Best Merge Tactics Comps After The Balance Changes

Three Top Comps Post Balance Changes

The balance changes have settled and the question everyone is asking is simple: what actually wins right now? Ricky Royale answers it with three comps he played back to back at roughly 3100 trophies, in lobbies that included known pro players. His short version: Undead is still monstrous despite its nerf, Clan paired with Forest is still rock solid, and Noble is the old reliable that fell off a little but still gets there.

This guide is built entirely on Ricky Royale's video breaking down the best strategies after the balance changes. It covers how each of the three comps is assembled, the Troops and Traits that carry them, the equipment placements he uses, the cycling and economy habits that hold everything together, and why racing to 60 merges for the final orb decides so many of these games.

What The Patch Actually Changed

Ricky Royale's read on the post balance change meta is that the nerfs shuffled the pecking order without deleting anything. The units that got hit are still playable, and a few things quietly got better.

Undead took a nerf, but he argues it was always viable and still is. The Trait stacks a ramping stat boost over time instead of a fixed number, and as he puts it, you cannot beat an unlimited ramp up over a long game.
Boss Bandit took a significant HP cut and, in his words, is not as good as she used to be. She still does the same thing though: dashing across the whole board.
Spear Goblin feels much better in its current version. He says every merge on it is insane value, and believes a three-star Spear Goblin sells for around what a 5 Elixir unit would.
Goblin Machine is called freaking strong now, firing volleys of rockets in multiple directions.
Noble has had a fall from grace. It was borderline traumatizing to face for the last two seasons and now sits closer to mid, though it is still real because Trait bonuses now affect your whole team.

Key insight: a nerf to a ramping Trait like Undead hurts far less than a nerf to a flat stat Trait, because the ramp keeps compounding for as long as the fight lasts.

⚠️ He also notes the Prince no longer counts as a Noble, which he finds very random and which changes how you count your Noble breakpoints.

Comp 1: Undead Ramp Board

The headline comp is Undead, and it is the one Ricky Royale rates highest. His final board ran 4 Undead, 2 Forest and 1 Rider, and he describes the stats on the finished carry as absolutely bonkers.

Skeleton King is the endgame carry. The final orb handed him a four-star Skeleton King plus a +1 team size bonus, and that board beat an opposing four-star Dark Prince.
Witch is the engine. Keeping her alive means more skeleton spawns, which means more bodies feeding the ramp. He puts the Maiden Shield on her specifically so she survives and spawns as many skeletons as possible.
Giant Skeleton at three-star adds stun and overall board damage.
Baby Dragon arrives early as a three-star, though he ends up selling it while broke, and admits it did not fix the economy anyway.
Prince at three-star is the non-Undead beneficiary. Because the buff applies to the whole team, the Prince grows right alongside the skeletons.
Firecracker is used purely as a Forest body for the synergy. He says openly you can run something better in that slot.
Goblin Machine is the flex slot he tries in the last fight. He wins the round, but is honest that he is not sure whether the machine itself was the reason, and says playing Forest as the second synergy is an equally valid choice.

Pro tip: with Undead, losing a round is not a disaster. You survive while your board gets stronger and stronger, so a healthy HP pool early buys you all the ramp time you need. He sat at 10 HP deep into the game and was never worried.

⚠️ This run was brutally poor. He stayed broke most of the match, sold a three-star Baby Dragon, recycled his Rider and still struggled, so plan your Elixir before you commit to holding expensive units.

Comp 2: Clan Plus Forest

The second comp is Clan and Forest, and Ricky Royale is blunt: Clan is still a very solid synergy. This game ran the modifier where you take a Troop from your opponent, and the way he opens it matters as much as the units.

The Queen, his anchor carry, gets the Throwing Telescope. He places her one tile further back and she still reaches the enemy back line, a trick from his equipment video.
Giant is his favorite Clan unit aside from the Queen: a genuine tank whose ability is percent based, which is exactly why he keeps it over the Valkyrie.
Boss Bandit reaches three-star here and still dashes across the whole board, even after the HP cut.
Valkyrie is still a decent Clan unit, but he sells it in this run because he prefers the Giant.
Prince finishes as a four-star and simply deletes the enemy Hog Rider.
Hog Rider is added late purely to switch on the enhanced Rider Trait, giving three active Traits on the final board.
Magic Archer is the Forest unit he admits he should have added earlier instead of endlessly cycling.

Pro tip on the steal modifier: do not sell your Rider. He keeps it so his first board is as strong as possible, which means he takes one of their Troops, denies them one of his, and chips their HP at the same time. He believes that triple benefit snowballs the whole game.

⚠️ He lost a round to a three-star Golden Knight here and wonders aloud whether the Golden Knight is a little underrated right now.

Comp 3: Noble Plus Forest

The third comp is the old reliable: Noble with Forest. Ricky Royale puts it last on purpose because he does not think it is the best of the three, but he still calls it somewhat very solid, and it holds up against pro-level opponents such as Pan 1k Hilda.

Prince is the DPS centrepiece. He hits three-star early and takes the Queen's Cloak because he has the most damage on the board.
Baby Dragon rounds out the Forest side of the board.
Spear Goblin is the goblin you want out of a goblin opening: in his words low-key the best goblin you can get, and a merge magnet.
Dragon Scale is the other equipment he reaches for, though he misses the placement window by barely a second in this run.

⚠️ Remember the Prince no longer counts toward Noble, so count your breakpoint using the units that actually still carry the Trait.

His summary of Noble: it is only mid compared to what it used to be. Because Trait bonuses now apply to your whole team, it still puts real pressure on a lobby.

Economy, Cycling And 60 Merges

Across all three games the same habits decide the result. These are the transferable pieces of the video, and they apply no matter which comp the shop pushes you toward.

The Habits That Win

✅ Chase a healthy cycle early. Getting the cycle going in the opening rounds is what lets him land key three-star units on schedule.
✅ Play the strongest possible board every round, even round one. Winning early denies your opponent and preserves the HP you need later.
✅ Treat a three-star Spear Goblin as an economy button. He believes it sells for around a 5 Elixir unit's worth, which is why he calls it cracked.
✅ Speedrun to 60 merges for the final orb. He calls it the make or break of a close match, since the orb can hand you a four-star carry plus +1 team size.
⚠️ Do not let a top-heavy board bankrupt you. Selling a three-star Baby Dragon did not fix his economy in game one, so avoid that spot in the first place.
❌ Do not clump your whole board together against splash threats: an enemy Dark Prince had a field day on his grouped units.

Pro tip: when you are torn between an extra unit and an extra synergy, his own conclusion is that an extra Forest body is often the play, because Forest grants increased hit speed to all of your units. That matters even more on the invisibility tile modifier.

How Strong Are These Comps

Strengths

✅ Undead scales without a ceiling, so long fights and even lost rounds still leave you stronger.
✅ Clan plus Forest gives you a proper tank in the Giant and a reliable carry in the Queen.
✅ All three comps grow naturally out of common openings: a goblin round one, a Prince, a Baby Dragon.
✅ Forest slots into every one of the three as a cheap second synergy for the hit speed bonus.

Weaknesses

❌ His Undead run was broke for almost the entire match, which cost him a three-star Baby Dragon.
❌ Boss Bandit is noticeably squishier after her HP cut.
❌ Noble no longer dominates the way it did in the last two seasons, and the Prince no longer counts toward it.
⚠️ A four-star Dark Prince across the board is still frightening after the balance changes: he lost that round and survived on 1 HP.

Key Units & Traits

Skeleton King: The Undead endgame carry: the final orb turned him into a four-star unit with bonkers stats.
Witch: Spawns the skeletons that feed the Undead ramp: keep her alive with the Maiden Shield.
Prince: Appears in all three comps as a high-damage carry: three-star in the Undead and Noble games, four-star in the Clan game.
Spear Goblin: The goblin you want early: merges beautifully and sells for big Elixir at three-star.
Queen: Clan anchor with the Throwing Telescope: place her one tile back and she still reaches the enemy back line.
Giant: Ricky Royale's preferred Clan tank thanks to a percent based ability.
Boss Bandit: Still dashes across the whole board after her HP nerf, but plays much squishier now.
Goblin Machine: Flex slot that fires rockets in multiple directions: he calls it freaking strong after the changes.

TL;DR

✅ Undead is his top comp after the balance changes: 4 Undead, 2 Forest, 1 Rider with a four-star Skeleton King.
✅ Clan plus Forest around the Queen and Giant is still very solid, with a late Hog Rider for the Rider Trait.
✅ Noble plus Forest is the old reliable third option: weaker than it was, still solid at high trophies.
✅ Race to 60 merges for the final orb: it can decide a close lobby with a four-star unit and +1 team size.
✅ Keep your Rider on the steal modifier so your first board wins, takes a Troop, and denies theirs.
⚠️ His Undead board stayed broke all game: manage Elixir before holding expensive units.
❌ Do not bunch your units together against splash threats like an enemy Dark Prince.

These three comps are Ricky Royale's honest read on the meta after the balance changes, backed by games played at roughly 3100 trophies against pro-level opponents. Undead is the pick if you want the highest ceiling and you can stomach a poor, ramping board that gets scarier every round. Clan plus Forest is the most stable and the easiest to steer, especially if you land the Queen and Giant early. Noble plus Forest is the fallback that still works when the shop pushes you there. None of them are gimmicks: pick the one your opening offers, protect your economy, and get to 60 merges first.