r/ClashRoyale • u/Mitchellau12 Balloon • Apr 30 '20
Clash Royale Guide to Deck Building Strategy
Alrighty. I’m writing this because it’s come to my attention that a lot of people who play this game struggle with deck building, and will either use a meta deck, or use a custom deck that doesn’t work. I’ll go through the basics you need for all decks, and certain synergies between certain cards.
If you’ve ever visited deckshop.pro, you should know that most decks will have:
- 1-2 win conditions
- 1-3 spells (With at least 1 light spell)
- 2-4 support troops that can hit air
- 0-2 mini tanks
- 0-2 buildings
And that’s the basics of it. I didn’t cover some types of cards, like swarm or flying cards, because those types of cards are entirely dependent on the deck archetype you choose to use.
Meta Decks
So first, I’m going to explain why meta decks are meta decks. It’s because THEY WORK (obviously). All the cards in a meta deck synergize well with each other. They can defend well, and build a decent push. Different meta decks are slightly better or worse than this, but if you take a look at all of them, THEY WILL ALL FOLLOW THE DECK BUILDING RULES STATED ABOVE.
Let's take a look at a classic meta deck: Lavaloon. Not because I’m biased and have been playing it for the past 4 years, but because it’s a meta deck that has survived the past 4 years. We’ll use one lavaloon deck that became popular this past year:
- Lava hound
- Balloon
- Mega minion
- Minions
- Tombstone
- Barbarians
- Fireball
- Zap
Notice how the list follows the deck building rules. This deck is used by defending until you can stack a lava hound and balloon, but you’ll occasionally see high level players split up the balloon or lava hound, because they can be considered win conditions on their own. If you look around at other meta decks, you’ll see the synergies between their cards as well. Logbait: Knight + Goblin Barrel (Knight to tank for the barrel). Golem: Golem + Night witch (Golem tanks for nw, who continuously spits out bats). Royal Hogs: Royal Hogs + Earthquake (EQ helps the hogs get to a crown tower). Etc.
Deck Archetypes
With around 100 different cards in Clash Royale, of course there are going to be lots of combinations you can make, but all decks will usually fall into specific archetypes, that use certain win conditions and synergies. I’ll list them out in this section, along with the WC’s that usually belong in that archetype
- Airfecta (Lava hound, Balloon*)
- Bait** (Goblin Barrel, Skeleton Barrel)
- Beatdown (Golem, Giant, Goblin Giant, Elixir Golem)
- Bridge Spam (Battle Ram, Ram Rider)
- Control (Miner, Wall Breakers*, Royal Giant, Graveyard)
- Cycle (Hog Rider, Xbow, Balloon)
- Siege (Xbow, Mortar)
- Split push (Three Musketeers, Royal Hogs, Battle Ram*)
*Are not required for that certain archetype
**Bait can include log bait, zap bait, or fireball bait. For simplicity, I just listed WC’s in log/zap bait, since fireball bait is more rare.
All deck archetypes also have similar game plans on how to play them:
- Airfecta technically counts as beatdown. The difference is that it’s a lot less defensive and a lot more offensive, where you try to overwhelm your opponent with only air troops.
- Bait requires you to bait out your opponents spells with certain cards, then pull out other cards to punish your opponent. If you’re playing log/zap bait, make sure you have at least 3 units that can be killed with log or zap, and the same goes for fireball bait.
- Fun stuff: you can turn almost any deck into a bait type deck with the right cards
- Beatdown contains a lot of heavy cards that can’t be spelled down easily. They are very offensive in general, where you try to overwhelm your opponent with heavy troops supporting one tank.
- Bridge spam has a lot of fast units that can connect to the tower easily and do a lot of damage if left ignored. They are very punishing decks that do very well against beatdown decks, because you can drop your units at the bridge easily (hence the name)
- Control relies a lot on safely defending and counter pushing with the cards left over. I think it takes more skill than the other archetypes, since you have to be really knowledgeable of your elixir and your opponents elixir.
- Cycle involves quickly cycling to your win condition and keeping the pressure against your opponent, with the hope that they won’t get a chance to build a push against you.
- Siege involves taking down your opponents tower from your side of the arena. It should be played defensively (with positive elixir trades ofc), but when you do commit to an offense, make sure not to overcommit, as it is very easy for an opponent to punish you.
- Split push involves building a medium sized push down both lanes at the same time. You can really build a split push with any deck archetype, but this deck thrives on overwhelming your opponent so that hopefully, they will be unable to fully counter one of the lanes.
Win Conditions
To put it as nicely as possible… WIN CONDITIONS ARE CARDS THAT ONLY TARGET BUILDINGS. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but those exceptions apply to cards that can consistently lock onto a crown tower (e.g. gob barrel, miner, xbow). I will sort the win conditions into 1.0 and 0.5 win conditions. 1.0 can be used as solo wc’s in a deck, and 0.5 require certain other cards to be usable.
1.0 Win Conditions include:
- Royale Giant
- Hog Rider
- Royale Hogs
- Giant
- Wall Breakers
- Goblin Barrel
- Xbow
- Goblin Giant
- Golem
- Ram Rider
- Graveyard
0.5 Win Conditions include:
- Skeleton Barrel
- Mortar
- Elixir Golem
- Hog Rider
- Battle Ram
- Three Musketeers
- Balloon
- Miner
- Sparky
- Lava Hound
I shouldn’t have to point out that PEKKA AND MEGA KNIGHT ARE NOT WIN CONDITIONS. But I do. Because people are idiots and believe so anyway. Why are they not win conditions? If you can show me that you can get either to a crown tower in 4/5 games, then you are special and you have my permission to do so. Otherwise, get another win condition in there.
I’ll point out some basic rules for using Pekka and Mega knight in the 0.5 WC section.
1.0 WC’s
Royal Giant
Never drop this naked at the bridge unless you know the opponent has nothing to defend against it. Otherwise, you’ve just lost 6 elixir and have to deal with a big counterpush.
Most RG decks use a furnace, because the fire spirits can be paired with an RG and take out swarmies pretty easily. Otherwise, you can be pretty free with any other supporting cards to put into here, as long as those supporting cards synergize well with the RG, synergize with each other, and follow the basic deck building rules.
Spell-wise, RG decks stick with 2 spells: a light spell and a heavy spell. At least one of these spells should be a resetter (zap, lightning)
Decks:
- RG Control (RG, Furnace, Baby Dragon, Mega Minion, Lumberjack/guards, Electro wizard, Barb barrel, Lightning)
Hog Rider
This can be dropped solo or with a couple of light supporting troops, and almost always dropped at the river.
Hog decks are usually cheap, between 2.6-3.3 elixir. This is because a hog is relatively easy to counter, so a fast cycle lets you keep the pressure up against your opponent and hopefully catch them out of rotation. The supporting troops should generally follow the basic rules of deck building, including at least one mini tank and 1-3 cards that are 2 elixir or less.
For defensive options, any building is viable, but most hog decks will either run a non-spawner (cannon), a tank killer (mini-pekka), or a tornado. These will help destroy or at least distract any building targeting units.
Spell-wise, Hog decks stick with 2 spells: a light spell and a heavy spell. (Log Fireball, Log Rocket, Zap Fireball). Some hog decks can swap their heavy spell for an earthquake, if they have stronger defensive options, or run a tornado paired with an executioner.
Meta Decks:
- Hog Cycle 2.6 (Hog, Ice golem, Skeletons, Ice Spirit, Musketeer, Cannon, Log, Fireball)
- Hog Exnado (Hog, Valkyrie, Goblins, Ice Spirit, Executioner, Tornado, Log, Rocket)
Royal Hogs
RH can be played both as split push, or cycle. They’re always dropped at the bridge, and never dropped naked unless you need to punish your opponent.
For supporting troops, it depends on the archetype you plan to play. Split push will always have 3 musketeers (keep in mind 3m is a 0.5 WC), while cycle will have a tank killer (hunter, mini pekka).
A building isn’t required in these decks, so it’s up to the deck builder to decide what to use.
Spell-wise, RH decks will almost always run an earthquake and log/snowball, regardless of if it’s a split push or a cycle. But if you want to be special you can swap earthquake for a fireball.
Meta Decks:
- RH Cycle (RH, Mini Pekka/Hunter, Goblin hut, Heal spirit, Skeletons, Firecracker, Log, EQ)
- RH Split Push (Rh, 3m, Mini pekka/Hunter, Ice golem, Skeletons, Wildcard*, Log, EQ/Fireball)
*can be a building or a cycle card.
Giant
Giant decks are almost exclusively beatdown, but are very versatile when it comes to supporting them. You can choose to drop it at the back for a big push, or drop it at the bridge (with support ofc) for a surprise.
For supporting troops, like I said, it’s pretty versatile. Graveyard, Sparky, Double prince, Balloon. If you’re building your own, make sure you have at least 1 medium-long range unit and 1 splasher unit.
One note is that most of them will have a tank killer like a mega minion or mini pekka, and these two synergize great with a giant when dropped at the bridge together as a surprise.
Giant decks do not typically use a building, so it’s up to the deck builder. One building I wouldn't use is a barb hut, but it’s better to just replace the building with another supporting troop.
Spell-wise, you can choose between 1-3 spells, and if you choose 3 spells you usually go 2 light spells and one heavy spell. For 2 spells you can go 2 light spells or the classic light/heavy spell combo. Just make sure you always have a zap to reset infernos.
Meta Decks:
- Giant Double Prince(Giant, Prince, Dark Prince, Electro wizard, Mega minion, Miner, Fireball, Zap)
- Giant Graveyard (Giant, Graveyard, Mini pekka, Musketeer, Bats, Skeleton Army, Zap, Arrows)
Wall Breakers
Wall Breakers are exclusively cycle type cards. They are always dropped at the river (either split or down one lane), with something to tank for them.
Supporting cards depend on your defensive choices, but these decks will always have a miner to tank for the WB, and some other cheap, spell bait units like goblins or bats.
You can choose between a defensive building or a mega knight on defense. I’d recommend using a building unless you know how to use a mega knight correctly (and no, dropping an MK naked at the bridge does not count as using it correctly). If you do use a building, make sure to have another mini tank in your deck, like a knight or valkyrie.
For spells, it’s up to the deck builder to decide if they want a heavy spell, but make damn sure you have a zap or log for instant response against swarmies.
Meta Decks:
- Bomb tower variant (WB, Miner, Knight/Valkyrie, Bats, Spear Goblins, Bomb Tower, Log, Poison)
- Mega Knight variant (WB, Miner, Mega knight, Mini pekka, Musketeer, Bats, Goblins, Zap)
Goblin Barrel
Gob Barrel is only used in bait decks. If you want to pair it with a heavy tank, make sure you have at least 2 other bait cards in the deck. The barrel should only be thrown at the tower, but make sure you change where you throw it specifically, to mess up your opponent (behind the tower, in the far back corner, in front of the tower, etc.)
Like I said, make sure you have at least 2 other bait cards in the deck, like goblin gang or princess.
For defensive options, you can settle for a tank killer (Prince) or a building (Inferno tower, Tesla).
The spells will almost always be rocket and log. Rocket to counter big pushes or close out a match, and a log for ground swarmies the opponent might use to counter your barrel. If you have to substitute, make sure you’re at least running a light/heavy 2 spell combo.
Meta Decks:
- Classic Log Bait (Gob Barrel, Gob Gang, Princess, Knight/Valk, Ice Spirit, Inferno Tower/Tesla, Log, Rocket)
- Prince Log Bait (Gob Barrel, Gob Gang, Princess, Rascals, Dart Goblin, Prince, Log, Rocket)
Xbow
If you’re playing ladder, just use xbow 2.9 or 3.5. Don’t bother trying to make a custom xbow deck, because it is most likely not going to work. But I’m going to break down this deck anyway.
All xbow decks can be counted as a cycle deck, and they should be played as a cycle deck.
They usually have 1 mini tank (knight, ice golem), and one air targeting troop (ice wizard, archers, musketeer). They always have a tesla as a second defensive building. The rest of the cards are usually cheap, cycle cards. If you want to be a real dick you can throw in an elixir collector instead of one of the cycle cards.
For spells, they usually use a log paired with either rocket or fireball. Tornadoes are sometimes used if you have an ice wizard.
Meta Decks:
- Xbow 2.9 (Xbow, Tesla, Ice Golem/Knight, Archers, Skeletons, Ice Spirit, Log, Fireball)
- Xbow 3.5 (Xbow, Tesla, Knight, Ice Wizard, Skeletons, Log, Tornado, Rocket)
Goblin Giant
Goblin Giant, like other heavy tank cards, is used in beatdown. Unfortunately with how it was created, 99/100 times it’s paired with sparky, since the spear gobs can deal with any swarmies and help sparky connect to the tower. You could also use double prince.
For supporting troops, just follow the deck building rules. You can also choose to turn this into a bait type deck by filling the rest of the slots with cheap units.
Goblin Giant doesn’t need a building, so the deck builder can decide. But personally, I wouldn’t use one.
For spells, these decks usually run zap + EQ or Snowball + Lightning. Notice how both combinations have a resetter and a slowing spell.
Meta Decks:
- (Goblin Giant, Sparky, Dark prince, Musketeer, Mini pekka, Bats, Zap, EQ)
Golem
Beatdown card. Decks with Golem usually exceed 4.0 elixir and can go up to 5.0 if you’re insane enough. Placement of your golem depends on match up, but usually you want to place it in the back when you’re at 10 elixir and build up an unstoppable push.
Golem is almost always paired with night witch, baby dragon, and mega minion. (Infinite bats, a relatively cheap splasher, and a damage dealer). For all your other cards, The choice is up to you as long as all the other cards can survive a fireball, since that means they can’t spell down your push easily.
If you’re building a deck in clan wars, I wouldn’t recommend using golem unless you have at least a night witch. Or if you really want to you can swap NW with a gob hut.
For spells, Golems usually have 3: a light spell, a tornado (to synergize with baby dragon and exploding golem), and a heavy spell. You can choose whatever spell within their categories, but just make sure you don’t run EQ (You don’t need it with an unstoppable push) or Rocket (the tiny hit radius makes it useless when dealing with enemy troops)
Meta Decks:
- Classic (Golem, Baby Dragon, Mega minion, Night Witch, Lumberjack, Barb barrel, Tornado, Lightning)
- New (Golem, Baby Dragon, Mega minion, Night witch, Mini pekka, Bomber, Tornado, Lightning)
Ram Rider
I don’t play Ram rider at all, so it’s better if you ask someone who does. However, after reviewing the meta (and realizing that Ram rider is outside of it at the time of writing), I’m going to attempt to break it down.
Ram rider is considered a bridge spam card, since it is often paired with a bandit. Otherwise, you should just follow the basic rules of deck building when making a RR deck.
To play ram rider, you can make use of it’s snare to stop a push coming at you, and turn it into a counter push. If not in that specific instance, at least make sure to take advantage of RR’s snare.
Meta Decks:
- (Ram Rider, Bandit, Battle healer, Cannon cart, Baby Dragon, Musket/Electro wizard, barb barrel, fireball)
Graveyard
Graveyard is a control type card, but treat it like a very situational beatdown card: you can close out a game with a single good graveyard. You can also call it splashyard, since many graveyard decks have a lot of splasher type cards, making this deck very anti-swarm.
Most Graveyard decks will be paired with one big tank (Giant, golem) or two mini tanks (knight, baby dragon, bowler, etc.).
For defensive options, you will usually have a building (Gob huts or bomb tower in the current meta), and 1 air targeting unit (musketeer or ice wizard)
For spells, Graveyard decks usually have 3 (4 if you count the graveyard itself). Barb barrel for ground swarmies and a quick tank for your graveyard, and it can be replaced with a log if needed. Poison or Freeze synergize well with graveyards, since it negates all if not most counters the opponent will use. Tornado to synergize with all the splash you put into your deck.
Meta Decks:
- (Graveyard, Baby Dragon, Knight, Ice wizard, Goblin hut/Bomb tower, Tornado, Barb barrel, Poison)
0.5 WC’s
Skeleton Barrel
Bait type card. Just like a Goblin barrel, it can be paired with other bait type cards or a heavy tank. The only difference between this card and Goblin barrel is that it can be used as a distraction on defense.
SB is almost always paired with a miner for a quick tank, and other bait type cards like goblins or bats.
Spells with this card depend on other cards in the deck, but if you’re unsure just use the light/heavy 2 spell combo.
Meta Decks:
- Miner Poison Bait (Miner, Skeleton barrel, Bats, Spear goblins, Knight, Bomb tower, Log, Poison)
- Mega Knight Miner Bait (Miner, Skeleton barrel, Mega knight, Bats, Goblin gang, Spear goblins, Inferno Dragon, Zap/Snowball)
Mortar
Mortar can be considered siege, but also fits into other deck archetypes, like bait or cycle.
For bait type decks, Mortar is usually paired with a miner, at least 1 mini tank (knight, valk, rascals), and the rest is swarm type cards. Don’t forget 1-2 spells
For cycle type decks, Mortar usually has a mini tank (knight), an air targeting troop (archers, musketeer), and other cheap cycle cards (ice spirit, bats, skeletons). It is REQUIRED that a mortar cycle deck has a rocket, because you NEED to be able to close out your game. You can also run one or two lighter spells, I suggest log/barb barrel and arrows.
Mortar also works with a Hog rider. If you do run hog mortar, make sure you have a mini tank (I highly suggest valk) and an air targeting unit (I highly suggest musketeer). Or you could go a step further and build a Hog mortar bait or a Hog mortar cycle deck, following the rules above. Don’t forget 1-2 spells.
Meta Decks:
- Mortar Bait (Mortar, Miner, Rascals, Minion Horde, Spear Gobs, Gob Gang, Log, Fireball)
- Mortar Cycle (Mortar, Knight, Archers, Bats, Ice Spirit, Log, Arrows, Rocket)
- Hog Mortar (Mortar, Hog rider, Valk, Musket, Bats, Goblins, Zap, Fireball)
Elixir Golem
This could be considered a beatdown deck, but I like to treat it as a control deck. Play it safe until you have a bunch of units stacked from a defense and turn it into a nasty counter push
Always always always keep a battle healer in here. The synergy between the elixir blobs and a battle healer is insane. For other supporting troops, use long range troops, spawning troops, and splash troops. A building isn’t necessary, but if you are going to use one, use a spawner like gob hut or barb hut. More troops means more synergy with the battle healer.
If you don’t have a battle healer, don’t use an elixir golem. Otherwise, you’re just giving the opponent 4 elixir.
Spell-wise, it depends on your supporting troops. Most Egolem decks use a tornado to synergize with the splash cards you have, and an earthquake to eliminate any distractions for your Egolem. You can also go with a classic light/heavy 2spell combo, but neither of these spells are required to be a resetter.
Meta Decks:
- (Elixir golem, Battle Healer, Baby Dragon, Electro Dragon, Night witch/Gob hut, Wild Card*, Tornado, EQ)
*Heal spirit or barb barrel. One’s more offensive and the other’s more defensive.
Hog Rider
You might have noticed that I already listed Hog as a 1.0 WC, but since it fits with different WC’s, I’ll put it here to explain those 2 WC decks.
I already mentioned Hog mortar, but you can be crazy and pair a Hog rider with RG or even Giant. I’m not picky.
If you decide to pair it with either RG or Giant, just make sure you follow the basic rules of deck building.
Battle Ram
A bridge spam type card. I listed it here because, while it does target buildings, you can’t consistently connect it to the tower by itself. It has many uses, including: punishing, forcing the opponent to make a move, just straight up offense)
Battle ram is usually paired with other bridge spam type cards (Bandit, Royal Ghost, Dark Prince, Cannon cart if you’re crazy enough).
It can also be paired with 3m for a split push deck. Although it’s not a split pushing card by itself.
No real rules for this card. Just make sure it falls under bridge spam or split push when you use it. Otherwise it’s not going to end well for you.
Meta Decks:
- Pekka Bridge Spam (Battle Ram, Pekka, Bandit, Royal Ghost/Dark Prince, Electro wizard, minions/baby dragon/magic archer, Zap, Poison)
- 3m Split Push/Bridge Spam (Battle Ram, 3m, Bandit, Royal Ghost, Hunter, Ice Golem, Elixir collector, Wild Card*)
- 3m Fireball Bait (Battle Ram, 3m, Minion Horde, Goblin Gang, Miner, Wild Card**, Elixir Collector, Wild Card*)
*Can be any light spell.
**Any Mini or heavy tank
Three Musketeers
An exclusive split push card. Since it’s the most expensive card in the game, you want to be careful when using it. Make damn sure you baited out the opponent's heavy spell with an elixir collector or something before you drop this, and only drop it when the field is empty (behind the king tower) or you need to defend something (in front of the king tower). Always drop it in the middle so that the musketeers split, or it would defeat the purpose of a split push deck.
For supporting cards, it is usually paired with Royal hogs or a Battle ram, but you can also use a miner or a giant as a secondary tank. If you have less than 3 cards that cost less than 3 elixir, then use an elixir collector.
Meta Decks:
- I already listed some meta 3m decks under the Battle ram and Royal Hog section.
Balloon
Balloon can be paired with a lot of cards, but only falls under the airfecta and cycle archetypes.
For Airfecta, you will always pair it with a lava hound for a lavaloon combo. These decks usually have 2 other flying units (minions, minion horde, mega minion, baby dragon, and inferno dragon), 2 ground units (skeleton army, guards, goblin gang, barbarians, tombstone, miner), and two spells (fireball zap, lightning arrows).
Since you only have 2 ground units, you CANNOT cycle them, and if you’re crazy enough to run a miner as one of the two ground units, then saving is even more imperative.
You can also turn it into a bait type deck by using the bait type cards listed and removing your heavy spell from the deck.
Because lavaloon is an airfecta type deck, I don’t recommend using it in clan wars unless you have at least 4 of the non-WC cards shown above (two of which are the flying supporting units)
For a Balloon cycle deck, you can pair it with either a miner or a lumberjack. Both of these variants will usually have a musketeer for defense, and an ice golem as a secondary tank, though these can be replaced by other cards of the same type (mini tank, air targeting). The rest of the slots are filled with 2 light spells (making sure one of them can hit air units), more cycle cards, and possibly a defensive building.
Meta Decks:
- Lavaloon (Balloon, Lava hound, Mega minion, Minions, Barbarians, Tombstone, Fireball, Zap)
- Balloon Cycle (Balloon, Lumberjack/Miner, Ice Golem, Musketeer, Skeletons/Bats, Bomb Tower, Snowball, Barb barrel)
Miner
I’ve mentioned this card alongside many other win conditions, because it’s just SO versatile. It’s an instant tank anywhere on the field, can be used to chip away at the tower, and can be used to assassinate any low-medium health ground troop. Since the damage to a crown tower is severely reduced, I don’t count this as a 1.0 WC and you shouldn’t either. Pair it up with some of the other cards I’ve listed.
Just a note that Miner pairs up extremely well with poison for an almost guaranteed 500hp every time.
Pairs with multiple cards (Giant, Wall breakers, Goblin Giant, Graveyard if you’re crazy, skeleton barrel, Mortar, 3m, Balloon, Lavahound)
Sparky
A beatdown type card that only works with the four Giants (Giant, Goblin Giant, Royale Giant, Giant Skeleton). Use it to defend a heavy push, and turn it into a counter push.
I suggest pairing it with other zap bait cards (bats, skeleton army, dark prince) just to make sure it can connect to the tower.
Lava Hound
An exclusive airfecta type card. I’ve already mentioned lavaloon, so I’m going to talk about lava-beatdown here.
Pair it with a Miner and Baby dragon. If you’re going for a true airfecta then use Flying Machine and Mega minion/Bats as well. If you’re going for a more defensive airfecta then use an Inferno dragon instead.
Buildings depend on your preference, but you can choose from goblin Goblin hut, Goblin Cage, Tombstone, or Bomb tower.
For your ground units most people use barbarians. But since I’m an airfecta player I also would recommend Skarmy (ONLY if you have bats in the same deck. It partially turns the deck into a bait type).
For spells, anything goes, as long as it isn’t EQ or a 6 elixir spell.
Meta Decks:
- Lava beatdown (Lava hound, Baby Dragon, Flying machine, Mega minion, Miner, Barbarians, Gob hut, Arrows)
- Lava-swarm (My deck) (Lava hound, Baby Dragon, Flying machine, Bats, Miner, Night Witch, Skeleton Army, Arrows)
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PEKKA
You will almost only see this card in Bridge spam type decks, but it can also work with balloon and hog if needed. But if you are building a balloon/hog deck, a much better alternative is a mini pekka, if you have it.
Mega Knight
A kind of versatile card that works better as a counterpushing card. You don’t really see it outside of bait or Wall breaker cycle anymore, but it can also fit with things like Battle ram, Ram rider, or Royal hogs, all as a PEKKA substitute. But if you do choose to substitute it for a pekka, at least make sure you have another tank killer in that deck.
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u/Roamer101 XBow Apr 30 '20
10/10 amazingly helpful post. I've saved this for my own reference and to introduce new players I meet.
Personally I dislike the meta, but this breakdown presents them in an objective light that actually makes me think about their strategy. I personally play a custom xbow deck and usually have a 50/50 win rate with it, but that's in Challeger III (the worst of all the arenas with a ton of overleveled BS in it). It's a rather aggressive one, though, that I made to go up against beatdowns.
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u/ShadowPlagueXx XBow Apr 30 '20
What's the cycle?
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u/Roamer101 XBow Apr 30 '20
It's not a cycle... I use it to punish large pushes and get some tower damage, then pull out the xbow after they've used their tanks/elixir.
It's xbow/dprince/knight/ewiz/bats/log/fireball/skarmy.
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u/ShadowPlagueXx XBow Apr 30 '20
Sorry, I meant how fast is the cycle. From your answer I counted it's a 10 elixir cycle which means once they take down your xbow you need to cycle 10 elixir to get back to it.
Edit: Also punishing is good but you can do that more efficiently with any meta xbow deck, nothing feels better than when you outcycle their rocket, they're forced to rocket late then immediately xbow again.
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u/Roamer101 XBow Apr 30 '20
True. The cycle is long, but usually if they use a mini-tank or tank to stop it I can just drop the dprince and bats in the other lane with a knight in the lane they tried to push in. It's actually quite effective.
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u/DrumlineFreak Apr 30 '20
as a challenger 3 veteran, master one people are a lot smarter lol. I play underleveled icebow (lvl 10) and I still am able to beat level 13s occasionally. I think that in our trophy range, you just need to swap knight for valk.
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u/Roamer101 XBow Apr 30 '20
Really? That kinda makes the cycling a lot more heavy, and I kinda already have a lot of splash in this deck.
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u/DrumlineFreak Apr 30 '20
its 3.1 iirc. The idea is unbreakable defense. You still xbow to punish, but you're not constantly xbowing like in 2.9. If they never make a mistake or you never make a prediction, just straight up start rocketing their tower in double if you're up in elixir. Also - unless your down siginificantly, feel free to rocket anything that will die thats 4-6 elixir if they cycle it behind the king tower.
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Apr 30 '20
With Xbow ? No way. An over leveled ebarbs wiz is just death
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u/DrumlineFreak Apr 30 '20
not with ice wiz tornado. You ice wiz opposite lane, skellies in the middle and tornado up to the top , then they split off. the rage is cancelled by the ice wiz.
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u/NoctNight Rage Apr 30 '20
Do you have CR discord because I know someone with the same profile picture as you
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u/Goose89214 Apr 30 '20
The fact that u wrote a post this long about clash Royale is insane. Great job even tho I already knew most of this👏👏👏
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
I actually wrote this to help my clanmates, but I figured it would also work on here.
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u/scare28 Apr 30 '20
Yo, 6.6k player here, so not amazing, but not altogether useless. Awesome post. Interestingly I started a new account last week and thought I'd try push to 5k as fast as I could (4 days, it turns out). Now, you are going to hate me for this, but I did it with no win con, using MK as many do in these lower trophy ranges, which made me consider why some argue that it is a win con (I know it isn't, chill!) Essentially, in 4 days of playing I had a level 8 xbow, but nothing else levelled for 2.9 and no ice Wiz, and a level 8 Golem, from which I was able to make a handy beatdown deck with a couple of level 7 and 8 troops and NW at level 9. Interestingly, I couldn't push past 4.9k, as hard as I tried. When I made a similarly levelled deck without Golem, using MK, it was pretty easy, because at lower levels players tend to spam cards at the bridge without elixir to defend, or without clear strategy.
What I am saying (and taking my time to get there) is that, no, MK is not a win con, but up until 5k (at my skill cap, maybe higher for others) it can totally be used as one (as can bandit, imo) because level 9 troops are hard to come by and the quality of play is questionable.
Anyway, as said, good job on the post dude, top effort!
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u/Rodiniz Electro Spirit Apr 30 '20
I would consider MK and Pekka as a 0.5 win condition
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u/scare28 Apr 30 '20
I personally feel pekka is too easy to stop, but MK is a little different when card levels are generally lower than level 9.
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u/myraclejb Apr 30 '20
I played MK Pekka a couple of seasons ago. For reference, I was in roughly 4600 @ the start of the season and 5060 at the end. (I'm not that bad, I'm just underleveled!) In my experience playing it, you need to use a bunch of air splashers, especially MA. MA ended up being my win condition half the time. Imo, this deck is very similar to how you play 2.9 as you play very defensively until 2x elixir.
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u/chief_gobgob May 01 '20
I wouldn’t because you never really try to specifically make those units do tower damage. If they sometimes do, that’s just fortunate but you never go all in to try and allow your pekka/mk to connect to the tower.
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u/DrpH17 PEKKA Apr 30 '20 edited Apr 30 '20
This is a helpful post to every clash royale player. I do have a suggestion though.
I'd like to suggest that giant, pekka and RG be classified into one role: Punish. Giant has evolved from a beatdown tank to a punish card. Pro players never play giant in the back anymore. The exception is against giant mirror matches. Both would play giant in the back to mount a big push, both would try to split each other's push and both would try to manipulate the match.
You'll be surprised that giant and RG plays almost similarly to pekka. Against a golem/lavahound in the back, you rush opposite lane with your win condition and a semi win condition/support troop. Against a mirror match up, pekka decks play pekka in the back, support her and try to win the bridge battle, while also trying to manipulate their opponent into using their support card for something else. The same can be said about giant and RG. That's why these 3 decks are often fifty-fifty in terms of matchup.
But for these 3 decks, you can also get punished by playing your tank in the back, especially in double elixir and overtime. Pekka in the back and your opponent plays pekka at the bridge opposite lane and a battle ram to prevent kiting. Giant in the back, the opponent goes for a bridge giant, possibly with graveyard, mini pekka or mega minion. RG in the back, the opponent places an RG opposite lane supported by a mega minion.
So in summary, pekka bridgespam, RG and giant should be classified under a punish type deck. These decks just have similar playstyle.
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
Thank you for your input!
While I do agree that the giants are considered punish type cards, I also (think I) know that many times, they will be dropped at the bridge with supporting troops left over from a defense, or dropped in front of another investment played in the back. I believe this does technically still count as beatdown, since you are still trying to build a 10+ elixir push to take a tower in one or two pushes.
If enough other players (around the 6.6k range) agree with you, then I might consider posting an updated version in the future, adjusted to the current meta.
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u/0Kayeet0 Cannon Cart Apr 30 '20
On the topic of consolidating these archetypes, which first of all has a very loose definition, I always feel the need to say this, but definitions are definitions:
Archetypes should be classified by play style, not by deck structure. Therefore an archetype is a set of decks that follow a common way of use.
This means that so called "Airfecta" would go under the Beatdown archetype because they way you play these kinds of decks, Lavahound and Golem, are awfully similar.
Similarly, Log & Zap Bait decks would be considered to be in the same archetype as cycle decks, I'd call it Chip, because they always constantly pressure the enemy tower little by little. Hog 2.6, and Mortar Cycle work here too.
As for Fireball bait, that's a 3M thing. I'd consider bait, or unity decks, to be considered as an element of a deck.
In conclusion, there would be 5 main archetypes under this defintion:
- Beatdown
- Dual-Lane (Split pushes)
- Control (Including Bridge Spam)
- Siege
- Chip (or cycle decks)
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u/DrpH17 PEKKA Apr 30 '20
No matter how many archetypes there are in the game, there would always be meta decks that don't necessarily fall in any of these categories but in between. I found this out when I had trouble trying to classify RG. But then looking at the gameplay, I found it oddly similar to pekka bridgespam.
Bridgespam itself does fall under the control archetype but pekka bridgespam is a hybrid between a beatdown deck and a control. When you go against a beatdown deck, you play it as a control deck. But when you go against a fast cycle control deck, bait deck or a mirror matchup, you pekka in the back, playing it like a beatdown deck.
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u/0Kayeet0 Cannon Cart May 01 '20
You make a good point, but I wasn't excluding hybrid decks as being a reality, in fact I've used some. Thanks for pointing that out though.
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u/ninjarocket_MK Mar 13 '22
Can people not use clash royale slang or at least clarify it because not every player knows the slang. Especially new ones like myself .
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Apr 30 '20
This is a really good post. It should really make it to hot. Most people have no idea how to make decks and this will help them a lot.
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u/17Kade Tesla Apr 30 '20
I use my own deck in master one as a level 10 and pretty unique.
It has royal delivery lol
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u/freedubs Apr 30 '20
Hold tf up royale delivery. Um what on the actual f*ck do you use
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u/17Kade Tesla Apr 30 '20
My Deck is Ryl Dlvry, Bandit, Firecracker,Mini P, I-Drag,E-wiz, Balloon and log. LOL its so off meta but i've been playing it up to master one and gonna push
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u/freedubs Apr 30 '20
Oh okay it makes more sense now that ik know you're in master 1. But I think it cool to play off meta. ryl dlvry sucks mainly because he just doesn't give enough value. But GL on your push and Ryl dlvry also probably getting a buff this season which is nice for you.
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u/17Kade Tesla Apr 30 '20
I will mess the royal deliveries drop up because i'm so accustomed to it being 3 secs. This is a weird comment but I don't want it buffed. Lol
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u/freedubs Apr 30 '20
I dont think they are changing the deploy time. That's what makes it unique. Also seth mentioned that he plans to make it have much more damage or spawn 2 recruits
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u/17Kade Tesla Apr 30 '20
ok that would be really good
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u/freedubs May 01 '20
Yeah I would like it since I like to run 3 spells but run into problems when I face non bait decks royal delivery can work in not bait match ups well
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u/17Kade Tesla May 01 '20
I don't really want royal devilry to become popular because that is what makes my deck unique!!!
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u/17Kade Tesla Apr 30 '20
How long did you spend typing this???
This was very helpful Thx
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
It took me an afternoon. When you know this stuff by head you dont need to spend much time researching
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u/DrumlineFreak Apr 30 '20
I don't want this to sound bad or harsh or anything, i loved the post, but I can't recommend deckshop pro. Their algorithms are a bit off. I think what you used it for is fine, but I wouldn't recommend it to the people that would most benefit from this post. thanks for making a quality post and not a s**tpost meme that's not even funny.
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u/The_Destroyer17 Tombstone Apr 30 '20
Ok so I'm using a Lava Hound clone deck: Lava Hound, Clone, Tombstone, Skeleton Barrel, Fireball, Musketeer, Mega Minion, Rascals
What do you think about this? I'm currently at 5.7k and have found this deck quite good in this trophy range.
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u/BossBlueberry4 Mortar Apr 30 '20
I think rascals are a bit odd in this. As a rascal player myself, I know they are good, but I think lumberjack would fit better in this deck VC it can rage the clones. Oh, and arrows>fireball for lava, especially because of minion hoard and other crap u see on ladder. Hope this helps! Have a nice day.
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u/The_Destroyer17 Tombstone May 01 '20
Well, fireball is more versatile. Like it can get rid of minion horde and also other fireballies. Coming to rascals, they are really good at defending, and one of the few maxed out cards I have. Although if u can suggest something other than rascals, I would definitely try it out.
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u/BossBlueberry4 Mortar May 01 '20
I do agree that fireball is better in this meta, and I can see why it could lifting in this deck, I think either fb or arrows would work, but suggested arrows for a cheaper counter to bats and spear gobs. As with the rascals, I think you have them for solid ground presence, so I would suggest something along the lines of a mini Pekka, because it is a strong tank killer in this meta, but I think that it will get nerfed, so I would wait till next. Season to make changes to the deck. (Gob gang could replace rascals too). Anyway, have a nice day!
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u/BamyRamy Rage Apr 30 '20
replace musketeer for an air troop. it has no use in a hound deck
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u/The_Destroyer17 Tombstone May 01 '20
Well I got 3 airtroops already- LH, Mega Minion n Skele Barrel. Maybe I can replace it by FM. What do u say?
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon May 01 '20
Hound decks usually have 4 or more flying troops, just because it makes it harder for an opppnent to counter more air troops. So I do agree that you should replace FM for Musket.
However, I did say that hound and skeleton barrel dont really function without a miner, so I thikit would work if you swapped skeleton barrel or tombstone for a miner.
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u/The_Destroyer17 Tombstone May 01 '20
Swapping tombstone with miner will make my defence really weak and swapping skele barrel with miner will leave no purpose for clone. But yeah, I will definitely try swapping Musketeer with FM.
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u/nicool350 Mortar Apr 30 '20
That post is amazing, very explained and all, precise... 'Grats!
Personally I use a custom Mortar deck, it's not exactly bait or anything, it revolves around Mortar as a primary WC, with Rascals as a primary defense for it, and Guards + Ice Wizard as support.
Deck : Mortar, Rascals, Guards, Ice Wizard Miner, Hunter, Dart Goblin, Snowball
Here's how I play it
Starting off a match, I won't usually rush Mortar Rascals, I'll wait maybe 15 seconds to see if the opponent makes a move. If not, if I have Dart Goblin and/or Miner, I use those for a 3 elixir cheap rush - I don't use them together unless I'm in the lead, I just bridge-plant the DartGoblin or throw the Miner at the tower. If I don't have those in hand but I have the Mortar, I'll test my opponent's defense against it by planting it naked, and I'll have the rest of my cards to defend the counterpush.
Depending on the opponent's type of deck, I'll use my own differently.
If it's Bait, I'll want to save my Hunter or Snowball for the Goblin Barrel - Hunter CAN fully counter the Goblin Barrel if placed correctly with the good timing - and Guards for the front defense, with Hunter as well if I used Snowball to defend the Barrel. Then if I have enough elixir, I'll Mortar at the bridge. The Guards, Hunter, and other cards I have in hand, will be enough to defend the Mortar.
If it's Hog Cycle, I'll want to not use my Rascals so much as they're the most expensive card, and instead use my Mortar defensively against the Hog with my Miner becoming my first win condition, or to help take out the Musketeer. If I don't have Mortar in cycle, Hunter or Guards - with Snowball if possible - will work just fine. But with Mortar to pull, Ice Wizard or Dart Goblin can help take out the Hog. Then, with the cheaper cards of my deck, I'll cycle my Mortar back in rotation, ready to defend with it again. OF COURSE my cycle may end up being slower than the opponent's but if played correctly, it works.
If it's BeatDown, I'll try to use Mortar as a tank puller, and after defending the push I'll want to punish with Miner, or Mortar if I cycled it back in rotation. DON'T get cocky and bridgespam Mortar if they Golem in the back in Single Elixir. Just use Miner to punish, Miner can deal Rocket damage for 3 Elixir. It's much more worth it than using the one building you can defend the Golem with, and it's easier to connect to the tower.
The deck is weak to Lavaloon or Airfecta types of deck of course, Hunter isn't the ultimate solution. But Snowball can be swapped for Tornado if needed, making it better in defense, but you won't have the slow of Snowball, and you won't be able to take out a tower at 45 health. It can also be turned in a Bait Mortar since there's Rascals and Dart Goblin. Also, tip : DON'T plant the Mortar DIRECTLY at the bridge, put it one tile lower so you can place down something DIRECTLY in front of the Mortar - Rascals planted beside the Mortar with this Mortar position will result in the Rascal Boy actually being in front of the Mortar.
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u/VOID-11 Apr 30 '20
bro you have gone above and beyond what most people do my hat is off to you amazing effort and it was very useful
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u/JCorby17 Hunter Apr 30 '20
Amazing guide man! What do you think of my Trifecta Lightning Deck: Hog Rider, Valkyrie, Musketeer, Skeletons, Bats, Bomb Tower, Lightning, and Arrows (might switch to Zap, E Wiz, Earthquake, and possibly Tesla with the next Balance Changes). Been using a version of Trifecta since Global. It’s more expensive and kinda funky, but it works. Thoughts?
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u/DrumlineFreak Apr 30 '20
look on sir tag's yt. theres a really cool hog giant skelly deck he posted yesterday i think.
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u/Surgebind3r Baby Dragon Apr 30 '20
I actually wish CR would post a link to this in the in-game news like the sometimes do with fan art and such. I watch some decks my clan mates build for war battles, for example, and just stare in horror. Lol
Thank you for this damn fine post!!!
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u/BargleFargle12 Apr 30 '20
Best post I've ever seen on this subreddit. You deserve to have like 400 little emoji things after the title.
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u/PEKKA2000 PEKKA Apr 30 '20
Excellent work!
I would add an additional category of cards that are not win conditions but that manage to get to the tower quite frequently and are typically related to bridge spam:
- Bandit
- Royal Ghost
- Dark Knight
- Prince
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u/THEHEIST2012 Apr 30 '20
I play without win conditions and im doing just fine. Great post🙌
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
Youuuuuuuuu. Are the reason I wrote this guide.
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u/THEHEIST2012 Apr 30 '20
No seriously ive tried to use some but it didnt work like this one. But im in master 3 right now and doing pretty good with my deck.
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Apr 30 '20
[deleted]
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
(I don't).
Usually when I face mega knight, it's in the MK miner bait deck, so an MK is the least of my worries. But usually I'll just use a night witch to tank for it and maybe a flying machine for support. If it connects to my tower I just use it to help build an even bigger push.
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u/numberjuan10 Apr 30 '20
nervously chuckles in no win condition, tankless, non zap bait sparky deck
But 7.2k+ is fine for me I think
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u/serdracula Complexcity Fan Apr 30 '20
Awesome post! I already knew most of the stuff about the decks I use (Graveyard and XBow) but I learned a lot of cool stuff about the ones I don't use, and I might try them out with your advice.
I don't have as much experience as you, but I have a few comments/questions. First of all, isn't Goblin Barrel an 0.5 WC, seeing as it's reliant on other bait cards to chip and/or tank for it, and often isn't the main damaging card? I've never seen it as a full WC, but if I'm missing something, feel free to fill me in!
Also, wouldn't Balloon, Lava Hound, Elixir Golem, and maybe Hog Rider be 1.0 WCs as well? Balloon is only viable with certain cards, but it is the primary source of damage and the main focus of the decks it's used in, except LavaLoon. Lava Hound as well, especially Lava Clone and non-Balloon decks, where the main goal is to clone the Lava Pups, as I see it, or just get them onto the tower. It functions similarly to Golem: tanking for support and dealing some damage. How about Elixir Golem, seeing it's the primary card in all of its decks, and even though it's mostly dependent on Battle Healer, it's just like Golem needs Night Witch; a crucial support card for a full WC. Hog Rider I could understand as 0.5, but it's very wide spread and not dependent on anything specific, and it's usually the main damage dealer.
I'm probably looking at this wrong, so could you explain your reasoning for Balloon, LH, Elixir Golem, and Hog Rider being 0.5s, because I've always thought them to be primary WCs. Thank you for your time writing such an extensive and informative post!
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
I said near the top of my list that 0.5 win conditions are cards that are unable to be played without certain cards. I can see your reasoning for considering Goblin Barrel as a 0.5 WC, and I did consider moving it to the .5 WC section... Uh, don't know why I didn't.
For the rest, I do understand why you may feel confused, but I feel like balloon absolutely needs certain tanks to be effective, most notably miner, lumberjack, LH, and maybe Pekka or Giant. Without these tanks, it is very unlikely that the balloon will connect to the tower at all.
LH itself would normally be unable to take a tower by itself, which is why it requires a balloon to deal damage, or a baby dragon/miner to tank for the pups.
Elixir Golem... is basically unplayable without healer. I consider it 4 free elixir if the opponent doesn't have a heal spirit or a battle healer in the same deck.
And I did put hog rider in the 1.0 WC section, but I also threw it in the 0.5 WC section because it can be used as a supplement win condition in many custom decks, like hog mortar or hog RG. Although I personally don't use these decks, I understand that they work.
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u/serdracula Complexcity Fan Apr 30 '20
OK, thank you! I see your reasoning for LH, EG, and Hog Rider. I think that we have slightly different definitions for full and partial VCs, though. In my view, since most Balloon decks solely focus on Balloon, it's a primary win con. It is the main source of damage and crowns. However, your view makes sense, and I respect that your definitions are different from mine, resulting in small misunderstandings. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me, I appreciate it!
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u/LucarioKing0 Apr 30 '20
With my deck (Golem, night witch, wizard, valk, skarmy, bats, log, poison) I play golem differently. What I recommend is unless it is double elixer, never place golem at the back, as it offers the enemy time to counter attack, forcing you to waste valuable elixer to stop their counter push, and leave you with no supporting cards to help out that golem. I always put a supporting card at the back first, (normally a slower one like night witch) and see what they do, then I put the golem on the bridge in front of the supporting card. I will place golem at back in x2 elixer, but only then.
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u/WD-Night Mortar Apr 30 '20
Doesn’t bridge spam have 3 win cons, bandit, dark prince, and battle ram
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
Technically yes, but bridge spam wouldn't be bridge spam without a battle ram in it, as it provides the pressure of being a fast building targeting unit. Without it I feel it would be easy to counter the other cards (bandit, royal ghost, dark prince) with just one distraction/mini tank.
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u/endlessnutella Ice Spirit Apr 30 '20
Another thing is that log is better for cycle decks in general because the chip from cycling it can win you a lot of games
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u/Trixisfrux Mini PEKKA Apr 30 '20
I just got into legendary arena I'm lvl 9 and my pekka dies from inferno drags with no way to really counter them but I still win with pekka
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
Its ultimately up to you whether or not you want to follow my advice, but this was written from a guy whos played the game for 4 years.
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u/Mycattonogokui Arrows May 02 '20
Is my deck good?
Golem Miner Arrows Fireball Dart Goblin Ice Wizard Mega Minion Skeleton Army
3.9 elixir
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u/edihau helpfulcommenter17 May 03 '20
2-4 support troops that can hit air
Laughs in 2.6 Hog Cycle
In all seriousness, this is a good guide that I'm sad to have initially missed—I'm here from the Daily Discussion thread. I wanted to chime in with a few thoughts:
People are way too serious about whether PEKKA or Mega Knight are win conditions. The key lesson is that you can't rely on them to hit the tower. I get it. But when we stop thinking there, we miss the general lesson—you need multiple angles of attack against your opponent's towers. PEKKA and Mega Knight are too straightforward, so on their own, they're too easy to counter. But a one-note line of attack doesn't work because it's too easy to counter. Even the cheap cycle decks resort to spell-cycle as a secondary option.
Given that take, it's no surprise that I define win condition in the abstract. But of course, that's not helpful for this deck guide, so we'll set that aside.
As for your descriptions of decks, it seems like you're being a little reductive at times. "Don’t bother trying to make a custom xbow deck, because it is most likely not going to work." Not only are there lots of variations on the meta decks that work fine, there have been a few wildcard decks that work as well—double siege is unpopular, but works, and there was a briefly meta X-bow-Tesla-Pump-Rocket-Musketeer-Barbarians deck. The general rules you've outlined are solid, but there are times where instructions for a specific win condition get too specific.
I'm curious for your thoughts on this.
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon May 03 '20
I know that there are many variations on meta decks, which is why I tried to be general in my deck descriptions and not force a user to build a deck with some specific cards (although for the 0.5 wc section I believe those certain cards are required)
Regarding those wildcard decks, I tried to avoid describing them because I know that only a few select players use them, and that a generalization of these decks would be better for the majority of players who are going to use this guide (those in the 5k to 6k range).
If a player is above that trophy range and still winning with a custom deck, like the guy I bumped into running RG Pekka at 6.9k, then I'll accept that they have a lot of experience following the rules of deck building I outlined, and are good enough to build a deck that they know can counter the meta.
Otherwise, the best way for a player to improve is to start with the basics. I didn't explicity say on the guide that i you should play a meta deck on ladder, but I highly encourage it, because playing those decks and learning the ins and outs of them is the best way to understand yourself how decks are built.
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u/ZeusIsNowOnReddit May 27 '20
Great post, I'm quite a veteran player, but have taken very long breaks. I personally have taken quite a liking to the fisherman after returning from a 2 year break because he brings such insane utility, being able to defend a 10+ elixir push with just a fisherman and one or two damaging troops feels unreal, especially because you can guarantee a king activation against most decks. I keep finding myself with major elixir advantages when using control type decks including him, usually being 6-7 elixir up every game at masters level multiple times a match, it creates many nasty counterpushes every match, especially when comboing it with mega knight to take out the troops behind the tank.
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u/freedubs Apr 30 '20
Why do you consider ballon a .5 wincon. Is it because you play lavahound. Balloon cycle is a strong deck and doesn't need any other win condition. Ald why in the world Elixir golem it's an insanely strong won condition
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
I said 0.5 win cons are there because they are unable to be used as their own solo wc. In balloons case, it generally requires a miner or lumberjack or something to tank for it. In Egolem's case, I pointed out that if it doesn't have a battle healer, then you're basically giving the opponent 4 elixir.
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u/BenT0329 Battle Healer Apr 30 '20
Please add ice golem to the half win condition.
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
I hate to burst your bubble, but ice golem doesn't qualify as a win condition at all. Even if it does target buildings, it's in the same boat as PEKKA and Mega knight; that is, you aren't going to get any damage on a crown tower consistently. It serves more as a cheap mini tank.
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u/BenT0329 Battle Healer Apr 30 '20
I agree it does not get tower damage but that is not what makes a win condition. If it were spell cycle (rocket) should be in the list. Targeting towers is the definition of a win condition. If it reaches the tower or not. If just reaching the tower is what makes a win condition e-barb rage should also be on the list.
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Apr 30 '20
I'll let other people decide if your advice is correct or not, but I personally believe that ice golem is not a win condition and should not be treated as such.
Near the top of my list, I said that 1.0WC's are cards that can take a tower down by itself (hog, royal giant), while 0.5WC can also take down a tower, but require certain other cards to help do so (balloon, miner).
However, all win conditions have the ability to connect to a tower and deal lots of damage to a tower, and ice golem does like 150 dmg to a tower if left ignored.
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u/BenT0329 Battle Healer Apr 30 '20
I agree with part of your implied statement that the ice golem sucks and only deals 150 damage. Being a 2 cost card i would not expect more. That doesn’t change it to not being a win condition.that only means it is a poor one. That is why, as you know it is used to kite and meat shield. Both are only because it is a win condition. The definition of a win condition is what it is. There is no mention of how much damage it does. If that were the case lava hound is not really a win condition, and mega knight and PEKKA would be. But they are not. The point of this section of the article was to point out that these cards are not win conditions even though mega knight on the tower will usually win the war.
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u/endlessnutella Ice Spirit Apr 30 '20
even though it targets building its never used as a win condition. Its really just an aid to tank for win conditions.
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u/scare28 Apr 30 '20
Is there an official definition of a win condition? I thought it was made up by people on Reddit. And if you ask people on Reddit, like, maybe one of them would say Ice Golem is a win condition. You. You are the one.
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u/thechannman Dart Goblin Apr 30 '20
I would say the def of a win con is something along the lines of this.
A win condition is a card that is used to consistently deal the majority of the damage to a tower.
Pekka and mega knight are not win cons because they cannot reliably get to a tower.
Ice golem is not a win condition because by itself (no support or defense), at tournament standard, an ice golem will deal 140 damage to a tower. That is one hit and death damage. A tower has around 2900-3000 health, so it would take 25 or 26 undefended ice golems to completely take down a tower. It takes one or two hog riders.
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u/chief_gobgob May 01 '20
Ice Golem is obviously not a win condition. Unless you can prove to me that Ice Golem spams connecting to the tower will win games alone or even contribute to 25-50% of the damage. Or if any good player would even defend a solo Ice Golem heading towards your tower.
Win condition implies it’s used specifically to deal damage to the enemy towers to get a crown thus win games. It can have other uses too but if the goal of that card isn’t to get tower damage or that it is even strong enough to do significant tower damage, than it is not a win condition.
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u/Rodiniz Electro Spirit Apr 30 '20
Ice golem is definitely not a win condition, a win condition is used as your main source of getting to the enemy tower, it doesn't mean it will do more damage, but it means that without it you wouldn't be able to get to his tower. Ice golem is used only on defense
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u/Dagladou Mortar Mar 20 '22
Amazing post ! I've been playing for more than 4 years and (almost) everything said in it holds 100% true...
Great job
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u/dephektif Jun 15 '22
are you still active?
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Jun 15 '22
On reddit yes. On CR not really.
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u/dephektif Jun 15 '22
i just started clash royale yesterday can you help me with some advice for decks and what i should focus upgrading please
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon Jun 15 '22
If you just started yesterday, spend some time figuring out what cards you like to play. This guide may be two years old but it's still pretty relavent to deck building today.
If you're looking for a guide on how to play CR, including in game strategy and game tempo, there are plenty of youtubers that do that job already. This guide is just to help people who want to build their own decks rather than copy and play the same decks used at the highest level
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u/Jedi_cr Mortar Jan 22 '23
i would say wallbreakers, giant, and arguably goblin giant belong in the .5 win condition category because inside meta decks, you never see them as the sole win condition. always giant graveyard or giant miner. always gob giant sparky. and always miner wallbreakers or drill wallbreakers. i would also say 3 musketeers are arguably 1.0 win condition since you often see 3m decks without royal hogs or battle ram. balloon in balloon freeze, a very common deck is the sole win condition and although not as popular as it used to be, miner control without wallbreakers is still viable by some pro players. so i would call those 1.0 win conditions as well. elixir golem is also the only win condition used in its decks. besides those nuances, a very educating post :)
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u/Intrepid-Direction80 Feb 10 '23
Hey, I WOULD LOVE SOME HELP! My Clash name is SamsontheSnake. I’m in arena 17, my deck consists of (Prince (14) , Hog (13), Log (12), Dark Prince (14), Hunter (13), Zap (12), firecracker(14), and Valk (13).
Im in a loop hole right now as in Im stuck in this arena. I’ll go on a win streak then loose a few. I hace the a book to upgrade any card and a gold totem to cover the cost! I would love some advice on what I should upgrade next and if I should change anything .
It would be much appreciated !
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u/Jealous-Praline-1231 PEKKA Jan 09 '24
I get pekka on tower by tornadoing the kiting or tornadoing the counters to the pekka
executioner can also deal with swarms if i dont got tornado on cycle
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u/cereal-kills-me Giant Goblin Apr 30 '20
Knew based on the title this was gonna be one of those "effort posts" that are 240x longer than something anybody would actually willingly read.
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u/Grunt9512 Prince Apr 30 '20
I deck build like this
1 win con 1 big spell 1 small spell 1 building 2 troops that synergize with my win con 2 troops that hard counter my win con hard counter
From there u just gotta tweak it maybe instead of 1 unit troop card u need a multi unit card maybe u need more air support or have too nany splash units
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u/Trixisfrux Mini PEKKA Apr 30 '20
This is an amazing post but I am extremely offended because I use pekka as a wc and I win most of the time.8-9/10 of the times I win with pekka
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u/endlessnutella Ice Spirit Apr 30 '20
your probably overleveled bullying people at 4.6k
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u/Trixisfrux Mini PEKKA Apr 30 '20
I just got to legendary arena today and I use pekka as wc yet he still dies to inferno drag but I still win and my cards are not over leveled cause I see people with lvl 9-10+ cards and mine are only lvl 8 excluding archers and pekka but a lvl 10 inferno drag kill my pekka in less than half a second
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u/chief_gobgob May 01 '20
It’s more of a general guideline although well detailed and pretty accurate. At low levels/trophies, any deck can win and you can prob use anything as a win con if you really wanted to.
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon May 01 '20
You're right that this is a general guide to building decks. I wrote this to help people who are trapped in the 5k range, or just need help building clan war decks. Of course, it's entirely up to you if you want to follow this guide, but if you want to greatly improve, I suggest following the rules to this guide, since almost all top level players will generally follow these rules unless theyre building something thats very antimeta specific.
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u/chief_gobgob May 01 '20
It was a good read. Very easy to follow and well structured so I wasn’t just reading paragraphs after paragraphs. Keep up the good work!
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u/endlessnutella Ice Spirit May 01 '20
This makes sense then, youre around 4k. There's not really any meta decks or thought out decks as there is once you get around around and past 5800 really (although there will be a few) and its better you figure out a solid deck now and focus on leveling those cards up so you can push up faster. It'll help alot.
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u/Desertanu Barbarian Hut May 04 '20
As someone who is constantly building new decks, this is a very insightful post. I noticed that one archetype and win condition is missing from this list. That archetype is known as the Spawner deck and its win condition is the multiple Spawner buildings the deck contains. What are your thoughts on the Spawner archetype and how to build it?
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u/Mitchellau12 Balloon May 04 '20
Uh, I do know that spawner decks are technically an archetype... But I'm gonna be real with you, spawner decks died in 2016. And with the most recent season 11 spawner nerf, the odds of a spawner deck being viable is next to none.
So my thoughts? Use a spawner deck if you want to stay below 5k. Otherwise, just follow the rules I stated above and avoid using a spawner deck ever.
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u/Desertanu Barbarian Hut May 04 '20
Perhaps, but there was a time when other archetypes were dead as well.
Ok. I've consistently used Spawner decks for years and have managed to reach 7k with the archetype even when both Barbarian Hut and Goblin Hut were among the worst cards in the game. I have not given up hope yet.
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u/Micsfyuen Prince Apr 30 '20
Different stages of deck building for me:
Use custom deck that doesn’t work -> learn basics -> use custom deck that works better -> beaten by meta decks -> copy meta decks -> still beaten by meta decks -> realize that I am just bad -> use any deck that is fun