Card Evolution was introduced to Clash Royale in Season 48, and it took over the game completely. With it, evolved cards are given improved stats and abilities. However, for long-term fans of the game, this new mechanic proved quite controversial at first as the initial implementation seemed a bit clumsy. In this Clash Royale Card Evolution Guide read along as we take a look at the community reaction, how Evolution works, and why you should get them now!
Table of Contents
What is Evolution in Clash Royale
In Clash Royale, certain cards can reach a new form through Evolution. In this evolved state, they gain certain new abilities or mechanics once they have been used a certain number of times in a process called Cycles. For example, the Knight is a 2-cycle Evolution card which means its Evolution version is in effect every third time you play him – the first 2 count as the cycle with the third bringing the Evolution into play.
How to Unlock Card Evolution in Clash Royale
Card Evolution can be unlocked by collecting Evolution Shards (Evo Shards) for the particular card you want to Evolve. Alternatively, you can use Wild Shards which can be used with any card. To unlock a card’s Evo variant, you will need 6 Shards in total. These Shards can be gained in the following ways:
- Events
- Season Shop
- Pass Royale
- Daily Shop
- Path of Legends
- Level up chests
Once you unlock the Evo variant of a card, place it in the very first slot which is now called the “Evolution Slot”, the only slot where the abilities of the Evo card can be utilized. For more information on getting Evo Shards, check out our detailed Clash Royale Item and Currency Guide.
How many Evo Cards can you use in a Clash Royale Deck?
Similar to Champion cards, restrictions on the usage of Evo cards in a deck have been applied. Indeed, only ONE Evo card can be equipped in a deck. This card must then be placed in the Evolution Slot of your deck to use it.
How to use Evo Abilities in Clash Royale
In order to harness the ability of Evo cards, you will need to cycle the card a specific number of times before its Evo ability becomes available. Once it is ready to use, the card will appear brighter and with two diamond-shaped elixir blocks filled. Each Evo card has a different cycle requirement and this is covered in the next section.
Clash Royale Evolution Card List
Below you will find all the information for each Evolution card currently in Clash Royale. Follow the links for a more detailed Guide for each card and its Clash Royale Evolution.
| Card | Elixir | Cycles | Evo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archers | 3 | 2 | Deal double damage to far away enemies with Power Shot. |
| Barbarians | 5 | 1 | Infinite rage stack that increases with each hit for faster attacks. |
| Bats | 2 | 2 | Heal with each attack and can increase their HP past their maximum. |
| Firecracker | 3 | 2 | Launches a big firecracker that deals DPS damage to any troop that is within its proximity. |
| Knight | 3 | 2 | Gains a special shield and is stronger in combat. |
| Mortar | 4 | 2 | Launches a cannonball to its target where a Goblin comes out as soon as it hits the target. |
| Royal Giant | 6 | 1 | Deals splash damage to troops around him and pushes them back at the same time. |
| Royal Recruits | 7 | 1 | Begin an epic charge once their shields have been broken. |
| Skeletons | 1 | 2 | Spawn up to 8 evolved Skeletons that keep spawning when one Skeleton is taken down. |
Community Reaction to Clash Royale Card Evolution
When Card Evos were first released into Clash Royale, there was quite a significant pushback from many long-time players. The unhappiness seemed to be driven by 2 cards in particular, Royal Giant and the Firecracker, which had boosted stats that were considered quite overpowered. This even caused a lot of players to quit Clash Royale completely.
However, following this controversy, the developers did make a few tweaks to reduce the impact created by the Evo cards. Thankfully, this was able to satisfy the majority of players with adjustments that mostly normalized gameplay once more. Even more, it has made people find new decks in order to utilize the potential of these Evo cards to its fullest and brought a great refresh to the meta.
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