Archers

Archers
Elixir Cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Troop
Arena	Training Camp
Release Date	4 January 2016

“A pair of lightly armored ranged attackers. They'll help you take down ground and air units, but you're on your own with hair coloring advice.”

The Archers card is unlocked from the Training Camp (Tutorial). It spawns two single-target, medium-ranged Archers with both low hitpoints and low damage output. An Archers card costs 3 Elixir to deploy. They wield bows, bear capes of their team's color, and wear emerald green tunics.

Strategy

• Archers are strong support units. This is because they have good crowd control, damage potential, and survivability for 3 Elixir since they will not be defeated by The Log at Tournament Standard levels.
• They can be used effectively to counter low hitpoint troops like Minions, Spear Goblins, and Goblins. Although Archers are not splash troops, they are an effective counter to an unsupported Skeleton Army or Graveyard if paired with their respective Crown Tower at a safe distance. Their decent damage and fast attack speed plus the Crown Tower's damage and attack speed easily cut down the Skeletons without letting any of them damage either the Crown Tower or the Archers.
• The Archers are very effective against swarms and squishy targets such as Minions and Skeleton Army. With the assistance of a Princess Tower, they are also capable of taking out mini-tanks and glass cannons such as the Knight and Musketeer. However, they will be swiftly taken out by splash units, most noticeably the Executioner, Wizard and Bomber, so it is advised to have another troop tank for your Archers.
• Since Archers spawn in pairs, you can easily split them by placing them in the middle of the Arena. This is a strong starting move, allowing you to defend both lanes or start a push in one. This technique can also be used in a risky way to counter units that deal splash damage. Splitting Archers at the right time will space them out enough so that they aren't both caught in the splash but are close enough to both attack the enemy unit. If the timing is even a little bit off, both might get caught in the splash or one Archer might walk away. This technique also works with close range troops, such as the Mini P.E.K.K.A., Valkyrie and Mega Minion.
• They are similar to Spear Goblins since both are cheap ranged troops, but Archers have slightly better stats in every way except for speed, quantity and Elixir cost. Due to the Archers' health and damage, they are better suited for defense than Spear Goblins. For example, Archers can survive one hit from the Baby Dragon, which allows them to retaliate.

History

• The Archers card was released with Clash Royale's soft launch on 4/1/16.
• On 23/3/16, a Balance Update made their initial attack quicker (like Spear Goblins).
• On 3/5/16, the May 2016 Update fixed the "range bug" and decreased the Archers' range to 5 (from 5.5) but their effective range is unchanged.
• On 24/8/16, a Balance Update increased the Archers' damage by 2%. Before this update, level 9 or level 13 Archers used to take 3 shots to kill an equal level Goblin instead of 2 when they are at the same level.
• On 19/9/16, the September 2016 Update changed the description slightly. It used to say: "A pair of unarmored ranged attackers. They'll help you with ground and air unit attacks, but you're on your own with coloring your hair." Currently, all troops that are described as "unarmored" can be one-shot by Arrows of equal level, but the "lightly armored" Archers will have a little health left.
• On 23/1/17, a Balance Update decreased the Archers' hitpoints by 4%.
• On 3/12/18, a Balance Update increased the Archers’ damage by 2.5%, but also decreased their hitpoints by 1%.
• On 2/6/2020, a Balance Update gave the Archers a new 0.1 second deploy stagger from each other.

Trivia

• The Archers sport an unusual magenta-colored haircut which is mentioned as a joke in the card's description.
• A level 13 Archer can survive a hit from a level 3 Mini P.E.K.K.A.
• It is one of the four cards that come in pairs, the others being the Elite Barbarians, Wall Breakers and Skeleton Dragons

Statistics

Cost	Hit Speed	Speed	Deploy Time	Range	Target	Count	Transport	Type	Rarity
3	1.2 sec	Medium (60)	1 sec	5	Air & Ground	x2	Ground	Troop	Common

Level	Hitpoints	Damage	Damage per second
1	119	42	35
2	130	46	38
3	143	50	42
4	158	55	46
5	173	61	51
6	190	67	56
7	209	73	61
8	229	81	67
9	252	89	74
10	279	97	80
11	304	107	89
12	334	118	98
13	367	129	108