Hello guys! I am here with a guide to one of the most viable decks of Clash Royale in Season 17. This deck, being played by many players in the top Global ladder of season 17 consists of one of the most hated cards of all times: The Elite Barbarians. An E-Barb, Battle Ram push, if played correctly can destroy the opponent.
Let us see the basics of this deck and how to play it. SK-Morten recently pushed to Global No.1 using this deck. This deck is also taking over the top ladder of Season 17.
Deck Check:
The defense potential of this deck is really great, with really great defensive cards like the Cannon Cart, Hunter and the Barbarian Barrel. The offense of this is also really good with Bridge spam cards like the Bandit, battle Ram and Elite Barbarians. There are no clear win conditions in this deck but we have 5 semi-win conditions which will clearly frustrate your opponent.
The Elite-Barbarians are the tank-busters of this deck and when they are combined with a heal-spirit, The E-barbs are the counter-pushing units in this deck. The Hunter and the Magic Archer are the anti-air cards of this deck and the Heal-Spirit with the Barbarian Barrel make up the swarm clearance in this deck.
The only disadvantage with this deck is that there are no responses for your opponents Elixir Collectors but they have fallen off-meta for a while so you wouldn’t need to worry about it.
Play Style:
This is a very defensive deck. Just rushing with E-Barbs first play is not how you play this deck. This deck requires a lot of skill. You have to play very defensive and then punish your opponents when they make a mistake.
The shortest card cycle of this deck is 10 Elixir.
Role of cards:
Elite Barbarians:
The Elite Barbarians card is unlocked from Arena 10. It spawns 2 single-targets, melee, stronger, faster Barbarians with moderate hit points and very high damage. The Elite Barbarians costs 6 Elixir to deploy. Elite Barbarians are most reliable as a defensive card turned into a counterattack, especially against tanks and troops that are one shot by a pair of Elite Barbarians, like a Musketeer. This allows them to push for a lower cost than if they were just played at the bridge (6 Elixir to counter 4, but you will have two nearly unscathed Elite Barbarians counterattacking).
Although Elite Barbarians have high damage per second, their health is mediocre, so almost all swarms can counter it for a positive Elixir trade. Therefore you have to keep track of your opponents swarm cards and plan your counter-push properly. An Ice Golem with any other high damage support card like Minions can easily take down the Elite Barbarians.
Heal Spirit:
The Heal Spirit card is unlocked from Arena 10. It is a very short-ranged troop with low hit points and damage. Like the Ice Spirit, the Heal Spirit attacks by jumping onto the target before disintegrating. When it does this, it creates a field that heals nearby friendly troops. A Heal Spirit card costs 1 Elixir to deploy. Use the Heal Spirit to heal up your troops for a counter push or to tank a hit from high-dps units of the opponent.
Battle Ram:
The Battle Ram card is unlocked from Arena 3. It is a single-target, melee troop with both moderate hit points and damage. It targets buildings only. Like a Prince or Dark Prince, it will begin to charge towards its target after travelling some distance, and deals double damage if it hits its target whilst charging. Once the Battle Ram has hit a target or loses all its hit points, it will break and reveal the two Barbarians underneath. A Battle Ram card costs 4 Elixir to deploy.
Due to its charging mechanic, the Battle Ram can push heavier and slower troops towards the Crown Tower faster. Likewise, the Battle Ram can be pushed by troops with at least a Fast movement speed before it begins to charge. Therefore pair the Battle Ram with your Elite Barbarians during your counter-push.
Barbarian Barrel:
The Barbarian Barrel card is unlocked from Arena 3. It is an area damage spell with a moderate area of effect and damage. When cast the Barbarian Barrel rolls across the Arena, damaging ground troops and buildings in its path. After rolling for 5 tiles, it will break open and release a Barbarian. A Barbarian Barrel card costs 2 Elixir to cast.
The Barbarian Barrel can be used in a similar manner to The Log, but it will not reach the Princess Tower before releasing its Barbarian. However, the Barbarian can follow up and attack anything still alive. The Barbarian Barrel can counter lone support troops such as Wizard, Witch, and Executioner as they cross the bridge. If the Barbarian spawns near the troop, the barrel’s damage and the Barbarian’s damage can kill the troop.
The Barbarian will fail to take out these troops on its own unless they are distracted with something else, so be sure to have support from the Princess Tower or another unit when defending.
Hunter:
The Hunter card is unlocked from Arena 1. He is a short-ranged troop with moderate hit points who shoots shotgun shells with a widespread, and each shot pellet does slight area damage on impact. The Hunter will do very high damage up close and less at range. A Hunter card costs 4 Elixir to deploy.
The Hunter is able to take care of swarms when placed at a distance, and can quickly damage down tankier units when placed right next to them, having similar damage to a P.E.K.K.A. when all his bullets connect. However, although he has slightly more health than units of identical Elixir cost like the Musketeer, he will still be damaged down fairly quickly by support troops in a push due to his low range and attack pattern forcing him to be played near the front.
One on one, he can neutralize a lot of mini tanks and building targeting units; against a Hog Rider, he will only let it hit the Princess Tower once before defeating it. He can usually take three or four hits from a mini tank before being defeated, and he has enough health to survive one P.E.K.K.A. strike. He is the most crucial defense of this deck against air troops like the Balloon. Save him for the Tank cards of your opponent.
Cannon Cart:
The Cannon Cart card is unlocked from Arena 10. It is a single-target, medium-ranged troop with moderate hit points and damage output. Half of its health comes from the cart that carries the Cannon, and the other half is the actual Cannon’s health. When the cart breaks, the Cannon Cart loses its wheels and becomes a stationary turret.
The first portion of its health is represented by a shield which behaves identically to shields belonging to the Dark Prince and Guards, being able to absorb excess damage. When the cart is broken, it behaves like a building with a lifetime of 30 seconds. Troops that target buildings, such as the Giant, will begin to target the Cannon Cart when its cart is broken. Additionally, it will no longer be affected by cards that affect only troops, such as the Clone or the Ram Rider’s snare.
A Cannon Cart card costs 5 Elixir to deploy. This card is a crucial part of the defense of this deck.
Bandit:
The Bandit card is unlocked from Arena 9. She is a troop with moderate hit points and damage that has the ability to dash to nearby targets, dealing double damage if she hits a target with her dash, similar to a Prince’s charge. She is immune to damage while dashing. A Bandit card costs 3 Elixir to deploy.
The Bandit functions well as a cheap punishment or dual lane push card due to her dash mechanic making her an immediate threat. Completely ignoring a Bandit is often fatal as she will take the Princess Tower’s health to just over 50% health. The Bandit is very useful to make your opponent to make a move.
Magic Archer:
The Magic Archer card is unlocked from Arena 5. He is an area damage, long-ranged troop with moderately low hit points and damage. The Magic Archer shoots arrows which go linearly to damage his target and any other units in the arrow’s path. A Magic Archer card costs 4 Elixir to deploy.
Due to his fast hit speed and his arrow’s ability to go through other troops, he can defeat swarms such as the Goblin Gang and Skeleton Army. He can also completely destroy a Minion Horde without taking any damage as long as he has the help of a Princess Tower. Use the Magic Archers penetrating ability and Geometry to gain chip damage on the opponent’s tower.
That’s it for this guide. Hope you enjoyed and wish you the best of luck with this deck. Happy Clashing!
By Fang.
