Hello fellow clashers! This guide to defeating the Giant + Mega Minion combo is brought to you by usc1313, a pro clasher whose goal it is to make it to 4,000 trophies with Tournament Level Cards! It comes with a video guide on all of the examples in this article with detailed explanations done by KairosTime.
How to counter Giant Mega Minion
Even with its recent release, Mega Minion has already secured its place as a staple card in the Meta, being usable in so many different types of decks! It’s versatility and ability to transition from defense to offense make it a popular choice in Giant Poison, Miner Inferno, and Lava Hound Miner decks. The combination of Mega Minion behind a tank makes for a intimidating push for as little as 8 elixir when paired with the Giant. With the lack of Air Defense in many decks, this simple push can be devastating if not dealt with correctly.
Biggest Thing to Remember: Separate the Giant and the Mega Minion!
Because the Giant has a bigger hitbox than the Mega Minion, your troops are more likely to target him than Mega Minion. This is what makes this combination so difficult to counter. That being said, your goal should be to separate the two by either pulling the Giant, or by pulling the Mega Minion. Once you’ve done this, you can deal with them individually. Since the Mega Minion is the troop you should focus on killing first, pulling it away from the Giant is key for a solid defense. Excellent cards for this are: Buildings, The Log, Ice Spirit, Skeletons, and Spear Goblins.
Examples
Cannon Pull – This defense separates the Giant from the Mega Minion. It is very important that you place the cannon into the opposite lane so that it will only pull the Giant, and not the Mega Minion along with it. It also forces the Giant to walk the greatest amount of distance. You will want to watch the video to see exact placement. Other buildings, especially Inferno Tower, are substitutes for the Cannon as well. One building that has a harder time making this split successful is the Tesla Tower. That being said, it will still work if you place it in the center of the map.
Hog Rider Distraction – This is done by distracting the Mega Minion with a Hog Rider, and then using the Ice Spirit or Skeletons to further distract the it while your other troops clear the Giant. This can take some practice to pull off, but can be a great way to get some damage on a tower on the same lane that your opponent is focusing their attack.
Ice Spirit + Spear Goblins – This defense is similar to the one above, except that in this push, you can spend less to defend by allowing your Mini PEKKA to take some damage from the Mega Minion. Spear Goblins are weaker to Poison and vulnerable to Zap, so they are less reliable. That being said, if your opponent doesn’t have these cards in their hand, this is a cheap way to stop a big push. Any high DPS unit can be used to finish off Giant, Mini PEKKA is just the example.
Barbarians + Ice Spirit – This defense is solid against the Giant Mega Minion combo and only costs 6 Elixir. Barbarians don’t see as much use as Mini PEKKA but stop this combo when paired with an Ice Spirit without allowing any tower damage. They provide enough distraction value and DPS to melt the Giant and hold up the Mega Minion.
Mega Minion + Ice Spirit – Because the Mega Minion is such a strong card right now, chances are you most likely are using it in your deck! This is the most effective defense in my opinion because it offers a great opportunity for a counter attack by placing a troop at the bridge after defending. The key point to remember is to place the Ice Spirit far enough away so the opponents Mega Minion does not attack it.
Giant Pull – If you’re playing a Giant deck, this technique is a great way to make your own push as long as you’re ok with sacrificing some tower damage in order to counter attack the other lane. If a Mini P.E.K.K.A. is used instead of Goblins, it heavily reduces the tower damage taken as well as providing a dangerous option for dual lane pressure.
These are not the only ways to counter this push, but are some of the best. As long as you can separate the two cards, you can make a successful defense. Just be careful where you place defending troops because you know your opponent will most likely have poison on hand!
Bonus Lava Hound Example – The second deck type to really benefit from the addition of the Mega Minion is Lava Hound decks. This defense uses Skeletons in the middle of the map at the perfect time so that the Mega Minion is pulled across to the other side of the map. This allows you to clear the Lava Hound without also having to deal with the Mega Minion! It is crucial to place the Skeletons as late as possible so the Mega Minion chases the two Skeletons to the side after killing the first one.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post! I hope you learned something from the guide. If I hit 4000 with 9/7/4/1, I will do a deck guide with replays! All is welcome in the comments below.
