Best Clash Royale Decks for Arena 16 (Executioner’s Kitchen)

The best Clash Royale decks for Arena 16 will help you rack up trophies, even as the competition gets tougher at this stage.

Arena 16, also known as the Executioner’s Kitchen, is where things start to get spicy. You’ll run into a lot of people running meta decks, often with overleveled cards and win conditions. 

There’s also a chance you’ll see random but surprisingly effective combos, too. While things are a lot less predictable than in earlier Arenas, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to push through.

If you’re struggling to figure out which cards to use, we’ve put together the best Arena 16 deck below.

Best Arena 16 decks

One thing we’d really recommend is having at least one Evolution card in your deck if you want to stay competitive. Of course, this can be tricky to do for free-to-play players, hence why we’ve also included a no-Evolution option below.

Classic Log Bait

Deck composition:

• Princess
• Dart Goblin
• Knight
• The Log
• Goblin Barrel
• Tesla
• Goblin Gang
• Rocket

Most Arena 16 decks need a few Legendaries, rely on Champions, or just feel bad without Evo. That’s not the case with Log Bait, though. Having only an average of 3.4 Elixir cost, as well as being F2P friendly, makes it a strong and straightforward option to climb.

Log Bait excels in a spell-heavy, defensive meta because it wins stalled games. Your main goal is to bait out your enemies’ small spells, like their Log and Arrows, by dropping the Princess, Dart Goblin, and Goblin Gang. 

As soon as their small spell is out of the rotation, drop the Goblin Barrel for chip damage, and repeat. Basically, you don’t rely on a big push, but focus on chip damage that adds up over time as you force your enemy to deal with different threats.

Defending here is pretty straightforward. You’ll want to pair the Tesla with the Knight, so the Tesla can pull and stop tanks, while the latter deals with them. 

Goblin Gang can also cover pressure lanes, and don’t worry about dropping Log to stop anyone from getting too close. 

In the late game, Rocket allows you to close out matches safely once the enemy tower is within its range.

Evo Witch MK deck

Deck composition:

• Witch (Evo)
• Mega Knight
• Golden Knight
• The Log
• Royal Ghost
• Skeleton Army
• Electro Wizard
• Zap

This deck is an absolute nightmare when it connects. It’s definitely on the heavier side with an average cost of 3.8 Elixir, so you can’t just spam cards, but if you play patiently, it snowballs hard.

The whole idea is to defend first. Wait for your opponent to overcommit, then drop Mega Knight on their push and put Evolved Witch behind it.

Witch’s job here is basically to be annoying. Keeping her behind your tank lets her stay alive longer and regain health as her Skeletons get picked off, which makes her way harder to deal with over time.

You’re also backed up by both Zap and The Log, which give you just enough cheap spell control to survive bait and Inferno defenses.

And if that’s not enough pressure already, that’s when Skeleton Army comes in. Dropped at the right moment, it adds a burst of swarm that forces multiple answers at once, but only if their Log or Arrows are out of cycle. If you drop all three without thinking, you’ll get punished immediately.

Since this deck doesn’t have a building, defense is more about soaking and cleaning up. You can rely on MK to tank, Electro Wizard to stun, as well as Golden Knight and Royal Ghost to clean up their troops.

What is the best Arena 16 deck in Clash Royale?

Deck composition:

• Valkyrie (Evo)
• Hog Rider
• Firecracker
• Skeletons
• Tesla
• The Log
• Earthquake
• Ice Spirit

This Hog EQ deck easily takes the top spot as the best option in Executioner’s Kitchen. Not only is it consistent, but it also doesn’t rely on your enemies making mistakes, while also having a low average Elixir cost of 3.0.

You’re not trying to win with one massive push here. Instead, the whole game plan is repeated pressure. A typical play is sending in Hog Rider and backing it up with Earthquake, either on their building or straight on the tower. 

Since a lot of players at this stage rely on buildings to defend, EQ guarantees damage even when the Hog doesn’t fully connect, which means you’re never completely shut down. 

You also get extra pressure from Evolved Valkyrie and Firecracker. Valkyrie tanks damage and clear anything that gets too close, while Firecracker sits back and chips away, especially against swarms and support troops. If your enemy ignores either of them, it usually adds up fast. 

When it comes to defending, Ice Spirit and Skeletons can each stall tanks for just one Elixir, while the Tesla pulls them so that Valkyrie or Firecracker can clean them up.

And if they drop their swarms on you, you can always rely on The Log to sweep them when things get messy.

All cards in Executioner’s Kitchen

Unlike earlier Arena levels, in Executioner’s Kitchen, you’ll only unlock two new cards. Though, of course, they are quite powerful. This brings your total card pool to 119.

All arena levels

There are a total of 24 Arenas in Clash Royale. Each Arena offers different rewards and has a minimum amount of trophies you need to grind in order to go to the next one. Below, you’ll find a complete list of all Arenas along with their trophy requirements.

So, that’s about it. Now that you know the best decks to use in Arena 16, be sure to check out the card tier list to keep up with the meta. If you’re looking for solid decks outside a specific Arena, we’ve also got a general best decks guide you can check out.