3.0 Miner Poison

Introduction

3.0 Miner Poison is a classic deck that has been viable in most metas... well, not the most recent ones. It primarily achieves damage through gradual chipping with the Miner and Poison, or counterpushes with Electro Wizard and Valkyrie. Many matches with this deck run deep into overtime, but this is one of the best decks to learn the fundamentals of the game. There are also some substitutions that make this deck more F2P friendly.

The nerfs to Miner's Crown Tower damage and the Crown Tower damage of spells hurt the deck a lot. The deck's burst damage was already fairly weak before, but now you will have to send one or two more rounds of attacks that you had to before. Therefore, it's a lot harder to effectively clutch out games. Hopefully, this doesn't discourage you from trying out this deck, and substitutions can always be made to up the attack power.

Deck Information[]

Deck Created by: AesDragon

Minimum Recommended King Level: 8

Maximum Recommended King Level: 13

Arena Required: Electro Valley (Wrong?)

Average Elixir Cost: 3 (Wrong?)

More Statistics: Go to Deck Builder

Card Roles[]

Miner: Your primary win condition. He's a fairly low commitment card that can be placed anywhere on the map. Usually, you'll be playing him around a Crown Tower, mixing up your placements to slowly deal chip damage throughout the game and (hopefully) win the battle of attrition. A lone Miner is not particularly threatening, especially versus a heavy beatdown deck, since he'll only deal around 500 tower damage for 3 Elixir, so if you do use him as a punish play, pair him with something else more threatening (more on that later).

Poison: Your medium/heavy spell and win condition support. Similar to the Fireball, this spell is preferred for its area denial against swarms, one of the most common and effective counters to the Miner. You'll want to wait until Double Elixir Time to start comboing it with the Miner, placing it on top of the Miner just as it appears on the tower. Besides that, don't be hesistant to use it to deal chip damage to the tower while clipping "fireballies" such as Musketeer and Wizard, or spawner buildings.

The Log: Your light spell and a defensive utility card. This card provides area denial similar to the Poison and deals valuable chip damage for only 2 Elixir. Additionally, it has a knockback effect which is very useful on both offense and defense. Your main use of this card is to chip the tower, take out enemy swarms, and as a stall on defense to cycle to other cards.

Ice Spirit: Another defensive utility card. This spirit's main role is as a cheap defensive cycle card card, freezing one or more units for a split second and allowing you to articulate a better counter to enemy pushes. It's got enough health to survive a Musketeer shot before dying, so it's not as frail as one may think for its 1 Elixir cost. Besides defense, it can be placed alone at the bridge to get some chip damage.

Skeletons: Yet another defensive utility card. Another cheap Common troop that provides a lot of utility, mainly on defense. It spawns three Skeletons that deal almost 200 DPS, which is quite the deal considering how non-commital they are. Like the Ice Spirit, you'll want to be familiar with minute interactions like kiting air troops placed near the center of the arena by splitting them in order to get the most value out of them. Similar to the Ice Spirit, merely cycling these can provide value as they are only 1 Elixir.

Valkyrie: A much sturdier defensive card that can give some attacking value as well. She's basically a Knight that splashes and costs a bit more. Her splash makes her more useful to be planted in the middle of brawls to get the most defensive value. She can handle fireballies on your side fairly well and can chop away at grounded swarms. She's quite tanky too, so she can soak up a bit of damage before disintegrating into elixir. You'll mainly use her to deal with more threatening pushes and support cards, and also as a pressure card when your Miner isn't enough or is out of cycle.

Electro Wizard: A glass cannon, and one of your primary defensive and counterpushing cards. He's like a faster Musketeer with less range but a unique stun attack that can split onto multiple units at the cost of halving its damage. He also has a spawn attack identical to a Zap spell, which is useful against almost anything, specifically air cards. You'll generally want to play him reactively, as he is a 4 Elixir commitment; one of the more expensive cards in the deck. He's adequate on offense should there be a card tanking for him.

Inferno Tower: Your #1 tool for dismantling the biggest pushes out there. For 5 elixir, this Rare building card burns away at cards with increasing damage over time. After four seconds of its continuous attack is when it is at it's deadliest, dealing close to 2000 DPS and melting any tank nearly instantly. As unstoppable as this may seem, its slow retargeting speed makes it very vulnerable to swarms, and it's crippled even more by stun cards. Try to bait out these counters out of the opponent so they won't be able to support their push with them.

Starting Hand Plays[]

Skeletons played behind the King Tower
Ice Spirit played behind the King Tower or at the bridge
The Log played at the bridge

If your opponent really isn't doing anything, you can play a Miner towards their tower, though I personally recommend saving it and seeing which lane they attack in.

General Tips[]

Do your best to avoid a King Tower activation from Tornado. The additional damage on defense will hurt your future pushes and restrict your Miner placements should you try to avoid the King's damage. In most cases, you're trying to avoid a King Tower activation for as long as reasonably possible rather than at all costs. This means that, you can purposefully send a Miner in an unsafe spot knowing they have Tornado, but also having supporting troops backing it up so that they can't just get the activation for free. Ideally, you'll get enough damage from your supporting troops so that the King Tower activation was of little benefit.
Try not to invest Valkyrie as she is much more valuable on a reactive defense. If you must, play her in front of your King Tower, so she can potentially block for an X-Bow, or provide a more immediate threat.
If they have a heavy spell for your E-Wiz, stop playing him in the back, as they will get spell value on your tower. If you must, then invest in the lane where your tower has more HP.
Try and bait out mini-tanks from your opponent, as these are even harder counters to the Miner than swarms are. You can try doing this with a counterattacking Valkyrie, as she splashes and has a lot of hitpoints.

General Game Plan[]

Early Game (3:00 - 1:01)[]

If you have Miner in your starting hand, try to see what they have first. If you play Miner first and they pump up soon afterward, that's a lot of wasted value. If their cards lean towards a lower cost deck, or they don't seem to have Tornado, it's safe to Miner.
Play passively and don't leak Elixir. Invested units can often gain value from an opponent attacking the same lane.
If you gain an Elixir advantage, don't be afraid to send a lone Miner to their Princess Tower. Your other cards are versatile enough to recover from a 1 or 2 Elixir deficit.
Save your Inferno Tower until you figure out their deck archetype. Using it on a mini-tank may be a waste when you could counter it with other units, and it will be difficult to cycle to it in Single Elixir Time should you need it right after using it.

Make small counterattacks with E-Wiz and Miner when the opportunity arises. However, don't play E-Wiz then Miner right after unless it is as a punishment. Get defensive value first.
Play Poison with Miner if you can clip more than one spell vulnerable unit. Do not pre-Poison yet; overcommitting this early can and often will cost you the game.

Mid Game (1:00 - 0:01)[]

Switch to an aggressive playstyle. Knowing your opponent's cards and counters to Miner, begin preplanting Poison in the expected position of their counter right after you send in your Miner.
- If they counter with a mini tank, it may not be a good idea to Poison; you have to gauge the situation based on the remaining health of the opponent's Princess Tower, the time remaining until Overtime, other counters to your Miner, and their deck's punish potential.
Begin making more aggressive counter attacks with your leftover defending units. Protect them with Miner.
Be careful not to overcommit with Miner and Poison. You should have an Inferno Tower in hand at all times if you are facing a beatdown or Hog deck, and generally should not be below 3 Elixir.
You can cycle much faster with the 2x Elixir bonus. Your cheapest cycle is 7 Elixir (but most of the time, you will be cycling to a Miner, so your cycle is closer to 8), so don't be afraid to invest some of those cheaper units to get to a desired card.
If your opponent begins building a large push in the back, pressure the weaker tower harder. If the weaker tower is in the opposite lane, this can force them to split their supporting troops from their tank, making them individually easier to deal with. If the weaker tower is in the same lane, this can cause their supporting units to move in front of their win condition, also making them easier to deal with.
- You can invest an Inferno Tower instead or as well, as you are bound to have it back in cycle by the time their big push reaches the bridge. It may also bait out a spell, which can open up your E-Wiz, or vice versa.
Valkyrie is very good at separating grounded support troops from a win condition (i.e Wizard behind Golem), so save her for those large pushes.

Overtime/Triple Elixir[]

Continue playing like you did in Late Game. You can afford to be hyper aggressive as you'll be able to cycle even more quickly, and possible make them overcommit troops on defense, letting you get a value Poison.
Poisoning troops near their weaker tower may be beneficial even if it is a negative trade.
- Depending on the matchup, saving it for defense might be better to clip all of the support troops in an enemy push.
You're not really trying to get their tower to 0 HP, and more trying to maintain the damage advantage with your fast cycle, spells, and Miner pushes to spread your opponent's troops thin, weakening their overall offense until the tiebreaker.

Deck Substitutions[]

Miner - Cannot be substituted without changing the core of the deck. The closest thing to it is possibly Hog Rider, but your dynamic is different due to the Hog being more threatening to your opponent and easier to distract.

Poison - Can possibly be substituted for Fireball. Fireball has a smaller radius, does less damage, and does not deny swarms aside from the initial hit, but its immediate damage and knockback can let your Miner get an extra hit or help you to secure the game more safely.

The Log - Can be substituted for Giant Snowball, Zap, or the Royal Delivery. Giant Snowball knocks back all but the heaviest units, has a slow effect, a wider radius, and hits air units at the cost of damage and prolonged area denial. Zap can hit air units and reset charge attacks. Both spells kill Bats and drop Minions low enough to be one-shotted by an Ice Spirit or E-Wiz. This is useful for the typical distraction units sent to your Inferno. Royal Delivery is exclusively a defense card, but it's pretty good at what it does. The shield on the Recruit lets it sack super strong hits, and it has a large radius and decent damage to boot.

Ice Spirit - Can be substituted for Fire Spirits. Fire Spirits can take out a Minion Horde or a Goblin Gang, can distract most units just as well, and can chip the tower, but they are more expensive, frailer, and can be countered for a neutral trade by the cheap spells.

Skeletons - Can be substituted for Goblins, Spear Goblins, or Bats. Goblins are bulkier and deal more damage. Spear Goblins are grounded units that can target air. Bats are a higher DPS anti-air but cannot kite or tank ground units. All are more expensive than Skeletons.

Valkyrie - Can be substituted for Knight, but it's fairly deck dependent. The higher DPS, higher health, and splash of the Valkyrie for just one extra Elixir is preferable to Knight in this deck as it's better in a standalone defense, and can allow you to save more Elixir for offense. Knight is easier to level up, though, and if you want that super fast cycle, it may be better suited to your play style. Bandit is another alternative that is stronger in different ways but is less F2P friendly.

E-Wiz - Can be substituted for Musketeer; it's really the only other option. Dart Goblin is too frail, and the other Wizards don't provide enough DPS for their cost (Ice Wizard only slows, Wizard is too costly). Musketeer has the benefit of more range and DPS at the cost of stun and a spawn attack. Musketeer is also easier to level up for ladder.

Inferno Tower - Can be substituted for Tesla or Bomb Tower. Tesla is cheaper, a Common card, and isn't as easily distracted by Bats or Minions. However, it's not as spell proof and doesn't have that massive DPS that Inferno Tower can rack up. Bomb Tower has a shorter lifetime, but it's not distracted by air cards and deals splash damage which can be better versus frail support troops. It also has a death bomb which can deal damage similar to a Royal Delivery. Aside from these two, no other building does the job quite as well. Inferno Dragon may initially seem like another substitute, but in Miner Poison, the pull of the building and overall stronger defense make it more appealing than a potential counterpush or chip attack, since Miner Poison already has lots of options in those categories.

Offensive Synergies[]

Miner + Poison[]

Of course, the name of the deck names a synergy here. Miner chips at the tower while Poison takes care of swarms. It's also not entirely a bad idea to clip fireballies in the radius if you can, but most of the time they will not be completely killed off by the toxic fumes and must be finished off with a small spell if they are supported with a tank. Poison is best played with Miner preemptively in double Elixir, where you can make more riskier plays and can deny swarms as soon as they spawn. Otherwise, swarms around the Miner will deal heavy damage to it even before the Poison kills them, though this is still not a bad trade. For example, a delayed Poison on a Skeleton Army will still chip the tower for 200 damage. That's a -1 Elixir trade, but 200 damage for one Elixir is not a bad trade.

Miner + E-Wiz[]

This combo should only be used in one of two situations; one, your E-Wiz is leftover from a defense, as otherwise that is an 8 Elixir combo (after defense, your E-Wiz has already gained value), or two, as a punish against a Golem or P.E.K.K.A in the back. Whether or not the E-Wiz is healthy doesn't really matter, because with a Miner tanking, they are forced to address the E-Wiz lest they take heavy damage. Additionally, the stun will redirect the tower to the Miner anyway, as long as the E-Wiz can survive a few shots. For the record though, more health is always a plus. Play the Miner one or two tiles before the E-Wiz crosses the bridge, or else you risk the E-Wiz getting hit first and nullifying damage distribution. If they use swarms to counter your E-Wiz, you can use The Log or Poison to kill them and protect your Miner. If they go for your Miner first, your E-Wiz will probably deal more damage that it would have anyways. so it's a decent combo.

Miner + Ice Spirit[]

This combo probably won't be used often for two reasons. One, Ice Spirit is much better on defense. Two, it's not as effective if your Ice Spirit is one or more levels lower than the tower. If the latter is the case, you must play Miner first to avoid evaporating one Elixir. If it isn't though, the Ice Spirit can tank a few hits for the Miner, and this combo is a bit better. Since the Ice Spirit moves "Very Fast", you must play Miner earlier than you would for E-Wiz. Optimally, your Miner would pop up the instant the tower begins locking onto the Ice Spirit, so you can get the most damage. The Ice Spirit tanks two shots from the tower, then freezes the tower for one second, allowing your Miner to get an extra 200 or so damage on the tower, plus the area damage from the Ice Spirit. For one extra Elixir, this is not a bad deal.

Defensive Synergies[]

E-Wiz + Skeletons/Ice Spirit[]

The Skeletons tank for the E-Wiz while he deals a steady slow with his stun attack. This combo works best against single-targeting units with medium to slow attack speeds, like Prince or Mini P.E.K.K.A. This can also work against the Mega Knight if you surround it with Skeletons, though this is a bit more difficult. Ice Spirit is very similar, except slightly less effective on ground units and more effective on air. There's only one Ice Spirit, but it can jump onto enemies and freeze them. Against air swarms, it can drop Minions into one-shot range and one-shot Bats. Against the Baby Dragon, it can tank a shot and freeze it as well.

Inferno Tower + Skeletons/Ice Spirit[]

Very similar to the E-Wiz synergy. Both tank and distract units so the Inferno Tower can keep burning away. Skeletons are more effective against single targeting troops like P.E.K.K.A, while the Ice Spirit can be more helpful against the swarms often used to distract the Inferno.

Valkyrie + Inferno Tower[]

A fairly simple combo. Valkyrie splashes support troops, and Inferno melts the tank. Try to bait out a spell beforehand so the Inferno doesn't die as fast. Also consider using a Poison on the support, as the Valkyrie may get shredded quickly depending on the size of the push.