Deck:The Giant Skeloon

Alternatives
Guards: Guards can be able to replace the skeleton army. Guards + Balloon combo is actually an extremely effective combo, however, why would I prefer skeleton army? Because it's quick in defending against perhaps a royal giant or elite barbarians.

Ice spirit: Ice spirit could replace fire spirits, as it has the same concept. It will freeze any tower or troop that tries to kill the balloon/giant skeleton, leaving you time to zap or fireball any defences your opponent might have.

Cannon: Cannon may be able to replace your inferno tower, as it's cheaper and still able to take down a hog rider. If you're not so focused on defence, this is definitely a replacement that you want to make. However, this also leaves you with only 4 cards to attack the air.

The Log: The log is definitely an exceptional replacement for zap. It does more damage, it has a longer lifetime, and it can push back all ground troops. However, the log is not able to attack the air, which leaves more leeway for the opponent to have minions. However, many do not have the log, so that is why it is not included in the original deck.

Strategy
This deck has many cards that are not desirable for the first hand. If you have say a log, a fireball, fire spirits and minions it can be very difficult. So because of this, I need to provide many options for the beginning. Depending on your hand, you can do:
 * 1) Put the giant skeleton in the back then have your balloon, fire spirits and zap ready at hand
 * 2) Place minions in the back, then put a balloon behind the minions offering you a solid push
 * 3) Put the giant skeleton at the bridge then quickly put fire spirits behind it
 * 4) Place your inferno tower down in the middle left side of your tower (to cycle through your cards), then follow through with one of the three pushes (not recommended because of royal giant)
 * 5) Play the waiting game

It's easy to cycle through your cards if you play 5. If they have a tanker, you can simply place skeleton army or/and inferno tower to defend. If they have a hog rider simply put your inferno tower down, however, if your inferno tower is at the back of your cycle, go with a simple skeleton army. If they put a golem/PEKKA in the back, lure their wizard/witch/executioner/bomber/bowler with minions or fire spirits and fireball them.

There are many counters to this deck, so I'm going to go over most of the common ones I have faced.
 * INFERNO TOWER/DRAGON: Simply zap the inferno tower/dragon a couple of seconds while it's targeting your balloon/giant skeleton.
 * MINION HORDE/MEGA MINION/MINIONS: The minions and minion horde will easily be taken out by your fire spirits, however mega minion is difficult. If they place minions and mega minion, simply fireball everything. But chances are the mega minion will not terminate, so simply zap the mega.
 * SKELETON ARMY: You may come across a skeleton army about 95% of the time, therefore you MUST have zap in your inventory to zap the skeletons (Fire spirits won't cut it)
 * CANNON/TESLA/TOMBSTONE: If they place any of these buildings in front of their tower, it won't matter; the fire spirits will destroy the tombstone. But if they put the in the middle, the other arena tower will lock onto the balloon and from there it's game over. To prevent this you simply should have a fireball ready in your hand to destroy the buildings as soon as possible.
 * MINI PEKKA/MINI TANKS/MUSKETEER: The fire spirits will most likely take down any mini tank that crosses the giant skeleton. And either way, the balloon will most likely reach the tower. If the musketeer targets the balloon, fireball as quickly as possible.
 * OTHER TANKS BIGGER TANKS: You should get your inferno tower ready in the back; it's very hard to counter, however, it makes way for a bigger counter push by you.

These are some tips just in case you want an edge in the battle field:
 * Do not worry about any counter pushes by the enemy, the giant skeleton bomb will take care of that for you. If you are worried that it will be too fast for the bomb, put a skeleton army in front of the troop, destroying everything that can be used as a counter push.
 * This deck requires a lot of patience. You can also put your balloon in the back, but almost every single good push by this deck needs to go behind the king tower. Do not rush your push.
 * Fire spirits is probably your best card, so use it wisely. Do not cycle through fire spirits, as they are extremely useful in this deck.
 * The inferno tower is your best defence, so use it wisely. Recently, many royal giants have been popping up and you want your inferno tower to decimate it.
 * Don't be afraid to use your fireball, and in this deck, the princess is a menace. Do not be afraid to lose an elixir trade, just make sure your tower and your push are safe,

Combos:

Giant Skeleton + Balloon + Fire Spirits + Spell

Balloon + Minions + Fire spirits

Giant Skeleton + Fire spirits

Giant Skeleton + Skeleton army (For defence)

Giant Skeleton + Spell