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).
 * He is a single-target, melee troop with high hitpoints and moderate damage that deals very high death damage when defeated.
 * A Giant Skeleton card costs 6 Elixir to deploy.
 * He 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. This makes it a good card to use as a buffer for spawner buildings, as any card that takes out the Giant Skeleton will be taken out by its bomb afterwards while the spawner cooks up troops. They will continue unopposed to the Crown Tower. 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, completely wrecking pushes. The Giant Skeleton is very effective as a distraction card, as most cards that your opponent deploys to counter it (i.e. Barbarians, Musketeer, Valkyrie) will be taken out by the death damage for a positive Elixir trade if more than one card is on the battlefield.
 * Fast troops like the Hog Rider and the Elite Barbarians can avoid the bomb before it blows.
 * Troops that survive the bomb and are affected by pushback will quickly be launched towards their next target, providing a type of "quickstrike" to compensate for the immense damage taken. For example, a Valkyrie that survives the bomb will quickly be pushed towards her next target, although she will probably only get one hit off.
 * If you are stopping a push with fast troops such as Lumberjack and Elite Barbarians, you can use the Tornado spell to pull them and any other support troops to the bomb.
 * The Giant Skeleton is perhaps the best counter to Sparky combos, i.e Sparky + Wizard. The ideal time and place to put him are after the two cross the bridge. Place the Giant Skeleton in between the two troops. It is crucial here that he hits the Sparky so that his bomb can fully destroy the Sparky and the Wizard.
 * 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.
 * Using Clone when the Giant Skeleton reaches the tower will double the Death Damage. This can also be good for defense, as it will stop all troops but tanks now but make sure you get a good elixir trade because it does cost 9 Elixir.
 * 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.
 * Putting a Dark Prince behind the Giant Skeleton has many benefits as the Dark Prince 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.
 * If the player is trying to rush the Giant Skeleton to the Crown Tower, Fire Spirits are recommended, as any swarm that will counter the Giant Skeleton can be devastated or even destroyed. (They should place them on the road with the Giant Skeleton in the front and use Fire Spirit as a boost.) However, a mini-tank, like Ice Golem and then the Skeleton Army will make short work of this combo.
 * The Giant Skeleton is useful when placed in front of a Wizard to prevent the Giant Skeleton from getting destroyed by the Skeleton Army or other swarms. After the Wizard dies, place your Skeleton Army to counter the Prince or the P.E.K.K.A. when the Giant Skeleton dies. Carry on with this strategy but don't forget to place other troops. The Zap might destroy the army, so be careful with placement!
 * 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 be a secret weapon behind the Giant Skeleton, allowing the Hog Rider to get free hits while the Giant Skeleton survives and absorbs damage.
 * If a Mini P.E.K.K.A. is placed behind a Giant Skeleton it will deal heavy damage to the tower. The Giant Skeleton can blow up the tower and act as a tank while the Mini P.E.K.K.A. destroys. However, it is very weak to swarms so bring a spell.
 * The player 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. However, Minion Horde would destroy the combo, probably only taking one Balloon hit and death damage. This is why if you use it, you must use Witch/Wizard and Arrows to take the Minion Horde.
 * When the Giant Skeleton is targeted by the tower, the player can place a Miner at the back of the tower so that they will have to choose to deal with either one.
 * 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. If you don't want your Inferno Tower to die, then distract the Giant Skeleton with Skeletons.
 * Giant Skeletons are also well countered by swarms of troops like Barbarians, Minions, and the Minion Horde, or troops with good hitpoints and damage like the Knight or Mini P.E.K.K.A. However, Barbarians must always be placed behind the Giant Skeleton so that they have enough time to run away before being blown up. Minions can usually run away before the bomb blows up either way. Elite Barbarians or even Lumberjack are especially good as their high DPS means they will quickly dispose it and their very fast movement speed means they are able to avoid the bomb before it blows.
 * A reliable if not very efficient way of countering (or at least delaying) a Giant Skeleton is to drop a Giant in front of the Crown Tower. The Giant will ignore the Giant Skeleton's meager damage per second and trundle onward, luring the Giant Skeleton (and more importantly, its bomb) away from the Crown Tower. This strategy is called kiting and can be used with other troops.
 * Due to the numerous ways to dispose of the Giant Skeleton, it is unwise to send him alone unless the player knows for sure that the opponent is low on Elixir, or does not have an appropriate counter to the Giant Skeleton.
 * If the player has taken out a Crown Tower, then there is the option to place the Giant Skeleton on the opponent's side of the arena. He will march straight towards the other tower quickly, and if the opponent has been ignoring the Giant Skeleton or has lost a tower because of him, the player should use this to their advantage and plunder their opponent.
 * An effective strategy in lower arenas is a push consisting of a Giant Skeleton and a Witch because the Giant Skeleton tanks and the Witch takes out swarms which would've killed the Giant Skeleton if it was single.

History

 * The Giant Skeleton was added with Clash Royale's soft launch on 4/1/16.
 * On 2/2/16, the February 2016 Update added the Death Damage on the Giant Skeleton's card info screen.
 * On 29/2/16, the March 2016 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%.
 * On 1/11/16, the November 2016 Update changed the Giant Skeleton's sound effects. He now gives out an evil laugh upon deployment.
 * On 15/12/16, a Balance Update increased the Giant Skeleton's damage by 8%.

Trivia

 * The Giant Skeleton is one of the 12 cards associated with Skeletons, including the Skeletons, Bomber, Skeleton Army, Witch, Tombstone, Bomb Tower, Balloon, Skeleton Barrel, Guards, and Graveyard.
 * According to one of Clash Royale's Loading Screen Hints, the Giant Skeleton "carelessly" drops his bomb upon death.
 * The Giant Skeleton, the Balloon, the Golem and the Ice Golem are the only four troops in the game that deal Death Damage.
 * It is the only troop-targeting card that deals Death Damage.
 * 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. Nevertheless, both of their strongest attacks are just as slow as each other; 3 seconds.
 * 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. The color of the hat depends on what side the player is on. He also appears to have an underbite as his card picture shows. The Guards and Minions share the same trait as the Giant Skeleton.
 * He is currently the only tank to move at a medium speed, making him the fastest tank.
 * As of the November 2016 update, the Giant Skeleton makes a laughing sound when deployed, possibly a reference to the Clash Royale commercial, Giant Skeleton.
 * He is one of the eleven cards who are cheered for by the audience upon spawning and booed when killed, the others include Sparky, Electro Wizard, P.E.K.K.A., Giant, Night Witch, Bowler, Inferno Dragon, Golem, Lava Hound, and Royal Giant.

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