CoC August 2026 Update: Clash of Cards & Elephant Rider Guide

Clash of Clans turned 14 this year, and Supercell marked the occasion with its biggest August season in a while. The season is called The Awesome Quest, running from August 1 through August 31, and it leans hard into a card-and-chaos theme: a brand-new card-collecting event, the debut of the community-designed Elephant Rider troop, a full lineup of Hero Skins, new Crafted Defenses, and a stacked calendar of smaller events layered on top.

If you only have time for one thing this month, it's the Clash of Cards event — it runs the entire season and ties into several other rewards tracks.

Quick Facts

Item	Details
Season name	The Awesome Quest (14th Clashiversary)
Season dates	August 1 – August 31, 2026
Headline event	Clash of Cards (card collecting/trading)
New troop	Elephant Rider (temporary, event-exclusive)

 

Clash of Cards: A New Kind of Event

The Clash of Cards event is the real centerpiece of the season, and it's a format Clash of Clans hasn't used before. Every troop in the game — Home Village, Builder Base, and Super Troops included — has been turned into a collectible card. Players open packs, sort cards by rarity, and try to complete full sets for rewards.

Packs come from a few different places. You get ten to start, then up to two more per day just from regular multiplayer and Ranked battles, where a pack is hidden in the opponent's base and awarded for destroying the right building. There are also extra packs handed out through the Trader on set dates during the month, plus occasional freebies through the Supercell Store. Available Town Hall 3 and up.

Duplicate cards aren't wasted. You can request specific cards from clanmates through Clan Chat the same way you'd request Clan Castle troops, or you can dump duplicates into the Trader's dedicated "Card Shop" for extra packs or a guaranteed card from a chosen category. A new permanent decoration, the Clash of Cards Collector, lets you check your progress at any time and stays in your village even after the event window closes.

Completing full rarity sets nets bigger prizes — an Elixir Rune for finishing the Elixir set, a Dark Elixir Rune for the Dark Elixir set, a Gold Rune for Builder Base cards, and a Legendary Chest for the Super Troop set. There's also a milestone track just for collecting unique cards regardless of set, topping out at 60 different cards for a new cosmetic: the Manga Fury Prince skin.

Trading closes on September 2 at 08:00 UTC, but your finished collection stays viewable through the decoration afterward. As a nostalgic touch, the season also brings back the Clashiversary Cake obstacle, so it's worth saving one if you want it for later.

How Trading Works, In Short

Step	What happens
Earn packs	Battles, Trader dates, Store freebies
Trade duplicates	Clan Chat requests or Trader's Card Shop
Complete sets	Unlocks Runes, Chest, decoration
Hit 60 unique cards	Unlocks Manga Fury Prince skin

 

The Elephant Rider Finally Arrives

The Elephant Rider was one of the more talked-about community-designed troops, and this update is where it actually shows up in-game, even if only temporarily. It's built as a hybrid of two existing playstyles: it charges toward the nearest wall like a Root Rider, smashes through, and then splits into a Valkyrie-style unit that spins into whatever defenses are nearby. It takes up 30 housing space.

The troop appears twice in August. From August 9–10, a mass-troop event drops a free herd of 50 Elephant Riders and 20 Super Valkyries into everyone's army for 24 hours, purely to let players try the mechanic out. Then from August 12–31, the Elephant Rider becomes part of the Awesome Medal Event: you collect Card Tokens from Home Village battles, turn those into Quest Medals, and spend the Medals in the Trader Shop, with Card Packs collectible on the side.

Worth noting for anyone hoping it sticks around — this is confirmed as a temporary event troop, not a permanent roster addition. Community reaction to that has been mixed, since players have wanted it as a permanent unit for a while.

 

Gold Pass and the New Hero Skin Lineup

This season's Gold Pass exclusive is the Tempest Champion skin for the Royal Champion — a battle-worn take on the character themed around a battle-royale arena. Beyond the pass, several premium Hero Skins release across the month rather than all at once:

The King Barbarian skin for the Barbarian King (from August 5) drops the usual mustache for a rougher, more savage look. The Elven Archer skin for the Archer Queen (from August 7) leans into a forest-guardian theme. The Drakan Duke skin for the Grand Warden (from August 9) goes for a half-dragon, half-humanoid design tied to an "Inferno Sword" concept. The Lich Prince skin for the Minion Prince (from August 11) swaps his usual scepter for an oversized mace with a magic theme, and the Grand Mage skin for the Grand Warden (from August 13) rounds things out with a coastal-mage aesthetic.

Each skin stays available through the end of August. If you're weighing which to grab first, the Tempest Champion is the only one bundled into pass value, so it's the most cost-efficient pickup if you're buying the pass anyway.

 

Crafted Defenses, Scenery, and Chief's Chronicles

Three new Crafted Defenses opened up at the Crafting Station on August 1: Cake-A-Pult, Hero Hunter, and Hot Candle, replacing the previous rotation. To mark the anniversary, Supercell made this season's Crafted Defenses available starting from Town Hall 11 instead of the usual higher requirement.

The Awesome Quest Scenery, running August 3–31, reimagines the village as villagers gathering on "Mount Awesome" to watch a turn-based hero showdown — a nod to the card-and-battle-royale framing of the whole season. Separately, Chief's Chronicles launched August 6–31 as Clash of Clans' first-ever year-in-review feature, letting players look back through their account history and claim a statue reflecting their progress as a Chief.

 

The Rest of the Calendar

August is packed beyond the headline items. Clan War League runs August 1–11 in 15v15 or 30v30 formats. Two Mass Spell Events hand out free spells for a limited window — Totem and Birthday Boom Spells on August 3–5, then Heal and Haste Spells on August 17–18. Resource Fest and Work for Hire run twice (August 15–17 and August 29–31) with a 4x boost to collector production plus help from the Goblin Builder. Clan Games return August 22–28, and the Revenge Deck Epic Equipment gets boosted to max level for your Hero Hall from August 26–31.

If you're not sure where to focus your time, the Clash of Cards trading and the Elephant Rider medal event are the two threads worth prioritizing, since both run for most of the month and both feed into permanent cosmetics or resources rather than one-off rewards.

Ready to jump back in for Clashiversary? If you need Gems or a Gold Pass top-up to make the most of August, LDShop has fast, secure top-ups for Clash of Clans and plenty of other titles.

 

FAQ

Is the Elephant Rider a permanent troop?

No. It's confirmed as a temporary, event-exclusive troop this season — first as a free mass-troop giveaway on August 9–10, then as part of the Awesome Medal Event through August 31.

How long does the Clash of Cards event last?

The full event runs August 1–31, 2026, and the trading window stays open through September 2 at 08:00 UTC even after the season ends.

What do you get for collecting all the cards?

Completing each rarity set (Elixir, Dark Elixir, Builder Base, Super Troop) unlocks a matching reward like a Rune or Legendary Chest. Separately, reaching 60 unique cards collected unlocks the Manga Fury Prince skin.

Is the Tempest Champion skin free?

It's the exclusive first reward on this season's Gold Pass, so you'll need to purchase the pass to unlock it — it isn't part of the free reward track.

Can free-to-play players get much out of this season?

Yes. The Clash of Cards event, Elephant Rider mass-troop giveaway, and Awesome Medal Event are all accessible without spending, and card packs from regular battles alone can get you a meaningful chunk of the collection.