Quick answer: The most reliable way to counter a Balloon deck is to kill the 1,676-hitpoint (Level 11) Balloon in the air before it reaches your tower, using two air-targeting defenders led by Electro Wizard (the #1 measured Balloon counter in 4 of 6 trophy bands, October 6–12, 2026), while a separate ground card kills the Lumberjack or Knight in front of it.
Balloon costs 5 elixir and, at Level 11, carries 1,676 hitpoints, hits a building for 640 damage per hit (2.0-second hit speed) and drops a 240-damage bomb when it dies. Two connected hits plus that bomb add up to 1,520 damage, so one unanswered Balloon can decide a game. Between October 6 and 12, 2026 (Season 88), plain Balloon decks had a popularity of 3.01% under 5,000 trophies and 2.99% at 5,000–6,000. At 9,000+, Lumberloon (2.11%) is played more than plain Balloon (1.23%). Electro Wizard tops our measured counter list in four of the six trophy bands (under 5,000 through 7,000–8,000); at 9,000+ the top-ranked cards are Archers, Goblin Gang, Dark Prince and Inferno Tower. The base Balloon card was not changed in the October 6, 2026 balance patch. Barbarian Barrel, part of the standard Lumberloon list, lost 8% of its damage (232 → 215). For Hound-plus-Balloon decks see How to Counter LavaLoon.
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Which cards counter Balloon?
The cards that rank highest against Balloon are Electro Wizard and Wizard: Electro Wizard ranks #1 in four bands, and Wizard appears in all six bands' top 10. Each table ranks one trophy band's counter cards by measured impact (how much worse decks carrying Balloon do when the opponent has that card), with the battles recorded October 6–12, 2026. Rows under 300 battles (Executioner and Hunter under 5,000) rest on far less data than the 1,000+ rows. Several ground-only cards (Mini P.E.K.K.A, Valkyrie, Skeleton Army, Mega Knight) also rank. None of them can hit the Balloon itself. Their rank measures how Balloon decks do against decks that carry them, and those decks usually pair them with an air answer; their own job is the escort and the counter-push. The role table below marks which cards can hit air.
Under 5,000
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Electro Wizard | 997 |
| 2 |  Executioner | 185 |
| 3 |  Skeleton Army | 3,699 |
| 4 |  Mega Knight | 1,317 |
| 5 |  Wizard | 3,907 |
| 6 |  Mini P.E.K.K.A | 3,256 |
| 7 |  Valkyrie | 2,957 |
| 8 |  Firecracker | 693 |
| 9 |  Princess | 1,100 |
| 10 |  Hunter | 278 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
5,000–6,000
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electro Wizard | 1,578 |
| 2 | Mini P.E.K.K.A | 2,695 |
| 3 |  Archers | 1,017 |
| 4 | Skeleton Army | 3,451 |
| 5 | Valkyrie | 2,792 |
| 6 | Wizard | 3,121 |
| 7 |  Zap | 967 |
| 8 |  Arrows | 1,795 |
| 9 |  Dart Goblin | 1,162 |
| 10 | Princess | 1,463 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
6,000–7,000
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electro Wizard | 1,441 |
| 2 | Valkyrie | 2,207 |
| 3 | Wizard | 2,330 |
| 4 | Zap | 796 |
| 5 | Firecracker | 1,021 |
| 6 | Mega Knight | 1,613 |
| 7 |  Goblin Gang | 901 |
| 8 | Princess | 1,219 |
| 9 | Skeleton Army | 2,371 |
| 10 | Archers | 747 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
7,000–8,000
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electro Wizard | 1,420 |
| 2 |  Tesla | 912 |
| 3 | Wizard | 2,092 |
| 4 | Dart Goblin | 912 |
| 5 | Valkyrie | 1,938 |
| 6 | Skeleton Army | 2,023 |
| 7 | Mini P.E.K.K.A | 1,679 |
| 8 | Firecracker | 1,221 |
| 9 | Goblin Gang | 819 |
| 10 | Executioner | 496 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
8,000–9,000
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mini P.E.K.K.A | 1,950 |
| 2 | Mega Knight | 2,081 |
| 3 | Firecracker | 1,702 |
| 4 | Electro Wizard | 1,664 |
| 5 | Wizard | 2,126 |
| 6 | Zap | 1,052 |
| 7 | Valkyrie | 2,489 |
| 8 | Arrows | 1,863 |
| 9 |  Knight | 1,859 |
| 10 | Skeleton Army | 2,407 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
9,000+
| Rank | Counter card | Battles with counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Archers | 579 |
| 2 | Goblin Gang | 1,114 |
| 3 |  Dark Prince | 825 |
| 4 |  Inferno Tower | 586 |
| 5 |  Inferno Dragon | 969 |
| 6 | Dart Goblin | 1,470 |
| 7 | Zap | 2,335 |
| 8 | Wizard | 1,211 |
| 9 |  Giant | 568 |
| 10 |  Tornado | 1,926 |
Ranked by measured impact on Balloon results; impact figures are withheld while this trophy band is unpublished.
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What does each counter card do against a Balloon push?
Each counter card in the tables above does one of three jobs: it damages the Balloon in the air, it resets or pulls the Balloon, or it kills the ground escort and punishes afterwards. Only the first two stop the 640-damage hits. Figures are Level 11; later patch values are dated.
| Card | Elixir | Can it hit Balloon? | Job against a Balloon deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electro Wizard | 4 | Yes | Each hit stuns for 0.5s and resets the Balloon's attack |
| Wizard | 5 | Yes | 304 splash damage per hit since Sep 8, 2026; six hits kill a Level 11 Balloon on its own |
 Musketeer | 4 | Yes | 217 damage a shot every 1.0s, 6-tile range; eight shots kill the Balloon on its own |
| Archers | 3 | Yes | Two bodies at 5-tile range; split them against Freeze |
| Firecracker | 3 | Yes | 6-tile range; chips the Balloon and Baby Dragon |
| Dart Goblin | 3 | Yes | 6.5-tile range, 151 damage every 0.8s |
| Princess | 3 | Yes | 9-tile range lets her chip the Balloon from behind the river line |
| Executioner / Hunter | 5 / 4 | Yes | Splash or point-blank anti-air; thin samples under 5,000 (185 and 278 battles) |
| Tesla | 4 | Yes | Building that hits air and ground for 220 damage every 1.1s; no ramp for Freeze or Zap to reset |
| Inferno Tower | 5 | Yes | Building that pulls the Balloon and ramps in three stages; Freeze, Zap and Electro Dragon reset it |
| Inferno Dragon | 4 | Yes | Flying ramp damage; strongest when the Balloon is already locked onto your tower |
| Zap / Arrows | 2 / 3 | Yes | Zap resets the Balloon's hit; Arrows clear Bats and Minions that escort it |
| Tornado | 3 | Yes | Pulls the Balloon into King Tower range or onto your defenders |
| Goblin Gang | 3 | Partly | The 3 Spear Goblins hit air, while the melee Goblins handle the Lumberjack |
| Mini P.E.K.K.A | 4 | No | Kills Lumberjack (1,282 HP) or Knight fast, then counter-pushes |
| Valkyrie / Knight / Dark Prince | 4 / 3 / 4 | No | Kill the Lumberjack or Knight escort; never your Balloon answer |
| Skeleton Army | 3 | No | Kills Lumberjack cheaply; dies to Barbarian Barrel and splash |
| Mega Knight / Giant | 7 / 5 | No | Value is the counter-push or opposite-lane punish after a 9-elixir Balloon push |
Where do you meet Balloon?
Among decks our classifier labels Balloon, Lumberloon or Balloon Freeze, Balloon decks are most common below 6,000 trophies, and Lumberloon overtakes plain Balloon at 9,000+. A deck is labelled by its first-matched win condition, so Balloon decks that also carry Lava Hound (LavaLoon), Miner (Miner Control), Hog Rider, Giant, Golem, Royal Hogs and similar are counted under those archetypes instead. The counter tables above include all of them.
| Trophy band | Archetype | Popularity | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5,000 |  Balloon | 3.01% | 5,607 |
| Under 5,000 | Lumberloon | — | — |
| Under 5,000 | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
| 5,000–6,000 | Balloon | 2.99% | 5,119 |
| 5,000–6,000 | Lumberloon | 1.03% | 1,773 |
| 5,000–6,000 | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
| 6,000–7,000 | Balloon | 2.29% | 3,837 |
| 6,000–7,000 | Lumberloon | — | — |
| 6,000–7,000 | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
| 7,000–8,000 | Balloon | 2.26% | 3,735 |
| 7,000–8,000 | Lumberloon | 0.79% | 1,316 |
| 7,000–8,000 | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
| 8,000–9,000 | Balloon | 2.59% | 4,369 |
| 8,000–9,000 | Lumberloon | 1.12% | 1,884 |
| 8,000–9,000 | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
| 9,000+ | Balloon | 1.23% | 2,659 |
| 9,000+ | Lumberloon | 2.11% | 4,555 |
| 9,000+ | Balloon Freeze | — | — |
— = not among that band's 30 most-played archetypes in the latest snapshot (not zero; meta_trends stores the top 30 only).
What is a Balloon deck and why does it win?
A Balloon deck is any deck built to fly a 5-elixir Balloon onto a Crown Tower. The Balloon targets buildings only and has a 0.1-tile range, so it has to reach the tower before it can hit. The rest of the deck gets it there: a ground unit soaks tower shots in front, and spells or air units clear your anti-air. At Level 11 the Balloon deals 640 damage per hit every 2 seconds and 240 more when it dies. If you kill it right under your tower, the bomb still lands.
The archetype wins on punishment. Most decks carry only two or three cards that hit air; if one is baited out or frozen, a single Balloon can take 1,520 damage off a tower in two hits plus its death bomb. Lumberloon adds a second layer: the Lumberjack (1,282 hitpoints, 256 damage every 0.8s) drops a Rage when it dies.
What are the Balloon lists you will face in October 2026?
The Balloon lists you will face in October 2026 come in four shapes. Every list below is an 8-card deck in our tracked-deck tables from the October 12, 2026 refresh. The "loop" is the Balloon plus the four cheapest other cards: the least elixir it takes to see the Balloon again.
| Deck | Label in our data | Cards | Avg Elixir | Balloon loop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumberloon (Baby Dragon) | Lumberloon |      Balloon, Lumberjack, Freeze, Bowler, Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel | 3.9 | 18 elixir |
| Lumberloon (Electro Dragon) | Lumberloon |  Balloon, Lumberjack, Freeze, Bowler, Electro Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel | 4.0 | 18 elixir |
| Balloon Freeze (Knight) | Balloon Freeze | Balloon, Freeze, Knight, Bowler, Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel | 3.8 | 17 elixir |
| Balloon Cycle | Balloon |        Balloon, Skeletons, Ice Golem, Suspicious Bush, Spear Goblins, Royal Ghost, Fire Spirit, Electro Spirit | 2.1 | 10 elixir |
| Balloon Miner 2.9 | Miner Control |    Balloon, Miner, Musketeer, Ice Golem, Skeletons, Bomb Tower, Barbarian Barrel, Giant Snowball | 2.9 | 12 elixir |
Cycle speed tells you how long you have to recover. An 18-elixir Lumberloon loop from an empty bar takes 50.4 seconds at single elixir (1 elixir every 2.8 seconds), and a 10-elixir Balloon Cycle loop takes 28.0; in double elixir those fall to 25.2 and 14.0 seconds. Banked elixir and card order shorten the real gap, so treat these as pace, not a timer. Against Lumberloon you can spend a little more on a clean defence; against Balloon Cycle you must defend cheaply, because the Balloon returns as often as a Hog Rider in Hog 2.6.
How do you place defenders against Balloon?
You place defenders against Balloon so that they shoot it for as long as possible before it reaches your tower. The Balloon flies straight to the nearest building it sees and only changes targets before it locks on, so place your answer early and out of the escort's reach.
Where should you place a building against Balloon?
A building against Balloon goes in the centre of your side, slightly toward the threatened lane. Placed before the Balloon crosses the river, it turns the Balloon away from your Princess Tower and across both towers' range. Inferno Tower is the strongest choice here: it ramps up in three stages and melts a Balloon held in its range. Tesla (4 elixir) is the safer choice against Lumberloon, because it has no ramp: a Freeze or stun pauses it without resetting its damage. Once the Balloon has locked onto your Princess Tower, switch to troops.
Where should you place Electro Wizard, Musketeer or Wizard?
Electro Wizard, Musketeer and Wizard belong behind your Princess Tower, a little toward the centre. The escort then has to walk past the tower to reach them. At Level 11, Musketeer kills a lone Balloon in eight shots (217 damage per 1.0s), and Wizard does it in six (304 per hit since September 8, 2026). Electro Wizard does less damage, but each hit stuns for 0.5 seconds and resets the Balloon's attack. Never place any of the three at the bridge, where a Lumberjack reaches them before the tower can help.
How do you use Tornado against Balloon?
You use Tornado against Balloon by pulling it into King Tower range or onto your splash defenders. Tornado (3 elixir, 5.5-tile radius) drags air units too. Pulling the first Balloon over your King Tower activates the King for the rest of the match. Tornado also gathers the Balloon and its Baby Dragon onto one Wizard or Executioner. It ranks #10 at 9,000+ (1,926 battles).
How do you stop a Balloon that has already reached your tower?
A Balloon at your tower is stopped by resetting its attack while the tower and your troops keep shooting. Zap (2 elixir) and Electro Spirit (1 elixir) both stun for 0.5 seconds and cancel the hit it was winding up. The 240-damage bomb lands either way. Don't drop Bats or Minions right underneath it: five Bats at 81 hitpoints each all die to the bomb.
How do you defend the Lumberloon, Balloon Freeze and Balloon Cycle versions?
The three Balloon versions need different defences: separate the Lumberjack from the Balloon, keep a second air defender outside the Freeze circle, or defend Balloon Cycle cheaply and pressure the other lane.
How do you defend Lumberloon?
Lumberloon is defended by killing the Lumberjack away from the Balloon, or by killing the Balloon before the Lumberjack's Rage reaches it. The usual push is Lumberjack at the bridge with the Balloon right behind (4 + 5 = 9 elixir), often with Freeze held back for your defenders. The Rage cloud (3-tile radius) drops where the Lumberjack dies, so a kill directly on the Balloon's line speeds the Balloon up as it flies through. Place a Mini P.E.K.K.A or Valkyrie toward the centre so it drags the Lumberjack off that line before killing it. Put your air defender behind the tower so it is already shooting when the Balloon arrives.
Lumberloon also defends well: Bowler and Tornado push back ground attacks, and Baby Dragon or Electro Dragon covers air. Attack the lane opposite their slow, 5-elixir Bowler. Since August 3, 2026, its boulder reaches 7 tiles instead of 7.5 and no longer clips your tower from behind the bridge.
How do you defend Balloon Freeze?
Balloon Freeze is defended by never putting every air defender inside one Freeze circle. Freeze costs 4 elixir, covers a 3-tile radius and, since September 8, 2026, lasts 3.5 seconds instead of 4.0. That is long enough for one extra Balloon hit of 640 damage on a frozen tower. Spread your air answers, one behind the tower and one in the centre, so a single Freeze can't stop both. Track it too: once Freeze is used elsewhere, it needs four more plays to come back.
How do you defend Balloon Cycle?
Balloon Cycle is defended with one cheap air answer per Balloon, without overcommitting. The 2.1-elixir list loops the Balloon for 10 elixir: from empty, a new Balloon about every 14 seconds in double elixir, sooner with banked elixir. A 4-elixir Musketeer or Electro Wizard behind the tower handles a lone Balloon; spend the rest in the other lane. The list's ground cards are light, and the October 6, 2026 patch cut Royal Ghost to 1,152 hitpoints from 1,210 and gave Skeletons a tighter spawn spread, so one splash card clears more of them.
What about Balloon Miner and LavaLoon?
Balloon Miner 2.9 appears in our tracked-deck lists in all six trophy bands (October 12, 2026 refresh), but it is labelled Miner Control in our data because the Miner rule is checked before the Balloon rule. Defend it like Balloon Cycle: one air defender behind the tower for the Balloon, and a cheap ground card for the Miner when it tanks in front. See How to Play 2.9 Minerloon for the attacker's view. Lava Hound plus Balloon is a separate archetype, covered in How to Counter LavaLoon, and the October 6, 2026 patch raised Lava Hound's damage from 53 to 71 while slowing its hit speed from 1.3s to 1.5s.
A Hero Balloon plays like the base card until its ability, Coffin Cadets, launches Skeletroopers onto your side. Their landing damage was cut 307 → 263 on June 1 and 263 → 230 on September 8, 2026, and their damage 256 → 204 (hit speed 0.9s → 1.1s) on July 6. Keep one splash card ready; the Hero Balloon guide covers the ability in detail.
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How do you punish Balloon on offense?
You punish Balloon on offense by attacking the opposite lane right after a full push. A Lumberjack-plus-Balloon push costs 9 elixir, and Balloon plus Freeze costs 9 too, so an opponent who started from a full 10-elixir bar has 1 left and needs about 25 seconds of single elixir to rebuild 9. Bowler and Tornado stop slow ground pushes well, so fast or split pushes work better: a Royal Hogs split, a Ram Rider, or a counter-push built on your surviving defenders can take a tower while they rebuild.
The ground-only cards in the counter tables most likely contribute here (editorial reasoning, not something the data isolates). Mini P.E.K.K.A ranks #1 at 8,000–9,000 (1,950 battles) and Mega Knight #2 (2,081 battles); both win the trade against the Lumberjack and can walk forward as a counter-push.
Which decks beat Balloon?
Goblin Barrel Bait and Mega Knight Bait are ahead of Balloon in every band with a result in TrophyCoach's October 12–13, 2026 archetype-matchup results; Lumberloon is the closer matchup for both above 8,000. Decks that carry two or more air-targeting cards plus a building fit best. Verdicts are label-level results per band, percentages withheld. The Counter Lookup tool lists its Balloon signature (Balloon with Miner or Lumberjack) among the archetypes that struggle against Inferno Tower, Inferno Dragon, Musketeer, Wizard and Executioner. Current lists by band are in the Deck Finder.
| Deck | Cards | Avg Elixir | Anti-Balloon cards | Measured verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Log Bait |     Goblin Barrel, Princess, Goblin Gang, Rocket, Inferno Tower, Knight, The Log, Ice Spirit | 3.3 | Inferno Tower, Princess, Goblin Gang | No measured result |
| Goblin Barrel Bait (Valkyrie) |   Goblin Barrel, Wall Breakers, Princess, Dart Goblin, Skeleton Army, Valkyrie, Cannon, Ice Spirit | 2.8 | Skeleton Army, Valkyrie, Princess, Dart Goblin | vs Balloon: favourable under 7,000 and at 9,000+; slightly favourable at 7,000–9,000. vs Lumberloon: favourable at 5,000–6,000 and 7,000–8,000; slightly favourable at 6,000–7,000; slightly unfavourable at 8,000–9,000; roughly even at 9,000+; no result under 5,000 |
| Goblin Barrel Mega Knight Bait |    Dart Goblin, Goblin Gang, Bats, Skeleton Barrel, Goblin Barrel, Zap, Mega Knight, Goblin Cage | 3.4 | Dart Goblin, Goblin Gang, Zap, Bats | vs Balloon: favourable under 7,000 and at 8,000–9,000; slightly favourable at 7,000–8,000; no result at 9,000+. vs Lumberloon: slightly unfavourable at 8,000–9,000, the only band with a result |
| PEKKA Bridge Spam |      P.E.K.K.A, Ram Rider, Bandit, Royal Ghost, Magic Archer, Electro Wizard, Poison, Barbarian Barrel | 4.0 | Electro Wizard, Magic Archer | vs Balloon: no result. vs Lumberloon: favourable at 9,000+, the only band with a result |
Why is Log Bait well equipped against Balloon?
Log Bait is well equipped against Balloon because Inferno Tower pulls and melts the Balloon, and Princess and Goblin Gang both appear in our measured counter lists. Princess ranks in three bands, from under 5,000 through 6,000–7,000. Goblin Gang ranks at 6,000–7,000, 7,000–8,000 and 9,000+ (1,114 battles at 9,000+). The strict Log Bait label has no head-to-head result against Balloon; the wider Goblin Barrel Bait label is favourable or slightly favourable against it in all six bands.
How does PEKKA Bridge Spam play against Balloon?
PEKKA Bridge Spam has no head-to-head result against the Balloon label and is favourable against Lumberloon at 9,000+, its only measured band. Only two of its troops hit air, Electro Wizard and Magic Archer. One Freeze over both lets the Balloon through. It still punishes hard: P.E.K.K.A kills the Lumberjack, and Ram Rider or Bandit pressures the other lane after a 9-elixir push.
What changed for Balloon in Season 88?
The base Balloon card did not change in Season 88. Its stats have stayed the same through all six seasons in our balance registry (May 4 to October 6, 2026), and only its Hero form was nerfed (June 1, July 6 and September 8). The table lists the changes since August that matter for the lists on this page.
| Card | Change | Old | New | Patch date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbarian Barrel | Damage | 232 | 215 (-8%) | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Royal Ghost | Hitpoints | 1,210 | 1,152 (-5%) | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Skeletons | Spawn spread | Wider | Tighter | Oct 6, 2026 |
 Lava Hound | Damage; hit speed | 53; 1.3s | 71 (+33%); 1.5s (+15%) | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Freeze | Duration | 4.0s | 3.5s (-13%) | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Wizard | Damage | 281 | 304 (+8%) | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Ice Golem | Hitpoints; slow duration | 1,315; 2.0s | 1,228 (-7%); 2.5s (+25%) | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Hero Balloon | Skeletrooper landing damage | 263 | 230 (-13%) | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Bowler | Projectile range | 7.5 tiles | 7 tiles | Aug 3, 2026 |
Impact: small. Barbarian Barrel's damage drop from 232 to 215 hits Lumberloon. All three Lumberloon and Balloon Freeze lists above carry it as the 2-elixir answer to your swarms, so it now clears slightly less. Skeleton Army and Goblin Gang still die to it. The change matters most for Wall Breakers, which Supercell said Barbarian Barrel would no longer fully counter, so a Wall Breakers counter-push is a little more likely to connect.
Impact: small. The Royal Ghost cut (1,210 → 1,152 hitpoints) and the tighter Skeletons spawn weaken Balloon Cycle and Balloon Miner support.
Impact: significant. The September 8, 2026 Freeze nerf (4.0 → 3.5 seconds) is the biggest recent change for Balloon Freeze: your defenders resume shooting half a second sooner.
Impact: significant. Wizard's damage rose from 281 to 304 on September 8, 2026. Six hits still kill a Level 11 Balloon (five fall 156 short), but the escort dies a hit sooner: Baby Dragon (1,152 hitpoints) and Royal Ghost in four hits instead of five, Bowler (2,081) in seven instead of eight.
Impact: small. Ice Golem, the tank in Balloon Cycle and Balloon Miner, lost 87 hitpoints (1,315 → 1,228) on September 8, 2026 but slows for 2.5 seconds instead of 2.0.
Impact: small. The Lava Hound change (53 → 71 damage, hit speed 1.3s → 1.5s) affects LavaLoon, not the decks on this page.
What are the most common mistakes against Balloon?
The most common mistakes against Balloon all come from treating it like a ground win condition, when it is a flying one. These five lose the most towers.
Mistake 1: answering a Balloon with a ground-only card. Mini P.E.K.K.A, Valkyrie and Skeleton Army rank in our counter tables, but they kill the Lumberjack, not the Balloon. A Mini P.E.K.K.A dropped under a Balloon gives it two free hits, 1,280 damage.
Mistake 2: stacking all your air defence in one spot. A 3-tile Freeze over Musketeer and Archers together switches off your whole answer for 3.5 seconds. Keep one air card behind the tower and one toward the centre.
Mistake 3: placing the building too late. A centre building only pulls the Balloon before it locks onto your Princess Tower, so place it as the Balloon crosses the river.
Mistake 4: killing the Balloon at the tower. The 240-damage death bomb lands wherever the Balloon dies, so kill it earlier, over the river or in the pocket.
Mistake 5: spending everything on defence. A Lumberloon push costs 9 elixir. Answer it with 4 to 7 and counter-push the other lane: its 18-elixir loop takes 25.2 seconds of double elixir to fund from empty.
Recommended next reads
- How to Counter LavaLoon: for Balloon decks that carry a Lava Hound
- How to Play 2.9 Minerloon: Balloon Miner explained from the attacker's side
- How to Counter Mega Knight: another archetype that punishes elixir-heavy defence
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best card to counter Balloon?
Electro Wizard is the top-ranked Balloon counter in our data for October 2026: #1 in 4 of 6 trophy bands from October 6 to 12. Each hit also stuns for 0.5 seconds and resets the Balloon's attack, and Wizard appears in all six bands' top 10.
Can Mini P.E.K.K.A or Skeleton Army counter Balloon?
Mini P.E.K.K.A and Skeleton Army cannot hit a Balloon, because both target ground units only. They still rank in our counter tables (Mini P.E.K.K.A is #1 at 8,000–9,000 with 1,950 battles); their value is killing the Lumberjack and counter-pushing. Pair them with an air answer.
How do I stop Balloon Freeze?
Balloon Freeze is stopped by spreading your air defenders so one 3-tile Freeze cannot catch them all. Freeze has lasted 3.5 seconds since September 8, 2026. Place one anti-air card behind your tower and a second toward the centre, and track when the Freeze has been used.
Did Balloon get nerfed in the October 2026 patch?
Balloon was not changed in the October 6, 2026 patch, and its base stats are unchanged since at least May 4, 2026. The same patch cut Barbarian Barrel, part of the standard Lumberloon list, from 232 to 215 damage (-8%).
Is Lumberloon still good in October 2026?
Lumberloon is more played than plain Balloon at 9,000+ trophies in October 2026: 2.11% popularity against 1.23% (October 6–12, 2026). Its 3.9-elixir core lost only Barbarian Barrel damage (232 → 215) on October 6.
How do I beat Balloon without a building?
Balloon can be beaten without a building by placing two air-targeting troops behind your tower: a Level 11 Musketeer kills a lone Balloon in eight shots, a Wizard in six. Zap resets the hit if it reaches your tower.