Ronin is the newest Legendary card added to Clash Royale in the July 2026 update (Season 85). Unlike recent seasons that introduced Evolutions or Heroes, this update focuses entirely on a brand-new troop with a unique defensive mechanic called Parry Damage.
Ronin is designed to dominate melee troops by blocking powerful attacks and reflecting even more damage back to enemies. However, despite being extremely strong in one-on-one combat, he has several weaknesses that keep him balanced.
Here’s everything you need to know about Ronin.
Ronin Overview
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Legendary |
| Cost | 5 Elixir |
| Type | Ground Troop |
| Targets | Ground |
| Range | Melee |
| Speed | Fast |
Ronin specializes in defeating heavy melee units. Cards like PEKKA, Mega Knight, Prince, Boss Bandit, and Mini P.E.K.K.A. struggle against him thanks to his unique passive ability.
Ronin Stats (Level 11)
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Hitpoints | 1,779 |
| Damage | 337 |
| Hit Speed | 1.4 sec |
| DPS | 241 |
| Movement Speed | Fast |
| Elixir Cost | 5 |
His health is very similar to a Knight, but his offensive damage is significantly higher.
Ronin’s Parry Damage Ability Explained
Parry Damage is what makes Ronin unique.
Whenever Ronin receives a qualifying melee attack, he automatically blocks the hit and reflects double the blocked damage back to the attacker.
For example:
- PEKKA attacks Ronin.
- Ronin takes 0 damage.
- PEKKA immediately receives double her own attack damage.
This allows Ronin to defeat many expensive melee troops without losing much health.
How Parry Damage Works
The ability follows several important rules.
What Parry Does
- Completely blocks one melee attack
- Reflects 200% of the blocked damage
- Applies a brief stun
- Automatically activates
- Starts fully charged when deployed
Cooldown
After activating, Parry enters a 3.5-second cooldown.
Once the cooldown finishes, Ronin can parry another melee attack.
The cooldown continues even if Ronin is:
- Frozen
- Walking
- Fighting
- Idle
What Parry Can Block
Ronin can parry most targeted ground melee attacks, including:
- Knight attacks
- Valkyrie swings
- Prince charge
- Dark Prince charge
- Battle Ram charge
- Golden Knight dash
- Bandit dash
- Boss Bandit dash
- Mega Knight normal punches
- Evo Mega Knight jump attack
What Parry Cannot Block
The ability does not work against:
- Archer attacks
- Musketeer shots
- Magic Archer
- Princess
- Flying melee troops
- Phoenix attacks
- Minions
- Lava Hound
- Spell damage
- Zap
- Fireball
- Rocket
- Poison
- Lightning
- Deploy damage
- Death damage
- Electro Giant reflected shocks
- Area abilities like Royal Rescue
Strengths
Ronin performs exceptionally well against heavy melee cards.
He can consistently defeat:
- PEKKA
- Mega Knight
- Mini P.E.K.K.A.
- Prince
- Dark Prince
- Golden Knight
- Boss Bandit
- Knight
- Valkyrie
- Lumberjack
Against single-target melee troops, Ronin is one of the strongest defensive options in the game.
Weaknesses
Ronin is not unbeatable.
He struggles against:
Swarm Cards
Since Parry only blocks one attack every 3.5 seconds, multiple attackers quickly overwhelm him.
Examples include:
- Skeleton Army
- Goblin Gang
- Guards
Ranged Troops
His passive offers no protection from ranged attacks.
Examples:
- Musketeer
- Archer Queen
- Princess
- Magic Archer
- Dart Goblin
Air Units
Ronin only attacks ground troops.
He cannot fight:
- Minions
- Phoenix
- Lava Hound
- Inferno Dragon
- Baby Dragon
Spells
Spells completely ignore Parry.
Fireball, Poison, Rocket, and Lightning all damage him normally.
Best Cards to Pair With Ronin
Since Ronin struggles against air and swarms, pair him with support cards that cover those weaknesses.
Good teammates include:
- Wizard
- Executioner
- Baby Dragon
- Electro Wizard
- Ice Wizard
- Arrows
- Log
- Tornado
- Fireball
These cards remove swarms while Ronin handles tanks.
Best Deck Ideas
Control Deck
- Ronin
- Fireball
- Log
- Electro Wizard
- Tornado
- Cannon
- Miner
- Skeletons
Bridge Spam
- Ronin
- Bandit
- Royal Ghost
- Battle Ram
- Magic Archer
- Barbarian Barrel
- Poison
- Electro Spirit
Splash Control
- Ronin
- Baby Dragon
- Tornado
- Ice Wizard
- Graveyard
- Poison
- Tombstone
- Barbarian Barrel
Ronin Counters
Although Ronin dominates melee troops, several cards counter him effectively.
Best Counters
- Skeleton Army
- Goblin Gang
- Minion Horde
- Phoenix
- Inferno Dragon
- Musketeer
- Princess
- Archer Queen
- Magic Archer
- Fireball + support troops
The easiest way to defeat Ronin is by attacking from range or overwhelming him with multiple units.
Special Interactions
Some unique interactions include:
- Clone creates a Ronin with Parry ready.
- Mirror works normally.
- Freeze prevents Parry activation but does not stop its recharge timer.
- Zap does not reset Parry.
- Electro Giant’s reflected damage still hurts Ronin.
- Two Ronins fighting each other usually results in the second-deployed Ronin winning due to Parry timing.
How to Unlock Ronin
During Season 85, Ronin can be obtained through:
- Free release event
- Premium Pass Royale rewards
After the release season ends, Ronin becomes available in Arena 14 (4,600 Trophies).
Ronin Upgrade Costs
| Level | Cards Needed | Total Cards |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 12 | 6 | 12 |
| 13 | 9 | 21 |
| 14 | 12 | 33 |
| 15 | 14 | 47 |
| 16 | 20 | 67 |
To fully upgrade Ronin to Level 16, you’ll need:
- 67 Ronin cards
- 355,000 Gold
Ronin Masteries
Ronin launches with two mastery categories:
Damage Dealer
Deal damage with Ronin to earn Gold rewards.
Troop Destroyer
Defeat enemy troops using Ronin to unlock additional Gold rewards.
Completing every mastery task rewards thousands of Gold while increasing your overall Mastery Level.