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“Four fast, unarmored melee attackers. Small, fast, green and mean!”

The Goblins is a Common card that is unlocked from Goblin Stadium (Arena 1). It spawns four very fast, single-target, ground-targeting, melee, ground troops with low hitpoints and low damage. Their deployment is in a square formation. They appear to be small, green creatures who carry daggers and wear team-colored wristbands. They are the same as those spawned by the Goblin Barrel, Goblin Gang, Goblin Drill, Party Hut, and the Mortar's Evolution. A Goblins card costs 2 Elixir to deploy.

Strategy[]

For Battle Decks with this card, click here

  • Goblins are an effective distraction for high damage, single-target troops, such as the Prince or a Mini P.E.K.K.A., offensively and defensively. When using them defensively against the Prince, the player should wait for him to start charging, and then deploy Goblins diagonal to the center in front of him. This will absorb his charge attack and increase the distance the Prince has to travel to their Crown Tower. The Goblins should be deployed close enough to the Tower so that the Prince does not charge up again.
  • They can be used behind high hitpoint troops such as the Giant or Golem, adding significant damage potential to a push if ignored. They can also work well with cheaper troops that can survive long enough to reach the Crown Towers, like the Ice Spirit or the Ice Golem, as they can tank for the Goblins long enough for them to do massive damage for a low cost.
  • A group of Goblins placed behind a Valkyrie, a group of Barbarians, or even a trio of Barbarians spawned by the Barbarian Hut can quickly push these slow-moving, high hitpoint troops right onto the opponent's Crown Tower. If left ignored, this combination can easily take a Tower, despite its seemingly low damage potential.
  • Fast troops like the Hog Rider also pair well with Goblins. Their speed will allow them to stay close together, and the Goblins can distract single-target melee troops used to counter the other troops. However, they are vulrenable to splash damage like the Wizard.
  • Spells are a great way to defeat the Goblins, due to their low hitpoints.
    • The Log and Barbarian Barrel are the most reliable counter to Goblins, as they counter them for an equal Elixir trade, without the need for the Crown Tower's help. However, the player should be aware of other possible swarm cards in the opponent's deck, such as the Skeleton Army, as they may be able to get better Elixir trades with it.
    • Arrows and Earthquake are able to kill the Goblins with 2 and 3 hits respectively, and they can also do it on the opposing side of the Arena. However, they should only be used for offensive purposes, as it is otherwise a negative Elixir trade.
    • Zap and Giant Snowball are not able to defeat them on their own. Because of this, there should only be used for defending against the Goblins when supported by the Crown Tower. However, a Zap 1 Level higher than the Goblins can fully defeat them without any additional support.
  • Due to their low Elixir cost, cheap distraction cards is the most logical way to counter Goblins, while also saving stronger counters for other cards.
    • Skeletons or any Spirit can be deployed in the center to stall them long enough for the Crown Towers to take them out. The Fire Spirit is especially effective as it can OHKO the Goblins, meaning that it can stop them even when protected by a tank.
    • Similarly, an Ice Golem can distract them enough to allow the Crown Tower to take them out. The Ice Golem's death nova will also weaken them further, and slow them down as well, further decreasing any chances for the Goblins to deal additional damage.
    • Multi-troops ranged units like Archers and Spear Goblins are effective in countering lone Goblins. Place them at a distance to conserve their hitpoints.
    • The Bomber has the same cost as the Goblins, and can hit multiple of them, making him a great counter against them, especially when he attacks a tank as well.
  • When using lone Goblins to get chip damage on the opponent's Crown Tower, they should be placed one tile to either side of the bridge rather than right in the center of the bridge. This will allow the Goblins to land extra hits on the Tower right as it is defeated. This is a very efficient way of finishing off a low-health Tower, assuming the enemy doesn't have an Elixir-efficient counter or ignores them.
  • With a quick enough reaction time, they can fully counter most Goblin Barrel placements. As soon as the Goblin Barrel is seen or heard being deployed, the defender should place the Goblins behind their Crown Tower. Even if the timing is a bit off, the enemy Goblins will only get one or two stabs on the Tower.
  • Goblins can counter a Graveyard easily as their fast attack speed and movement speed can take out the Skeletons before they can even react. However, the opponent might deploy spells like Poison and Arrows to take out the Goblins, so the defender should always have another card ready.
  • Goblins are a cheap way to deal high damage to building-targeting troops, such as the Giant or Hog Rider, though they will rarely be enough to fully counter these troops. Beware of splahs support that may accompany them however.
  • They are the perfect counter for weak, slow, single-target troops such as the Battle Healer and Bandit as they will require too much time to defeat the Goblins and thus will be overwhelmed. Against area damage units that only hit in a single direction like Sparky or Wizard, the Goblins can destroy them with the help of a Crown Tower when placed on top of them with good timing to surround them.
  • When a Princess reaches the bridge, the player can deploy the Goblins to counter her. They are able to survive her first attack, and she attacks slowly, meaning that they will not be defeated by her in return.
  • If the opponent places an Inferno Tower to counter a tank, Goblins can stall the Inferno Tower for a short time, giving the defender time to place another card to counter it or reset its damage ramp-up.
  • Depending on what the player needs, the player can replicate the Goblins' function with other cards.
    • They are very similar to Skeletons, offering better stats in every way but Elixir cost and hitspeed, and are a possible substitute for them. The player should consider using them if their defense is weak against Zap or the Giant Snowball, as these spells will not fully take out Goblins and will allow them to continue defending.
    • They are also very similar to Guards, being cheaper and faster, and a possible substitute for them. They can use them in place of Guards to lower the cost of their deck.
  • When combined with a Miner, the Miner will act as a tank while the Goblins do most of the damage. This strategy is very cheap, quick, and can be played often, surprising the opponent. For 5 Elixir, it can be very damaging, but most of the damage can easily be mitigated with cards such as The Log.
    • On the contrary, they are very effective at stopping opposing Miners. The Miner does not deal enough damage to one-shot each Goblin, allowing them to defeat him.
  • Placing Goblins and then placing down a single grounded unit on the same tile right afterwards will cause them to spread further apart from each other while deploying, allowing them to be targeted individually by certain area damage attackers like the Baby Dragon, therefore making them more effective at stalling these units. This tactic is most effective if the grounded unit is a ranged attacker, as it will not continue to collide with the Goblins upon deployment and will not be susceptible to area damage damage until after all of them are defeated. However, this does not work against units with a large enough area damage radius, such as the Mega Knight and his jump attack.
  • The Goblins paired with Spear Goblins can replicate the effect of the Goblin Gang for a slightly more expensive cost. However, there is 1 more Goblin than there is in the Goblin Gang, and their lower individual costs allow the player to defend more efficiently to several attacks (i.e, they are not forced to overcommit with 4 Elixir to a single attack, like with the Goblin Gang's 3 Elixir cost).

Statistics

Cost
Elixir
Hit Speed
Damage Speed
Speed
Speed
Deploy Time
Deploy Time
Range
Range
Target
Targets
Count
Troop Count
Transport
Transport
Type
Type
Rarity
Rarity
2 1.1 sec Very Fast (120) 1.2 sec Melee: Short (0.5) Ground x4 Ground Troop Common
Level
Level
Hitpoints
Hitpoint
Damage
Damage
Damage per second
DPS
1 79 47 42
2 86 51 46
3 95 56 50
4 105 62 56
5 115 68 61
6 126 75 68
7 139 82 74
8 152 90 81
9 167 99 90
10 184 109 99
11 202 120 109
12 221 132 120
13 244 145 131
14 267 159 144
15 293 175 159

Card Mastery

Type Level/Tier Objective Reward
Damage Dealer
Damage Dealer
1 Deal a total of 33,000 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings 200 Goblins cards
25 XP
2 Deal a total of 97,500 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings 2,000 Gold
25 XP
3 Deal a total of 165,000 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings 150 Gem
25 XP
Hit Maker
Hit Maker
1 Hit enemy Troops a total of 1,050 times 3,000 Gold
100 XP
2 Hit enemy Troops a total of 3,000 times 200 Common Wild Card
100 XP
3 Hit enemy Troops a total of 5,250 times 5,000 Gold
100 XP

History[]

2016

  • The Goblins card was added with Clash Royale's game launch on 4/1/2016.
  • On 29/2/2016, the March 2016 Update, decreased the Goblins' sight range to 5.5 tiles (from 6 tiles).
  • On 3/5/2016, the May 2016 Update, increased the Common card Level cap to 13 (from 12). The update also fixed the “range bug”, which decreased the Goblins' range to 0.5 tiles (from 1 tile), but their effective range was unchanged.

2017

2018

  • On 2/7/2018, a Balance Update, decreased the Goblins' hitpoints by 1%. This was to fix an inconsistency with Minions that could not take out Goblins in two hits at the same Level.

2019

2020

  • On 2/6/2020, a Balance Update, gave the Goblins a new 0.1 second deploy stagger from each other.

2021

  • On 6/9/2021, the 2021 Quarter 3 Update, increased the distance between the Goblins upon deployment.
  • On 27/10/2021, the Champions Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 14 (from 13).

2022

  • On 26/10/2022, the 2022 Quarter 3 Update, increased the unit count to 4 (from 3), and increased their first attack time interval to 0.4 seconds (from 0.2 seconds). It also changed the description of the card. It used to read "Three fast, unarmored melee attackers. Small, fast, green and mean!"

2023

  • On 6/6/2023, a Balance Update, increased the deploy stagger for each Goblin to 0.2 seconds (from 0.1 seconds).
  • On 19/6/2023, the Card Evolution Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 15 (from 14).

2024

  • On 3/1/2024, a Balance Update, increased the Goblins' deploy time to 1.2 seconds (from 1 second).

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Goblins are small, grotesque, monstrous creatures that appear in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on the story and country of origin, ranging from mischievous household spirits to malicious, bestial thieves. They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, such as the ability to shapeshift. Similar creatures include duendes, kobolds, leprechauns, and ghouls.
    • In the German and Dutch language setting of the game, the Goblins' name translates to "Kobolds". In the Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese language setting of the game, the Goblins' name translates to "Duendes", "Ghouls", and "Leprechauns" respectively.
  • The Goblins are 1 of 19 troops which first existed in Clash of Clans, the others being Minions, Archers, Skeletons, Barbarians, Giant, Valkyrie, Wizard, Hog Rider, Witch, P.E.K.K.A., Balloon, Golem, Wall Breakers, Bowler, Cannon Cart, Phoenix, Lava Hound, and the Archer Queen.
    • In Clash of Clans, they carried a small bag which was designed to steal resources. Despite their origins, the Goblins carry daggers as weapons, rather than bags for loot as they no longer directly steal loot, nor do they prioritise Elixir Collectors over other targets.
    • Their Star Level 3 Skin grants them a red mohawk similar to the Level 6 Goblin in Clash of Clans.
  • The Goblins are 1 of 3 troops which can be spawned by a troop (Goblins/Goblin Gang), a spell (Goblin Barrel), and a building (Goblin Drill). The others are Skeletons and Barbarians.
  • The Goblins are one of the first troops to be featured in a Loading Screen, alongside the Knight, Skeletons, and Prince.
  • The Goblins are one of the first troop cards to receive a card render, alongside the Archers, Knight, Bomber, Skeletons, Barbarians, Bats, Royal Recruits, Skeleton Barrel, Rascals, Musketeer, Giant, Valkyrie, Wizard, Flying Machine, Hog Rider, Royal Hogs, Dart Goblin, Zappies, Elixir Golem, Baby Dragon, Skeleton Army, Witch, P.E.K.K.A., Prince, Balloon, Giant Skeleton, Goblin Giant, Hunter, Electro Dragon, Wall Breakers, Bowler, Cannon Cart, Mega Knight, Ram Rider, Miner, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, Magic Archer, Bandit, Lava Hound, Night Witch, and Fisherman.
  • The Goblins are one of the first cards to be featured in the Season Shop, alongside the Goblin Cage and Goblin Giant.
  • The Goblins were 1 of 6 troops to have their own Hero versions, the others being the Archers, Knight, Skeletons, Barbarians, and Miner. In their case, it was the Goblin King.
  • Even though the card spawns 3 Goblins, the card render displays only 1 Goblin.
  • In their description the word “unarmored” may be hinting at a new card. It is also a reference to the Minions and how it has the sentence and the Mega Minion was eventually released.
  • Goblins are similar to Spear Goblins. However, take note they are not ranged and have to run up to a target to melee. Goblins also have significantly more health and damage than Spear Goblins, despite not looking muscular, like the Spear Goblins do.
  • The first Trainer the player battles in the Training Camp uses 2 cards, one of them being Goblins, and the other being Skeletons.
  • The Goblins are featured in non-Clash games. More specifically:
  • When visiting the Shop, an elderly Goblin with white hair, a brown jacket, and glasses appears as the shopkeeper, holding a Fortune Chest.
    • Prior to 12/12/2017, he was holding a Magical Chest; even earlier, prior to 12/6/2017, he was holding a golden chained watch.
    • This Goblin is featured in Clash Royale's 1st anniversary advertisement, Back in my Day.
  • In Touchdown mode, a Goblin blowing a whistle acts as referee. This Goblin can be defeated before it runs off-screen with fast spells like the Arrows if the player is quick enough. Earthquake, Lightning, Freeze, Poison, and Tornado do not work.
  • The Rocket's Star Level 3 Skin has a Goblin riding on top of it.
  • The Goblins are the subject of a few Emotes, for a total of 27 Emotes, the highest amount of all cards in the game.
    • The Goblin This is Fine Emote is a reference to the This is Fine meme.
    • The Goblin He’ll Be Back Emote is a reference to Terminator.
    • The Goblin Gob-arian Emote is a reference to the Clash Royale The Gob-arian commercial.
    • The Goblin Robot Dance Emote is a reference to Daft Punk.
    • The Third Anniversary Goblin Emote was originally going to be Exclusive. However, it ended up not being Exclusive in the game.
  • During the 1st Anniversary Offer, when the free Magical Chest is opened, a right-facing Goblin was there trying to blow out a candle. The candle would appear on a Miner's helmet if the Gold and Gem pack in the middle is purchased, and a left-facing Goblin will appear if the Gold and Super Magical Chest pack on the right is purchased.
  • The Goblins were featured in the winning deck of the Crown Championship Global Series Tournament, by a player called Sergioramos:).
  • On 4/10/2022, the Goblins was supposed to receive a unit count increase to 4 (from 3), but it was pulled back until the 2022 Quarter 3 Update.
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