Bomber

"Small, lightly protected skeleton that throws bombs. Deals damage that can wipe out a swarm of enemies."

Summary

 * The Bomber is unlocked from the Training Camp (Tutorial).
 * It is an area damage, medium-ranged troop with low hitpoints and moderate damage.
 * A Bomber card costs 3 Elixir to deploy.
 * The Bomber is a skeleton that carries a black bomb and wears a cap with golden-rimmed pilots' goggles.

Strategy

 * The Bomber is best used as a defensive troop, being able to take out Skeletons, Skeleton Army, Goblins, Spear Goblins, and Archers more effectively than most other cards.
 * Even though it has low hitpoints, it is able to survive Arrows of a similar level. Therefore, using any spell that is more expensive is a waste of Elixir, as wasting a Fireball or Lightning to damage a Bomber results in an Elixir advantage for the opposition, except if you manage to hit something else with the spell such as an Princess Tower with the Bomber. The player must use either air troops, high damage or high hitpoint troops.
 * However, a lone Bomber can be killed with a Zap alongside the help of a Princess Tower without doing any damage. Hold the Zap ready, and when the Bomber is within range of the Arena Tower, Zap it. The Arena Tower's damage along with the Zap's 0.5-second stun time will deny the Bomber from dealing any damage.
 * This technique is also effective with The Log, but the role of the stun is replaced by a push back.
 * For just three Elixir, the Bomber deals solid damage per level and is one of the cheapest counters to Barbarians due to his range. In fact, it takes a Bomber only three throws to kill same level Barbarians, and a Bomber two levels higher only requires two attacks.
 * Fire Spirits can counter Barbarians, but usually, the Barbarians will survive with a small amount of health.
 * Barbarians take multiple hits for the Bomber to eliminate, so when engaging them with the Bomber, make sure to provide protection like a Knight or a Giant.
 * The Bomber can counter other melee ground swarms with even greater ease, e.g. a Skeleton Army.
 * If a Bomber is on his own and he needs to be taken care of, the player can perform a quick-drop to dispose of him with Guards and Goblins. To do a quick drop, the player must select the Skeletons card and drag them where they want them to go without releasing their finger. Then, they must select the Goblins card by tapping it. Finally, they should drop the Skeletons first, then the Goblins. The Bomber will kill the Skeletons and the Goblins will take him out. Note that it is possible to perform a quick-drop with any two units while following this formula.
 * The Bomber cannot attack air units, making it vulnerable against Minions and flying troops. However, when using the Bomber the player can place protective troops such as the Giant or the Baby Dragon.
 * As a very light troop, the Bomber can be practically pushed by almost any other troop in the game. In particular, Spear Goblins can push the Bomber at their pace. Together they can engage targets within their comfortable range, making for a quick ranged point-target and splash damage backup for your other troops across the river, or even a quick and small Princess Tower push.
 * The Bomber can also be used to take out moderate hitpoint troops such as Mini P.E.K.K.A. if deployed correctly.
 * If protected by an Ice Golem, the Bomber can also take care of mini tanks like Elite Barbarians, the Knight, the Mini P.E.K.K.A., the Bandit, and others due to his high damage per hit.
 * The Bomber is interchangeable with Wizard, based on the player's taste and tactics.
 * The Bomber has a bigger splash radius than the Wizard, making him a more suitable choice to destroy hordes of ground troops. However, he cannot attack air troops and has fewer hitpoints.
 * The Bomber is also better in desperate situations where the player's Elixir is low, as he only costs 3 Elixir, as opposed to the 5 Elixir Wizard.
 * The Bomber pairs well with Giant Skeleton, as it can take out swarms like Skeleton Army, or small troops that try to distract the Giant Skeleton like Spear Goblins or Goblins. However, the Bomber can't attack air troops like Minions so back it up with Wizard or Baby Dragon.
 * A good counter for the Bomber is the Bandit. The Bandit will dash towards the Bomber escaping his bomb.

History

 * The Bomber was released with Clash Royale's soft launch on 4/1/16.
 * On 2/2/16, the February 2016 Update increased the Bomber's hit speed to 1.9 sec (from 2 sec).
 * On 3/5/16, the May 2016 Update fixed the "range bug" and decreased the Bomber's range to 4.5 (from 5) but its effective range is unchanged.
 * On 18/5/16, a Balance Update increased the Bomber's damage by 10%.
 * On 4/7/16, the Tournaments Update increased the Bomber's damage by 9%.
 * On 19/9/16, a Balance Update decreased the Bomber's hitpoints by 2% and increased its damage by 2%. This resolved a minor issue where Goblins couldn't kill an equal level Bomber in 3 hits at some levels, e.g. Level 7.
 * On 15/12/16, a Balance Update increased the Bomber's damage by 4%. This lets the Bomber one shot equally leveled Archers.

Trivia

 * It is one of the 11 cards associated with Skeletons, including the Skeletons, Skeleton Army, Witch, Tombstone, Bomb Tower, Giant Skeleton, Balloon, Skeleton Barrel, Guards, and Graveyard.
 * One of the loading screen hints states, "One day, Wall Breakers realized that they could do a lot more damage if they THREW the bomb rather than sat beside it. Imagine that..." This is an allusion to Clash of Clans, as Wall Breakers sacrifice themselves to destroy walls, while Bombers throw explosives from a distance, out of harm. Also, the bomb he carries is similar to the Wall Breaker's bomb.
 * The Bomber is tied with the Sparky for the shortest ranged ground troop with a 4.5 tile range. They are also the only ranged troops in the game that cannot target air.

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