Clash Royale Ronin Guide: Abilities, Stats and How to Unlock

By the RoyaleTracker Team·@RoyaleTrackerGG·Updated July 6, 2026

Ronin is Season 85's new Legendary troop and the first brand new card of 2026, arriving almost a year after Vines. He is built around a single, unusual mechanic, parrying melee hits back at whoever throws them, which makes him one of the most matchup-dependent cards Clash Royale has added in a while: devastating against the wrong opponent, irrelevant against the right one.

What Does Ronin Do?

Ronin's signature mechanic is Parry Damage. Every 3.5 seconds, he can block one incoming ground melee attack and reflect it back at the attacker for more damage than he would have taken from the hit in the first place. Outside of that window, he fights like a normal melee troop.

The parry only covers ground melee attacks. Ranged damage, air damage, deploy damage, death damage, spells and area attacks all bypass it completely, so the counterplay is straightforward once you know it: don't trade melee hits into him, and everything else works exactly as it would against any other troop.

Ronin's Stats

How to Unlock Ronin

Ronin is not available in any chests this season, so chest luck won't get you there. There are three ways to add him to your Collection right now:

• The Road to Ronin unlock event, live now through August 2, 2026
• Choosing him as a reward on the Upgraded Pass Royale track
• Earning Ronin Cards through The Wandering Warrior Album Event, see our Snippets guide for every Scene and its reward

Best Matchups and Counters

Ronin looks built to answer heavy melee tanks like P.E.K.K.A, Mega Knight and Boss Bandit, cards that normally punish a ground-only defense. A single well-timed parry can flip a losing 1v1 into a win without committing a full counter-push card.

He struggles against swarms, which spread damage across multiple attackers so the parry only blocks one hit, and against anything ranged or spell-based, which ignores the mechanic entirely. Treat him as a specialist answer to melee tanks, not a general-purpose defender.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Ronin cost?

5 Elixir.

What beats Ronin?

Swarm troops, ranged attackers, and spells all get around Parry Damage since it only blocks a single ground melee hit every 3.5 seconds.

Can I get Ronin from chests?

No, not this season. He is only available through the Road to Ronin event, the Upgraded Pass Royale track, or the Wandering Warrior Album Event.

What decks is Ronin good in?

See our best Ronin decks page for real win rate data as the meta settles.