Graveyard Poison Deck Guide

Control · Average elixir 3.3 · 4-card cycle 10 · Last updated: November 9, 2026

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Graveyard is a spell that spawns skeletons around the tower for several seconds. On its own it's easy to defend, but sent together with a tank it becomes very dangerous. Poison melts the troops your opponent places to clear the skeletons. This deck defends solidly, then targets the tower with Graveyard.

Graveyard Poison in the current meta

Based on 8,479 decks played in the last 4,372 Ranked battles of the top 200 players in the world (data from November 9, 2026):

“Miner / Graveyard control” decks make up 5.4% of top players’ decks and win 47% of their battles. There are 4 versions of Graveyard Poison among the 80 most played Ranked decks, played in 236 battles in total. Their win rate is 51%.

How often each card is played in the meta

Share of top players’ decks that include each card:

This section is updated weekly. The full list, refreshed every day: All meta decks →

Game plan

Defend with Ice Wizard, Tombstone, Knight and Baby Dragon. These cards defend cheaply, and whatever survives joins the counterpush.

After defending, as your surviving Knight or Baby Dragon walks to the tower, cast Graveyard on it. While the tower shoots the tank, the skeletons start tearing it down. If your opponent drops troops to clear the skeletons, Poison them.

Graveyard is especially strong in double elixir, where you can send Graveyard plus Poison back to back.

Cards and their roles

• 
  Graveyard 5 elixir
  Win condition. Spawns skeletons around the tower over time.
• 
  Barbarian Barrel 2 elixir
  Small spell. Clears ground swarms.
• 
  Bats 2 elixir
  Cheap air damage. Quickly melts tanks and Graveyard counters.
• 
  Ice Wizard 3 elixir
  Slowing splash damage. Slows troops on defense and also hits air.
• 
  Knight 3 elixir
  Mini tank. Cheap defense and the counterpush tank for Graveyard.
• 
  Tombstone 3 elixir
  Defensive building. Distracts building-targeting and single-target troops.
• 
  Poison 4 elixir
  Medium spell. Hits the troops your opponent uses against the skeletons, and the tower.
• 
  Baby Dragon 4 elixir
  Flying splash damage. Clears swarms on defense and tanks for Graveyard.

Tips

• Cast Graveyard on the side of the tower opposite to where your opponent's defenders will come from, so the skeletons live longer.
• Don't cast Graveyard alone. A tank in front should take the tower's shots.
• Track your opponent's Graveyard counters (Poison, Arrows, Valkyrie) and attack while they're cycling.
• Place Tombstone so it pulls your opponent's Hog Rider or Giant into the middle.

Strong against

• Against beatdown decks: when your opponent drops a tank, you punish in the other lane with Graveyard.
• Against decks with little splash damage: they can't clear the skeletons.

Struggles against

• Against splash-heavy decks (Valkyrie, Bowler, Executioner, Poison).
• Against fast cycle decks: keeping up on defense can be hard.

How to counter Graveyard Poison

Based on its cards’ roles, these are the deck’s weak spots:

• No tank killer: heavy tanks like Golem, Giant and Electro Giant, and Mega Knight, give it trouble.
• Only one small spell (Barbarian Barrel): bait it out with another swarm first, then play your main swarm.

Known answers to its key cards

Graveyard · How to counter

Baby Dragon

Classic decks with a good matchup against it

• Hog Mega Minion EQ · Great matchup
• Log Bait · Great matchup
• Mighty Miner Wall Breakers · Good matchup

Matchups are estimated from card roles and well-known counters; player skill and card levels change the result a lot.

Missing a card?

If you don't own every card in this deck, or some are under-leveled, the ElixirDeck deck builder suggests the best replacements from your collection. Just enter your player tag.

Similar decks

• Skeleton King Graveyard · Control
• Miner Poison Control · Control
• Mega Knight Miner · Control
• Golem Beatdown · Beatdown

General guides

• From a Bus Seat to the Meeting Room: My Years with Clash Royale
• How to Build a Good Clash Royale Deck
• Clash Royale Beginner's Guide
• Clash Royale Elixir Management: Positive Trades and Elixir Advantage
• Clash Royale Deck Archetypes: Beatdown, Cycle, Control, Siege and More
• Clash Royale Defense and Card Placement Guide
• Clash Royale Match Phases: Single Elixir, Double Elixir and Overtime
• Which Clash Royale Cards Should You Upgrade? A Card Level Guide