Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Champion — what each Clash Royale rarity means, how it upgrades, and its special mechanics.
Every Clash Royale card belongs to one of five rarities. Rarity sets how often a card drops, what level it starts at, and — for Champions — whether it brings a battle ability. Rarer cards have shorter upgrade tracks but are harder to find, and all of them now share the same Level 16 ceiling.
~30 cards (approx.)
The most plentiful rarity and the backbone of most collections. Commons drop the most frequently, so they are the easiest cards to level all the way up.
Upgrade path
Starts at Level 1 and maxes at Level 16 (16 levels — the longest track). Each level-up needs the most duplicate cards of any rarity, but those duplicates are also the easiest to accumulate; gold cost climbs steeply toward the top levels.
~30 cards (approx.)
One step above Common. Rares include many staple win conditions and support troops and are moderately easy to find.
Upgrade path
Starts at Level 3 and maxes at Level 16 (14 levels). Needs fewer duplicate cards per level than Commons, but the same steep gold curve at the top.
~30 cards (approx.)
A rarer tier holding many high-impact spells and troops. Historically only requestable from clanmates on certain days, making them slower to mass.
Upgrade path
Starts at Level 6 and maxes at Level 16 (11 levels). Requires far fewer duplicate cards per level than Rares/Commons, but each Epic card is harder to obtain.
~20 cards (approx.)
Premium cards, each with a distinctive mechanic not found at lower rarities. Introduced on 29 February 2016, they were the game's flagship rare pulls for years.
Upgrade path
Starts at Level 9 and maxes at Level 16 (8 levels). Needs only a handful of duplicate cards per level, but Legendary copies are scarce, so leveling one is the slowest grind outside of Champions.
Special
Every Legendary has a unique ability or trait exclusive to that card (e.g. splitting shots, teleporting, dashing). Legendaries enter your collection at Level 9, above the starting level of every lower rarity.
~10 cards (approx.)
The newest and rarest tier, added on 27 October 2021 alongside the first three (Golden Knight, Archer Queen, Skeleton King). Champions are powerful signature units built around an activated ability.
Upgrade path
Starts at Level 11 and maxes at Level 16 (6 levels — the shortest track). Like Legendaries, each level needs only a few duplicate cards, and copies are the hardest to come by.
Special
Each Champion has an activated ability, triggered with a button during battle for a small extra Elixir cost and then on cooldown. Only ONE Champion may be placed in a deck at a time. In Clashest, Champions render like Heroes (they share the hero/champion treatment).
There are five rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Champion. Rarer cards drop less often and start at a higher level, but every card — whatever its rarity — now maxes out at Level 16.
Champion is the highest rarity. Champions have an activated ability you trigger in battle for extra Elixir, and you can only run one Champion per deck. They were added in 2022 and start at Level 11.
Yes. Commons start at Level 1, Rares at 3, Epics at 6, Legendaries at 9 and Champions at 11 — but all of them converge at the Level 16 maximum. Rarer cards simply have a shorter upgrade track.
Rarity level ranges and mechanics compiled from Supercell's posts and the Clash Royale community (verified mid-2026). Exact card counts and total upgrade costs drift with each release and are marked approximate.
