Quick answer: Academy Antics is the Season 87 album event running September 7 to October 5, 2026. Collect Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary Snippets from daily battle rewards (up to 3 per day), events, and the Shop, and exchange 4 Duplicates for 1 guaranteed-new Unique Snippet. Completing the full album earns 1,750 Minion Giant cards plus an exclusive emote and tower skin — the only free path to Minion Giant this season, available from Arena 3.
Academy Antics runs September 7 through October 5, 2026 — a 29-day album event spanning the entire Minion Academy (Season 87) window. The grand prize is 1,750 Minion Giant cards, awarded throughout the album, plus an exclusive emote and tower skin at full completion. That matters because Minion Giant — the season's new flying win condition that targets buildings and spits a ranged toxin — is not in chests until Season 88; the album is the only free unlock this season. The event uses 4 Snippet rarities, a 4-Duplicates-for-1-Unique exchange (down from Bowler's Mixtape's 6), a cap of 3 daily-reward Snippets per day, and a final-week safety net where every daily-reward Snippet is guaranteed Unique. It is open to everyone from Arena 3.
This guide covers the exchange math, every published earn source, a week-by-week F2P completion plan, and exactly which numbers Supercell has not yet published. Track your pulls with the Album Tracker tool — it currently tracks Bowler's Mixtape and will be updated for Academy Antics once scene data goes live on September 7.
What Is the Academy Antics Album Event?
Academy Antics is Clash Royale's third major collection-album event of 2026, following the 10th Anniversary Album in March and Bowler's Mixtape in May. The format is the established one: collect themed Snippets, complete scenes, and unlock rewards — and completing the full album "uncovers the tale of Minion Giant," in Supercell's words.
Three headline facts define this edition:
- The prize is a card, not a Hero. Where March gave Hero Magic Archer and May gave Hero Bowler, Academy Antics pays out 1,750 Minion Giant cards across the album, plus an emote and a tower skin. Season 87's new Hero, Hero Ice Wizard, is unlocked separately via the upgraded Pass Royale track or 200 Hero Coins — the album has nothing to do with him.
- The window is the full season. September 7 to October 5 is 29 days inclusive — a week longer than Bowler's Mixtape's tight 22-day sprint.
- The exchange got cheaper. A Unique Snippet now costs 4 Duplicates, not 6.
The entry requirement is Arena 3, so nearly every account can participate.
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How Does the 4-Duplicate Exchange Work in Academy Antics?
The 4-Duplicate exchange is the album's luck-protection system. Snippets come in four rarities — Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary — and any Snippet you pull that is already in your album is a Duplicate. Duplicates are not wasted: each duplicate Snippet awards a rarity-based number of Duplicates, and 4 Duplicates exchange for 1 Unique Snippet — a guaranteed Snippet you do not already own.
| Duplicate Snippet Rarity | Duplicates Awarded | Duplicate Snippets Needed per Unique |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 3 | 2 (6 Duplicates; 2 carry over) |
| Rare | 3 | 2 (6 Duplicates; 2 carry over) |
| Epic | 4 | 1 (exact trade) |
| Legendary | 4 | 1 (exact trade) |
The "needed per Unique" column is derived arithmetic from Supercell's published rates (4 Duplicates = 1 Unique), not a separately published figure. The practical read:
- One duplicate Epic or Legendary = one guaranteed new Snippet. At 4 Duplicates each, they pay for an exchange exactly, with nothing left over.
- Two duplicate Commons or Rares = one guaranteed new Snippet plus change. At 3 Duplicates each, a pair gives you 6 — enough for one exchange with 2 Duplicates carried toward the next.
Compare that to Bowler's Mixtape, where the exchange cost 6 Duplicates and rarities paid 3/4/5/6: a duplicate Common there covered only half an exchange. Academy Antics is structurally more forgiving — every rarity reaches a Unique within at most two duplicate pulls.
Where Do You Earn Academy Antics Snippets?
Supercell's release notes name exactly three Snippet sources for Academy Antics. Drop rates and rarity odds are not published for any of them.
Daily Battle Rewards (Up to 3 Snippets Per Day)
Battling each day earns Snippets as daily battle rewards, capped at 3 per day. This is the backbone of the grind: across the 29-day event, the cap works out to up to 87 daily-reward Snippets — a ceiling computed from the 3-per-day cap, not a published total, and one you only hit by collecting all 3 every single day. Events and the Shop add more on top. During the final week (September 29 – October 5), every daily-reward Snippet is a Unique Snippet — more on that below.
Events
Snippets are also earnable "through events." Season 87 is event-dense — the 2v2 League (September 7–21), Princess Gambit (September 21–26), Royale Shuffle (September 21 – October 5), and the Clashroom Community Event (September 22–26) all fall inside the album window. Supercell has not published which events carry Snippet rewards or how many, so check each event's reward track in-game when it opens rather than planning around a number.
Shop
The Shop is the third published source. As with every album event, Shop offers are the catch-up lever for players who miss days — F2P players should plan around the daily battle rewards and events first and treat the Shop as optional.
What Rewards Do You Get for Completing the Album?
Completing the full Academy Antics album earns three things, per the release notes:
- 1,750 Minion Giant cards, earned throughout the album as you progress — not as a single lump at 100%.
- An exclusive emote.
- An exclusive tower skin.
The card count is the headline. Minion Giant is Season 87's brand-new win condition — a flying troop that targets buildings and towers and attacks with a ranged toxin, listed at 4 elixir with knockback immunity in the August 31 TV Royale reveal (as reported by RoyaleAPI). Because Minion Giant will not appear in chests until next season, the album is the only free acquisition path during Season 87 itself. A 1,750-card stack is a serious head start on upgrade levels the moment the card is playable, though Supercell has not published Minion Giant's rarity, so exactly how far 1,750 cards takes you up the level ladder is not yet knowable.
Supercell has also not published the per-scene rewards inside the album — the number of scenes, their names, and what each one pays out will be visible in-game on September 7, and this page will be updated then.
What Is the F2P Completion Plan for Academy Antics?
The free-to-play plan is built on the only mechanics Supercell has published: the 3-per-day daily-reward cap, the 4-Duplicate exchange with 3/3/4/4 rarity values, the final-week Unique guarantee, and event/Shop supplements. Here is the album window against the Season 87 calendar:
| Dates | What's Happening | Album Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 7 | Album opens (Arena 3+) | Start collecting 3 daily-reward Snippets immediately |
| Sept 7–21 | 2v2 League | Check its reward track for Snippets when it opens |
| Sept 21–26 | Princess Gambit | Check reward track |
| Sept 21 – Oct 5 | Royale Shuffle | Check reward track |
| Sept 22–26 | Clashroom Community Event | Check reward track |
| Sept 28 – Oct 5 | Royale Shuffle Challenge | Check reward track |
| Sept 29 – Oct 5 | Final week: all daily-reward Snippets are Unique | Do not miss a single day |
| Oct 5 | Album event ends | Everything uncollected is gone |
Weeks 1–2 (September 7–20): Bank Every Daily Snippet
Collect all 3 daily-reward Snippets every day — that is up to 42 Snippets across the first two weeks (derived from the 3-per-day cap). Early on, almost everything you pull is new, so this is the phase where raw volume fills the album fastest. Play the 2v2 League alongside it; the League road ends September 21 and is the season's first hard deadline, and its battles count toward your daily play anyway.
Week 3 (September 21–28): Exchange Duplicates Deliberately
By week 3, Duplicates start arriving in volume. Trade them with the rarity math in mind: duplicate Epics and Legendaries are instant Uniques (4 Duplicates each), and duplicate Commons and Rares convert in pairs (2 × 3 = 6 Duplicates, with 2 rolling over). Every 4 Duplicates you exchange is a guaranteed hole filled — there is no reason to sit on a full exchange. This is also the busiest event stretch of the season (Princess Gambit, Royale Shuffle, and Clashroom all launch this week), so sweep every reward track for Snippets.
Final Week (September 29 – October 5): The Unique Guarantee Closes the Gaps
During the last seven days, all daily-reward Snippets are Unique Snippets — every one of them is a piece you do not own. At the 3-per-day cap, that is up to 21 guaranteed-new Snippets (derived, again, from the cap), on top of whatever your exchange pool converts. This is the album's designed safety net: a player who has collected consistently and arrives at the final week with a modest number of gaps should close them on daily rewards alone. The corollary is strict — missing a final-week day forfeits up to 3 guaranteed Uniques, which is far costlier than missing a day in week 1.
After Completion: Keep Collecting
Any extra Snippets you collect after finishing the album convert into bonus rewards. Supercell has not published the conversion values, so read them off the in-game screen — but the design means there is no reason to stop playing once the album is done. Pair the album grind with the Season Checklist tool to make sure the rest of Season 87's dated rewards do not slip while you focus on Snippets.
How Does Academy Antics Compare to Bowler's Mixtape?
| Dimension | Bowler's Mixtape (May 2026) | Academy Antics (Sept 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 22 days (May 4–25) | 29 days (Sept 7 – Oct 5) |
| Exchange cost | 6 Duplicates per Unique | 4 Duplicates per Unique |
| Duplicate values (C/R/E/L) | 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 | 3 / 3 / 4 / 4 |
| Daily-reward structure | Drop chance per win | Up to 3 Snippets per day, capped |
| Final-week Unique guarantee | Not documented | Yes (Sept 29 – Oct 5) |
| Grand prize | Hero Bowler + skin + emote | 1,750 Minion Giant cards + skin + emote |
| Snippet count / scenes | 60 across 6 scenes | Not yet published |
| Entry requirement | — | Arena 3 |
The structural changes all point the same direction: Academy Antics is built to be more completable. The window is 7 days longer, the exchange is a third cheaper, duplicate Epics and Legendaries convert 1-for-1, and the final-week guarantee — which Supercell never documented for Bowler's Mixtape — turns the last 7 days into a deterministic gap-closer. The trade-off is the hard 3-per-day cap on daily rewards, which makes consistency the binding constraint rather than grind volume: you cannot binge 15 wins on a Saturday to make up for a missed Tuesday.
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What Hasn't Supercell Published About Academy Antics Yet?
Several numbers you might expect in this guide are deliberately absent, because Supercell has not released them:
- Total Snippet count in the album
- Number of scenes, their names, and per-scene rewards
- Drop rates for each Snippet rarity from any source
- Minion Giant's rarity, hitpoints, damage, range, and speed (only the 4-elixir cost and knockback immunity are known, from the TV Royale reveal)
All of these become visible in-game when the event opens on September 7, 2026, and this page will be updated on that date. Until then, distrust any guide quoting a scene count or a drop percentage — those numbers do not exist publicly. The Album Tracker will also be updated for Academy Antics scene data on September 7; until then it still tracks Bowler's Mixtape.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Does the Academy Antics Album Event Start and End?
Academy Antics runs from September 7, 2026 to October 5, 2026 — a 29-day window covering the entire Minion Academy (Season 87) season. The final week, September 29 to October 5, guarantees that all daily-reward Snippets are Unique.
How Many Duplicates Do You Need for One Unique Snippet?
Academy Antics requires 4 Duplicates to exchange for 1 guaranteed-new Unique Snippet. Duplicate Snippets award 3 Duplicates (Common and Rare) or 4 Duplicates (Epic and Legendary), so a single duplicate Epic or Legendary covers an exchange by itself.
How Do You Get Minion Giant for Free in September 2026?
Minion Giant's only free path in Season 87 is completing the Academy Antics album, which awards 1,750 Minion Giant cards throughout the album plus an emote and tower skin. Minion Giant is not available in chests until Season 88.
How Many Snippets Can You Earn Per Day in Academy Antics?
Academy Antics caps daily battle rewards at 3 Snippets per day, which works out to a ceiling of 87 daily-reward Snippets across the 29-day event (derived from the cap, not a published total). Events and Shop offers add Snippets on top of that cap.
What Happens in the Last Week of Academy Antics?
During the final week (September 29 – October 5, 2026), every daily-reward Snippet is a Unique Snippet — guaranteed to be one you do not own. At the 3-per-day cap that is up to 21 guaranteed-new Snippets, making the last 7 days the event's built-in catch-up mechanism.
What Happens to Extra Snippets After Completing the Album?
Extra Snippets collected after 100% completion convert into bonus rewards. Supercell has not published the conversion values for the 4 rarities, so check the in-game exchange screen after you finish rather than planning around a fixed payout.
Is Minion Giant in Chests During Season 87?
No — Minion Giant is not in chests during Season 87 (September 7 – October 5, 2026). Supercell states the card will not be available in chests until next season, making the Academy Antics album the only free source in September.
What Arena Do You Need for the Academy Antics Event?
Academy Antics is available from Arena 3, one of the lowest entry requirements of any Season 87 event, so new and returning accounts can grind the full 1,750-card Minion Giant reward alongside veterans.