spammy, off-meta decks that plague Mid Ladder games.

Best Features:

• When Evo Barbs stack up Hit Speed, their DPS becomes comparable to Elite Barbarians, making them super effective at tearing down tanks like Pekka, Mega Knight, and Golem.
• Evo Barbs are quite heavy, making them very effective at blocking tower-charging troops like Hog Rider and Ram Ride, forcing them to go around the barbs and usually dying in the process.
• Splitting Evo Barbs behind your King Tower can discourage your opponents from pushing due to the Barbs’ defensive power, and reduce the value of your opponent’s spells.

4. Royal Recruits

Imagine 6 angry troops charging you, screaming a blood-curdling war cry.

Overview & Stats:

Released in September’s season, Evo Recruits activated after a single cycle and would spawn with 11% more HP, and 6% more damage than their counterparts.

Ability:

Evo Recruit's ability must have been inspired by Dark Prince. Once a Recruit’s shield is broken and they travel 1.5 tiles, they charge to their target, dealing increased damage if they hit the target while charging.

Analysis:

Evolved Recruits are extremely strong. While they’ve had a very small nerf to their damage, it feels like they’ve been barely impacted. They remain extremely frustrating to deal with, no matter the situation. 

A testament to this card’s value could be seen in how they’re found in many Mortar decks, with people still opting for Evo Recruits over Evo Mortar, and are starting to be more frequently played with Goblin Giant decks instead of Evo Barbs. 

Best Features:

• Due to how they’re deployed - Evo Recruits can be an incredible defensive card to protect both lanes if your enemy is dual-pushing.
• Even if deployed defensively, Evo Recruits will usually teardown whatever is threatening your towers and go on to counter-push your opponent with their charge.
• Evo Recruits synergizes very well with royal hogs, as you can use them to bait out a big spell from your opponent, and then immediately rush the tower with hogs.
• Evo Recruits are great sponges to absorb any large spells your opponents use since their shields can absorb any hit, no matter how strong it is before breaking.

3. Valkyrie

Countering her counters? Why not!

Overview & Stats:

The latest Evolution to hit the arena, and the first rare card to receive an evolution, the Evolved Valkyrie spawns with the same stats as her non-evolved version, but her ability more than makes up for it.

Ability:

Every time the Evolved Valkyrie attacks, a Tornado spell appears around her for half a second, drawing in and damaging troops within a 5.5 tile radius. 

Analysis:

In my opinion, the Evo Valkyrie is severely underused in the current meta, and you’ll likely only run into her in higher ladders where players appreciate game-changing value. In all honesty, she should spawn with 5-7% more health than her non-evolved counterpart to make her a more viable pick. 

Her ability expands her ability from wiping out ground swarms to air swarms too, and her potential to keep tower-targeting troops away from your precious crown towers makes her a very valuable defensive troop. 

Best Features:

• Evo Valkyrie can give you immense value on defense, especially when defending against tower-targeting troops like Royal Giant and Hog Rider - thwarting any attempts to approach your buildings.
• Using Evo Valkyrie to support a pushing offensive unit can prove to be very effective since it’ll tackle any swarm troops with ease, and keep any types of troops away from your main attackers. 
• Combining Evo Valkyrie with a splash-damage troop like Wizard or Executioner makes for a deadly combo, keeping enemies close while she, and your splasher, wreak havoc. 

2. Archers 

My personal favorite... nerfed to oblivion!

Overview & Stats:

Released in November’s season, Evo Archers brought Archers back as a very viable option in the meta, and personally, they might just be my favorite evolution. 

Activating after 2 cycles, Evolved Archers would spawn with 25% more HP and a range that’s 1.5 tiles further than their counterparts. Their ability made them a real threat to distant troops.

Ability:

When attacking any troops that are 5 - 6.5 tiles away from them, Evo Archers would launch Powershots dealing a devastating 1.7X the damage! The best snipers we could ask for! 

Analysis:

Evo Archers are a serious threat. They’ve already had their powershot damage nerfed by 15% since release, and recently, have had their PowerShot range nerfed by 10%. As much as I love them, these nerfs are deserved. 

Evo Archers are incredibly valuable in defense and are very threatening in terms of their counter-pushing capabilities. Not to mention using them to support any pushing tanks - picking out troops like ripe fruit. 

Best Features:

• Taking advantage of the Power Shot ability, drop your Evo Archers 6-7 tiles away from your opponents to maximize the time your opponents remain in PowerShot range.
• Pairing your Evo Archers with a mini-tank can maximize their value, allowing them to provide support fire and defend your attackers while advancing to your opponent’s tower.
• Evo Archers have a longer range than most buildings, letting them safely teardown any buildings your opponents deploy without taking any damage.

1. Knight

In my humble opinion, Evo Knight is the most valuable evolution in the game.

Overview & Stats:

 Activating after 2 cycles, Evo Knight spawns with a 20% boost to HP, a 10% boost to damage, and a 0.1-second boost to Hit Speed. And his ability makes him an absolute nightmare.

Ability:

When moving forward, Evo Knight takes 60% less damage from ALL sources, making him absorb damage better than a sponge.

Analysis:

In a nutshell, Evo Knight has amazing stats for its relatively low cost. While some people argue that Evo Archers are the best, and they are my personal favorite, I need to be objective and mention how insanely broken he is. 

Evo Knight’s stats make him an extremely versatile evolution, don’t be surprised if you see him in Hog Cycle decks, Miner Poison decks, Sparky decks, Graveyard… you get my point. As a tank, Evo Knight might just be one of the absolute best. 

Best Features:

• Evo Knight is a menace when it comes to absorbing damage from ranged troops, and pretty much negates any damage from the spells your opponent lobs, netting you a positive elixir trade.
• Evo Knight is a super counter against X-Bows since his ability means X-Bow shots do close to no damage to him.
• Evolved Knight Synergises well with Tower-Rushing troops like Hog Rider, Ram Rider, and Wall Breakers. You can place him in front of the pushing units where he absorbs any ranged damage while the offensive troop devastates your opponent’s towers. 

And that’s it for the ranking.

I know lots of you are going to be upset that Firecracker or Skeletons didn’t make the cut, and perhaps we have a few superfans for the other evos too, but I’m sure there’s at least one thing we can all agree on:

Ice Spirit’s evolution is absolutely useless.

Thanks for reading!

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