Anyone who’s spent even a few hours playing Clash Royale ladder knows how frustrating the Wizard can be. One second you’re rolling with a solid Hog Rider + Minion push, the next that robed, fire-slinging unit wipes out all your support in two quick blasts, leaving your push dead in the water. A lot of new players waste far too much elixir trying to take him out, putting themselves at a disadvantage for the rest of the match. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about how to counter Wizard in Clash Royale, no matter what deck you run or what trophy range you’re in.
How to Counter Wizard in Clash Royale With Low-Elixir Trades
The Wizard costs 5 elixir to deploy, so your first goal when countering him is to spend less than that to take him out, locking in a positive elixir trade. The best low-cost counter for a lone unprotected Wizard is the Mini P.E.K.K.A, which only costs 4 elixir and takes him out in just two hits, with enough health left over to start a small counterpush. If you have air cards available, dropping a Minion Horde directly on top of the Wizard works too, as the minions will swarm him and take him out before he can get more than one shot off.
Just don’t drop the Minion Horde too far away, or the Wizard will pick them off one by one for a devastating 3 elixir negative trade for you. If the Wizard is grouped with other low-health support units, a well-placed Fireball will take him out alongside any adjacent Goblins, Spear Goblins, or Archers, turning a 5 elixir cost into a 6 or 7 elixir gain for you. You can even use a leveled-up Rocket if he’s standing next to a tower, but only do this if you’re sure you can get both tower damage and the Wizard kill to make the 6 elixir cost worth it.
Best Counters for Wizard When He’s Paired With Tanks
Nine times out of 10, you won’t face a Wizard alone. Most players drop him at the back of their lane to pair with a tank like Giant, Golem, or Pekka, using his area damage to clear out any defense you throw at their frontline unit. In these cases, you can’t just go straight for the Wizard, or the tank will walk straight to your tower and deal massive damage before you can stop it. The best all-around counter for Wizard + tank pushes is the Valkyrie, which you drop directly between the tank and the Wizard so she spins and takes out all supporting units while your other troops handle the main tank.
You can also use a cheap defensive building like Tesla to pull the Wizard away from his supporting tank, separating them so you can take out each one individually without wasting extra elixir. If you prefer air counters, a Baby Dragon can fly over the frontline tank to take out the Wizard and any other ground support, while your own ground units focus on stopping the tank from reaching your tower. Keep these simple rules in mind when defending against Wizard + tank pushes:
- Do drop area damage troops between the tank and Wizard to take out support first before focusing on the frontline
- Don't waste all your elixir on the Wizard before handling the main tank, or you'll have no defense left for follow-up pushes
- Do use cheap distractions to pull the Wizard away from his supporting tank for an easier, lower-elixir takeout
- Don't drop glass cannons in the Wizard's line of sight, he'll one shot them before they can deal any meaningful damage
Following these rules will help you avoid the most common mistakes players make when facing these common pushes, and keep you at an elixir advantage for most of the match. I’ve used this exact strategy to stop 80% of the Giant + Wizard pushes I face in 6000+ trophy range, and it works just as well in lower arenas too.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Fighting Wizard
Even experienced players make mistakes when countering Wizard, and most of these mistakes come from panicking when they see him drop. The first big mistake is using small spells like Arrows or Zap on the Wizard, as these spells only deal a tiny fraction of his health, wasting 2 or 3 elixir for absolutely no gain. You only want to use spells on Wizard if they are high enough damage to take him out in one hit, like Fireball or Rocket, or if you can hit multiple high-value units alongside him.
Another common mistake is dropping your counter immediately as soon as you see the Wizard drop at the back of your opponent’s lane. If you drop your Mini P.E.K.K.A right away, your opponent can follow up with a Pekka or a Giant of their own to counter your Mini P.E.K.K.A, turning your positive trade into a negative one. Wait at least 5 seconds to see what other support they add before you commit to a counter, so you don’t get caught off guard. I used to make this mistake all the time, dropping my counter immediately and then getting hit with a surprise Hog Rider push in the other lane that I had no elixir to defend against.
The third biggest mistake is overcommitting to countering the Wizard. It’s never worth spending 6 or 7 elixir to take out a 5 elixir Wizard, even if you kill him, because you’ll be left with a huge elixir deficit that your opponent can exploit. Always look for the lowest elixir trade possible, even if it means taking a small amount of tower damage to avoid a worse trade later.
How to Turn Wizard Counters Into Counterpush Opportunities
The best players don’t just stop Wizard pushes, they turn those defenses into game-winning counterpushes that take out enemy towers. For example, if you use a Mini P.E.K.K.A to take out a lone Wizard, he’ll still have most of his health left, so you can pair him with a Hog Rider or a Fire Spirit for a fast, high-damage push in the same lane before your opponent has time to regenerate elixir. If you used a Valkyrie to take out a Wizard and a group of supporting Goblins, she’ll still be at half health or more, so adding a Musketeer behind her gives you a solid, balanced push that your opponent will have to spend at least 6 elixir to stop.
Smart elixir management is key here. After you successfully counter a Wizard, you’ll usually have a 1 to 4 elixir advantage, so don’t waste that advantage on small, useless troops that don’t add any pressure. Save enough elixir to support your counterpush, and if you have extra left over, you can even drop a cheap unit in the opposite lane to apply split pressure and force your opponent to split their elixir too.
If you used a Fireball to take out a Wizard and an adjacent Magic Archer, you just got a 4 elixir trade for 8, giving you a 4 elixir lead that you can use to drop a high-damage unit like Hog Rider or Balloon in the opposite lane immediately. Most players won’t have enough elixir left to defend both lanes after losing 8 elixir worth of support, so this is a great way to catch them off guard and take a tower early.
At the end of the day, learning how to counter Wizard in Clash Royale isn’t about having the rarest or most expensive cards, it’s about smart timing, proper elixir management, and knowing what counters work best for each scenario. Don’t get frustrated if you mess up a counter the first few times, even top pro players misplay against Wizard sometimes when they’re caught off guard. Next time you see that familiar robed figure pop up at the back of your opponent’s lane, you’ll know exactly what to do to shut him down and turn his own push against him.
