The Clash Royale Balloon Festival started on April 6, 2026, as part of Season 82 and is the largest air-related season in a long time. This season is all about two changes - the new Hero Balloon and the Coffin Cadets ability, and the Minion Horde Evolution - and both are already having a major impact on ladder decks. This article has it all: the stats and abilities of the Hero Balloon, Coffin Cadets, the best decks to play right now, and how to counter them before the lobby.
What Is New in the Clash Royale Balloon Festival
Season 82 has a balloon theme, Easter-themed cosmetic items and vibrant graphics in the Arena. This is the first time we have Evolutions back, and a new Hero.f
Balloon, Minion Horde, Freeze and Baby Dragon are the boosted cards, and they all relate to the air push archetype. Being boosted means the card will appear more in chests, and be given slight balance treatment - now is the time to level up your Balloon if it has been languishing below Tournament Standard.
Supercell also phased out the Season Shop, added the Wild Shard to free Pass Royale starting from the April season, and moved Evolution Shards and the Book of Cards to Milestone and Community Events. The rewards are different from other seasons - read the Festival Market page before buying.
Season 82 event calendar highlights:
| Event | Dates |
| Hero Draft Mode | April 6–13 |
| Royal Tournament (Level 11 cap) | April 8–13 |
| Triple Draft League | April 17–26 |
| Balloon Race community event | April 20–27 |
| Festival Market closes | May 4 |
Hero Balloon Stats and Coffin Cadets Ability — Full Breakdown
The Hero Balloon is identical to its original version - the Hero Balloon now has a two-cost ability - called Coffin Cadets - that allows you to spawn a troop of Skeletroopers, which are a stronger version of the standard Skeleton.
Base stats (Tournament Standard, Level 11):
| Stat | Value |
| Elixir Cost | 5 |
| HP | 1,058 |
| Bomb Damage | 320 per drop |
| Crash Damage | 320 AOE |
| Ability Cost | 2 Elixir |
| Ability Cooldown | 12 seconds |
How Coffin Cadets works:
When activated, a Skeletrooper jumps off the Balloon using the ability and rushes at the closest target on the ground. When the targets are not found in a radius of 6.5 tiles, the Skeletrooper just lands beneath the Balloon. This diving effect can be used to attack troops and buildings, but not Crown Towers. Upon hitting the ground, the Skeletrooper inflicts damage on the ground in the radius of 2 tiles, known as Landing Damage. Destruction of 307 can easily one-shot such troops as Archers. Only ground units are affected by Landing Damage. Combine with a 90-percent reduction in area damage to Crown Towers, reducing it to 307 to 31.
Upon landing, Skeletrooper is left in the arena. It is an entirely new troop that has a melee range, and is significantly stronger than normal Skeletons.
Skeletrooper vs common troops:
| Troop | HP | Damage | DPS |
| Skeletrooper | 473 | 256 | 284 |
| Skeleton | 38 | 81 | 74 |
| Goblin | 120 | 109 | 109 |
| Barbarian | 691 | 192 | 137 |
The Skeletrooper is a serious threat on foot - not a discarded man. It is important to note that the area damage is reduced by 90% to the Crown Towers that is why ability use is recommended not to deal with direct tower chip but clear defenders.
Best Hero Balloon Decks for Clash Royale Balloon Festival
Deck 1 — LavaLoon with Hero Balloon (Avg Elixir 4.1 — Most Popular)
The evident house is the LavaLoon version of any kind - by swapping the ordinary Balloon with the Hero version, the deck inherently includes a swarm follow-up that neither needs to be placed in a card slot nor to use Skeleton Army or Goblin Gang. It is a big thing as LavaLoon has never managed to cram cycle, defense, win condition, and swarm punisher into eight slots. Hero Balloon summarizes two of the needs into a single card.
Cards: Lava Hound, Hero balloon, Minion Horde evo, Barbarians, Zap evo, Arrows, Skeletal dragons, Hero Mega Minion.
Why it works:Lava Hound destroys all ground fire as Hero Balloon makes its way to the tower. Coffin Cadets breaks the ground swarm defenses that once compelled LavaLoon players to carry a dedicated sweeper. Minion Horde Evo introduces air swarm which endures spells - the two are devastating when used in the right combination.
Deck 2 — 2.9 Cycle Hero Balloon (Avg Elixir 2.9 — Fastest)
The most cost-effective and the best Hero Balloon deck is dependent on the ability to cycle through cards as fast as possible. Your primary attack would be combining Hero Balloon, Miner and an Evolved Musketeer with an Ice Golem to entice enemy defenders. When defenders or attackers approach too closely, a Snowball will stumble them back.
Cards: : Hero balloon, Ice Golem Hero, miner, Musketeer Evo, Bomb tower, Barbarian barrel, Skeletons Evo, Snowball.
Why it works: Ice Golem can be cheaply tanked as Hero Balloon approaches. Coffin Cadets take care of any ground swarm that arrives to Balloon earlier than Ice Golem. The 2.9 average in elixirs allows you to out-cycle most heavy decks, and always have Balloon available when a push window arises.
Deck 3 — Double Air Beatdown (Avg Elixir 4.1)
Cards: Lava Hound, Hero Balloon, Balloon, Minion Horde Evo, Freeze, Baby Dragon Evo, Zap, Barbarian Barrel
Why it works: Double air pressure — regular Balloon and Hero Balloon on the same push with Lava Hound tanking. Freeze locks defenses while both Balloons connect. The boosted status of Balloon, Baby Dragon, and Freeze makes this the most boosted deck in the Clash Royale Balloon Festival meta right now. Opponent must answer two separate aerial threats simultaneously or lose the tower.
Deck 4 — Miner Balloon Control (Avg Elixir 3.4)
Cards: Hero Balloon, Miner, Musketeer Evo, Bomb Tower, Ice Golem, Skeletons, Snowball Evo, Barbarian Barrel
Why it works: Chip damage from Miner combined with Balloon as the finishing condition. Control-oriented — use Bomb Tower and Barbarian Barrel defensively, then punish with Balloon when elixir advantage is established. Coffin Cadets specifically counters the Inferno Tower that traditionally shuts down Balloon pushes.
Best Synergies and Hard Counters
Synergies that make Hero Balloon dangerous:
- Freeze — locks all ground defenses while Balloon connects; the single strongest spell pairing
- Lava Hound — absorbs all ground-targeting units and deals splash death damage that clears swarms naturally
- Minion Horde Evo — air swarm that survives single spells; forces opponent to use two spells on one push
- Miner — cheap tank that absorbs tower fire without costing elixir advantage
- Tornado — pulls ground troops under the Balloon for Coffin Cadets to hit multiple enemies on landing
Cards that counter Hero Balloon reliably:
A second home is in flying-cycle bridge spam — the Coffin Cadets ability gives the deck a way to clean up swarm defenses that would otherwise stall the Balloon at the tower edge.The counters are specifically the units that survive Coffin Cadets' landing damage:
- Inferno Tower / Inferno Dragon — locks onto Balloon with escalating damage; requires Freeze or Zap to disable
- Executioner / Valkyrie — wide-radius ground sweep clears the Skeletrooper after landing
- Electro Dragon — chain stun disrupts Balloon approach and kills air support
- Hunter — high single-target air damage drops Balloon before it reaches the tower
How to Unlock Hero Balloon in Season 82
Hero Balloon will be released as the main Hero of the season, available in the first milestone of Premium Pass Royale. Players will have to choose between Hero Balloon and Minion Horde Evolution.
New Heroes are now also available from the start in the claim pool, so you can spend 200 Hero Coins to unlock it. f
Duplicate value: Hero Balloon is an Epic card, so a duplicate converts to 20 Hero Coins and 180 regular Balloon cards.If you already own every Hero, duplicates still provide meaningful value toward leveling your regular Balloon — particularly useful during a season where Balloon is boosted.
Which milestone choice is better — Hero Balloon or Minion Horde Evo?
For ladder climbing: Hero Balloon if you run any air deck. The Coffin Cadets ability solves a structural problem that air decks have always had — clearing ground defenders without burning a card slot. Minion Horde Evo is stronger if you primarily run ground beatdown or cycle decks that need a cheap air defensive option.
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FAQ
Does Hero Balloon outcompete regular Balloon in all decks?
The obvious home obviously is in any of the LavaLoon variants, which means substituting the regular Balloon with the Hero variant of the card gives the deck a swarm follow-up, which does not need an extra card slot.The 2 extra elixir per ability use has the potential to break your cycle rhythm in pure cycle decks with 2.6 or 2.9 average elixir. Regular Balloon is the right option in ultra-fast cycle decks in which each point of the elixir counts.
What happens between Coffin Cadets and Inferno Tower?
The diving effect is able to attack soldiers and structures.Skeletrooper landing inflicts 307 AOE damage to the surrounding of the Inferno Tower, which is not enough to destroy the tower, but the Skeletrooper then enters the tower, pushing it into melee combat, restoring the Inferno charge. Namely, this is the reason why Hero Balloon is more effective than regular Balloon against Inferno-based defenses.
Does Balloon race event influence ladder ranking?
No - the Balloon Race is a neighborhood event, unrelated to Path of Legends. The Balloon Race community event is an April 20-27 community event, not a ranked ladder mode. Balloon Race achievements earn Festival Tokens on the Festival Market - worthwhile to do the task to earn tokens without having to risk a ladder.
