Giant Skeleton

"The bigger the skeleton, the bigger the bomb. Carries a bomb that blows up when the Giant Skeleton dies."

Summary

 * The Giant Skeleton is unlocked from the Bone Pit (Arena 2).
 * It is a single target, melee troop with high hitpoints and a very high death damage.
 * A Giant Skeleton card costs 6 Elixir to deploy.
 * It appears as a colossal skeleton holding a large explosive, which, upon his death, is 'carelessly' dropped, dealing an enormous amount of damage to all enemy troops/buildings surrounding it.
 * The bomb explodes 3 seconds after it is dropped.

Strategy

 * The Giant Skeleton is effective to use as a meat shield for other troops.
 * However, it is not very interchangeable with a Giant, as the Giant Skeleton will attack any troop, not only buildings.
 * It is excellent for taking out large swarms of troops due to its death damage.
 * Fast troops like the Hog Rider can avoid the bomb before it blows.
 * The Giant Skeleton is also useful for taking out Crown Towers, as when the bomb explodes upon the Giant Skeleton's death, it will deal a lot of damage to the Tower.
 * It is imperative to eliminate troops that may attack the Giant Skeleton so that it can get the giant bomb to the enemy Crown Tower and deal immense damage.
 * The Giant Skeleton can be punishing to large amounts of weak troops because of its bomb. The Inferno Tower is an effective counter, as it can easily take down a Giant Skeleton without a large group of troops, and unnecessary usage of Elixir.
 * A strategy for the Giant Skeleton to reach the opponent's Crown Towers is to place it first, then placing a Hog Rider behind it. Because the Hog Rider targets buildings, he will push the Giant Skeleton very quickly towards the Crown Tower, allowing the Hog Rider to get free hits while the Giant Skeleton survives and absorbs damage.
 * You can devastate an enemy's Crown Tower by placing the Giant Skeleton with the Balloon so that the opponent is forced into trying to distract and kill both of them.
 * If you have taken out a crown tower, then you can place the Giant Skeleton on your opponent's side of the arena. He will march straight towards the other tower quickly, and if you know that your opponent has been ignoring the Giant Skeleton or has lost a tower because of him, use this to your advantage and plunder your foe.
 * The Rocket is very much similar to this card, as of its high damage and similar Elixir cost. An advantage is that the Rocket deals more damage. A disadvantage is that the Giant Skeleton can stop a troop physically, and also serve as an offensive/defensive troop, while if your enemy troops survive the Rocket, they may cause trouble. Therefore, a Giant Skeleton is recommended over a Rocket. However, a Rocket is very good for direct damage against Crown Towers if your opponent has invested so much on defense that you can't get a Giant Skeleton in.
 * The Giant Skeleton can completely stop a "push" due to its Death Damage and high hitpoints. This is also an okay way to counter a Prince, but it is only recommended to use it if it's accompanied by other troops, as against the Prince alone it's a negative elixir trade, and the Prince may charge away before the bomb can detonate.
 * A reliable if not very efficient way of countering (or at least delaying) a Giant Skeleton is to drop a Giant in front of your Crown Tower. The Giant will ignore the Giant Skeleton's meager dps and trundle onward, pushing the Giant Skeleton (and more importantly, its bomb) away from your Crown Tower.
 * Barbarians are effective counters to the Giant Skeleton as they deal a fair bit of damage, come in packs of four and have higher hitpoints compared to other "horde" troops. However, to prevent the Barbarians from being destroyed by the Giant Skeleton's death damage, always place them behind it so that they have enough time to run away before being blown up.
 * Minions and the Minion Horde are also a good counter to the Giant Skeleton in that they are usually able fly fast enough to avoid the death damage and also would not be damaged by the Giant Skeleton's normal attack. The downside is that the Giant Skeleton would not be distracted by them and therefore, would continue walking towards your Crown Tower and deal massive damage towards it when it dies.
 * Putting a Dark Prince behind the giant skeleton has many benefits as the Dark Prince pushes the Giant Skeleton with its speed, kills any swarms trying to kill the skeleton, and it has a shield so when the Giant Skeleton dies, the dark prince along with the enemy troops will stay near the bomb.
 * When the Giant Skeleton is targeted by the tower, you can place a Miner at the back of the tower so that they will have to choose to deal with either one.
 * The Giant Skeleton is an effective counter to a sparky, even if it has back up. The Giant Skeleton will survive one shot, and deal some damage to the Sparky, while the back-up wipes out the Giant Skeleton, the Sparky will be left with hitpoints enough for the former's bomb to kill. The back-up will most likely be wiped out as well.

Trivia

 * On 2/2/16, the February Update added the Death Damage on the Giant Skeleton's card info screen.
 * On 29/2/16, the March Update increased the Giant Skeleton's Hitpoints by 11% and bomb timer to 3 sec (from 1 sec).
 * On 4/7/16, the Tournaments Update increased the Giant Skeleton's damage by 20%.
 * The Giant Skeleton is one of the 9 cards associated with Skeletons.
 * According to one of Clash Royale's Loading Screen Hints, the Giant Skeleton "carelessly" drops his bomb upon death.
 * The Death Damage of the Giant Skeleton is several times more powerful than that of the Balloon. However, the Balloon's normal attacks are nearly as strong as the Giant Skeleton's Death Damage.
 * The bomb and barrel of the Giant Skeleton appear to be taken from a Giant Bomb trap from Clash of Clans.
 * The Giant Skeleton sports an ushanka (a Russian fur cap) on its head.
 * He also appears to have an underbite.
 * The Guards share the same trait as the Giant Skeleton.
 * On App Store photo prewiew, Giant Skeleton costs 7 Elixir rather than 6.

Squelette géantRiesenskelettГигантский скелетScheletro gigante