Hello there ladies and and gents. Lolman here with yet another guide! This time I want to go in depth with my ladder Hog Tornado deck.
Hog + Executioner + Tornado = Ez Life
I’ve always been a Hog player on my main account and now that I got my Hog to level 8 on my main, I will begin to push it higher as well because I’ve grown tired of using Graveyard.
I did make a guide before about a variant of this deck, the only real difference it the Valk was replaced with Knight which I believe is a much better choice especially for ladder as it’s only 3.1 Elixir, where you can cycle hogs VERY fast.
This deck shines in ladder and tournament play. Also I don’t think I’ve ever gotten below 12 wins in a challenge with this deck. It’s my go-to when ladder or challenge play gets rough. Also I will include my own card levels as a reference as levels you roughly need to break 5000 trophies.
Disclaimer- Guide will be ladder oriented rather than challenges but I did run a challenge to get some good replays for you guys vs decks like Bowler yard etc which are more common in challenges.
Cards Breakdown
Hog Rider (9)- The main win condition of this deck!
I say main because Lightning can be considered a win condition as in some games you will be simply cycling Lightnings. On ladder, if you get Lightning levelled up, it will dish out a respectable amount of damage.
If you don’t already know, learn how to pig push. With true red and blue fixed you no longer need an Ice Spirit or Goblins to do so, simply place Hog in the corner of the river and he will jump over it.
Knight (12)– Main tank.
I rushed this card to level 12 because of just how OP the Knight is. He is amazingly versatile. Especially at clearing out troops behind a tank, defending against splash and ranged troops as well as pesky E-barbs.
Also if opponent uses Tornado, by simply using a Knight in front forces opponent to have to draw Knight out before Tornadoing the Hog, otherwise Knight will still tank and also will allow Hog to resist being pulled to the king Tower or center. Thus, you can potentially gain an Elixir advantage.
Lightning (5)– This is your main break through and chip card.
You will be using this to get through Inferno towers. Also. if opponent defends with cards that die to Lightning or lose a lot of HP to it, which give you value, don’t hesitate to use your Lightning!
For example, If they use Baby Dragon and Bowler on defense, go ahead and Lightning as each of them will be killed a lot easier by your Tower later on. Also, early on, always Lightning the Collector and get value as well with your Lightnings.
Anything above 6 Elixir? Yes Lightning it! (That being said, only those that will suffer a LOT or die to the spell. Don’t Lightning a P.E.K.K.A or tanks as this is not a positive trade whatsoever)
When you see Lightning value? Take it. Especially if it’s 2x Elixir.
The Log (2)- To clear out swarms and get positive trades, building up your Elixir advantages etc.
It’s a pretty self explanatory card. However, it’s best to level her up as I often come across the level 4 or 5 Princess from time to time That being said, you do have the Knight to answer her, or Executioner if they try to protect her with Goblin Gang, Skeletons etc. You can also use Tornado to deal with Princess if you know it’s not a Hog deck or you won’t really need the Tornado (Which is often not the case. Save Tornado for when you need it the most.)
Tornado(5)– Level doesn’t matter.
I don’t really know why I upgraded this card to level 5 but all the same you really just need to get it roughly to Tourney Standard. That way, it can sorta deal with Goblins etc.
You just have this card for Hogs instead of Cannon and/or for big beatdown pushes where you snipe everything behind the tank with Executioner.
Tornado + Executioner = Insane Value
Slightly more advanced play here. I knew Knight would get distracted and wanted Executioner to get swings off with Knight tanking so pulled Wizard to other lane. Also prevented a counterpush with an Royal Giant + Wizard.
Skeles (11) – Cycle card, great at kiting units. Skeles can counter a Baby Dragon if you split them early.
Here I was play against SplashYard and I made, what I believe, a textbook play. I am very proud of the move. It prevented a LOT of damage on my Tower xD
Ice Spirit (12) – Level this card up because it gives you valuable chip that your opponent will ignore 9/10 times early on in the game.
Level 12 Ice Spirit works well up-to mid5k ish. Doing 126 Tower damage each time it connects. 4 level-12 Ice Spirits do more damage than a Rocket at Tourney Standard.
This 1 Elixir card is great at mitigating damage. For example, use it on a Musketeer etc if you are behind in Elixir and can afford a few hits. Just remember, a Musketeer +1 level can 1 shot an Ice Spirit.
Executioner (5) – I do advice leveling him to 5 because level 6 Epics are really common at mid- high 4k.
A level 4 Executioner will die to a Lightning 2 levels higher. This can be disastrous vs Golem, or Lavahound because otherwise they have to overcommit by Logging it out which is good for you because you are ahead in Elixir.
Try to save this card till when you need it and don’t cycle it.
General Gameplan
Early game
You ideally want to start passively. Try to avoid aggressive Hogs as it can come to bite you back if your opponent uses a Minion Horde and then Hogs at bridge while you have a bad rotation.
Try to figure out what you’re facing.
Also, you don’t want to ever play into a tank in a game. Vs beatdown, pressure the other lane.
For example, your Hog already got 2 swings on the Tower and he’s making a big push with the tank at the back. Just ignore it and push opposite lane. A lone tank is no threat to you at all. You can simply defend it by Tornadoing the tank to the king Tower and ignoring it afterwards. Note, this can only be done if your opponent isn’t supporting the tank.
Tornado can be used to pull tanks to King’s Tower to mitigate damage and have your King aid in whittling down tank’s HP.
Also early on, you want to activate your King’s Tower especially if vs Hog. After tanking that 1 hit, you should never get hit by the Hog by pulling it into range of all 3 towers. If they have a tank getting hit by one of the three towers, just note that you need Skeletons to make sure you suffer 0 damage.
Mid game
Prior to 2x Elixir, try not to make plays like using a Lightning on a defensive Ice Wiz or Mega Minion, or even an E-Wiz. You need to make positive trades and with this deck, your main defense is fairly expensive at 8 Elixir (Executioner+ Tornado).
So using Lightning can render you helpless if your opponent decides to go all in with a push that requires Exe Tornado to deal with such as Giant + Horde. You can use Tornado + Ice Spirit but you have to time it perfectly to kill all the Minions and remember the Giant is still really healthy.
So play conservatively but never say no to value like the image I included above. Don’t make many predictive moves either this early on as you can also be punished.
And DO NOT place Executioner early. If your opponents main push needs Executioner and you play Executioner on a certain lane, they can rush other lane.
For example, Giant + Night Witch needs Executioner to be dealt with by this deck. So you will lose a Tower in that case. Similarly vs Giant Balloon etc.
Late game
Now in 2x Elixir you can go a bit crazy. Taking some damage here is fine especially if it’s on the Tower your opponent is not trying to damage.
That being said, don’t let a full HP Mini P.E.K.K.A or a Goblin Gang just melt the towers HP, rather don’t worry if a Wizard gets 1-2.
Here is probably everyone’s favorite play. The Tornado pulls him really far back, allowing you to pretty much prevent any damage on Tower.
Pulling an Royal Giant back like this early on is not advisable as you are over defending but here wayyy late into the game and I did not want even a single Royal Giant shot on my Tower.
Making prediction plays is fine but don’t overdo it. For example, If opponent has 3 Musketeers, unless it’s last 5 seconds and you are really close to taking a Tower. When you need like a Lightning and 2 Logs to finish the game, try not to Lightning on Electro Wizard for example. Sometimes you will have to save particular cards for particular cards your opponent has. Example, use Tornado if your opponent tries to finish you off with a Hog Barrel because you NEED Log on offense. Etc.
Try to make these predictive plays and save cards you need to plan out how to take the Tower.
Match-ups
Since this is mainly a guide on how to play this on ladder, I will focus mainly on matchups you will most likely face on ladder.
Royal Giant
Usually Royal Giant is started off in the back early on like most decent Royal Giant players. Vs them, try not to rush on the other lane. You want to focus on counterpushing.
Knight and Executioner should be used on Royal Giant + support then use Hog Rider on the counterpush. You will still take damage but at 2x Elixir, you can Tornado back the Royal Giant like I showed above, preventing even 1 shot on the Tower.
Ice Spirit and Skeletons also do a great job at melting the Royal Giant. Knight + Skeletons have over 400 DPS and will melt it as well.
Utilize Tornado and Executioner and counterpush effectively. Predict the opponent’ss counters and you will not struggle much vs this deck.
I have a close to 100% RG win rate.
Lava Hound
Just in case opponent has Lavahound, do not drop Executioner in any particular lane early on. Use Executioner and Tornado everything together, you will be able to shut down any push put forward by your opponent.
Also keep in mind sometimes they might Miner to snipe you so place it carefully!
Executioner getting Miner, Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon and Lavahound
So play Tornado well and you should have no problem vs this deck!
Giant Beatdown:
Again, Tornado and Executioner! Also, usually Giant beatdown has cards that are weak to Lightning like E-Wiz, Executioner etc. Try to get value by using Lightning on them, also don’t worry about using it on defense.
Hog Rider
This is a pretty easy match-up.
As shown above, pull the first Hog to King’s Tower by using Tornado. Rest should be into kill zone and it will get 0 hits off.
If 1 Tower is locked onto something else, use Skeletons to guarantee there not being any hits on your Tower.
Hog nowadays usually goes with Log bait. In which case you should use Log offensively and Tornado Ice Spirit on Hog + Barrel. Using Knight or Skeles to clean it up. Taking a hit or two is okay if your own Hog gets through.
Also, I love using Lightning if they pre-emptive Inferno and/or has Princess in the way. It’s low-risk and almost free 300 + damage on Tower.
Splashyard
I don’t think I’ve ever really lost to SplashYard with this deck. The trick is to really utilize your Lightning to get value.
This deck mainly relies on building counterpushes so you want to make sure there is no counterpush. Make them play aggressively and you can then counterpush. Using Tornado and Lightning in a smart manner, you can mitigate these potentially devastating counterpushes.
Making my opponent overspend and getting a rather valuable Lightning. Also dealing good damage the Tower.
Night Witch
Ah what we’ve all been waiting for! Every match I’ve faced the Night Witch in, I’ve won very easily.
Executioner and Tornado is the bane of the Night Witch. He hard-counters all these pushes and good thing with this deck is that by the time your opponent Lightning + Log, you are about to have your 2nd Executioner down. When alone Skeles+ Ice Spirit do a good job countering them
Utilizing Executioner + Tornado vs Night Witch and troops. Get value with your Tornado!
Conclusion
I think I covered the basic overview of this deck and shared some strategies you can use to play this deck and perhaps improve on it, as well as some tips for generally using cards like Tornado.
If you want a cool deck that easily beats the meta this is the deck for you
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