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Card Guide

Royal Recruits

Common · 7 Elixir · Six shields across the arena. Royal Hogs are the card that targets buildings.

Royal Recruits card art

Rarity

Common

Cost

7 elixir

Type

Troop

Targets

Ground

Speed

Medium

Released

2018

On This Page

Short Answer

The best Royal Recruits deck on the Oct 12, 2026 ranked panel is Royal Hogs, Royal Recruits, Flying Machine, Zappies, Goblin Cage, Barbarian Barrel, Electro Spirit, and Arrows, at 0.4% of that panel. Royal Hogs target buildings. Royal Recruits are the line that catches Hog Rider and then walks.

Overview

Royal Recruits cost 7 and deploy as a row of shielded spear troops across your side. They target ground troops, so they peel off to fight. That is a shield, not a win condition. The evolved recruits charge after the shield breaks. The charge still aims at troops.

They were in 3.6% of ranked decks on that panel, with a 40.9% win rate across 364 battles. 78% of the play was the evolution. The card is more common at 14,000+ trophies (4.10%) than in Ultimate Champion (2.62%). A sub-50% panel rate means the most-played list is the list to name, not a list that wins by itself.

The cards that pair with them far more often than chance are Flying Machine, Goblin Cage, Zappies, Royal Hogs, and Arrows. Wall Breakers also show up more than chance, as a second building-targeter when the hogs are not in hand.

The Royal Recruits Deck

Royal Hogs, Flying Machine, Zappies

Royal Hogs · Royal Recruits · Flying Machine · Zappies · Goblin Cage · Barbarian Barrel · Electro Spirit · Arrows — 0.4% of the Oct 12 panel

This is the eight-card list that panel named as most-played. Same list was its best Master 1 sample (63.7% over 352 battles) and only even in the 9,000–11,999 band (50.9% over 289). Royal Hogs split into both lanes and target buildings. Recruits answer a bridge threat on whichever side it arrives. Flying Machine and Zappies are the Fireball baits. If they Fireball the Zappies, the recruits are still up. If they Fireball the recruits, you spent 7 to pull a 4-elixir spell and the hogs are the card that still connects.

How to Pilot Them

  • Do not stack the row on one tile. The card's job is the width. A centered deploy covers both lanes. A deploy on the bridge covers one push and donates the other.
  • Send the hogs when their splash spell is gone. Earthquake and Fireball are how the line dies. Make those spells hit Zappies or Flying Machine first, or accept the recruits as the spell bait and do not also be out of hogs.
  • They surround a single melee troop. Hog Rider, Mini P.E.K.K.A, and a lone Mega Knight get stuck in the shields. A splash troop behind that melee troop is the actual answer, not another recruit.
  • The charge starts when the shield breaks. A small spell that strips shields before they reach your tower removes the evolved hit. Log and Barbarian Barrel do that job in this deck too, on their side.

What Beats Them

  • Earthquake and Fireball — the line is the spell target. Earthquake also hits the tower they are walking toward.
  • Valkyrie and Mega Knight — splash through the shields. Mega Knight is still a punish, not your tower plan.
  • Royal Ghost and Princess — splash that clears shields without a 4-elixir spell. Ghost becomes visible on the first swing, so the rest of the line can still spear him.
  • Poison and Firecracker — slow clear. Poison wins if they cannot move the line out of the cloud. Firecracker loses if the recruits reach her.

FAQ

What is the best Royal Recruits deck?

Royal Hogs, Royal Recruits, Flying Machine, Zappies, Goblin Cage, Barbarian Barrel, Electro Spirit, and Arrows. Most-played on the Oct 12, 2026 panel, at 0.4%.

Are Royal Recruits a win condition?

No. They target troops. Royal Hogs are the building-targeter in that deck.

What counters Royal Recruits?

Earthquake, Fireball, Valkyrie, and Royal Ghost. Recruits still surround a lone Hog if that spell was already used.

Why is the win rate under 50%?

The card's panel rate was 40.9% across 364 battles. The Master 1 slice of the most-played list was 63.7%. The same eight cards are not the same deck in every bracket.

Related Cards

Hog Rider is what the line is for. Wall Breakers are the other building-targeter that pairs with them. Win Conditions. All card guides.

Usage, win rate, the eight-card list, synergies, and counters: Rigged Royale, Season 87 panel, page updated Oct 12, 2026. This page is not affiliated with Supercell. See the Fan Content Policy.