Clash Royale September 2026 Balance Changes: Every Buff and Nerf

Published: September 23, 2026 · Source: Supercell’s official notes · 18 cards

Supercell shipped September’s balance changes in two steps: a big update on September 8 with nineteen changes, and four smaller tweaks on September 16 that included the brand-new Minion Giant. The main idea of this round is to take power away from Evolution and Hero forms that grew too strong over the past months and give it back to the base cards. Wizard, Bomber and Battle Ram got stronger base versions while their Evolution or Hero forms were toned down.

Below you’ll find every change with its Level 11 values and what it means. The stats and balance history in our card guides have been updated for this patch.

Nerfs

• 
  Ice Wizard Hero

  • ⬇ Freeze duration: 7 s → 5 s (−29%)

  In its launch week, Hero Ice Wizard’s snowman ability stopped entire pushes. With the freeze down to 5 seconds, it now delays a push instead of killing it outright.

• 
  Goblinstein

  • ⬇ Ability duration: 4 s → 3.5 s (−13%)

  The ability lost half a second. It became single-use in August and is still strong, but it now deals its damage in a shorter window.

• 
  Minion Giant

  • ⬇ Damage: 189 → 168 (−11%)

  Only nine days after release, the new card lost 11% of its damage. It no longer takes towers down as quickly on its own, so playing it with support matters even more.

• 
  Balloon Hero

  • ⬇ Landing damage (Skeletrooper): 263 → 230 (−13%)

  Landing damage was already cut in June; after this second reduction the Skeletroopers struggle more to finish off mid-hitpoint troops when they land.

• 
  Battle Ram Evolution

  • ⬇ Knockback: 2.5 tiles → 2 tiles (−20%)

  The knockback that scatters defenders is a little shorter, so defending troops get back into position sooner.

• 
  Elite Barbarians Evolution

  • ⬇ Spear range: 3.5–5 tiles → 3–4.5 tiles
  • ⬇ Rage duration: 2.5 s → 2 s (−20%)

  The Evolution that arrived in August dominated the meta; after the August 26 nerf, its spear range and Rage duration were trimmed again.

• 
  Freeze

  • ⬇ Duration: 4 s → 3.5 s (−13%)

  Freeze became a very popular pick after its damage buff in December 2025. At 3.5 seconds, Balloon and Graveyard decks need to time it more carefully.

• 
  Fireball

  • ⬇ Crown Tower damage: 172 → 159 (−8%)

  All spells lost Crown Tower damage in June, and Fireball was trimmed a second time. Its damage to troops is unchanged, so its defensive value stays the same; finishing towers with spells just got harder.

• 
  Ice Golem

  • ⬇ Hitpoints: 1315 → 1228 (−7%)
  • ⬆ Slow duration: 2 s → 2.5 s (+25%)

  Hitpoints dropped to 1228, but its death slow now lasts 2.5 seconds. It soaks less damage, yet buys more time for the push behind it when it dies.

• 
  Zappies

  • ⬇ Hit speed: 2.2 s → 2.3 s (+5%)

  A second hit speed nerf in two months. With stuns coming less often, Zappies are less reliable at resetting Inferno and charging cards.

Buffs

• 
  Fire Spirit

  • ⬆ Damage: 207 → 215 (+4%)

  A small but important number: 215 damage now takes out the other Spirits (Ice, Electro and Heal Spirit were cut to 215 hitpoints in August) in one hit at equal levels.

• 
  Ronin

  • ⬆ Hit speed: 1.4 s → 1.3 s (−7%)

  After the August bug fix held him back, Ronin now swings every 1.3 seconds (285 damage per second) and clears small distractions faster.

• 
  Spirit Empress

  • ⬆ Damage: 309 → 320 (+4%)

  Her damage was considered too low for a 6-Elixir single-target card, so she got a small boost.

• 
  Goblin Cage

  • ⬆ Hitpoints (Goblin Brawler): 1080 → 1121 (+4%)

  The Goblin Brawler that pops out of the cage is tougher, making the base card playable again after its Evolution nerf.

Reworks

• 
  Mega Minion Hero

  • 🔄 Now warps back to his original position after taking out his target or after 3.5 seconds.
  • 🔄 Warp damage: 399 → 422 (+6%)
  • 🔄 Crown Tower damage reduction: 75% → 0%

  The biggest rework of the patch: Hero Mega Minion now warps back to where he started after taking out his target (or after 3.5 seconds). His tower damage penalty is gone, but he now hunts backline troops instead of chasing towers.

• 
  Wizard Hero

  • 🔄 Ability duration: 5 s → 3.5 s (−30%)

  Ability duration is down to 3.5 seconds, enough for only two tornadoes.

• 
  Wizard Evolution

  • 🔄 Shield hitpoints: 192 → 176 (−8%)

  Shield hitpoints dropped to 176, so a Giant Snowball (179) now breaks it on its own.

• 
  Wizard

  • 🔄 Damage: 281 → 304 (+8%)
  • 🔄 First hit: 0.4 s → 0.5 s (+25%)

  The base Wizard got stronger: with 304 damage he takes out Archers and Firecracker in one shot at equal levels. His first attack is slightly slower, while his Evolution and Hero forms were nerfed.

• 
  Bomber Evolution

  • 🔄 Bounce distance: 2.5 tiles → 3 tiles (+20%)

  The Evolution’s bomb bounces further, covering a wider area to make it worth an Evolution slot.

• 
  Bomber

  • 🔄 Damage: 225 → 212 (−6%)

  Damage dropped to 212. An important side effect: he no longer takes out the 215-hitpoint Spirits in one shot at equal levels.

• 
  Battle Ram

  • 🔄 Sight range: 5.5 tiles → 6.5 tiles (+18%)

  Longer sight range: Battle Ram now notices defensive buildings from further away, so it is easier to pull with a building.

• 
  Golem

  • 🔄 Sight range: 7 tiles → 7.5 tiles (+7%)

  Golem also sees buildings from further away. Both cards could walk past standard building placements; this puts them in line with other win conditions.

Impact on the meta

The winners of this round are cards played in their base form: Wizard is now a valuable splash card even without his Evolution, while Ronin and Goblin Cage are sturdier on defense. The losers are the most played cards of recent months: Freeze, Fireball, Zappies and Ice Golem.

In fast cycle decks with Hog Rider and Ice Golem, Ice Golem dies sooner but its death slow lasts longer. Decks that plan to finish towers with Fireball need to redo the math: spell-cycling a tower down may now take one more cast.

What should you do?

• If you play Freeze, adjust your timing: 3.5 seconds means a Balloon gets one or two fewer hits on the tower.
• Even without the Evolution unlocked, the base Wizard is now worth a try.
• Building decks have an easier time pulling Golem and Battle Ram; try placing your defensive building about one tile closer to the center.
• Use the deck builder to rebuild your best decks with your card levels; its scoring takes the new values into account.

Affected classic decks

Classic decks that include cards changed in this update:

• Hog 2.6 Cycle · Ice Golem, Fireball
• X-Bow 3.0 · Fireball
• Golem Beatdown · Golem, Mega Minion
• LavaLoon · Balloon, Mega Minion, Fireball
• Graveyard Poison · Ice Wizard
• PEKKA Bridge Spam · Battle Ram
• Giant Double Prince · Mega Minion, Fireball
• Mortar Miner · Fireball
• Mega Knight Miner · Fireball
• E-Giant Tornado · Mega Minion
• LumberLoon Freeze · Balloon, Freeze, Ice Golem
• Royal Hogs Earthquake · Ice Golem
• Goblin Giant Sparky · Mega Minion, Fireball
• 3M Pump Ram · Battle Ram, Ice Golem, Fireball

More updates

• Minion Academy Season: New Card Minion Giant and Hero Ice Wizard · September 7, 2026
• Clash Royale August 2026 Balance Changes: Spirits, Single-Use Abilities and Reworks · August 4, 2026