UCSD · DSC 106 Final Project

Quiet Winners vs “Toxic” Cards · Clash Royale Season 18

Players complain about “toxic” troops — but the cards that quietly win ladder games are often cheap spells and support cards.

Proposition

In the Season 18 ladder, as players climb from mid to high arenas, the cards that win most often aren’t the “toxic” troop cards players complain about. Instead, quiet support cards like cheap spells show up in a huge share of winning decks.

We’ll walk through a short story, one arena at a time, and then let you explore the full dataset yourself.

Proposition Image Gameplay Image

What players call “toxic”

If you scroll through Reddit, Twitter or YouTube, people point fingers at familiar “toxic” cards — things like Little Prince, Firecracker or Royal Recruits — and blame them for unfair games.

On this slide, you can show a couple of screenshots or quotes from posts that inspired our question: are these really the cards that win the most on ladder?

Cheap spells deemed "fair"

Many cards that actually determine the whole course of a match can be often disregarded as their impact can feel hidded or not as significant. This includes many spells like the log, zap, or fireball. All relatively cheap cards that are only on the battle for very few moments but can dictate the result of the round.

Spooky Town: toxic troops really dominate

In lower arenas like Spooky Town, the cards people complain about do line up with what wins. Many of the top cards by wins are splashy, frustrating troops.

The chart on the right compares “toxic troops” to “cheap spells” by total wins for this arena only.

Spooky Town Image

Rascal’s Hideout: the gap starts to close

As we move up to Rascal’s Hideout, the “toxic” troop cards are still strong — but quiet support cards begin to show up more often in winning decks.

Watch how the mean line for cheap spells starts to creep up toward the toxic troop line.

Rascal's Hideout Image

Serenity Peak: support cards catch up

At Serenity Peak, cheap spells and other support cards are no longer background characters. Their average wins can match — or even exceed — some of the most complained-about troops.

This slide is a second mid-ladder checkpoint before we jump to top arena.

Serenity Peak Image

Miner's Mine: support cards move ahead

Between Serenity Peak and Legendary Arena, Miner's Mine is where support cards really start to pull away. Quiet spells like The Log and Zap show up in more and more winning decks, while some early “toxic” troops fall off.

This slide is the bridge where the balance tips toward cheap spells before we reach Legendary Arena.

Miner's Mine Image

Legendary Arena: quiet winners on top

By the time we reach Legendary Arena, the story flips. Quiet support cards and cheap spells show up in a huge share of winning decks, and their average wins can beat out many “toxic” troops.

This is the main evidence for our proposition: at higher arenas, support cards matter more than the loud complaints suggest.

Legendary Arena Image

So what actually wins ladder games?

Across arenas, toxic troops are visible and memorable — they create the moments people complain about. But in higher arenas, the cards that quietly drive wins are often cheap spells and support cards that show up again and again in successful decks.

Summary: As clearly shown these seemingly overpowered and gimmicky cards that players consider unfair provide

Now it’s your turn. On the next page you can choose any card, any arena and any metric, and see where your favorite “toxic” cards actually rank.

Explore the Season 18 ladder data

Build your own comparison between “toxic” troops and quiet support cards. Search for specific cards, adjust filters, and change which metric you use to define “strength”.