You look around, finding yourself atop a snowy mountain. Not sure how you got here, you try to remember the events leading up to this…
“I was playing Clash Royale and skyrocketed with the decks Husam wrote about in his Arena 7 article. I played one last battle against a BMer who spamming Heeheehaw emotes then, the moment I beat him…”
Realization dawns in your eyes.
Welcome, recruit. You’ve made it to ‘Frozen Peaks’. Clash Royale’s very own 8th arena, and with that, you’ve now got a bunch of new cards to diversify your decks.
Let’s get it going, shall we?
5. Ballon Musk 3.3 Cycle
Balloon Musk Cycle... Repeat Indefinitely
Right at the top of this list, this deck is a bastion of defence and is extremely versatile, but suffers a bit when it comes to its attack power given how easy to defend it can be.
A Balloon cycle deck with an average elixir cost of 3.3 which isn’t that cheap compared to other cycles, but despite its drawbacks, this deck is extremely fun to play.
Cards:
- Balloon
- Ice Golem
- Musketeer
- Minions
- Skeleton Army
- Tombstone
- Fireball
- Zap
Deck Stats:
- Attack: 5/10
- Defence: 10/10
- Versatility: 10/10
Deck Features:
- Since this is a cycle deck, you’ll need to focus on popping your Balloon (excuse the pun) as often as possible by cycling your low-cost cards.
- When it comes to defence, you’ve got a buffet of options to thwart any of your opponent’s advances. Drop a Tombstone, kite with the Ice Golem, disrupt with your Skarmy, or just rain hell with a Fireball.
- Most importantly, given this deck’s low attack power, do your best to defend, while pressuring your opponent until they make a mistake, at which point you can swoop in to punish them.
4. Giant Hog Musk Beatdown
Build a big push behind your tanks.
This bad boy is quite a balanced beatdown deck, which is a feat in itself since, as you’ll come to realise, beatdown decks are usually quite stacked to one stat. In essence, you’ll be building insane pushes to thwart any defences your opponents throw at you.
Cards:
- Giant
- Hog Rider
- Musketeer
- Minions
- Armoured Skeletons
- Ice Spirit
- Fireball
- Zap
Deck Stats:
- Attack: 8/10
- Defence: 8/10
- Versatility: 10/10
Deck Features:
- A beatdown deck that’s true to its name. Drop an investment card like Giant, Musketeer, or Ice Spirit in the back to start building a solid push, forcing your opponent to play a card in defence.
- If your opponent plays a high-cost troop behind their king tower, immediately drop a hog rider or a giant on your bridge to punish their overconfidence and have them rethinking their life choices.
- With a good balance when it comes to air-targeting capabilities, you’ll not have your neck exposed if your opponent drops a flying troop that threatens your lane.
3. 2.6 Hog Musk Cycle
Hooog Rideeeeeeer!
Perhaps the most famous Hog Cycle deck before the introduction of card evolutions, this monster of a deck can be so effective if played right. It’s still occasionally seen in the big leagues too (With a few modifications). This deck is very fun to play, yet it’s hard to master. In all honesty, though, most low-mid ladder players don’t know how to respond to it well.
Cards:
- Hog Rider
- Ice Golem
- Musketeer
- Skeletons
- Ice Spirit
- Cannon
- Fireball
- Zap
Deck Stats:
- Attack: 6/10
- Defence: 9/10
- Versatility: 8/10
Deck Features:
- As a Hog Cycle deck, Hog Rider will be your main source of damage. Drop your Hog then quickly cycle your low-cost troops to get another Hog up and running in no time.
- Prediction will win the game for you, once you play a cycle or so and you get a feel for your opponent’s deck and playstyle, pulling off a correct prediction will seal the deal for you. For example, if your opponent drops a Skarmy every time you play Hog, try to have a Zap ready to obliterate them.
- Try to keep up the pressure on your opponents, but be mindful not to get too excited and end up overcommitting, because if your opponent is smart, they’ll take advantage of any opening you give them.
2. Hog MP Freeze Beatdown
What? A Hog deck that’s not a cycle deck?
Yes. This is a Hog beatdown deck, meaning you won’t be dropping Hog after Hog, but will be focusing more on building a push that’s difficult to counter, dropping your shiny new Freeze spell to immobilize enemy troops while you pick them apart.
Cards:
- Hog Rider
- Mini Pekka
- Minions
- Goblins
- Cannon
- Freeze
- Arrows
- Zap
Deck Stats:
- Attack: 7/10
- Defence: 9.5/10
- Versatility: 8/10
Deck Features:
- As a beatdown deck, you need to focus on building pushes, but here, the caveat is that you’ll need to build your pushes based on counterattacking your opponents.
- You’ll have very limited air-defensive capabilities here, so you’ll need to carefully leverage your minions or arrows, keeping in mind that if your opponent has another flying troop up their sleeve, it’ll prove dangerous.
- Use your Mini P.E.K.K.A to teardown any mid-high health tanks and support it with a Hog Rider, remember to use your Freeze spell to give them more time to wreak havoc!
1. Giant Loon Freeze
Semi-Beatdown, enjoy the wins!
Another Deck that’s immensely fun to play. This deck is perhaps the most balanced in the list, and, relatively speaking, one of the easiest to play well. It’s partially a beatdown deck, where you can succeed if you build good pushes, but don’t let that be your focus, you’ll have loads of opportunities to shred.
Cards:
- Giant
- Balloon
- Minions
- Skeleton Army
- Spear Goblins
- Cannon
- Freeze
- Arrows
Deck Stats:
- Attack: 8/10
- Defence: 9/10
- Versatility: 9/10
Deck Features:
- Use Giant to tank whenever you have a chance to push with a more offensive troop like Balloon.
- Support your offensive Balloon with Minions or Spear Goblins behind them to defend it from any flying troops your opponents may deploy.
- If a Balloon gets to your enemy’s tower uncontested, or lightly contested, make sure to pop a Freeze to maximize the time it’s tearing through their ranks.
And that’s it for this list! I hope you find it helpful in your quest to soar through the ladders!
P.S. If you have any Evolutions that you can use, don’t hesitate to swap them in!
See you in the next one.
