User blog:Bane of Potato/Sparky Double-Lane Push

Introduction
Hello people of the internet, my name's Bane of Potato and today I will attempt to make a deck suggestion. This deck is original and of my own creation. Any similarities to other decks online are purely coincidental. Please don't accuse me of plaguarism  :(

Sparky
Although more than capable at destroying towers, that isn't her main role here. Her role is to slay tanks and act as a pshcological weapon. She forces the opponent to spend elixir to defend and puts pressure on them. She should be used in conjuntion with Valkyrie. When shutting down pushes, clump the enemy troops together with tornado to maximise Sparky's area damage.

Valkyrie
She is your main tank and defense against swarms. She pairs nicely with Sparky and Elite Barbarians as she clears the way to the crown towers. You should avoid using her to tank Archers or Skeleton Army unless you're defending.

Elite Barbarians
Possibly the most unforgiving card in the game right now. For the opponent that is. On their own they can be used to rush the enemy tower. Place Ice golemn in front and ready the zap for pretty muc everything else. If they place a tank to deistract, try and pull it behind the tower so the Elite Barbarians focus on the tower instead.

Archers
Archers are amazing at defense and support. They can nullify Barbarians, Miners, Skeleton Army, air troops and even Prince if placed correctly. Pair them with Ice Golem/Zap or Valkyrie to take out larger pushes. But be cautious, Archers are your only lasting air-defence.

Ice Golem
Excellent value for just 2 elixer. He can kite troops and lure them to the other lane and is quite durable. Even when he dies he's useful, slowing nearby foes, killing Skeletons and crippling Minions. He should be used to tank for Skeleton Army, Archers or Elite Barbarians. He should not be the main tank for Sparky, rather a complimentary sacrifice to Minions (zap them and let ice golem bring about his revenge!).

Skeleton Army
For only 3 elixir, they can do amazing things. They can take out Bowler, Witch (unless the witch can 1-shot your skeletons), Wizard and Barbarians for instance. How? They either have point or directional splash damage. This means that troops will never attack fast enough to take out the skeletons before they get taken out. It also means that even though Bowlers (continual damage but same thing 'innit?), Witches and Wizards do splash, they can only splash left or right, not the everywhere, which is why sending Skeleton Army against Bomber (can throw it at his feet) or Valkyrie is just dumb. They also act as a zap magnet. Send Elite Barbarians with the survivors of the army to achieve a mutual meat-shield. Skeletons survive or the Elite Barbarian survive.

Zap
2 elixir, instant effect and stuns. Amazing at saving your Elite Barbarins from your oponents Skeleton army and a great counter to Inferno Towers. A simple must have.

Tornado
Tornado is a fun card that offers so much but it never received the love it deserves. It can be used to activate your King tower early, lane switch units, move units out the way and offer 3 seconds of area denial. It can greatly increase the effectiveness of Sparky, Elite Barbarians, Skeleton Army and Archers.

Start of Match
At the start of the match, depending on the cards in your hand, you can have a choice of 4. If you chose 4, wait for them to make their move and respond accordingly.
 * 1) Do a double lane push. Place Sparky behind your King Tower. When she's 1 tile away from the bridge, place Valkyrie in front. Place Elite Barbarians on the opposite lane
 * 2) Draw one of the following troops towards your King Tower: Miner, Hog Rider, Ice Golem, Elite Barbarians, Goblins
 * 3) Rush the opponent with Ice Golem and Elite Barbarians when you reach 8 elixer.
 * 4) Split your Archers and play the waiting game.
 * If they place a support troop at the back, place Sparky on the same lane and ready your Tornado/Skeleton Army/ Elite Barbarians to counter on the other lane. Then tank the Sparky with Ice Golem and support with Archers or hover Zap over Ice Golem. Unless you used Tornado, You should have a mini counter push an the other side.
 * If they rush you with Elite Barbarians, counter with Tornado/Ice Golem and Valk. If They rush you with Hog Rider, use Tornado or play an off-set Skeleton Army (and hope they don't zap it all anyway).

Main Counters to this Deck and How to Deal with Them

 * Giant Skeleton: This is the easiest to counter. If they play a sacrificial Giant Skeleton right on top of your Sparky, Tornado it towards their tower. The Giant  Skeleton will have tanked a blast and be weakened. The tank in front of Sparky should finish it off or distract. Then Sparky rolls over and blasts the tower. If he plants the Giant Skeleton in front of your Elite Barbarian push, it's even easier! Just Tornado it behind the tower and shred their tower as they won't expect it the first time.
 * Barbarians: They are an excellent counter to Sparky if They surround you with them. The first time you probably won't be able to react but the second time is the time to have vengeance. They will place the Barbarians feeling all smug but you will Tornado them away. The Barbarians will each get a hit off but the Tornado will drag them away and make them retarget the tank in front. The Barbarians won't attack the Sparky for at least 2.5 seconds and in that time, Sparky should blast them to smithereens and save the tanks butt. If they are repeatedly countering your Elite Barbarians with them then consider placing Valk in front or using Skeleton Army as a Trojan Horse.
 * All thing Minion: The first time you will fall prey to them. The second time you will either Ice Golem Zap them or play Zap and Archers.
 * Lavahound: The absolute bane of this deck. You have 2 options when your againt a Lavahound deck. Use Archers against the Lavahound and pray they don't have fireball while kiting the Mega Minion, Baby Dragon and other Minions with Ice Golem, lane switch them and lure them back to their side with Elite Barbarians or Tornado the Lavahound to the King tower and use Archers, Ice Golem and Zap to take out the rest. Either way it's a lot of ouch. Or you could just rush the other side with Elite Barabarians.
 * Chip Decks: Give up all hope of using Sparky. Too many Goblin Barrels, Miners, Spear Goblins, and all the rest of it. Focus on doing the double lane push stated in #1
 * Armour Mayhem: The Guards/Dark Prince will be a nuisance but your Valk will clear them up. However, Sparky will still blast them so you'll have to use Tornado to keep the other counters at bay.
 * Rushing that One side and generally being annoying: Typically, the moment you place Sparky for that unstoppable double lane push, they will rush you with Elite Barbarians, a Hog Rider or Miner combo. Fear not, Tornado the troops to the centre and let Sparky do the rest. For the Miner combo, use ice golem to distract.

Double Elixir
At this point in the match, this deck absolutely shines. You can get MASSIVE Sparky pushes and then rush the other lane simultaneously to pressure the opponent to a point where he makes that one mistake and your Sparky gets that final shot off, or the Elite Barbarians take out the other tower. But now is also the time where one mistake can have drastic consequences. If you decide to support Sparky with Skeleton Army or create a death ball your just asking to get zapped or fireballed. Always try to pressure both lanes at once to make sure that They can't make their perfect push. And remember not to rely on Sparky too much. She is there to destroy tanks and make them panic.

Royal Giant Alternative
Thank you for havnig the patience to read all the way to here. But we're not quite finished. In case you don't have some of the cards, I've got a list of things that can be substituted by so-and-so.

Royal Giant
Royal Giant will still provide the same pressure as Sparky but he will be more of a seige unit like the Elite Barbarians. The Royal Giant will also serve a more active roll in this deck.

Fireball
Due to the Royal Giant being in play, you may find that replacing Tornado with Fireball will prove more effective when defending the Royal Giant due to his idle nature towards troops. You will also be able to down damaged towers easier as Tornado does not effect buildings

Summary
To finish off this lenghty post, I will remind you of the basic Combos to win the game. Cards are in order of placement
 * Ice Golem+ Elite Barbarians +Zap (rush)
 * Sparky+Valkyrie+Tornado/Zap (early game)
 * Sparky +Valkyrie+Archers+Elite Barbarians+Tornado/Zap (double Elixir)
 * Sparky+Skeleton Army (tank slayer) (if Their zap is in rotation)
 * Sparky+Tornado (tank slayer) (if Their zap is out of rotation)
 * Skeleton Army+EliteBarbarians (counter push)
 * Archers+Ice Golem (miner minion counter)
 * Ice Golem+Tornado+Zap (miner minion horde counter) (king activation)
 * Archers+Ice Golem+Valkyrie (barbarian/elitebarbarian push counter)