Merge Tactics Season 9 Balance Changes – Official Patch Notes

Season 9 balance overview

This article mirrors the official Clash Royale / Merge Tactics Season 9 balance post. Five Rulers and eight Troops are rebalanced, and two troops (Mini P.E.K.K.A and Skeleton Dragons) get brand-new Super Abilities. Values below match what we use on this site in Troops and ruler descriptions.

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Rulers

Dagger Duchess

• Bonus Damage: 0% → 20%

The Dagger handed to your troop now hits harder than a plain weapon, which is a real reason to pick the Duchess.

Echo Sage

• HP Growth per Star Level: 1.4 → 1.2 (−14.2%)

The Echo still erases backlines, but her own scaling is dialled back.

Goblin Queen

• Hitpoints: 10 → 12 (+20%)

A small survivability bump so the Queen sticks around through more of the late round.

Grand Warden

• Shield Effect Duration: 8s → Infinite (except Star Shield)

Massive buff: non-Star shields now last the full round, turning Grand Warden into a permanent damage filter.

Royale King

• Hitpoints: 12 → 10 (−16.7%)

The King was overshadowing other Rulers, so he gets a flat HP cut to bring him back in line.

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Troops

Baby Dragon

• Hitpoints: 760 → 800 (+5.2%)
• Attack Speed: 2s → 1.67s (+16.5%)

Modest Baby Dragon buff with more damage uptime and a touch more bulk.

Giant

• Elixir Cost: 3 → 4 (+33%)

Giant moves up to the 4-cost tier, freeing the 3-cost pool and reflecting his real value as a frontline.

Witch

• Skeleton Hitpoints: 20% of Witch's HP → 100
• Skeleton Damage: 20% of Witch's Damage → 80
• Cooldown: 6s → 5s (−16.7%)

Skeletons are now flat-statted and summoned faster, making the pressure more frequent.

Dart Goblin

• Elixir Cost: 2 → 3 (+50%)
• Hitpoints: 350 → 450 (+28.6%)
• Damage: 80 → 100 (+25%)

Dart Goblin graduates to the 3-cost tier with bigger numbers to match.

Mini P.E.K.K.A

• Elixir Cost: 2 → 3 (+50%)
• Hitpoints: 500 → 700 (+40%)
• Super Ability: Added new ability

Mini P.E.K.K.A is now a 3-cost bruiser with a new Super Ability on top of her pancake gimmick.

Prince

• Elixir Cost: 4 → 3 (−25%)
• Hitpoints: 1100 → 900 (−18%)
• Damage: 150 → 120 (−20%)

Prince drops to 3-cost with reduced stats. He becomes a more flexible charge unit that fits earlier boards.

Skeleton Dragons

• Elixir Cost: 2 → 4 (+100%)
• Hitpoints: 500 → 800 (+60%)
• Attack Speed: 1.4s → 1s (−28.6%)
• Super Ability: Added new ability

Skeleton Dragons jump all the way to 4-cost with a full rework: more HP, faster attacks, and a brand-new Super Ability.

Wizard

• Elixir Cost: 2 → 4 (+100%)
• Hitpoints: 400 → 800 (+100%)
• Damage: 80 → 120 (+50%)

Wizard is repositioned as a 4-cost AoE caster with doubled HP and a strong damage bump.

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Major rework: one trait per troop

Season 9 brings the biggest trait-system rework since launch. Every troop now has exactly one trait (down from two). The active trait pool is cut down to just six:

• Noble, Clan, Goblin, Undead, Forest, Boss

All other traits (Ace, Assassin, Avenger, Blaster, Brawler, Brutalist, Dragon, Electric, Fire, Giant, Hinder, Juggernaut, Mage, Marksman, P.E.K.K.A, Ranger, Superstar, Tank, Thrower, Titan, Warrior) are now legacy and no longer appear on any troop.

New troop → trait mapping (and cost)

2-cost (Common)

3-cost (Rare)

4-cost (Epic)

5-cost (Legendary)

Plan your comps around the six active families. Old two-trait shells (Tank + Ace, Marksman + Noble) no longer apply, so focus on stacking the new active traits.

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What it means for the meta

• 3-cost tier gets crowded: Prince, Mini P.E.K.K.A and Dart Goblin all land here, opening new mid-game flex options.
• 4-cost tier absorbs Giant, Skeleton Dragons and Wizard. Expect tankier, more spell-heavy late boards.
• Rulers: Grand Warden becomes a top-tier pick thanks to infinite-duration shields. Royale King and Echo Sage take measured nerfs.
• Mini P.E.K.K.A and Skeleton Dragons Super Abilities are the wildcard. We'll update guides as the exact effects are confirmed in-game.

Check the live data on our Troops wiki, Stats dashboard, and Tier List for the up-to-date numbers used on the site.