After the success of Hay Day and Clash of Clans, Supercell decided to expand its library of titles and take on a new level of competition. Out of the three games launched, only Boom Beach and other games survived. Spooky Pop and Smash Land were unfortunately pulled out from both the Apple Store in less than a year after the release.
Having two games shutdown in two consecutive years is no joke, especially for a huge developer like Supercell. Nevertheless, the genius of this tale comes from the ingenious way the Finland-based company made use of their existing concepts. By combining the various characters found in one of their biggest titles, Clash of Clans, Supercell was able to develop a real-time strategy game. And it is made up of a concoction of elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena, thus the birth of Clash Royale.
In less than a year, the performance of Clash Royale redeemed the two consecutive years of failure amassing over a billion dollars in revenue. Besides, Clash Royale also paved the way for Supercell to jump into the highly competitive world of eSports through the annual Clash Royale League. On top of that are the various accolades, nominations, and awards from some of the most prestigious video game organizations on the planet.
Four years after its inception, Clash Royale remains to be one of the most popular games of Supercell. Although the company has other successful video game titles in its library, Clash of Clans, for the most part, is a great example of a strategy game born from a clever strategy. That said, now that you have a brief knowledge about the game’s background, let’s take a look at the various features of this highly acclaimed title.
Clash Royale Game Features
Clash Royale is a combination of gameplay elements borrowed from other genres. Its main gameplay structure, for example, hails from another sub-genre strategy game called Tower Defense. Clash Royale’s character representation gets its inspiration from CCG, better known as the Collectible Card Game. In addition, the card rarities, card type, and clan features get its inspiration from the RPG genre. That said, let’s take a quick overview of some of the most iconic features found in the game.
Clash Royale Game Modes
Like hitting two birds with a single stone, the game modes featured in Clash Royale is perhaps one of the best decisions Supercell has ever made into the game. You see, Clash Royale allows players to play Solo with a friend against random enemies across the globe. Although the game does not entirely feature a solid single-player mode per se, the developers were able to make the game function like a single-player campaign by itself.
This is done through the game’s unique trophy-based progression rules. This works by requiring the player to earn a specific amount of trophies (through battle) to unlock the other Arenas in the game. Unlocking these various arenas will give you access to a new suite of cards. In other words, Clash Royale is an online multiplayer game that awards single-players with trophies they can be used for in-game progression and precious loot to those who like to engage in battles with other players (2v2).
Clans
Clans is another cool feature found in Clash Royale. Like most multiplayer video games, joining a clan in Clash Royale is highly beneficial to your in-game progression. One of the most iconic events in the game, called Clan Wars, provides each clan the opportunity to become the best clan in the game. Becoming the best clan will provide its members to highly prized loot in addition to bragging rights.
Cards
Cards are one of the most important elements in Clash Royale; this is because your deck of cards can make or break your game. Each card in the game comes with its set attributes. Also, each card comes in four rarities, namely common, rare, epic, and legendary. Do take note that the rarity of the card does not translate to devastating power. The fact is that getting to know your card is essential in creating the perfect strategy to counter your enemies.
In a nutshell, your deck must be according to your playstyle. Having an all-legendary deck does not mean victory if the opponent holds a solid build of cards. It is important to take note that Clash Royale is all about strategic deck building and having a rare card is only a fraction of the battle.
Deck Building – The Top 5 Most-Used Decks in Clash Royale
Now, It is time for us to take an overview of some of the most iconic decks in the game. First thing’s first, in building a deck in Clash Royale, one of the most important elements to watch out is the Elixir average of your deck. Elixir allows you to place or produce a specific card in the Arena. Without this element, you will not be able to spawn or deploy troops, spells, or buildings.
To better understand the importance of Elixir average in achieving victory in the game. We compiled some of the most-used deck builds in the game. Displayed in each of the images below are the average Elixir cost of the deck. These are the net wins, draws, player usage, total wins of the player using the build, and total losses. Do take note that the most-used decks in the game come with low Elixir average. Although having a deck with a meager average Elixir cost will not always ensure your victory, it will at least improve your chances, especially if you do not have the most powerful cards in the lot.
With that said, check out some of the most-used deck builds below, along with their brief descriptions. Plus, take note that the attributes of the cards featured below are highly-dependent on the balance updates that into the game.
GY BarbHut7
Gy BarbHut is an abbreviation of a deck build that contains two of the most influential structures in the game; the BarbHut or Barbarian Hut (a building with high HP that unleashes two barbarians every 12.5 seconds). The GY or Graveyard ( a legendary card that can spawn 20 skeletons in a wide radius). Having two of the most powerful items in the game requires a lot of balance to keep the Elixir cost as manageable as possible as both cards cost a lot of Elixir to spawn (Gy with five and barb hut with 7).
To counter the high elixir cost of both cards, you need to complete your deck with low elixir cost cards. In the example above, you can see that there are cards that come with a reasonable elixir cost for the damage that they can inflict. One example is the Skeleton that only costs one Elixir to spawn; having this card in your deck is great for spamming your enemies. Another is the Royal Delivery that can eliminate both air and ground swarms for just three elixirs.
Other cards in the deck include the Musketeer that can take out air and ground targets for four elixirs, Poison that can disrupt and cripple your enemies for four elixirs, the Knight that can inflict moderately serious damage for just three elixirs, and the Skeleton Dragon that can perform aerial attack at the cost of 4 elixirs.
X-Bow Iwiz Nado
Just like the first deck, X-Bow Iwiz Nado is an abbreviation that pertains to the most relevant cards in the deck. X-Bow stands for a catapult-like building that can shoot projectiles at long range at the cost of 6 elixirs. IWiz, on the other hand, stands for the Legendary Ice Wizard card. One of the best attributes of this card is that it can slow the enemy’s movement and attack by 35% at the cost of 3 Elixirs. Nado, as you might have guessed, pertains to the Tornado card that can drag the opponent’s troops to its center for three elixirs.
One thing that you should know about this build is that it comes with two Legendary Cards. The one with Ice Wizard being the first and the path-clearing Log that only costs two elixirs to deploy. Other cards in the deck include the Knight that costs three elixirs to deploy, the Tesla that can defend your camp at the cost of 4 elixirs, the single-elixir cost Skeleton card (perfect for spamming), and the devastating Rocket card that costs six elixirs to deploy.
X-Bow 2.9 Cycle
X-Bow 2.9 Cycle is one of the best decks in Clash Royale. The purpose of the other cards in the game is to keep the X-Bow last as long as possible. This is why the average elixir rate of the build only stands at 2.9, as the other cards in the game need to have a low elixir cost to deploy.
Serving as support cards for the X-bow in that build is the following:
Fireball 4 elixir high-damage in a small radius. The Ice Golem, which at the cost of 2 elixirs, can slow death damage (perfect for distraction). Also included in the decks is the Archer card that costs three elixirs to deploy (great for long-range attacks). The Ice Golem, which can distract your enemy for two elixirs, the Ice Spirit that can force your enemies to retarget for the cost of 1 elixir, the Skeleton, the Tesla, and the Log.
The Log Bait
The primary purpose or strategy of the Log Bait build is to bait logs from your opponent. Log Bait works by countering or playing an opposite log card. This is right after your opponent decides to unleash the card into your units. Most of the cards on this deck are for log baiting. The cards in the deck that are perfect for log baiting are the following:
- Goblin Barrel used to inflict damage to the Arena Tower
- Goblin Gang for swarming
- Ice Spirit for resetting channeled abilities
- Princess for long-range damage
- Skeleton Army for swarming.
For support, this deck employs the use of the devastating power of the Rocket, the tank-destroying capabilities of the Inferno Tower, and low-cost, moderate damage of the Knight card.
Hog 2.6 Cycle
The Hog 2.6 Cycle is one of the most stable builds in the entire game. As the name suggests, this build puts the Hog Rider card in the spotlight. At the cost of four elixirs to deploy, the Hog Rider is excellent for attacking towers. Besides, you can use this character to apply pressure towards your enemy. To take advantage of the Hog Rider’s attributes, you need to employ the use of other cards. You also need to use the Cannon card, which for three elixirs can produce a decent amount of damage to enemies. It can also create significant impairment of the Fireball that you can unleash for four elixirs.
Begin the Clash Now!
Now that you have an overview of the basic elements, it’s time to test everything! So, why not play Clash Royale? Speaking of playing, what better way to make your grand entrance to the Arena than by playing the game straight from your PC?
That’s right! All you need to do is click on the download button on your screen. Also, remember to follow the brief instructions, and you are good to go. Test out your strategy, climb through the ranks, and become the ultimate Clash Royale player today!
