Goblin Giant Logbait

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Introduction

This deck is all about baiting your opponent's spells, defending a push, then counter-pushing with something tanking for your Goblin Barrel. I use this at 9000 trophies and have got to Ultimate Champion on Path of Legends multiple times with it, reaching #8130 in the world at one point. This deck has got me to 17 wins in a Global Tournament and even won my first Classic Challenge along with some others! Which is why I find it a very solid deck to use.

Deck Information

Deck Created by: Smurfman26

Minimum Recommended King Level: 13

Maximum Recommended King Level: 15

Arena Required: Royal Crypt (Wrong?)

Average Elixir Cost: 3.5 (Wrong?)

More Statistics: Go to Deck Builder

Card Roles

Goblin Giant: Serves as your primary win condition and will usually deal most of the damage during a match. Much more risky to play in some cases.

Goblin Barrel: Serves as your secondary win condition and the reason your opponents want to save their small spell. Can be deployed in different positions to make your opponents miss their spell and get chip damage.

Dart Goblin: Serves as your only real way of effectively attacking air troops. Can also be used to bait your opponent's spells.

Goblins: Serves as a cheap, strong, and reliable distraction for single targeting troops. Can also be used to bait your opponent's spells.

Mighty Miner: Serves as a rush card when your opponent is very low on elixir. Can be used on defense to take out large swarms and heavy tanks (even Golems) as long as no electricity is present.

Mini P.E.K.K.A.: Serves as a more reliable way of dealing with large tanks (especially Electro Giant). Can also be used as a rush attack or to stop a Hog or Ram Rider completely.

Fireball: Serves as your big spell for crippling or taking out certain medium health troops. Including Wizard, Zappies, Little Prince, Witch etc. Can also be used to weaken or completely take out confined pushes.

Giant Snowball: Serves as your small spell. Can be used for a variety of situations. Such as taking out swarms, completely stopping cards like Musketeer, and aiding your Goblin Giant or Goblin Barrel at reaching the Crown Towers.

Strategy

The strategy of this deck is pretty complex and difficult to master in most matchups, but extremely strong when mastered. So, if you just like placing Mega Knight or Elite Barbarians at the bridge, then this deck is not for you.

Disclaimer: This section is based on equal-level gameplay and without card evolutions. Even a one-level difference or an evolved form of a certain card can drastically change a couple of the core interactions, ratings, and strategies I have talked about for this deck. Especially in the advanced tech section and matchups. When it comes to taking out card evolutions or over-leveled cards, remember to try not to overcommit too much and take them out similar to how the regular form and/or level is handled. Play calmly and you're sure to do well. However, Tower Troops that differ from the default Tower Princess will be included in the ratings as they're more consistent than evolutions.

General Strategy: When the match starts, it's fine to go first with a Mighty Miner in the back (preferred as it immediately starts your three-card cycle), Goblins at the bridge (ideally 1 tile to the side of the bridge to get an extra hit), or Mini P.E.K.K.A at the back, but never do Goblin Barrel first play unless you know for sure they don't have a reliable counter! You want to save your Goblin Barrel for when you have one of your tanks crossing the river after they've used their small spells. Squeeze as much value out of the first Goblin Barrel as you can. Once you've done this, your opponent most likely won't use their small spell on anything else. So, if you think it will work, place a Dart Goblin in an annoying position. Such as it being able to snipe a Musketeer while it's locked onto something else or in between both Crown Towers if they've built up a split push. This will encourage them to use their Arrows or Log, allowing you to get more chip damage with your Goblin Barrel. Avoid going offensive until you know they're either on low Elixir or their defensive cards are out of cycle. This should be considered in 1x Elixir. More offensive gameplay such as rushing Goblin Giant Goblin Barrel at the bridge or doing a kited unit into Goblin Giant push after they've used their small spells should only ever be done right after you've defended/are defending a push or rush attack. If they drop a tough, single-targeting troop at the bridge in frustration, such as a Mini P.E.K.K.A, Royal Giant, or Cannon Cart, use your Goblins to not just defend, but get a positive Elixir trade. In 2x, they might be enticed to spam more stuff down, so do your absolute best at defending (unless it's Golem or Elixir Golem, which you should just base race them). Mighty Miner or Mini P.E.K.K.A in the center of your side can be used to distract their troops as the Dart Goblin can be used to whittle them down from afar. Fireball their push if their troops are close enough together to achieve great value. Afterward, go in for more Goblin Barrel tank pushes (after baiting their spells) and Goblin Giant pushes built up from the back to slowly take their Crown Towers down.

Now that I've covered the general strategy for this deck, it's time for the matchups. I will take every type of deck (Only the ones I see most of the time, hence why Clone and Double Prince isn't on here. Not enough people play it for me to get enough info) and rate this deck's success rate on a scale of 1-10. 1 means usually impossible to beat and 10 means a near-guaranteed win. Most of these matchups are general, meaning the strategy I talk about can differ slightly depending on the type of the deck in the matchup. Not all matchup scales are a perfectly accurate representation on how they actually are for all decks in that matchup, just the kinds of decks in that matchup I see the most. The scales also represent my personal experience. If you have a different scale with Goblin Giant Logbait where you struggle with a deck that I excel at winning against or vice-versa, it doesn’t mean it’s always a skill issue, but simply reflects on your type of playstyle.

Note: I’ve added a section purely for P.E.K.K.A Balloon Graveyard because of how different that deck is compared to every other Graveyard deck I've matched up against.

Electro Giant: 4/10 - Although this deck excels at controlling the field for most of the game, it just takes one good Electro Giant Lightning push to completely shut down your only counter, Mini P.E.K.K.A, and take out your whole Crown Tower. However, if this never goes into action and you defend well, you can take out their defensive cards with a well-timed Fireball and a Mighty Miner to tank in front of a Goblin Giant to either deal devastating damage or take out their Crown Tower entirely. In some cases, you can even use a Goblin Barrel on their Crown Tower if they use a Barbarian Barrel or other small spell to defend your push, make sure to place it in the right spot so they can't Tornado it to their King Tower. Another way of easily doing significant damage to their Crown Tower is if they decide to Electro Giant the back during 1x Elixir. Due to its 7 Elixir cost and high commitment, you can just Goblin Giant at the bridge immediately while slowly following it up with a Dart Goblin to snipe the one card they place to defend, such as Bowler or Phoenix. So all and all, if your opponent is bad and likes to spam a lot of Elixir at the bridge or overcommit in the back, this deck can work reasonably well against Electro Giant. If your opponent is good and ends up assembling a large push in 2x Elixir while not overcommitting in 1x Elixir, this deck tends to struggle a lot.

Logbait: 7/10 - Surprisingly, this deck is pretty good against certain Logbait decks. This is mostly because when your opponent is using Logbait, they tend to completely devalue their small spell (which is usually Log) and hurl it at anything it could kill. This allows you to just predict their mini tank/Princess at the bridge with a Mighty Miner and use a Goblin Barrel as the damage slowly racks up. If they don't devalue their spell, try going tricky barrel by placing it 2 tiles behind the Crown Tower you're attacking. If they keep using swarm cards such as a Goblin Gang to take it out, take a risk and use your Giant Snowball to almost completely shut it down. This will result in down some Elixir, but in turn, will get a large amount of damage on their Crown Tower. Even if you used your Giant Snowball on offense, placing Goblins fast enough behind your Crown Tower can still fully counter their Goblin Barrel plus mini tank push for a massive positive Elixir trade. Goblin Giant can also be quite helpful in this matchup as it forces them to defend and take a break from offense. If they place a building to defend, use a Dart Goblin to snipe it from across the river. If you're up enough Elixir, hit the building with a Fireball as well. This should allow your Goblin Giant to easily hit the Crown Tower a couple of times before dying. Pushing your Goblin Giant through their defenses like this should only be attempted during 2x because of the large Elixir commitment. Goblin Giant is also pretty effective for pressuring them so hard that you outcycle them. I know this sounds weird to say, but if you play a Goblin Giant in the back and build up a push while utilizing the Dart Goblin to snipe their defenses (primarily their building), you can sometimes cycle back to another Goblin Giant before they even have the chance to place another one of their defense. This is because as you were building up a push in the back, they weren't placing their defense. Making it stay in their hand. Meanwhile, you were cycling back to another Goblin Giant. So, as they place their reactionary building to take out your first Goblin Giant, you can place a second one right after their building goes down. This will leave their defense nearly helpless. As long as you can predict their swarm card with a Giant Snowball, your Goblin Giant will almost certainly take out their Crown Tower and win you the game.

Giant Beatdown: 7/10 - While Giant beatdown decks vary wildly, the majority of Giant beatdown decks you'll come across tend to have a hard time dealing with this deck due to its 3 tank killers, good bait for their usually 1 small spell, and a Fireball to take out clumps of medium health troops. The way to beat these decks is to play passive and defend while trying to bait their small spell until they either overcommit at the bridge, use all their good defensive cards too early into your push, or immediately place an Elixir Collector in the back in 1x Elixir. If they've got Witch, Minion Horde, Magic Archer, or Barbarians, avoid using Fireball on the Elixir Collector! Instead, use your Goblin Barrel to destroy it and treat your Fireball like it's the most important card in the game. Only Fireball their pushes. This is preferred as you can take out almost their entire massive push with really just a Fireball and a Mighty Miner. When it comes to offense, try your best to bait out their Arrows/Log with agitating Dart Goblin placements and just keep cycle Goblin Barrels. Since they'll likely have a high amount of tank killers in cycle at all times, your Goblin Giant will usually never connect unless you can catch them low or base race them. In conclusion, keep baiting their spell (if they've got one that counters Goblin Barrel) while saving your Fireball. Focus mainly on defending their pushes with a Mighty Miner, Fireball, Goblins, and Mini P.E.K.K.A until you win. If they keep overcommitting, drop a Goblin Giant in the other lane and watch their Crown Tower receive massive damage.

Goblin Giant Beatdown: 6/10 - Similar to Giant Beatdown, Goblin Giant Beatdown decks usually have a hard time with this deck due to its high amount of tank killers, Goblin Barrel (unless they use Arrows, which is less common than other small spells) and punishing potential. Unfortunately, Goblin Giant is a slightly worse matchup on average than Giant as the possibility of your opponent having Royal Recruits and Fisherman is higher. This is a problem as both of those cards are amazing at stopping Goblin Giant Logbait in its tracks. Especially Royal Recruits, where giving up can save you some time. If they have a variation with Elixir Collector, apply the same rules as Giant Beatdown and use the Goblin Barrel to destroy it after baiting their threatening small spell (Rage and Zap don't need to be baited). In the beginning of the game, play very defensively. Going for occasional Goblin Barrels if they already used their high damage small spell on your Dart Goblin or Goblins. If they don't have a high damage small spell and just have Zap or Rage, use Goblin Barrel whenever you can, unless you're low on Elixir. That should be your playstyle unless they play a Goblin Giant in the back, where rushing your own Goblin Giant at the the bridge isn't a bad idea, though still not always recommended. If you decide not to rush, wait for your opponent to build up a clumped together push before using a Fireball, maximizing its value. Afterward, use a Mighty Miner on the Goblin Giant/heavy support troop, such as a Bowler or Dark Prince, and Dart Goblin behind the Crown Towers for additional support. It's fine if they use Zap to reset the Mighty Miner. If the Goblin Giant is supported by a Fisherman, place a distraction unit (preferably Goblins) to stop it from pulling your Mighty Miner away from the troop it's defending. This defense should stop the majority of large pushes they build up from getting much damage on your Crown Towers, leaving you with enough Elixir to counter-push. Another way to stop large pushes is to use a Mini P.E.K.K.A behind your Crown Tower while using your own Goblin Giant to pull all supporting troops away from the opposing Goblin Giant. This with separate the main parts of the push and allow your Mini P.E.K.K.A to safely take care of the Goblin Giant without any of the supporting troops going for it. If the amount of supporting troops is large enough, use a Dart Goblin to clean up and counter-push with the leftover Mini P.E.K.K.A with Goblin Barrel. Repeat this process of heavily defending, baiting their high damage small spell (if they have one), and counter-pushing with occasional Goblin Barrel and Goblin Giant rushes in 2x Elixir. In addition to what you did in 1x Elixir, try to take advantage of the increased Elixir production by building up a push while defending. To do this, use a Dart Goblin in the opposite lane of their push instead of the same lane. Once you defend their push with Mighty Miner, Giant Snowball, and/or Goblins, place a Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A at the bridge and Fireball any defending units. This will create an extremely threatening push that is sure to take your opponent's Crown Tower and win you the game.

Lava Hound: 2/10 - Yeah, the rating speaks for itself. Lava Hound players use almost solely air cards. This deck has no buildings and 1 reliable air card. The only reason this isn't a 1/10 is because you just have to be as aggressive as possible to win. Make it a base race and occasionally defend their Hound pushes with a Dart Goblin behind your King Tower to savor your Crown Tower. Placing the Dart Goblin behind your King Tower prevents them from using a Miner or Arrows on it as using Arrows will activate your King Tower. If you can, bait out their Arrows with a Goblin Barrel so they only have Miner. If they use Miner, place a Mini P.E.K.K.A or Goblins directly next to the Dart Goblin so the Miner won't target the Dart Goblin. Once the Hound pops and other troops are clumped up with it, use a Giant Snowball. This causes everything to get knocked back and drastically helps your Dart Goblin in defending. If you don't care about defending, you could certainly just Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A the bridge immediately after they place a Hound in the back. If they have Barbarians, predict them with a well-timed Fireball by counting out loud exactly 1.5 seconds after you place your Goblin Giant. Once you're finished with counting, place a Fireball 2-3 tiles back from the center of the opponent's side of the bridge. If you miss it, you might as well say good game. If they have Tombstone, disregard baiting their spell and use a Goblin Giant Goblin Barrel push directly after they place their Hound. This is so they have to choose between using Barbarians/Tombstone on the Goblin Giant or Arrows on the Goblin Barrel. If they place Tombstone, wait for it to break and Snowball the rest of the death Skeletons to take out their Crown Tower. If they panic and defend more, place Mighty Miner on the side you've already taken and click the ability 3 seconds after his 1-second deploy timer is done to swap lanes onto their Crown Tower and destroy it while defending their lone Hound with a Dart Goblin. If they have Skeleton Army or Goblin Gang, use a Giant Snowball and place it 2 tiles up from center bridge, similarly to what you do with Barbarians. You could also wait for them to place their swarm card if you aren't confident enough to predict it or already down too much Elixir. Waiting can also work if you're trying to use Fireball on Barbarians. When it comes to Lava Hound, I wish you the best of luck. With a 20-80 matchup, you're gonna need it.

X-Bow: 9-10/10 - The reason why X-Bow is a 9 to 10 out of 10 and not a 9 or 10 is entirely based on how you play this deck and what Tower Troop they’re using. If you like to go mostly aggressive, it's a 9. If you like to be extremely defensive in this matchup (like myself) it's one of the easiest 10s I can give. Because the optimal strategy is going defensive, I will just be talking about the defensive strategy in this section. In this matchup, your 3 tanks, (Mini P.E.K.K.A, Mighty Miner, and Goblin Giant) and Fireball are incredibly crucial to winning. If you keep up a fast cycle and constantly Fireball their massive bridge pushes while tanking the X-Bow with preferably the Goblin Giant, there'll be almost no way they can take out your Crown Tower outside of spell cycling. If they go all in with a Tesla and X-Bow at the bridge, it will also get hit by the Fireball (as long as it's open). This will leave no buildings for your Goblin Giant so it can sneak through and get significant value at half-health after defending. Another thing this deck excels at is baiting their usually only small spell, The Log. This is because X-Bow players will do anything to defend the X-Bow. One of the cards they'll almost always use is Log, allowing you to not just be able to counter-push with the Goblin Giant, but also get it to tank for the Goblin Barrel once it crosses the bridge. This counter-push will deal heavy damage and has a chance to send them into a panic. In conclusion, keep cycling Goblin Giants or a Mighty Miner (for the three-card cycle) one tile in front of the Crown Tower to the side when you see the X-Bow. Fireball their defense until you eventually break through and take their Crown Tower out after 3 minutes of doing the same thing over and over again. Cycle, Goblin Giant, Fireball, Mighty Miner, Mini P.E.K.K.A, etc.

Mortar: 5/10 - When you're using Goblin Giant Logbait, Mortar decks can go either way. While you won't be at a disadvantage, you won't necessarily be at an advantage either, hence why I put it right in the middle. For most of these decks, you should play similarly to X-Bow decks, just more aggressively. As soon as they play a Mortar, you have 2 options. The first one is to immediately place a Goblin Giant and soon after, a Snowball at the bridge to try to take out the Mortar and any swarms they use to defend it. By applying this strategy, the Mortar will only get one hit on the Crown Tower while their defensive swarms will be either severely weakened or fully countered. However, this can be risky as they'll almost certainly be able to cycle back to another Mortar before you can build up enough Elixir and get back to your Goblin Giant to repeat the same action. If you decide to play defensive, prepare to play a Goblin Giant, Mini P.E.K.K.A, or Mighty Miner 1 tile into the other lane to distract the Mortar. Once you've done this, place anything else you have at the bridge to take out the Mortar before the unit in the other lane dies. If the unit doesn't die and they decide to protect the Mortar, turn your distraction into a large counter-push to do decent damage to their Crown Tower. If they instinctively use their small spell to protect the Mortar, you can use a Goblin Barrel to nearly ensure their opposing Crown Tower goes down. If they clump everything up next to Mortar, use a Fireball on the maximum amount of units possible. Most of the time, their Mortar will end up getting a couple of hits in 1x Elixir by the end, but in 2x, you can make a serious comeback. Once they place the Mortar at the bridge again, do the same thing as in 1x to defend, but with one key difference. Save your Snowball and Dart Goblin. In 2x, people usually get more anxious, so take advantage of it by trying to bait a small spell with the Dart Goblin then play another Goblin Giant at the bridge with an immediate Goblin Barrel to follow. If you've noticed they keep defending your Goblin Barrel with something like Goblins, Skeletons, or Bats, predict it with a Snowball a little while after you throw the Goblin Barrel. While this will be a large commitment, it is highly effective at getting damage once they've already used their small spell. Repeat the process of defending and counter-pushing until you win.

Fireball Bait: 1/10 - There is no consistent strategy that'll work (you have zero reliable splash damage troops and trust me when I say this, I've tried everything), once they place Royal Recruits in the back and split Royal Hogs at the bridge, you can just wait for them to three crown you. If you decide to try, they'll just defend your Goblin Barrels with their multiple small spells (usually Arrows and Barbarian Barrel) while rendering your Goblin Giants nearly useless with a building or Royal Recruits. The only real way to win is if they either go afk (happened to me twice) or they're so bad they somehow mess up defending with the lowest-skill defensive deck in the game (only happened to me nine times throughout my 2 years of playing this deck). Another way to win is if they overcommit/spam so much on offense to the point where one of your Goblin Giant pushes can just take their Crown Tower without issue. In summary, the only way to win is if your opponent overcommits or goes afk.

Royal Giant: 6/10 - The strategy to beat Royal Giant is to play mostly passive and only go aggressive once they overcommit too much Elixir/don't have any primary defense cards in cycle. If they go Royal Giant, Fisherman and another support card, such as a Hunter, as a push, place Goblins and then immediately Mini P.E.K.K.A/Mighty Miner to make the Fisherman target the Goblins and not the high-damage dealer. This will always fully take out a Royal Giant for an equal cost without it even getting a single shot. If they use a small spell on your Goblins, Fireball the rest of their push if needed and go in for a Goblin Barrel and/or Goblin Giant in front of the leftover Mini P.E.K.K.A/Mighty Miner for a deadly counter-push. However, this can be costly. If you don’t have the Elixir, it’s recommended to not deploy Goblin Giant on the counter-push and let the leftover unit tank instead to save your Elixir. In 2x Elixir, it will certainly be much harder to get damage. Try to get as much as you can in 1x Elixir without being down crazy amounts of Elixir. If you get to the Crown Tower with a Goblin Giant and they have Fisherman in cycle, Fireball directly in front of your opponent's King Tower to predict the Fisherman. This play is important to utilize because a Fisherman placed directly in front of the King Tower will pull the Goblin Giant and activate their King Tower, making your Goblin Barrel less effective as a win condition. After the Fireball, immediately use a Giant Snowball 1 tile to the side where you placed the Fireball to knock back the Fisherman and push him out of hook range. Removing the threat of their Fisherman can leave them low on Elixir and send them into a panic, allowing you to sit back and watch your Goblin Giant do huge amounts of damage to their Crown Tower. If they've already activated their King Tower, only play your Goblin Giant once you know their Fisherman is out of cycle. If they have a Monk in front of a Royal Giant, do not Fireball anything until after the ability is used up! In the meantime, place a Mighty Miner, Mini P.E.K.K.A and Goblins all placed directly on top of the Royal Giant to destroy their push. Use a Goblin Barrel on their Crown Tower if they use their small spell to get consistent damage until you win the game.

Hog Rider: 5/10 - For Hog Rider decks, just like Mortar, it can go either way. If you're facing a deck like 2.6/2.5 with Little Prince, Hog Executioner Tornado, or some Hog EQ decks, this deck can do pretty well since you can closely match their fast cycle and consistently defend the Hog while not having to worry about large tanks. You can also trick them into using their small spell much easier than other Hog decks since the faster cycle of those decks will have them instinctively spamming stuff on offense. If you're facing Hog Rider Giant Skeleton, this deck will rarely win as the Giant Skeleton will constantly make you play defense with a Mighty Miner/Mini P.E.K.K.A at the bridge to prevent the Crown Tower from targeting the Giant Skeleton and allowing the following Hog Rider to get a hit. In this case, you can't go offensive. Whatever you do, they can use their Cannon and Archer Queen to finish anything off while still being able to do a devastating push with the Giant Skeleton and Hog Rider at the bridge. However, given enough time, effort, and overcommitment, you can eventually break through their defenses and take their Crown Tower.

Defending a Lone Hog Rider

When facing a lone Hog Rider at the bridge, you've got a couple of ways to get an equal Elixir trade/counter-push while also defending their Hog. However, this requires perfect placement and good internet to do, so if you don't have a good internet connection or have the placement incorrect, these won't work. The first way to fully shut down a Hog Rider is to immediately place a Mini P.E.K.K.A 2-3 tiles directly above the Crown Tower when the Hog spawns. Afterward, they'll still have to deal with a full-health Mini P.E.K.K.A. This means you're nearly guaranteed to get an overall positive Elixir trade after the Mini P.E.K.K.A dies. However, if you place the Mini P.E.K.K.A 3 tiles above the Crown Tower, something as small as an Ice Spirit or even 1 Skeleton will let the Hog get one hit as the Mini P.E.K.K.A will retarget on the Skeleton or freeze in place due to the Ice Spirit. The second way is to place Goblins to DPS the Hog and Snowball right after. This will push the Hog back and slow it as the Goblins destroy it, all for 4 Elixir. Heck, this combo can even fully stop the infamous Hog Ice Golem and Hog EQ pushes (place the Goblins right after the first tick of Earthquake). But because you're using Goblins, they can just predict it with a Log and defend your naked Goblin Barrel with their cycle cards. Goblins are an effective, but unreliable way to deal with a Hog Rider. The third way to deal with a Hog Rider is to very quickly place a Dart Goblin directly behind your Crown Tower to avoid The Log and once the Hog Rider is about to hit the Crown Tower, use a Giant Snowball to knock it back. This combination of a Dart Goblin and Giant Snowball can just barely fully counter a Hog Rider for a -1 Elixir trade. However, to compensate for this slight negative Elixir trade, the Dart Goblin will chip their Crown Towers if ignored. Making this method reliable during 2x Elixir.

Now that I covered defense and main poor matchup, let's talk offense. Most Hog decks are fast cycle, so try to use their cheap cards to your advantage. Instead of cycling Goblin Barrels, build up a big push and try to get them to use their small spell to somehow overwhelm them and get good damage. As you're doing this, defend the Hog with a Dart Goblin (placed at the other lane) to reduce the damage you take. This placement also lets the Dart Goblin get more value by going on offense and sniping their buildings from across the river. If 2 cards are placed that can be destroyed or severely weakened with a Fireball in the same spot or near each other, ignore the Crown Tower and go specifically for those cards to get past their defense. If they're smart and separate them, always Fireball their defensive troops while using Giant Snowball on the building! This will spread out your damage to their defenses and allow the Goblin Giant to break through more easily and finish them off before they can cycle back to the same defenses. Doing this will also reduce their ability to counter-push as buildings can't exactly counter-push and very low-health troops can be taken out by basically anything. Even if they've got a very low-health Little Prince crossing the bridge and activate his ability, you can wait for the charge to finish and Goblins on top of the Little Prince directly after. This will be more than enough to take out Guardienne while also giving you a large positive Elixir trade. Setting you up for greater damage later on in the match.

Bridgespam: 8/10 - This matchup runs on very simple-to-understand ideas. Either you spend too much Elixir on offense and get punished greatly for it, or you play a shallow and small offense (slowly chipping away at their Crown Tower with Goblin Barrel as they usually only have Zap) while being on defense for most of the game. In 1x Elixir, you should be apprehensive to play any of your tanks, especially Goblin Giant. This is due to the almost guaranteed chance your opponent is going to have P.E.K.K.A or Elite Barbarians. If they use P.E.K.K.A/split Elite Barbarians in the back, immediately use a Goblin Giant at the bridge in the opposite lane while using a Giant Snowball/Mini P.E.K.K.A to slow and destroy their counters. While using Mini P.E.K.K.A with the Goblin Giant is very expensive at 10 Elixir, it also makes them commit more on defense without being able to stack stuff behind the P.E.K.K.A or leftover Elite Barbarian, allowing for it to be countered with Goblins + Dart Goblin and the counter-push, if there is one, on the other side getting defended by a Mini P.E.K.K.A or Mighty Miner (depending on if you used Giant Snowball or not). Make sure to use the Mini P.E.K.K.A or Giant Snowball for the Battle Ram or Ram Rider before using it to counter anything else. In 2x Elixir, repeat the same strategy of playing a light offense, but save your Fireball and Giant Snowball this time for their big offensive pushes. Keep either baiting or just straight sending in your Goblin Barrel until their Crown Tower very slowly goes down.

Three Musketeers: Depends/10 - 3 Musketeers is rated as depends because the rating entirely depends on not just how you play, but your opponent as well, instead of simply being a rock-paper-scissors matchup. In these matchups, your Fireball is extremely important. If you use the Fireball on their defensive cards or Elixir Collector, they can use Three Musketeers in the back and build up a massive push to punish you. Instead, wait for their Three Musketeers and Fireball the side with the most Musketeers to severely weaken their push. If you feel there's potential for better value on your Fireball, you can always wait to use the Fireball until they stack more troops next to the Musketeers. Since the Elixir Collector is giving them an Elixir advantage over you, use a Goblin Barrel on it whenever you know they don't have any small spells in hand. Even if they try to defend your Goblin Barrel, the Goblins will always get 1-2 hits on the Elixir Collector when placed in an unpredictable spot. In 1x Elixir, you want to take the most Crown Towers possible before they can get enough Elixir to destroy your Crown Towers. To do this, place Mini P.E.K.K.A then Goblin Giant directly after. A push like this will cause the Goblin Giant to tank the Tower Troop and protect the Mini P.E.K.K.A. On offense, the Mini P.E.K.K.A will get immense value by killing the cheap defensive units while taking light damage in the process. If they use a small spell on defense for this push, consider using a Goblin Barrel if one is in your hand. However, if they have cards that are more expensive, such as Elite Barbarians, Minion Horde, or Monk, a Giant Snowball can be used to allow the Mini P.E.K.K.A to easily destroy them or severely weaken the card for the Goblin Giant's Spear Goblins to take them out. Preventing them from building up a threatening counter-push. Once 2x comes, play a small offense by trying to bait out their small spells with Dart Goblins and Goblins to finish off their tower with Goblin Barrel chip. After you take one of their Crown Towers, defend constantly with everything you have until the game finishes.

Goblin Drill: 3/10 - While this deck can usually counter the Goblin Drill either perfectly or only allow the Goblins to get 1 hit, the main problem against drill decks is them spell cycling you out with Fireball/Rocket and if they've got Inferno Tower, you might as well leave if you know they're good at the deck. In 1x Elixir, defend the Goblin Drill with Goblins and Mini P.E.K.K.A while trying to bait their small spell. If they use it, let a tank cross the bridge while using a Goblin Barrel, making them defend with more Elixir than you spent on the push. However, many Goblin Drill players carry a second small spell, so plan your Goblin Barrel placement around their second one accordingly. If they defend the push with a building, place Dart Goblin to snipe it and be annoying, or use a Giant Snowball to slow it down. This should only be done when you know you're up a good amount of Elixir since this is at the absolute least, a 7-Elixir push. Leaving them with a good chance to counter-push with a splash card/Wall Breakers and Goblin Drill. If they use Wall Breakers with the Goblin Drill, use a Mini P.E.K.K.A/Goblins to defend the Goblin Drill and Snowball once it breaks to hit the Goblins and the Wall Breakers. This will heavily reduce the damage they get and in some cases, completely stop the push for an equal or positive Elixir trade. If they use a splash card, such as Executioner, will leave your Goblins useless at countering the Goblin Drill, so use a Giant Snowball/Mighty Miner to knock it back/distract it as you quickly defend the drill with the Goblins, a 4-6 Elixir defense. In 2x Elixir, repeat this strategy over and over again while being extra cautious on defense by defending their bridge spammy cards, such as a Bandit, with a Mighty Miner. Make sure to be weary if they have Tornado since it can make the Goblin Drill nearly impossible to fully defend. If they don't have Tornado in their deck and their building is out of cycle, you will hopefully be doing enough damage to finish them off and win the game.

How will I know where the Goblin Drill is going to appear and how do I counter the position?

Finding where the Goblin Drill is going to appear can be tricky, but unlike Miner, is consistently possible to track due to its much slower burrowing speed. When you see a Goblin Drill incoming, always assume it will appear directly in front of your Crown Tower. However, don't place anything to counter it until you see it pop up. Due to the 1 second delay of the first Goblin that comes out of the Goblin Drill, it's more than possible to treat the Goblin Drill as a reactionary card instead of a prediction card. If the Goblin Drill was in the front, place the Mini P.E.K.K.A or Goblins 1 tile to the side of the Goblin Drill. If it pops up on the frontal edges of the Crown Tower, place your counter 1 tile down to take out the first Goblin with it connecting to your Crown Tower. If the Goblin Drill was on the sides or behind the Crown Tower, simply place your counter directly behind the Goblin Drill.

Golem: 8/10 - As long as they don't have Elixir Collector, Golem is very easy to understand how to beat. Immediately after they use Golem in the back in 1x Elixir, place Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A directly at the bridge (with Mini P.E.K.K.A placed directly before the Goblin Giant to get the Goblin Giant to tank for it). This strategy is even better if they decide to play a Night Witch behind the Golem. If you don't end up getting a 3 crown and they decide to protect their Crown Towers, defend the Golem with a Mighty Miner and any counter-pushing support troops with a Dart Goblin/Snowball if needed. If they ignore the 10 Elixir push you just dropped at the bridge and continue to build up their push, Goblin Barrel (though Goblin Barrel is prone to their small spells so it isn't that recommended) onto their King Tower to near guarantee a 3 crown. If you don't want to use Goblin Barrel, Dart Goblin is another good option. However, if you don't have Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A when they drop the Golem, good luck, you're REALLY gonna need it.

Elixir Golem: 6/10 - While Elixir Golem is similar in terms of gameplay to Golem. There's just a single difference that makes Elixir Golem harder to win against. Elixir Golem is only 3 Elixir instead of 8. Making it significantly harder to catch your opponent on low Elixir. Wait for them to place Elixir Golem, some other troop (ideally Elite Barbarians or Electro Dragon), and the Battle Healer before going in for the 3 crown with Goblin Giant and a Mini P.E.K.K.A. This push will have enough DPS to give you the win as long as they decide to ignore it. If you don't have Goblin Giant in cycle during the build-up of their push, resort to pulling their supporting troops to the other lane with Goblin Giant and Dart Goblin 2 tiles in front of the King Tower to slowly whittle down their push. Use a Fireball if they decide to use a small spell on the Dart Goblin. Afterwards, use Mini P.E.K.K.A to take down the Elixir Golem. Another way of defending is by using a Fireball their entire push, placing a Mighty Miner to pull the Battle Healer, and using the Mighty Miner's bomb to finish off their additional support troops, such as a Night Witch or Electro Dragon. Once the major support troops are gone, pull away everything else from the Elixir Golem with a Mini P.E.K.K.A and clean up the rest of the push with a Giant Snowball and Dart Goblin/Goblins. If they defend your counter-push, repeat this process all over again, just with more of a vicious Goblin Giant push starting from the back. It's also very important to know that since Elixir Golem does so much damage for only 3 Elixir, your opponent can potentially take out your Crown Tower even if you defend the best you can. This is the reason why Elixir Golem can be a pain to face even though you realistically have a small advantage over them thanks to your high amounts of tank killers and access to Fireball. However, due to the Elixir you get from the Elixir Golem, you can quickly overwhelm your opponent with massive Goblin Giant pushes and easily gain the upper hand.

Royal Hogs Cycle: 6/10 - While playing against Royal Hogs cycle, you can do a couple of things to counter the win condition and get an advantage over their deck. As long as they aren't playing Fireball Bait, you can use a Mini P.E.K.K.A and a well-timed Giant Snowball to nearly completely counter them, allowing the Royal Hogs to only get one connection to the Crown Tower. Another way is to play a Fireball and a Giant Snowball at the same time to completely counter them, leaving your Crown Tower untouched. However, this play will not correlate to a counter-push and will be a -1 Elixir trade. Making this combo not exactly ideal in most cases. Lastly, you can use Goblins and a Giant Snowball to mimic the only allow the Royal Hogs to get 1-5 connections for a +1 positive Elixir trade. Although, if they combine the Royal Hogs with The Log or Arrows, this will not work. Making this way risky in some cases. When it comes to offense, the idea is to bait their small spell after placing a Goblin Giant in the back and using a Goblin Barrel once the Goblin Giant crosses the bridge. A push like that can potentially deal some heavy damage to their Crown Tower. Some Royal Hog decks have 2 small spells (specifically Royal Delivery), so try to bait the second small spell too. Never spam Goblin Giant, Mini P.E.K.K.A, or Mighty Miner at the bridge in the matchup unless you can cycle back to a second Goblin Giant. Always start your offense from the back unless they use their small spell(s) on offense, where you can go with a naked Goblin Barrel to almost always get at least 1 stab. If they end up placing a troop next to a building as a panic defense specifically in 2x Elixir after they overcommit on offense, Fireball both of them without regard for the Crown Tower to break through and deal great damage to their Crown Tower. Save your Elixir in 1x so you can consistently counter their Royal Hogs and keep up a stable defense until the end of the game.

Miner Wall Breakers: 3/10 - While Miner Wall Breaker decks can be beaten by a couple of methods (unlike Lava Hound), they're very hard to beat simply because they have a very stable defense with a fast cycle. The plan when facing this deck is to keep defending until 2x Elixir, only ever dropping the Goblin Giant at the bridge unless you're sure they're at 0 Elixir from offensive overcommitting. However, a scenario like this will very rarely happen. While defending, try to bait their small spells and use Goblin Barrels with a counter-pushing unit to send small pushes that could end up getting some niche, yet good damage. Defend their Miner Wall Breaker pushes with Goblins/Giant Snowball plus Mighty Miner. Use a Goblin Barrel after one of your tanks crosses the bridge after they've already used their small spell. Once 2x Elixir comes, place a Goblin Giant in the back and try to build up a large enough push to overwhelm their Bomb Tower and Mighty Miner/Knight while using a Dart Goblin to snipe the Bomb Tower if it's placed too high, using a Mini P.E.K.K.A to hit their tank, and use a Fireball on the entire defense to weaken it significantly. If they somehow still manage to defend, defend their counter-push and never let a single Wall Breaker connect unless they're going toward a Crown Tower with high hp. Ignoring them is rarely an option since Wall Breakers only cost 2 Elixir for 800 easy damage. Once you find an opening in their offense, place another Goblin Giant in the back and repeat this process. If they use their small spells, immediately use a Goblin Barrel while the Goblin Giant is tanking. Due to the high pressure, they might accidentally make a mistake and take heavy damage. Allowing you to spell cycle to win the game. However, it is still very possible and likely (especially when they're in high leagues like Ultimate Champion) for them to never make a mistake and therefore win due to cycling Miner and Poison on your Crown Towers until one goes down.

Miner Control: 4/10 - While Miner Control decks are similar to Miner Wall Breaker decks, they tend to have a less stable offense while keeping the same amazing defense and cycle. Thus making them slightly more manageable than their Wall Breaker counterparts. When the game starts, you can use Goblins split (2 each lane) at the back or Mighty Miner at the back. These plays will prevent some damage from your opponent if they decide to use a Miner. If they use the Miner, stop yourself from overcommitting and let what you used in the back take it out. However, using a Giant Snowball can be done if they decide to use another troop, such as Spear Goblins or Bats, at the bridge to create a mini push as ignoring it will result in major damage for little Elixir. Start all Goblin Giant pushes from the back and bait out their small spells, such as The Log and Royal Delivery, with an aggressive Dart Goblin on defense. This is to open up the opportunity for the Goblin Barrel to get massive damage. However, before doing this, keep stacking troops (besides the Mighty Miner, use it in front of the Goblin Giant) behind the Goblin Giant to create a wall for the Dart Goblin to stay safe from opposing cards, such as Little Prince. If they use a building next to other supporting troops and have used their small spells, disregard the Crown Tower and use a Fireball on just the defensive troops to maximize potential value while using a Goblin Barrel. However, this is a massive commitment for 1x Elixir, so if you want to save Elixir for their counter-push, hold off on using the Goblin Barrel or Mighty Miner. Continue making large Goblin Giant pushes from the back and defending their counter-pushes. Try to get as much damage in 1x Elixir as possible. In 2x Elixir, you'll start to notice your opponent will be starting to finally cycle Poisons and Miners onto your Crown Tower with more and more mini-pushes coming your way. This is where they can make a comeback. To counteract this new aggression, Goblin Giant counter-pushes at the bridge should start to be used. Since they're more aggressive, they become more prone to Goblins and Dart Goblin. So after using Goblins and Dart Goblin to defend their mini-push, wait for them to use their small spell and instantly Goblin Giant Goblin Barrel at the bridge. If you feel it's needed, a Giant Snowball can be used to take out any troops they use to defend it. Repeat this action after each mini-push to eventually destroy their Crown Tower. Though, just like Miner Wall Breakers, they could still end up defending and spell cycle you out until you lose. In conclusion, build up Goblin Giant pushes from the back in 1x Elixir and Goblin Giant counter-pushes at the bridge in 2x Elixir while baiting their spell in the process. Wait for them to make a mistake and you're sure to win as long as you don't overcommit and play a stable defense.

Graveyard: 5/10 - When facing a Graveyard player, it depends on your placements and the type of Graveyard deck they're using. However, since Splashyard is by a massive margin the most common type of Graveyard deck, I will be going over how to beat that type. The basic idea is to never let any of their tanks cross the bridge and engage with your Crown Tower, specifically in 2x Elixir. This is because the tank (examples include Skeleton King, Baby Dragon, and Knight, along with some others) with get the Crown Tower to target it instead of the Graveyard, allowing the Graveyard to get massive damage and finish off your Crown Tower quickly. In 1x Elixir, you should be playing it safe. Don't overcommit on offense and never rush the bridge. The only time you should be going offensive is if they use one of their small spells so you can Goblin Barrel the corner of their Crown Tower to make them miss their Tornado and get a couple of hits on their Crown Tower. Goblin Giant should not be used very often at all in 1x Elixir unless you know that they're on a low amount of Elixir from rushing the bridge or you don't have Dart Goblin or Goblins for a Graveyard. Once 2x Elixir comes, defend their tank plus Graveyard with a Goblin Giant and Mighty Miner/Mini P.E.K.K.A. After the defense, get value out of the Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A by using a Fireball on their Tombstone and other support units (if they're placed next to each other) while using a Dart Goblin to enforce your Goblin Giant push. After placing the Dart Goblin, use a Giant Snowball to clean up the death Skeletons from their Tombstone and repeat the process of defending and counter-pushing until the game ends. If you can't get damage, rely on getting Fireball and Snowball value while also hitting the Crown Tower until it goes down.

P.E.K.K.A Balloon Graveyard: 2/10 - If your opponent is using P.E.K.K.A Balloon Graveyard (yes, that was a real meta deck that won games frequently), there is little to no way to win since they can take out your Goblin Giant with the P.E.K.K.A and destroy your Graveyard and Balloon counters with Arrows, yet have Tornado for your Goblin Barrel to activate their King Tower. If they do place P.E.K.K.A in the back, I strongly recommend you push the other lane with a Mini P.E.K.K.A immediately followed by a Goblin Giant at the bridge. This might send your opponent into a panic potentially allowing you to take out their defending troop(s) and even a Crown Tower. Afterward, you can still defend their P.E.K.K.A with Dart Goblin placed next to your Crown Tower and soon after Goblins in the center to kite it. Make sure your Dart Goblin and Goblins are very far apart from each other to prevent giving too much Arrows value. If they do use Arrows, use a Goblin Barrel on the edge of their Crown Tower to prevent a King Tower activation from Tornado. Do not commit any more Elixir to this P.E.K.K.A, it's fine if it gets one hit. Defend for the rest of the game until you either end up folding to their pushes or win. Building a large push against this deck is almost always futile unless you're able to kite away and damage a P.E.K.K.A with a Goblin Giant, then distract it with center-planted Goblins as you place troops behind the Goblin Giant to make your push more deadly. After you've built it up, you can Fireball whatever they use to defend or even throw a Goblin Barrel (if they've used their Arrows and Tornado already.) to take out their Crown Tower.

LumberLoon Freeze: 7/10 - Even though this deck only has Dart Goblin as reliable air defense, the regular LumberLoon Freeze deck is pretty easy to win against since they usually won't have Arrows or The Log. However, it does take a whole ton of practice to master the matchup and guarantee your success. The most important thing to learn is how to stop the LumberLoon pushes. When you see the Lumberjack, immediately use Mini P.E.K.K.A or Mighty Miner in the upper middle of the arena/directly at the bridge (both can prevent raging the Balloon) and Dart Goblin next to the Crown Tower to take out the Balloon. This will only allow the Balloon to get 1 hit and the death damage while also giving you a +2 positive Elixir trade! If they use Freeze on your tower and Dart Goblin, you can build up a massive counter-push with Goblin Giant and take 1 or even multiple Crown Towers from a +6 positive Elixir trade. However, the Balloon will take about 3/4ths of your Crown Tower. So unless your Crown Tower is on full or near full health in 1x Elixir, I strongly encourage you to Snowball the Balloon back regardless if they use Freeze or not to try to prevent any hits. You can also counter a LumberLoon pretty well using Fireball and Snowball.

Now that I've gone over how to counter LumberLoon. I will now start describing how to go properly offensive against this deck. The idea is to counter-push and get rid of their primary tank killers, such as Inferno Dragon, and small spells so small Goblin Giant pushes and naked Goblin Barrels can get value. You can do this by playing Goblins and the Dart Goblin on defense to entice them to use their small spells. If they don't use both and only use one, you can do the proper placements for whatever one they didn't use and get them to miss. Sometimes, they'll be smart and use a strong defensive ground troop instead, such as a Bowler. But since the Bowler is a troop instead of a spell, it might miss 1 Goblin when placed improperly. When it comes to going offensive with Goblin Giant, the Inferno Dragon can be taken out by using the Giant Snowball in such a way that it gets knocked into your Goblin Giant as the Spear Goblins in the giant backpack chip away at the health. This is a good idea because the Goblin Giant will eventually move out of its range and take little to no damage from the stage 3 beam, leaving it with over half health left over. Fireball works much better if you want a more healthy Goblin Giant, yet it's 2 more Elixir and leaves you incredibly vulnerable towards counter-pushes. This means using a Fireball on the Inferno Dragon alone should only be done if their Crown Tower is around 800-400 health in times of heavy desperation. Any other time you use Fireball should always be when they clump up troops together to get the maximum value possible. The last thing to know is to never use your Dart Goblin wastefully (an example is defending a lone air card, such as Electro Dragon with it) since it will just give them a free LumberLoon that you can't defend unless you have both of your spells present in your hand. Save it specifically for heavy offense or times when you can get large defensive value.

Note: Classic LumberLoon Freeze and some LumberLoon cycle decks are the only Balloon decks I would give higher than a 4/10. For some reason, I just find it easy to win against and haven't struggled too much with the LumberLoon playstyle as a whole.

Goblin Giant Sparky: 6/10 - Goblin Giant Sparky can sometimes be a good or an absolutely terrible matchup based on whether your opponent has Arrows and/or Barbarians. Simple as that. But as the main variation of Goblin Giant Sparky during most of Clash Royale’s life included Rage and Fireball/Zap and Mini P.E.K.K.A, I'll be talking about this variation instead. When the game begins, always start with a Mighty Miner or Dart Goblin in the back. If you don't have either in cycle, you can wait for them to play first or use a Giant Snowball on their Crown Towers. The Giant Snowball is a test to see if your opponent will Sparky the back first play. If they don't use Sparky, never rush or try building up a push from the back. Play a strong defense while occasionally using a Goblin Barrel to apply light pressure. Especially If you’ve got a counter-pushing mini tank, such as Mini P.E.K.K.A or Mighty Miner.

However, once they do eventually use a Sparky in the back, immediately rush the bridge with a Goblin Giant and Mini P.E.K.K.A. Rushing the bridge after the opponent uses Sparky will force them into defending with their own Mini P.E.K.K.A, Dark Prince, or Knight. Thus, they won't have enough Elixir to commit a Goblin Giant as support for the Sparky. If they have a Mini P.E.K.K.A to counter your Goblin Giant, use a Giant Snowball and knock it into your Mini P.E.K.K.A. Causing it to be destroyed by your Mini P.E.K.K.A while keeping your Goblin Giant somewhat healthy. If they don't use Mini P.E.K.K.A, don't overcommit on offense and focus on defending the lone Sparky by surrounding it with Goblins/Goblin Barrel. A +4 Elixir trade. However, if your opponent is smart, they might place their own Goblin Giant 1 tile into the other lane. Pulling your Mini P.E.K.K.A into their Sparky and killing it. Even if you do end up losing your Mini P.E.K.K.A, it will still get 1-2 hits on their Goblin Giant. Leaving you with the choice of using Dart Goblin or Mighty Miner to finish it off. In this case, Dart Goblin can be a situational tank killer as you're saving 1 Elixir over the Mighty Miner, but it's guaranteed you'll take about 500-1000 damage from their low-health Goblin Giant. After taking out the Goblin Giant, deal with the Sparky by surrounding it with Goblins. This is even better for you if they use a Rage or Zap on the Sparky as the Goblins will survive and net you an even larger positive Elixir trade. If they support the Sparky with a Mini P.E.K.K.A and/or another troop, such as Minions, you can still fully counter these clumped-together pushes with a Fireball/Mighty Miner directly on top of the Sparky and Goblins placed behind the Sparky immediately afterward. When 2x Elixir comes, repeat this process of rushing the bridge opposite lane after they use Sparky and defending with Goblins until you take both Crown Towers. Once you're up both Crown Towers, defend for the rest of the game with everything you've got.

Summary of Major Strengths and Weaknesses

This section is based on summarizing the major strengths and weaknesses of the deck. Highlighting which cards/types of decks are very good or bad to face up against.

Major Weaknesses

Royal Recruits/Evolved Royal Recruits: Both the regular and especially the Evolved Royal Recruits (as they're just 6 mini Princes) have massive advantages over Goblin Giant Logbait due to this deck's lack of splash damage, buildings, and general inability to pull all 6 recruits to the center, though you can pull 5 to the center, ideally with the Mighty Miner. This causes you to have to commit more Elixir than you would have with a different deck. Additionally, support troops will apply even more pressure. Nearly forcing damage on your Crown Towers without there being anything you can do about it. Nearly any deck with specifically Evolved Royal Recruits is going to be a lost game unless a miracle happens.

Swarm Spam Decks: Correlating with the Royal Recruits in some cases, decks involving many swarm cards like Goblin Gang, Skeleton Barrel, Goblins, and Goblin Barrel put together cause extreme issues with Goblin Giant Logbait for the same reasons as the Royal Recruits, having a lack of splash damage. If you decide to use the Giant Snowball on the Skeleton Barrel/Goblin Barrel, they can just spam Goblin Gang and Goblins up the lane while defending with their single tank, usually Mighty Miner or Royal Recruits. It doesn't even matter if they don't have a small spell as your Goblin Barrel will be incapable of out-damaging their Crown Towers. If you don't use the Giant Snowball on their win conditions and save it for offense, it still doesn't matter as they can just continue to place more swarm cards down. These decks are made nearly impossible to beat if Royal Recruits are added in.

Evolved Skeletons: The Evolved Skeletons by themselves can easily solo almost any push used to punish the opponent for a massive positive Elixir trade unless you have saved your Giant Snowball. Once you see them, I would recommend to keep track of their cycles so you can predict their placement and keep your push alive. This is especially helpful with Goblin Barrel as many people will Evolved Skeletons directly behind the Crown Tower, leaving them open for an easy prediction.

Major Strengths

X-Bow: While I already stated how I feel about the X-Bow matchup in the strategy section, I still want to reiterate that the cyclability and multiple tanks prevent most (non-Elixir Collector) X-Bow decks from being able to break through. Though the matchup is a hard counter for them, placing a Goblin Giant, Mini P.E.K.K.A, or Mighty Miner even slightly off will cause a connection. Therefore, it's essential to pay attention to when, where, and how you see your opponent use their X-Bow. if you notice a pattern, take hold of it and force your opponent into a bad situation.

Midladder Decks: Due to most Midladder decks having cards that usually don't synergize together, it's just a matter of either cycling Goblin Barrels/kiting their pushes until you win. Furthermore, these players tend to overcommit very frequently and might not have a real win condition, allowing you to punish them with Goblin Giant pushes on the counter-push and set your primary goal on spell cycling and defense. Even if they have a win condition, it's almost always Hog Rider or Balloon. So, apply what you know about how to stop Hog Rider/Balloon and you're going to be fine.

No Building Decks: Since Goblin Giant plays a key role in getting damage in Goblin Giant Logbait, decks with no buildings are usually going to be better for you. If they don't have a building, Goblin Giant Mini P.E.K.K.A counter-pushes are going to be significantly more effective, giving you an easier time punishing bad defenses. Also, these players will usually clump up their troops, making your offensive Fireballs more impactful than if the Fireball was just hitting a building.

Mega Knight: The card gets destroyed by correctly placed Mini P.E.K.K.A and Mighty Miner for a large positive Elixir trade and with the help of the Dagger Duchess, can be fully countered with a Goblin Giant 1 tile into the other lane. Just make sure to take out/distract the support troops behind it while defending the Mega Knight.

Substitutions and Replacements

Goblin Giant: If you want, you could get away with using Royal Giant or Giant. Yet both aren't recommended as much as Goblin Giant since it can attack air, has a strong evolution that can entice small spells, and is significantly faster (a faster movement speed is generally a good trait to have in almost all bait decks).

Goblin Barrel: Similarly to the replacements with Goblin Giant, you could get away with using Skeleton Barrel. Although it's not as recommended nearly as much as Goblin Barrel since the Goblin Barrel can't get stopped by buildings, has an evolution that pairs exceptionally well with the Mighty Miner, and applies more pressure after they use their small spell. In addition to these, Goblin Barrel’s Goblins cannot be fully countered by Zap and Rage while Skeleton Barrel’s Skeletons can. The main positive of the Skeleton Barrel is the death damage, nearly guaranteeing a small amount of Crown Tower damage unless they have a building.

Mighty Miner: Inferno Dragon, Valkyrie, Knight, Goblin Cage, or Dark Prince all work pretty well with the deck as replacements. Valkyrie and Dark Prince have splash damage on every hit and can still take out large tanks, like Mega Knight. Just like the Mighty Miner, they're capable of applying good pressure in some situations. Valkyrie even has an evolution, which basically outclasses the Mighty Miner. Goblin Cage provides extra defense for win conditions because the Cage is somewhat sturdy and with its evolution, the card can easily solo many tanks for huge positive Elixir trades. Additionally, the Brawler can assist in a counterattack, complementing well with the Goblin Giant. Inferno Dragon is just the Mighty Miner but ranged, flying, and without the ability. This makes it a less versatile, yet more air-resistant and F2P-friendly version of the Mighty Miner. The Knight is what you would expect from a high HP ground troop. It defends tanks fairly well when used right and only costs 3 Elixir, making it an overall decent choice as a replacement. If you've got their evolutions, you may want to use the Knight/Valkyrie over Mighty Miner thanks to their value potential. Personally, I just like Mighty Miner more than these replacements because of the versatility and value he gets with the ability if timed correctly. I also prefer him because of the vast advantage you get with a three-card cycle.

Mini P.E.K.K.A: Valkyrie, Rascals, Prince, or Goblin Cage all work well as substitutes. Valkyrie and Prince are both good at tank killing, just with extra features that make them unique (Valkyrie over Prince since she's 1 less Elixir and has the ability to evolve). Rascals include the boy as a good tank for your Goblin Barrel and the girls as extra air support and spell bait. Unfortunately, they're 1 more Elixir and can't fully counter a Hog Rider/Ram Rider by themselves. The Goblin Cage is a good defensive building that spawns a fast, strong Goblin Brawler to help you with defending and assisting various pushes. This is amplified even further with its evolution, shredding tanks without the risk of taking any damage. However, the best of these replacements is probably the Valkyrie as her evolution, if already unlocked, gives can give crazy value during Goblin Giant pushes and on defense for the same cost as the Mini P.E.K.K.A.

Giant Snowball: Rage, Zap, or Log. Log is worse than Zap which is worse than Rage specifically for this deck. However, if you have Evolved Zap, I suggest using that instead of Giant Snowball as a replacement since its triple stun and good damage can come in handy against Inferno Tower, Inferno Dragon, Sparky, and Tombstone. Additionally, it’s a Common rarity, making it very easy to level up and use on Path of Legends. To sum it up, if the spell can hit air and synergize with Goblin Giant and Goblin Barrel, it’s likely a good choice.

Fireball: Poison is the only good replacement for Fireball. Poison is actually better than Fireball for some select metagames involving a vast amount of swarm cards and Little Prince. Additionally, the radius is bigger, reducing the precision needed to get value out of it. An example was the May 2023 meta, Goblin Hut Graveyard spam was everywhere due to the Spear Goblins buff earlier in April 2023, so Poison was better for that meta. Which is the variant of Goblin Giant Logbait I used during that month on the Path of Legends. Deck: Goblin Giant, Goblin Barrel, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Dart Goblin, Goblins, Snowball, Mighty Miner, Poison. Though for Beatdown, Fireball Bait, Siege, and some Cycle metas, Fireball is better due to its faster damage and consistent nature. It’s also a lower rarity than Poison, making it slightly easier to level up.

Dart Goblin: No decent replacements. Firecracker, Little Prince, and Archers don't die to The Log. Minions and Bats aren't affected by The Log. Princess and Spear Goblins don't have enough DPS. Rascals are simply too expensive to use as a cheap and reliable replacement.

Goblins: Spear Goblins, Evolved Skeletons, and Goblin Gang are pretty good with this deck, though not as good as Goblins in terms of defending decks like Bridgespam or Goblin Drill due to their more expensive/fragile nature (you need all the help you can get when you're playing against Goblin Drill). However, Evolved Skeletons are a free defense and apply consistent pressure when fully multiplied. Due to this, I would recommend them more than the Spear Goblins, Goblins, and Goblin Gang.

Preferred Tower Troop

The Tower Princess is currently the versatile Tower Troop for Goblin Giant Logbait as its well-rounded nature towards tanks, frailer support units, and most importantly, swarm; allows for bad matchups to be slightly more bearable. This cannot be said to the same extent for the Cannoneer or Dagger Duchess as their ability to handle swarm and large pushes is greatly harmed by the Cannoneer's very slow attack speed and the Dagger Duchess's easily exploitable dagger cooldown, which will leave it nearly useless against a few already bad matchups. Also, the Tower Princess has the most health and is by far the easiest and most consistent Tower Troop to upgrade as you always get enough to upgrade the Tower Princess to the next level in certain Level Up Chests. This leaves the Tower Princess as the ideal free-to-play and best option overall in most cases.

Why Not Use the Cannoneer?

Since this deck already has Mighty Miner, Mini P.E.K.K.A, and Goblins as tank killers, it would just be overkill when using Cannoneer. Sure it would make Balloon, Lava Hound, Golem, and Sparky decks more manageable. However, its crippling weakness to swarms would greater worsen this decks issue with swarm spam type decks due to a lack of non-spell splash cards. In addition to this, the Cannoneer is a bit harder to upgrade as Epic Tower Troop cards are decently rare in Tower Troops Chests. Siege decks would also become harder due to the Cannoneer’s naturally lower health than the Tower Princess and Dagger Duchess, making Logbait, Mortar, Fireball Bait, Giant, Hog Rider, X-Bow, Royal Hogs, Miner Control, and especially Graveyard much harder, if not, nearly impossible to win against.

Why Not Use the Dagger Duchess?

The Dagger Duchess is a more versatile Tower Troop for Goblin Giant Logbait than the Cannoneer as the deck and the Dagger Duchess cover each other’s weaknesses well. The deck tends to struggle with swarm, air cards, and light pushes. These are usually dealt with fairly quickly with the initial 8 daggers doing great temporary DPS. However, when she goes into dagger cooldown, sure the Giant Snowball and Dart Goblin can still be used to assist with these types of attacks, but even with assistance from the Giant Snowball or Dart Goblin, she will now struggle with her now sluggish attack speed and pitiful DPS. The Dagger Duchess also struggles significantly with large beatdown pushes, but the Mini P.E.K.K.A, Mighty Miner, and Goblins can make up for this glaring weakness in most cases. Unfortunately, since she is a Legendary Tower Troop, she is exceptionally rare to get from Tower Troop Chests, so I'd recommend using the Tower Princess until you can get her to an ideal level if you decide to use her. Besides these flaws, putting all the matchups and deck synergies into consideration, the Dagger Duchess is worse than the Tower Princess at Lava Hound (especially), Golem, Elixir Golem, Royal Recruits Logbait, Mortar, LumberLoon, and X-Bow.

Advanced Tech

This section of the guide will showcase specific and rewarding interactions against all archetypes and decks. Some of these may be harder to do than others, so if you find one intimidating, try practicing it through a second account. Disclaimer: All interactions are based on the Tower Princess Tower Troop and with equal-level cards.

• If your opponent uses a Miner anywhere on the lower of your Crown Tower closest to your King Tower, you can quickly Giant Snowball your own Crown Tower to knock the Miner away and activate your King Tower.
• If a Balloon is behind a Lava Hound, place a Dart Goblin next to or near the Balloon to get the Dart Goblin to target the Balloon and not the Hound. Though, this is susceptible to other support troops and spells used to back up the Lava Hound.
• If timed perfectly, Goblins in the lower middle of both your Crown Towers and a Dart Goblin 1 tile in front of your King Tower directly before it jumps after killing all the Goblins, can kite, kill, and activate the King against a Mega Knight, resulting in a+2 positive Elixir trade.
• A Mini P.E.K.K.A aligned with the river and placed behind a Bowler that crossed the bridge can take it out much quicker. Leaving your Mini P.E.K.K.A with enough health to be a threat to their Crown Tower.
• Very early Goblins placed directly behind your Crown Tower can fully counter a center-planted Goblin Barrel.
• If placed in the other lane, a Phoenix or Mega Minion placed in the middle of the bridge, can be kited and eventually killed by a Mighty Miner or Goblin Giant, leaving them completely unharmed for a counter-push.
• You can anti-kite a Battle Ram into your kited Mini P.E.K.K.A and fully counter it with a perfectly placed Giant Snowball.
• Placing a Fireball at the perfect time can hit a Miner on the Crown Tower and Wall Breakers at the same time. Causing only very light damage to be done overall for a slight positive trade of +1. This can't be done if the Miner is used anywhere behind your Crown Tower.
• Waiting about a quarter of a second after a Goblin Barrel lands on your Crown Tower instead of immediately using a Giant Snowball as soon as you see the Goblin Barrel, will always fully counter it.
• Mini P.E.K.K.A can fully counter Ram Rider placed 1 tile above the usual placement for a different card, that being Hog Rider. The usual placement of 3 tiles up from the Crown Tower also works.
• Mini P.E.K.K.A can fully counter Wall Breakers if placed on the same general tiles as you do with Hog Rider as soon as you see them.
• Goblin Giant can be used to tank for and completely kill all the Lava Pups once a Lava Hound dies.
• Using the Mighty Miner's bomb about 2 seconds before a Lava Hound dies can take out the large majority to all of the spawned Lava Pups.
• Barbarian Hut can be fully countered with a Fireball placed on the first 3 Barbarians + the hut itself. This has to be very quickly done to go into effect.
• A Dart Goblin and Goblins placed in the center of your side of the arena will always fully counter split Wall Breakers.
• A Goblin Giant can be used to kite and weaken a P.E.K.K.A, Mega Knight, Dark Prince, Prince, and Elite Barbarians.
• A Goblin Barrel placed around 3-4 tiles away from the front of your opponent's Crown Tower can sometimes cause your opponent to completely miss their Arrows and Royal Delivery.
• A Goblin Barrel placed on the furthest left/right corner of the Crown Tower (depending on the lane) will make it impossible for your opponent to Tornado it to their King Tower.
• A Goblin Barrel 1 tile to either side of the Crown Tower, will cause a center-planted Barbarian Barrel to miss 1 Goblin. Causing one to two stabs to connect the Crown Tower.
• Dart Goblin can outrange and destroy Cannon, (Cannon Form) Cannon Cart, (open) Tesla, Inferno Tower, Goblin Cage (including the Brawler) and Bomb Tower as long as they're placed at most 4 tiles away from the river.
• Placing a Fireball/Giant Snowball on the left/right corner (depending on the lane) of the opposing Crown Tower is the fastest way to deal their Crown Tower damage.
• Letting a Mighty Miner go in front of your Goblin Giant during a push can severely weaken or kill cards that are good Goblin Giant counters such as Prince, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Valkyrie, Rascals, swarm cards like Skeleton Army (if you use the ability), and other Mighty Miners.
• Fireball and Giant Snowball used a couple of seconds after Fireball can counter a Balloon with the Crown Tower's help. This doesn't include the death damage.
• Goblin Giant and a well-timed Giant Snowball can just barely fully counter a Balloon. This does not include the death damage.
• Goblins placed directly before placing a Mini P.E.K.K.A on the same spot onto a P.E.K.K.A. will fully counter it. It also gives you a solid counter-push and a small positive Elixir trade of +1.
• You can completely counter a Sparky, Executioner, Wizard, Bomber, and Royal Ghost with Goblins placed directly on top of them as their splash radius isn't large enough to take out all four Goblins instantly. This cannot be done if the Goblins are placed too close to the bridge.
• An Archer Queen, Fisherman, Night Witch, Hunter, and Electro Dragon can be completely taken out by a Fireball and a Mighty Miner's bomb.
• If timed and placed perfectly, a lone Giant Snowball can fully counter all cards that die to a Fireball plus Zap/just a Fireball yet don't die to Arrows besides Witch, Barbarians, Flying Machine, Magic Archer, Three Musketeers, Zappies, Royal Hogs, and Battle Ram.
• If placed incredibly fast, a Dart Goblin can just barely fully counter Wall Breakers in the same lane.
• A Dart Goblin 3-4 tiles below the pocket of your opponent's territory will nearly guarantee damage on the Crown Tower.
• You can sometimes perform a Lightning block on a very low hp Crown Tower by placing Goblins/Goblin Barrel directly behind your Crown Tower when you think they'll use it. This is also a massive +4/+3 positive Elixir trade.
• You can fully counter a Hog Rider and get a counter-push by placing a Mighty Miner 1-2 tiles in front of the Crown Tower and using a Giant Snowball as the Hog Rider is about to hit the Crown Tower. However, this is a -2 negative Elixir trade.
• Placing a Goblin Barrel 1 tile to the side of the Crown Tower will cause a center-planted Bowler to miss 1 Goblin, allowing for one stab to be dealt to the Crown Tower.
• Placing any troop 2 tiles to the side and 1 tile up from the Crown Tower will cause a counter-pushing Firecracker to activate your King Tower. Dart Goblin, Mighty Miner, and Mini P.E.K.K.A are the ideal choices due to their ability to either tank the shot for a reasonable cost while still being able to counter-push or dodge the shot entirely (Dart Goblin).
• If placed properly and with a bit of luck, a Dart Goblin can cause an opposing Firecracker to activate your King Tower, allow the Dart Goblin to destroy the Firecracker, and live for a counter-push.
• Surrounding your Dart Goblin with Goblins can sometimes be used to prevent an incoming Miner from taking out your Dart Goblin.
• Placing a Goblin Giant directly in front of your Crown Tower and in the path of a Giant Skeleton will push and kite the Giant Skeleton off your Crown Tower and onto the Goblin Giant. Negating the catastrophic death damage completely.
• Mighty Miner can entirely dodge and use up a Sparky blast by using the ability just as the Sparky is about to shoot. This requires extremely specific timing.
• You can activate your King Tower with Electro Dragon and Electro Spirit by placing any single troop (not Goblins) 1 tile behind the Crown Tower and 2 tiles to the side of your Crown Tower.
• A Goblin Barrel placed 2 tiles in front of an Elixir Collector that's in front of the King Tower can prevent Tornado from activating the King Tower.

Using The Mighty Miner Ability Effectively

This section of the guide will be all about using the Mighty Miner ability effectively and finding sneaky ways to gain an advantage in basically every matchup with it; both offensively and defensively in various scenarios.

Offensively

While there aren’t as many versatile and effective ways the bomb can be used offensively compared to defensively, there are still a few things that could drastically change the game's tide and allow your pushes to reach the Crown Tower.

1. You can use the bomb to get over a large amount of chip damage on their Crown Tower with the correct timing. If your opponent went for a small push and you ended up defending it with a Mighty Miner, it might have a half or quarter health leftover. This allows you to click the ability right before the Mighty Miner dies and get some nice damage on their Crown Tower when they least expect it. While this seems obsolete and pointless, this small amount of damage can sometimes be the difference between a win and a loss, so unless you're down more than 1 Elixir, try this trick whenever possible.
2. You can use the bomb to trick your opponents and take their Crown Tower in mere seconds! Once you have taken a Crown Tower with your Goblin Giant or Goblin Barrel, place a Mighty Miner on the far right or center of the open area of the opponent's side. After the Mighty Miner walks a couple of steps, activate the ability to drop the bomb, blow up whatever your opponent dropped on top of it, and swap lanes onto the opposing Crown Tower. This will cause the Mighty Miner to lock onto their Crown Tower instantly and destroy it in about 6 seconds! High Elixir cards, such as Mega Knight and Little Prince after activating the ability, are especially prone to this strategy as they've just used the majority of their Elixir on effectively nothing. Giving more time for the Mighty Miner to take out the opposing Crown Tower. This sounds great, but if your opponent knows it's coming, this can go very wrong. If you attempt to do this and your opponent places an Electro Dragon or Electro Wizard in the middle of their King Tower, the Mighty Miner will only do very little damage to their Crown Tower, give them a good counter push, and give you a massive negative trade of 5 Elixir. Since this is a very high-risk high-reward strategy, this should only ever be done when you have no other option, have seen your opponent's entire deck, or know they're on a low amount of Elixir.
3. You can use the bomb to confuse your opponents with the assistance of the Evolved Goblin Barrel. Once you have a nearly healthy counter-pushing Mighty Miner, you can use the real Goblin Barrel on the opposite Crown Tower. This may cause the opponent to just instantly assume the real Goblin Barrel will be in the Mighty Miner's lane from the greater pressure and use their counter. However, when the Goblin Barrels are about to land, use the Mighty Miner ability; switching lanes and tanking for the Decoy Goblins instead of the real Goblins. This will disorient the opponent and deal massive damage to their Crown Tower as they just used their main counter.

Those were the main 3 ways on how to use the Mighty Miner's ability offensively and effectively. Now it's time for the ability on defense.

Defensively

Here are the different ways you can use the ability defensively to get you out of a sticky situation in desperate times. Potentially saving your Crown Tower from being destroyed or damaged.

1. You can use the ability to weaken pushes and separate support troops from the main threat. If your opponent has built up a large push, you can place a Mighty Miner in front of their main tank to drill it down. Once the Mighty Miner reaches about one-third of its max health, click the ability to drop the bomb. The bomb will deal pushback to most support troops, leaving your Mini P.E.K.K.A and Goblins with enough room and time to clean up and finish off the tank. This strategy works especially well with Fireball since the bomb and a Fireball can take out certain support troops that don't die to Fireball plus Snowball, such as Hunter, Electro Dragon, Night Witch, Archer Queen, Fisherman, and Bandit.
2. You can use the ability to counter or weaken split-lane pushes and counter-pushes. To tell you what I mean by this, I'll be using a scenario I was in at one point during a particularly tough match when I was learning how to use the deck. So, suppose your opponent is using Golem and they're up Elixir. They then drop a Golem and Night Witch in the back as you rush the other lane with a Goblin Giant. After they defend your Goblin Giant with Elite Barbarians, you will soon realize they have a split lane push and you'll have to go big brain mode to take it out. If you place a Mighty Miner on the Elite Barbarians 2 tiles in front of your Crown Tower, it will drill one away and the ability can knock back and damage the other once the single Elite Barbarian reaches about three-fourths health, reducing the damage they do to your Crown Tower significantly. Once the Mighty Miner goes over to the other side, it will either start damaging the Golem or Night Witch with about one-third of its health remaining. It will also tank the Night Witch's Bats, allowing a Mini P.E.K.K.A and Giant Snowball to take out the Bats and the Night Witch together. Soon, the Golem will be destroyed and at that point, you've nearly defended an 18-Elixir split-lane push with just 11! Thanks to the versatility of the Mighty Miner's ability, many large and small pushes alike from archetypes like Miner Control to Goblin Giant/Giant Sparky can be stopped in their tracks and give you a massive positive Elixir trade.
3. You can use the ability to counter a Goblin Barrel and Skeleton Barrel. To do this, you must place the Mighty Miner directly behind/to the side your Crown Tower and instantly activate the ability once the Goblin Barrel is shown or the Skeleton Barrel is at the Crown Tower. This will fully counter a Goblin Barrel, but still allows the Skeleton Barrel's death damage to connect. Alternatively, with the Goblin Barrel, you can predict it by placing your Mighty Miner 2 tiles behind your Crown Tower and activating the ability once the Goblin Barrel is a little more than halfway to the Crown Tower.

Upgrade Priority (Especially for Level 15)

This section goes over the cards to prioritize upgrading first so you can get to an equal level as easily as possible. This also counts for levels requiring Elite Wild Cards. Unfortunately, some of the interactions mentioned for some cards, particularly Giant Snowball, can be changed for the better or worse based on Tower Troop used.

Level Dependent Cards (Highest to Lowest Priority)

Dependent-leveled cards are cards that are particularly weak when under-leveled and can cause their interactions to be unfair.

1. Fireball - Fireball is by FAR the most important card to level up first because of so many different core interactions that get messed up. For example, some cards that die to a Fireball plus Giant Snowball will NOT die with an under-leveled Fireball. These include Witch, Mega Minion, Royal Hogs, and Hunter. in addition to those interaction changes, a card that dies to Fireball that won't die with an under-leveled Fireball includes Barbarians. It will also be much less effective against taking out large pushes, so upgrade your Fireball to max level as soon as you can!

2. Goblin Barrel - The next card you should prioritize is Goblin Barrel. Just like Fireball, many important interactions are changed if the Goblin Barrel is under-leveled. The biggest interaction change is with Zap and Rage. This is because under-leveled Goblins DIE to these 2 spells where equal-leveled Goblins don't. Making decks like Bridgespam and Sparky much harder to win against. Another big interaction is that the Goblin Barrel generally does 10% less damage, making it much less effective as a win condition.

3. Goblins - Goblins are next in line because of the health difference between levels. Health is slightly less of a problem with Goblin Barrel because the Crown Tower naturally takes out Goblins in 1-2 hits even when under-leveled, depending on the Tower Troop your opponent has equipped. Still allowing the Goblins to get the same amount of hits albeit with less damage dealt per stab overall. When under-leveled, Goblins can be 1 shot by Bandit, Fisherman, Barbarians, Electro Dragon, Guardienne, and most importantly, Miner. This significantly reduces their effectiveness at defending decks in 2x Elixir such as Bridgespam, Miner Wall Breakers, Royal Giant, Golem, Elixir Golem, and even Hog Cycle to an extent.

4. Dart Goblin - While Dart Goblin is level-dependent, being under-leveled by 1 doesn't change any interactions other than it has to shoot 1 more dart to take out nearly every single troop in the game other than low health troops like Skeletons, Goblins, and Spear Goblins (Archers and Firecracker also don't change in dart amounts). It will also die in 1 hit to a noncharging Dark Prince and get 0-2 fewer shots on the Crown Tower when placed at the bridge, depending on the Tower Troop your opponent has equipped. However, this isn't a big deal because of how fast the Dart Goblin shoots. This is why I would consider leveling it up after every other card above it is maxed out.

Level Independent Cards (Highest to Lowest Priority)

Independent-leveled cards can still work well even when 1 to 2 levels below their opponents. These should be upgraded after all dependent-leveled cards.

1. Giant Snowball - Giant Snowball is the most important card to level up in the independent category. While this means it should be upgraded first next to all others in this category, it doesn't change many interactions when under-leveled. An example of this is how Giant Snowball is still able to efficiently kill Goblins (also fully counter Goblin Barrel), Spear Goblins, and Minions. Yet it can no longer fully counter all three Wizards, Flying Machine, Musketeer, Hunter, and Night Witch no matter the timing. Those are the only interactions that change when under-leveled, besides the reduction in damage that could potentially put you in some sticky situations. An example is when you're cycling the Giant Snowball onto a very low-health Crown Tower to finish the game.
2. Mini P.E.K.K.A - An equal-leveled Mini P.E.K.K.A makes it better at taking hits and taking out tanks such as Mega Knight and Electro Giant. An under-leveled Mini P.E.K.K.A is much worse since it can't kill Musketeer, Little Prince, Ice Wizard, Electro Wizard, Wizard, and most importantly, Barbarians in 1 hit. Other notable interaction differences is how it can't kill Elite Barbarians in 2 hits and super heavy tanks such as Golem take an extra hit to destroy.
3. Goblin Giant - I prioritize Goblin Giant more than Mighty Miner because a 10% difference between the health and damage stats can make or break a game. It's your main win condition after all. Upgrading the Goblin Giant also affects the Spear Goblins inside its backpack, which in turn gives you equal-level Spear Goblins that can 1 shot Skeletons and Bats. These interactions are especially important against Tombstone, Skeleton Army, Witch, and Night Witch.
4. Mighty Miner - The Mighty Miner has no noticeable interaction changes whatsoever since it uses an Inferno Tower-like attacking pattern where the damage increases over time instead of just 1 big hit like the Mini P.E.K.K.A. However, it doesn't mean you shouldn't level him up at all. A 10% boost in health and damage is still important when it comes to the higher sections of Trophy Road and Path of Legends.

Specialized Card Tracking

This section of the guide will be about how to track the cycle of at least 1 card in your opponents deck. This skill is especially crucial for some previously stated matchups in the "strategy" section that heavily depend on outcycling, such as Royal Hogs and Logbait, and helps with figuring out when to rush the bridge in decks that depend on building up massive nearly undefendable beatdown pushes, such as Golem or Elixir Golem.

Types of Cards to Track (Highest to Lowest Priority)

Before I get into how to effectively track cards, it's first important to know what you should track as some cards in an opponents deck have more of an impact on the game than others.

1. Win Conditions and Goblin Giant Counters - These include cards such as Graveyard, P.E.K.K.A, Inferno Dragon, and Royal Giant that are the main damage dealers and counters to your Goblin Giant in your opponent's deck.
2. Evolutions - Evolved cards that counter your Goblin Giant and Goblin Barrel such as Evolved Barbarians and Evolved Skeletons should be the highest of the evolution priority list.
3. Small Spells/Goblin Barrel Counters - Due to Goblin Giant Logbait being well, a Logbait deck, it's incredibly important to keep track of their small spells and support cards that kill Goblin Barrel, such as Arrows, Bowler, and Log. However, it isn't above win conditions and evolutions as not everyone has a reliable spell/card counter to your Goblin Barrel.
4. Splash Cards and Big Spells - While splash cards and big spells, such as Fireball and Executioner, can be annoying as they diminish the power of your pushes, in most matchups, it isn't necessary as they aren't as game changing compared to win conditions, Goblin Giant counters, Evolutions, and small spells/Goblin Barrel counters. Though if you can or want to, they're still a good option to track.
5. Other Support Cards - Unless you can track all 8 cards perfectly in a deck (which is very hard to do and learn), the benefit of tracking other support cards isn't needed. So if you can only handle 1 to 2 cards while still playing well, go with that option.

How to Track Cards

Tracking cards is a very simple thing to do, but very taxing on your gameplay when done improperly. Which is why you should only be tracking 1-2 of their cards. To do so you must first find the card you want to track. Afterwards, wait for them to play the card and hold the number 4 in your head as you're playing. Once they play 4 cards, they're back to that card. For an example, let's say I have an opponent who's playing P.E.K.K.A Bridgespam and plays an P.E.K.K.A on my Goblin Giant and counter-push with Electro Wizard(4), Royal Ghost(3), Bandit(2), and Battle Ram(1). I soon defend this hypothetically massive counter-push with Mini P.E.K.K.A(4), Goblins(3), Fireball(2), and Mighty Miner(1). Once I play my Mighty Miner and they play their Battle Ram, my Goblin Giant and their P.E.K.K.A is back in cycle. This is exactly how cycle naturally, play 4 cards after the one you just played and it will come back into your hand. However, this is not always true due to...........

The Special Case of 3 Card Cycle

As I've previously mentioned, 3 card cycle happens when a Champion is on the field (Little Prince, Mighty Miner, etc) due to Champions not able to be cycled. So, for consistency, I'll be using the same example as before, just with a Mighty Miner opposite lane in the back first. Once they play the P.E.K.K.A into my Goblin Giant and counter-push with Electro Wizard(4), Royal Ghost(3), Bandit(2), and Battle Ram(1). All I need to cycle back to Goblin Giant is Mini P.E.K.K.A(3), Goblins(2), and Fireball(1) as the Mighty Miner in the opposite lane took out a card from my cycle. This means I can Goblin Giant again without the threat of their P.E.K.K.A as they'll still have to use 1 more card to get it in hand.