How the shop works: cost 3, 5 and 8 odds by round
By Khaan · Updated Sep 23, 2026
If the cost 8 your plan needs is slow to show up, you lose tempo. The odds here come straight from the game's tables.
The basics
confirmedThe shop shows 3 cards at a time.
officialThe Shop automatically refreshes at the start of each round. Refreshing by hand costs 1 Suncoin.
officialDragging a card in the Shop downward freezes it, keeping it unchanged while the Shop refreshes.
Odds of each cost, round by round
officialFrom the game's CardRefreshDistribution table (version 2.0.1021.0). Each shop card is rolled with these odds, which change below 200 trophies.
See the numbers as a table
| Round | Cost 3 | Cost 5 | Cost 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 70% | 30% | 0% |
| R2 | 67% | 32% | 1% |
| R3 | 64% | 34% | 2% |
| R4 | 61% | 36% | 3% |
| R5 | 58% | 38% | 4% |
| R6 | 55% | 40% | 5% |
| R7 | 54% | 40% | 6% |
| R8 | 53% | 40% | 7% |
| R9 | 52% | 40% | 8% |
| R10 | 52% | 40% | 8% |
| R11 | 52% | 40% | 8% |
| R12 | 52% | 40% | 8% |
See the numbers as a table
| Round | At least one cost 8 |
|---|---|
| R1 | 0% |
| R2 | 3% |
| R3 | 6% |
| R4 | 9% |
| R5 | 12% |
| R6 | 14% |
| R7 | 17% |
| R8 | 20% |
| R9 | 22% |
| R10 | 22% |
| R11 | 22% |
| R12 | 22% |
officialFewer trophies means slightly more cost 8: up to 10% per card below 100 trophies, versus 8% at 200+.
officialThe community used to say cost 8 only showed up from R5. It can show on R2, at a very low chance.
What about one specific card?
wikiYour deck has 3 cards of each cost. Assuming the 3 come up equally (the game doesn't publish this), the chance of seeing one specific card in the shop at 200+ trophies:
| Round | One cost 3 card | One cost 5 card | One cost 8 card |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 55% | 27% | 0% |
| R4 | 49% | 32% | 3% |
| R7 | 45% | 35% | 6% |
| R9 | 44% | 35% | 8% |
wikiHunting one specific cost 8 by refreshing is expensive: on R7 each shop has about 6% to show it. 5 refreshes (5 suncoins) show you 18 cards and the chance only climbs to about 30%.
The way to guarantee cost 8
officialCarrot Broker reads: "On purchase: Refreshes the Shop with 1 8-Cost Minions and increases their cost by +2." It's the only released card that puts a cost 8 into the shop.
officialSpudchant helps another way: "On purchase: Grants 1 free Shop refreshes."
In practice
- wikiBuild the early game on cost 3 and 5: that's what the shop gives early. A deck that needs cost 8 has to hold its HP alone until mid game.
- wikiSaw a key cost 5 or 8 but short on sun? Freeze it and buy it next round instead of refreshing and hoping.
The deck builder uses these same odds in the Game plan (Shop and rounds tab) and warns you when your deck leans too hard on cost 8.
- Game tables CardRefreshDistribution, LadderMatch, LevelConfig and ShopConst, version 2.0.1021.0 (datamine).
- Official in-game loading tips (LoadingTip table).
- Official ability text of Carrot Broker.
- 3-card shop and the Carrot bug: confirmed by Khaan in game.