Elite Barbarians

"Spawns a pair of leveled up Barbarians. They're like regular Barbarians, only harder, better, faster and stronger."

The Elite Barbarians are unlocked from the Royal Arena (Arena 7). It spawns two single-target, melee, stronger, faster Barbarians with high hitpoints and very high damage. An Elite Barbarians card costs 6 Elixir to deploy.

Strategy

 * Since they spawn in pairs, they are useful for split pushing, with one Elite Barbarian down each lane.
 * Compared to the regular Barbarians, they have higher stats and many more offensive capabilities. However, they only come in 1 pair, while the Barbarians come in 2 pairs. Therefore, they do less overall damage than regular Barbarians and are less effective at defence due to their lower numbers. However, Elite Barbarians are less susceptible to splash damage (Fireball, Zap, Ice and Fire Spirits) due to their individual hitpoints being higher. The Elite Barbarians are also unlocked in a higher arena (Royal Arena), which means that the Barbarians are much easier to obtain. They cost 1 more Elixir than the Barbarians.
 * Due to their very fast move speed, the Elite Barbarians can be paired with other very fast units like the Hog Rider. They can also be used to push slower troops like the Valkyrie, which is also an excellent synergy; the Valkyrie eliminates the swarms while the Elite Barbarians annihilate the tankier troops.
 * Casting Rage on Elite Barbarians can be a deadly combo because the Elite Barbarians will hit faster and run faster which can demolish a tower in seconds, though it can result in a large negative elixir trade if it is countered. Because of this, pairing the Elite Barbarians with the Lumberjack may be just as effective since the Lumberjack's fast hit speed will help the Elite Barbarians take care of small swarms, and when the Lumberjack dies, his Rage effect will make the Elite Barbarians far more dangerous. However, this combo is vulnerable to swarm cards and air troops, so bring a spell like Zap or Arrows.
 * If the opponent is low on Elixir or you know that the opponent's counter for the Elite Barbarians is out of rotation, you can rush a lane with Elite Barbarians. Their very fast move speed allows them to reach the Crown Tower very quickly and gives little time for the opponent to react. However, it is advised to have a damaging spell ready since swarms will make short work of the Elite Barbarians.
 * A high-risk, high reward move is to quickly send in Elite Barbarians at the start of a game as your opponent's counter card might not be in rotation and the Elite Barbarians will either deal extensive damage to the Crown Tower or put the opponent at an elixir disadvantage due to inadequate counters.
 * You can use a Rocket to completely destroy Elite Barbarians for a neutral Elixir trade. However, due to their very fast movement, coupled with the Rocket's slow travel time, it can be difficult and risky to use it successfully. Alternatively, you can use Lightning to cripple the Elite Barbarians and 1 supporting card.
 * Pulling the Elite Barbarians with a Tombstone is a great way at stopping the Elite Barbarians especially with the Skeletons that it spawns. If your opponent defends against your Elite Barbarians with a Tombstone, hover a Zap spell one tile below the Tombstone and cast it right as the Tombstone pops. The Elite Barbarians will waste no time on the Skeletons and they will proceed to the next target.
 * Although Elite Barbarians have very high damage per second their health is mediocre, so almost all swarms can counter it for a positive Elixir trade. An Ice Golem with any other high damage support card (e.g. Minions) can also easily take down the Elite Barbarians.
 * Splash units like the Bomber, Valkyrie and Dark Prince are amazing at countering Elite Barbarians when paired with Skeletons or Ice Spirit, diverting damage from your counter. The same can be said for powerful glass cannons like the Mini P.E.K.K.A and Lumberjack. Those small troops can be protected by Ice Golem, as well.
 * A less-conventional way of sweeping up Elite Barbarians is using the Giant Skeleton's bomb. The drawback of this is that you have to use small troops or Tornado to hold the Elite Barbarians in place while the bomb slowly ticks away.

History

 * The Elite Barbarians card was added to the game on 25/11/16.
 * On 15/12/16, a Balance Update increased the Elite Barbarians' hitpoints by 19%, damage by 14% and hit speed to 1.4 sec (from 1.5 sec).
 * On 23/1/17, a Balance Update decreased the Elite Barbarians' hitpoints by 4.4%, damage by 4% and hit speed to 1.5 sec (from 1.4 sec).
 * On 19/4/17, a Balance Update decreased the Elite Barbarians' hitpoints by 4%, and delay their initial attacks by 0.1 seconds.

Trivia

 * The Elite Barbarians resemble level 6 Barbarians in Clash of Clans.
 * It is tied with the Royal Giant as the most expensive common card. Coincidentally, both are found at Royal Arena.
 * It is one of the two cards that come in pairs, the other being the Archers.
 * The sound they make when they attack is like that of regular Barbarians but with a deeper pitch. If the Elite Barbarians are influenced by the Rage spell, they will make the exact sound as Barbarians.
 * The helmet that the Elite Barbarians wear may be a reference to the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Iron Helmet, which is one of the most iconic helmets in the game.
 * In Touchdown mode, they wear American football Helmets instead of their regular helmets.
 * Its description is a reference to Daft Punk's song, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".
 * It's one of the 4 cards associated with Barbarians, the others being the Barbarians, Battle Ram, and Barbarian Hut.

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