3200+ Trophies Shield Mage/Royal

GW=Grand Wizard
EW=Electro Wizard
Wiz=Wizard
IW=Ice Wizard
DP=Dark Prince
KG=Knight
n*=upgrade number
(n*)=conditional upgrades
Your board should almost always look like the general board position with your KG protecting the EW from prince and DP. The Wiz and GW should be next to the EW to get the benefit of EW’s 3*. EW and Wiz are your main dmg dealers so they’re the most protected/buffed. Your own DP should be placed to counter enemy prince, other DP, and hogs. You can also use prince instead of DP in this deck but I don’t have him unlocked but they work similarly.

In general, the upgrade priority should look like this:
GW: 1*
EW=3*>2*>(1*)
Wiz=1*>(3*)
IW=(3*)>(2*)>(1*)
EW should only have the (1*) when you need to reach carry units in the back line like Executioner, princess, magic archer, or dart goblin
Wiz should only have (3*) when against healing comps like Shield Maiden, Countess, or Natureborn
IW has upgrades according to the matchup so you can freestyle depending on which comp you’re up against which i’ll elaborate in the matchup section
You’re almost never upgrading KG or DP unless you’re up against Pink Fury or more specifically Elixir Golem and you have extra elixir but they should be upgraded last in the matchup anyway. In rare cases like when you’re on the very last round and you get unlucky in the shop, you can upgrade the KG 1* or 3* if it’s still surviving the past couple rounds or 2* if you’re against Wave Master.

1st Round:
Place and sell units to rotate your shop to try and get GW 1* early. Keep KG and/or IW on board as they’re the only troops you should place 1st round. Your likely to lose your first round so if your up against Royal Champion or Monk don’t place your minis to avoid letting Royal Champion snowball or letting Monk players put counters by giving away your placements. KG should be placed according to enemy deck. Ex.) if they have magic archer or headhunter don’t put KG where it’ll pierce towards your GW and EW.
Don’t move your GW until second or third round as you don’t want to line up KG with GW.

2nd Round:
Depending on what you did first round, place EW and Wiz and IW and KG if you haven’t already. Leave at least 4 elixir in case you roll GW 1*. Use all your rolls as you need GW to be upgraded and if you have to sell minis do so to get the upgrade. You want to place all four mages to avoid getting put in match point but it’s possible to lose both rounds in matchups like Natureborn Pekka or if they predict with hog, prince, or DP.

3rd Round:
If you're on match point place prioritize GW upgrade if you don’t already have and place DP to counter enemy prince, DP, or hogs. Prioritize stopping the units that are targeting your EW. Upgrade EW 3* and IW 3* if opponent is running 4 riders. Upgrade your Wiz to 1* unless they have a heal comp then prioritize 3*. If your up against Pink Fury, Archer Queen, Royal Champion, or any comp that you need to slow down to allow your Wiz to DPS down tanks and GW to give shields, then upgrade EW to 2* and 3* if you have extra elixir from units like Elixir Golem.

4th Round:
At this point if you were on match point, freestyle your upgrades depending on the matchup since you’ve already placed down all your minis. If you aren’t on match point place DP if you haven’t already and they’ve placed down prince, DP, and hog or towards their carry units in the back if they’re unprotected. Still, freestyle the rest of your elixir to upgrade the minis that are carrying the most against the matchup.