P.E.K.K.A's Physical Motivation

Introduction

Hello people of the internet! My name's Bane of Potato and this time, I can't claim full credit for this deck. It is a collaborative deck forged from some heated strategising with Sparky. Go pay her a visit! Together we created a Hybrid P.E.K.K.A Control/Beatdown deck that utilises P.E.K.K.A's unmatched support killing prowess with ExeNado to demolish other popular beatdown decks.

Disclaimer: This deck is original and of our own creation. Any similarities to other decks online are purely coincidental. Please don't accuse us of plagiarism. :(

Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section below. :)

Deck Information[]

Deck Created by: Bane of Potato and Type: Sparky

Minimum Recommended King Level: 10

Maximum Recommended King Level: 13

Arena Required: Miner's Mine (Wrong?)

Average Elixir Cost: 3.9 (Wrong?)

More Statistics: Go to Deck Builder

Card Roles[]

P.E.K.K.A.: In my personal opinion, she is the best tank in the game. She can easily soak up damage due to her massive hitpoints and retaliate with an all-mighty blow. P.E.K.K.A's high on-hit damage gives her an unrivalled support killing power, 1-shotting most glass cannons in the game while barely breaking a sweat. For tougher troops such as Prince and Witch, you may need to play Zap to clear the area of squishies. Her high burst damage also allows her to cut tanks down to size. Unfortunately, she does have a weakness to swarms, a trait shared by all tanks in the game. For P.E.K.K.A, it's magnified, because she will be distracted and attack the swarm instead of continue on to the Tower. Because of this, P.E.K.K.A should always be backed up with Executioner (or Zap/Tornado if Executioner is out of rotation) as he can easily delete any swarms that are played to counter her. If ranged units are harassing her, pull them closer with Tornado so she can repay the damage with interest.

Cannon Cart: For 5 Elixir, the Cannon Cart is quite pricey but it is an exceptionally powerful ranged attacker, constantly harassing units from the protection of a Knight or P.E.K.K.A. When paired with P.E.K.K.A, they can take down all non-tanks incredibly quickly, forcing the opponent to spend more Elixir which you can capitalise on by using ExeNado. Everything melts under its steady stream of damage and it makes for excellent counter-pushes. However, it does have a moderate attack speed so it will need some protection from large swarms. Zap is recommended, but Executioner is the preferred option if you are making a heavy push. An important feature to note is its shield mechanic; all damage that destroys the shield will not carry over to the Cannon Cart itself. After the shield is down, however, the Cannon Cart will be unable to move and will gradually lose its life, so aim to keep it on its Cart at all times. This means that heavy hitters such as Prince, Sparky and Mini P.E.K.K.A are less effective than most would think against it. Also, unlike similar cards like the Musketeer, it can take out a Goblin or Ice Spirit in one shot, so don't hesitate to use it against a small swarm. Its fast move-speed means that you can punish the enemy for playing a Golem at the back, since they won't have enough Elixir to stop it. The Cannon Cart is a troop, then a building! It will whittle down troops that only target buildings, and if the enemy decides to destroy it, it should lure the enemy unit towards it. If the unit still targets the tower anyway, a simple Zap will correct that. Should your enemy ignore it and let it do its work, or kill it but miss out on a lot of valuable damage? A real dilemma!

Executioner: In my opinion, Executioner is the best splash unit. He may be a little lacking in DPS but his linear attack means that he can annihilate swarms in a single pass. He can also do a bit of extra damage to anything dumb or unfortunate enough to wander close to him while his axe flies back after it's travelled away. His axe is like a Poison, providing valuable area denial. This means that he can cripple Lava Pups before they can even react. His most defining characteristic, though, is his 7 tile area of affect despite having a 4.5 tile aggravation range. He can harass support units behind a tank before they can even target him. This can be exploited by his amazing synergy with Tornado, keeping the tank close enough so that the Executioner will target it but far enough so the supports can't retaliate. When paired with P.E.K.K.A, you can virtually and literally annihilate every ground push. With Tornado, he can even destroy Lava Hound pushes. He should always be tanked for to force the opponent to react, then you can Tornado the enemy's counters in front of the Crown Tower so you can clip the tower as well. One weakness is his lack of DPS, but the P.E.K.K.A more than compensates for this. Also, beware of surprise attacks from a Minion Horde or Skeleton Army from behind, or heavy hitters like Sparky or Inferno cards, as they can mow him down in a few seconds if they get the chance. Always have your Zap ready.

Zap: 2 Elixir, instant effect and stuns. Zap is a strong card that synergises with other cards in this deck very well. You can use it to make key targets die that much faster under the wrath of Executioner or Cannon Cart. It also serves as a lifeline for your Bandit, otherwise she would never get past her common counters. Zap is key to P.E.K.K.A's support killing success as it clears the way, lowers the enemy troops' health, and forces them to retarget onto her. Its stun also helps against channeled attack or abilities, stopping a Battle Ram from charging into your tower, stopping troops from getting that vital extra hit off or resetting an Inferno attack before it gets too hot. It also forces targets to retarget so you can divert damage to something less important, or troll units that only target buildings by changing their target to a Cart-less Cannon.

Knight: The Knight is an incredibly versatile card. It offers high HP, moderate DPS, and moderate swarm control for just 3 Elixir. In this deck, he is mostly a defensive card who tanks for your Executioner or Cannon Cart while they dish out damage. Since he is fairly tanky, he also acts as a secondary tank when P.E.K.K.A dies, ensuring the maximum damage output of your other cards. That is, unless a Bandit dashes forwards in front of him... Knight is a very good counter to the Graveyard with his rather fast hit speed and positive Elixir trade potential.

Bandit: Because of her dash, she is probably one of the most annoying Legendary cards in the game. The dash means she deals double damage so you should aim to play her a a few tiles away from the target. If there is a lone squishy (such as a Princess) walking towards the bridge, play Bandit when it is about a third of the way from the Arena Tower to the bridge. This means that your Bandit dashes in and smacks the squishy to death before instantly dashing towards the Arena Tower, leaving your opponent little time to react. Play her at the bridge whenever a tank is played at the back to break up their push or as a starting hand. This forces them to react and you can react accordingly.

Skeleton Army: This spooky scary crew should be used to eradicate pretty much every ground unit. Don't be afraid to drop them around directional splashers such as Wizard, Bowler and Executioner. Once you've countered the enemy's troops, use them as cannon fodder to prolong the life expectancy of the other troops and to get a bit of extra damage in. Usually, I play a Bandit or a Knight to tank for some Skeletons to force the opponent to react. You can play P.E.K.K.A among the support units to tank and play Skeleton Army to quickly shred the tank. All of that is, until they get turned into a pile of broken bones by a spell. Always have another card ready in case they get taken apart.

Tornado: Tornado is a bit like a reverse Fireball in that it pulls units into its center rather than pushing them away from it. On offence, you can use this to either pull defending units out of the way or pull them towards P.E.K.K.A to quickly deal with them. Tornado works well with all ranged troops, especially splash units, since it gives them some extra shots without the fear of retaliation. Of course, Executioner is the preferred choice since he has the best synergy. If you pull the tank to the very edge of Executioner's aggro range (4.5 tiles), then his axe will also clip the support units without retaliation since the axe has a 7 tile reach. Another feature about Tornado is its ability to activate the King Tower early, giving you a massive defensive advantage.

Strategy[]

Start of the Match[]

At the start of the match there are some key opening moves that you should play:

Play Bandit or Skeleton Army at the bridge to provoke the opponent. You can then react appropriately to the counter and possibly build a counter-push.
Split Skeleton Army at the back. This lets you defend both sides or gives you the option to attack on either lane. If left alone, you can then force the opponent to react by tanking for the skeletons with Knight or Bandit. A smart opponent, however, will know that half a Skeleton Army will cause little to no damage on its own and may focus just on killing the mini-tank.
Play Skeleton Army at the bridge to force the opponent to react.
If they play a tank at the back, play Executioner or P.E.K.K.A at the back to react, or pressure the other lane with Bandit. Don't play the Cannon Cart because it's extremely fast and will likely die before it can cause any damage to the enemy tank.
Let P.E.K.K.A crush the Battle Ram or Hog Rider. If you don't have a P.E.K.K.A, the Cannon Cart is the next best option. Play a Skeleton Army if you don't have either, and if you're really all out of options you could play a Knight or Bandit or flat-out Tornado the enemy's Hog to the Tower or Tornado the Battle Ram into the kill zone.
Play the waiting game if you can't afford any mistakes.

Whatever you choose, always have Cannon Cart or Executioner and Zap ready to react to swarms, be it for a Bandit on offense or a P.E.K.K.A on defense.

Main Counters to this Deck and How to Deal with Them[]

Inferno Dragon: BY FAR the worst card you can face with this deck. It's a flying Inferno Tower, so yeah. ExeNado probably won't be able to kill him in time, even with Zap, so your main win condition is not to get P.E.K.K.A to smash the Tower, but to get a Cannon Cart or Bandit to lock on instead. You can use ExeNado to get some extra hits on the tower as well but there is no way to counter Inferno Dragon in time for P.E.K.K.A to survive. A good move is to wait about 3 seconds then Tornado it out of range of your P.E.K.K.A. This way it will be Tornadoed out of range when it's just about to hit maximum damage, and will have taken some damage from the Executioner. It's pretty easy to kill it after this, but the main problem here is that this combo requires very precise timing to pull off.

Inferno Tower: Depending on its positioning, you may be able to get Bandit to dash across the river and engage it. Of course, you will then need to use Zap to reset its attack and force it to retarget. Usually your Cannon Cart is able to take out the Inferno Tower with the Zap and Bandit so it isn't as much of a problem as the Inferno Dragon. If an Inferno Tower is dropped and targets your P.E.K.K.A, wait for the Bandit to dash into its face then Zap it and let the troops do the rest.

Sparky: On offense, Zap and Tornado her to P.E.K.K.A. Trying to complicate things will result in loss of troops. On defense or against an isolated Sparky or a Sparky with squishies like Goblins, the Cannon Cart will lower her HP down to the point where the Arena Tower can kill her. Or just drop P.E.K.K.A on top of Sparky. Make sure not to mess up, as one shot can cost you the game.

Mini P.E.K.K.A: He is extremely effective against every troop except the Skeleton Army and P.E.K.K.A in this deck. Together, the main push can easily obliterate him, but if the push isn't complete or P.E.K.K.A is too far ahead, he can crush your push. Make sure you always have a Skeleton Army or P.E.K.K.A alive when pushing up against a Mini P.E.K.K.A user. Zap the P.E.K.K.A if it targets a crucial troop in the push

Rocket: Rocket will destroy all of your support units in a flash, so some funky placements are required. I always play Executioner at the river and not the bridge so it hasn't bothered me too much. Hopefully your Bandit will have dashed away by now and will have started beating something up. The Cannon Cart will probably get caught in the blast but the shield mechanic will let it stay on the Arena, albeit in one spot and gradually losing lifetime. It won't be able to attack if it hasn't already started attacking the tower, but it can still prove very annoying to any enemy troops that happen to cross paths with it. Try to bait out Rocket with a troop placed at the back. You will receive some Tower damage but it should pay off.

Lightning: Lightning is a less extreme version of Rocket. It will hit the P.E.K.K.A, cripple the Executioner and cripple if not destroy the Bandit during push. When this happens, try your best to preserve the Cannon Cart, as it and the P.E.K.K.A can in turn defend the other cards. Use the same strategies as Rocket when it comes to baiting, but remember that Lightning has a much larger radius. Note that this card can render you very weak to an Inferno Dragon, so be prepared for that.

Elite Barbarians: They're only a problem when used to counter a Bandit pressure drop. Once they've killed the Bandit, use a P.E.K.K.A or Skeleton Army to shut them down. Drop the Skeleton Army in the middle in case the enemy tries a predictive Log.

Executioner: ExeNado is a very strong combo capable of shutting down your push fairly well. There are two ways to combat it. Zap the Executioner once Bandit dashes into his face to change his trajectory. Alternatively, drag him in with your own Tornado so P.E.K.K.A can quickly deal with him. This reaction is much easier to pull off for some reason. If he's already right next to the P.E.K.K.A or the Cannon Cart, let them crush him.

Barbarians: P.E.K.K.A will easily deal with them but you should try to protect your support units, so Tornado is advised. If dropped right, the enemy could surround your Bandit or Cannon Cart with the Barbarians.

Ice Golem: He has a literal ton of health for 2 Elixir and can kite everything all over the place to really mess up your push. There are two ways to destroy it. One way is to have a Cannon Cart shoot it to death or surround him in a pile of bones. The other way is to Tornado it into your P.E.K.K.A so that it can die. Remember that he will slow everything around him on death, but that shouldn't be much of a problem for this P.E.K.K.A deck. If it kites a Bandit or another important troop, Tornado it back to the P.E.K.K.A so that nothing gets lane-swapped.

Royal Giant: Kill him with a P.E.K.K.A. A Skeleton Army won't work because it leaves plenty of time for the enemy to Zap it into a pile of broken bones. If you can somehow get the enemy to destroy a nearby Cannon Cart's shield, Zap that Royal Giant so that it retargets onto the Cart, but don't place a Cannon Cart just so that that can happen. Royal Giants are in general very annoying to deal with, so don't be surprised if it gets a few shots off on your Tower.

Graveyard: Can be annoying if dropped while your mega-push is being countered or if you're defending against an enemy push. If this happens, Knight should be able to take care of it. If the Skeletons build up around him, Zap them. If you don't have the Knight, Tornado the Skeletons to delay them, then Zap them once they've clumped up around your Tower. In case of Freeze, save your Zap for when your Knight gets frozen.

Wombo Combos[]

Please note that cards are in order of placement. These are only suggestions and can be changed to fit the situation. .... ready means you have the card ready to be dropped. You may notice that this section is filled with counters, and that's because this deck thrives on counter-pushes, reducing the chances of being punished.

Regular[]

Executioner + Tornado (ExeNado) + Knight (Mini-tank for counter-push)
P.E.K.K.A+Skeleton Army (Tank + Splash + DPS counter)
Skeleton Army (Split at back) + Bandit (Opening move, pressure)
Knight + Bandit (Punish) (P.E.K.K.A in hand)
Knight + Cannon Cart + Zap(Ready) (Mini-tank + DPS counter)
Cannon Cart + Knight + Zap (Ready) (Mini-tank + DPS counter)
Knight + Zap (Ready) + Tornado (Ready) (Graveyard counter)

Double Elixir/Overtime[]

Executioner (Next to tower) + P.E.K.K.A (Support killing) + Tornado (To P.E.K.K.A) (Heavy push counter)
Executioner (Next to tower) + Cannon Cart + Tornado (Giant push counter)

Substitutes[]

You may not have some of the cards that you need for this deck, or perhaps some of them aren't a high enough level cough cough CANNON CART! BANDIT! cough cough... excuse me, I seem to be having a coughing fit cough cough 6 EPICS! cough cough. Anyways, we have some substitutes to some cards, but this deck is very capricious in the way the cards are used and has very few. Strategies for substitutes are the same as the original ones except for any differences outlined down below.

Dark Prince: Substitute for the Knight. Good on defense as a powerful splash unit, and his fast speed makes him a good offensive splash unit. He also has health comparable to the Knight but costs more.
Valkyrie: Substitute for the Knight. Does thoroughly average damage but always hits in a 360° area, and has more HP than the Knight but costs more.
Wizard: Unlike Executioner, Wizard can take down an Inferno Tower with the help of a Zap before P.E.K.K.A gets roasted. Wizard has moderate burst damage, capable of 1-shotting squishies before P.E.K.K.A even knows that they're there. He may not be able to clip through units like the Executioner but he certainly makes up for it by packing a punch.
Goblin Gang: Substitute for the Skeleton Army. It has way less troops and so does less well against P.E.K.K.A or Prince or other tough troops like those, but that's why we have the P.E.K.K.A in this deck. The Goblin Gang can overall clear out a much wider variety of units than the Skeleton Army can, is slightly spell-resistant and can be used as a punishment or rush card.
Guards: They're skeletons but beefier. Guards are incredibly spell resistant, the only spell being able to take them out on their own being Poison. Due to their shields, they have incredible survivability and can take down heavy hitters easily. They also make decent support troops as they can poke enemies with their spears from behind the safety of P.E.K.K.A.

Early Substitutes[]

Because this is a very high-level deck cough cough Cannon Cart cough cough, these substitues will do until you get a specific card. These cards use the same strategies as the originals except for the differences listed below.

Baby Dragon/Wizard: Good substitutes for the Executioner. They can't clip their projectiles through enemies like he does, so don't use those strategies, but will do until the Executioner is unlocked. SplashNado is still effective with these two.
Prince: A replacement for Bandit until you get her. Has higher health and does more damage than her, and can also charge, but costs more and is nowhere near as fast. None of Bandit's dash techniques (such as invincibility to Sparky or dashing across the river) work with him, however.
Musketeer: The best replacement for Cannon Cart. Cheaper but does less damage, is distracted more easily and has less HP. Also doesn't have a shield, so none of the shield strategies can be applied to her.
Arrows: Early replacement for the Zap, just as a swarm killer. You'll be in P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse by the time you're able to make the early version of the deck, so advancing to the next Arena and getting Zap shouldn't be much of a problem.
Electro Wizard: Substitute for Bandit. Forces enemies to retarget, providing the same distraction value as Bandit, and is also an additional counter to Inferno cards, but is a worse win condition than Bandit whereas Bandit is both a support unit and win condition at the same time.