If you’ve opened Clash Royale in the last week, you’ve probably seen the pop-ups, event banners, and clan chat spam about the latest drop from Supercell. If you’re asking what is the new card in Clash Royale, you’re not alone—thousands of players have been testing it across ladder, challenges, and private matches to figure out if it’s a meta-defining pick or a dud. The latest addition to the Clash Royale card roster is the Battle Drill, a 3-elixir Rare ground troop that brings a totally new mechanic to tower pushes. I’ve been playing with it nonstop since it launched, and I’ve got all the details you need to start using it (or countering it) effectively.
What Is the New Card in Clash Royale? Full Stats & Rarity Breakdown
The Battle Drill is a building-targeting troop that only goes after enemy Crown Towers, no exceptions. When you drop it on your side of the arena, it immediately burrows underground, making it immune to all damage while moving straight for the closest opponent tower. It moves at medium speed, so it takes roughly 8 seconds to reach the enemy tower from your side of the bridge.
At tournament standard level 11, the Battle Drill has 1200 hit points, deals 120 damage per hit, and has a 1.2 second hit speed. That means it will deal just over 100 damage per second to a tower if left uncountered. It costs 3 Elixir, which is cheaper than most tower-targeting options like the Hog Rider or Miner, making it a very flexible pick for most deck archetypes.
Unlike the Miner, it can’t be placed anywhere on the map, so you can’t use it to take out backline support troops like Wizard or Electro Witch. But its low cost and invulnerability while moving make it a great option for consistent, low-risk tower pressure. It’s classified as Rare rarity, so it’s much easier to level up than Legendary or Champion cards, even for free-to-play players.
One thing to note right off the bat: you can’t distract the Battle Drill with other buildings. It will ignore Tesla, Inferno Tower, or any other defensive building you place, so don’t waste elixir dropping a building to pull it away from your tower. That’s one of the most common mistakes I see players make when facing it for the first time.
Best Deck Synergies for the New Battle Drill Card
The Battle Drill works best in fast, aggressive cycle decks, where you can pair it with other low-cost push options to overwhelm opponents. I’ve tested dozens of combinations over the last week, and these are the most consistent synergies I’ve found for ladder play:
- Hog Rider: Pair the Battle Drill with Hog Rider for a fast, dual-push pressure combo. Both target towers, so opponents will have to split their elixir to defend both, often leading to tower damage even if they block one. This combo only costs 7 Elixir total, so you’ll still have leftover elixir to defend counter pushes.
- Log: The Log can clear small swarms like Goblins or Skeleton Army that players often drop to distract supporting troops behind your Battle Drill push. It’s also great for chip damage to towers if your opponent doesn’t have a counter for it.
- Electro Wizard: Electro Wizard stuns enemy tanks and splash units that try to take out your supporting troops, letting the Battle Drill reach the tower unimpeded. His zap effect also resets Inferno Tower and Inferno Dragon damage, which is perfect if your opponent runs those counters.
- Fireball: Use Fireball to take out medium health defending units like Wizard or Valkyrie that can shut down your push quickly. You can also aim it to hit both the defending unit and the tower for extra chip damage.
I’ve been running a Hog + Battle Drill cycle deck for the last 3 days, and I’ve climbed 400 trophies from 5800 to 6200 with a 68% win rate. The deck only has an average elixir cost of 2.8, so you can cycle back to your push cards extremely fast, keeping constant pressure on your opponent. That's way higher than the win rate I was getting with my old Hog Cycle deck, so this card is definitely a buff for aggressive playstyles.
You don’t want to pair the Battle Drill with slow, heavy tanks like Golem or Pekka, though. You’ll end up spending too much elixir on your push, leaving you with nothing to defend against counter attacks. Stick to light, fast decks to get the most value out of it.
Top Counters to Beat the Battle Drill
Even though the Battle Drill is strong, it has plenty of easy counters that can shut it down for a positive elixir trade. The biggest thing to remember is that you can’t damage it while it’s burrowing, so save your elixir for when it pops up next to your tower.
The best counter for the Battle Drill is a Mini Pekka dropped right on top of it when it emerges. A level 11 Mini Pekka deals 600 damage per hit, so it will take out the Battle Drill in just two hits, for a positive 1 elixir trade. You can also use a Valkyrie, which will kill it in 3 hits and also clear any supporting troops behind the drill at the same time.
Other cheap counters include Skeleton Army, Goblin Gang, or even a lone Knight, all of which can take out the Battle Drill for a positive elixir trade. The only thing you don’t want to do is use spells on it, unless it’s paired with other supporting troops. Spells like Fireball or Rocket will kill it, but you’ll end up losing the elixir trade, which puts you at a disadvantage for the rest of the match.
So many players I’ve faced make the mistake of throwing a Fireball at the ground where the drill is moving, which is a total waste of 4 elixir. The drill is completely immune while burrowing, so that spell does absolutely nothing. Wait until it pops up, then drop your counter directly on top of it for the best results.
How to Unlock the New Clash Royale Card Fast
You don’t have to spend real money to get the Battle Drill, there are plenty of free ways to unlock it right now. The fastest way, if you have the paid Pass Royale, is to reach tier 30 of the current season pass, where you’ll get an unlimited copy of the card to use immediately, plus extra copies to level it up.
For free-to-play players, the easiest way to get it is to play the special Battle Drill Challenge that’s running for the first two weeks after launch. You only need 6 wins to get a free copy of the card, plus 10,000 gold and two Magic Items. I got my copy on my third try, and the challenge only costs 500 gold to enter, so it’s a very low risk for a huge reward.
Once the two-week launch event ends, the Battle Drill will be added to all regular chests, including Silver, Gold, Giant, Magical, and Legendary chests. You’ll need to be in Arena 10 or higher to get it from chests, so if you’re below that, focus on climbing arena ranks first before you try to unlock it.
If you already have one copy, you can also request it from your clan members once it’s added to the regular card pool, or trade for it using trade tokens. That’s the fastest way to level it up to tournament standard without spending money.
Now that you know what is the new card in Clash Royale, you can decide if it fits your playstyle, or if you need to adjust your deck to counter it. It’s a fun, low-cost card that adds a totally new layer of strategy to the meta, especially for players who love fast, aggressive cycle decks. If you’re testing it for the first time, give the Hog + Battle Drill combo a try, it’s easily the most consistent way to climb ranks this season. Don’t forget to share your best drill plays with your clan, there’s already tons of hilarious clips of players catching opponents completely off guard with surprise drill pushes.
