Hog Log/Spell Bait Deck

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Introduction

Not my deck, but won Nitrome95 the 1k man Clash Royale Arena #1 Tournament.

Deck Information

Deck Created by: FishAreBlue

Minimum Recommended King Level: 10

Maximum Recommended King Level: 13

Arena Required: Electro Valley (Wrong?)

Average Elixir Cost: 3.5 (Wrong?)

More Statistics: Go to Deck Builder

Card Roles

Hog Rider: The main mistake that a lot of players make with this deck is that they play it like a Hog control/cycle deck. That is exactly the wrong mindset that you should have while playing this deck. Instead, think of the Hog Rider as a tank that applies lots of pressure to your opponent with its speed and high damage output. When playing the Hog Rider, you want to play it against the left/right wall right at the bridge. That way, the Hog Rider jumps over the river and makes it harder for your opponent it counter it. Once you have a tower down, you will want to play the Hog Rider in the pocket so that it can tank both arena towers.If your opponent plays a tank in the back and you are not behind on elixir, you can attack the opposite lane with it.

Goblin Barrel: Goblin Barrel is best used on offense because it can be placed directly on top of the tower.

Goblin Gang: Goblin Gang is a hybrid of both, not having the best offense or defense, but it is well rounded.

Fireball: I chose Fireball over Poison to take out Minions faster when dealing with Royal Giant so that your Inferno Tower can lock on. If and when possible, it is worth it to take a -1 elixir trade to hit the troop and tower. However, if you are behind on elixir, don’t do so.

The Log: Don’t be stupid with it. If a Goblin Barrel is coming at you, track the Goblins so that you don’t miss a trickster barrel.

Electro Wizard: This card is good. It is your secondary defense against hog rider if you don’t have inferno tower. With decks like these becoming popular, a Goblin Gang Hog Rider combo is countered by an Electro wizard for a (OJ) positive elixir trade. Usually, you will want to utilize the spawn Zap to get +2 elixir value out of the troop. However, if the push has tons of high DPS, you might want to use the Electro Wizard’s long range. On offense, this card is also a threat because of its fast speed and retargeting abilities.

Skeleton Army: Skeleton army is best used in defense because it has the highest DPS.

Inferno Tower: Good against any tanks, decent against Hog rider and Miner. Just make sure that you keep it away from your other defensive troops or else your opponent can get a value spell.

Strategy

• General Gameplan
  • Simply put, this is a spell bait deck, meaning that you bait out your opponent’s spells and punish them for doing so with a Goblin barrel, Goblin Gang, or Skeleton Army with a tank. Your tank is usually the Hog Rider, but Electro Wizard is sometimes a good tank on a counterpush with goblin barrel.
• Opening Hand
  • The best opening move is Hog Rider so you can see your opponent’s response to your Hog Rider. Once you defend their push, you will most likely have cycled to your Hog Rider again.
  • If you do not have the Hog Rider, a Goblin Barrel is your next best move. Otherwise, wait for your opponent to make the first move and react accordingly.
• First Two Minutes
  • Unlike a beatdown deck, you can play this deck in single elixir.
  • If your opponent uses their spells only on defense, you will wait until double elixir to be aggressive. If they use their spell on your Skeleton Army on defense, use your Goblin Gang to continue defending, then punish them with a Hog Rider Goblin Barrel.
  • You should be able to take down a tower easily or at least chip it down fairly heavily.
• 2 Times Elixir
  • At double elixir, you have to assess the situation.
    • If you have the tower already, defend the crap out of your tower. However, you should know when your tower will probably go down so that you can apply bonus damage to the opposite lane.
    • If you have the tower down to critical hp, a few Fireballs and a Goblin Barrel here and there should do it.
    • If you still do not have much damage on the tower, you have to play mindgames with your opponent. Try to make it seem like you will make one play, and then quickly switch it up, hopefully for some good damage.
    • If the game is 1 tower to 1, this is where you go for the ultimate push. Wait for your opponent to have wasted at least one of his spells and immediately do a Goblin Barrel Hog Rider Goblin Gang Skeleton Army rush. When doing so, make sure your opponent does not have some major splash like a Valkyrie or Bomb Tower.