Hey Clash Royale Arena! It’s Nomi here, with my second guide today about a new deck that got me to Challenger II! Also thanks to UltimateLoser and Scarlett for editing help!
X-Bow Control Deck
Before we start, I would like to note that this deck does use the Log, so turn back now if you don’t have it.
I have tried replacing it with Zap, but this makes it less effective. Another thing is that this deck is VERY similar to some other decks that have been floating around, but please do not accuse me of copying, as I created this deck myself. (I bet there’s probably somebody else that had the same idea as me, though.)
My card levels are 10.2/7.4/4.2/1.8. Most of the cards in this deck are my highest level ones, but really, you don’t need overleveled cards to play this deck. Just be careful if your The Log doesn’t kill their Princess.
So without further ado, let’s begin!
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
Card Substitutions
As many classic X-Bow decks are very similar, there are many mix-and-match decks you can create. However, virtually all X-Bow decks will have X-Bow, Inferno Tower, and Log.
If you don’t have The Log you can try substituting it for Zap, but do this at your own risk, and I will not be held responsible for any losing streaks.
The remaining 5 cards can be chosen from one of these sets:
Be careful when substituting because your playstyle will be slightly or dramatically different.
For example, if you substitute Mega Minion for Minions, the deck becomes weaker to splash but stronger against Graveyard. And if you substitute Goblin Gang for Skeletons, the deck becomes more expensive and harder to cycle but easier to defend bigger troops. Substitute at your own risk.
Card Breakdown
X-Bow: Your primary win condition. Shoots very quickly and will deal a lot of damage if it locks onto the tower.
Weakest to Royal Giant and Inferno Tower. Barely survives Rocket and will still get some hits off. Countered by Elite Barbarians, just like every other card in the game.
Place him one tile from the bridge, that way you can spawn troops in front of it. This card is not level dependent.
The most important thing about X-Bow is positioning. Here are the two best places to place the X-Bow.
Rocket: Your secondary win condition. This card is not level dependent, but it is very useful to upgrade it as much as you can.
Tournament standard rocket does 493 damage to the crown tower. It is very important to memorize the amount of crown tower damage your Rocket does because in the time that it takes you to hold down the card and check, your opponent may be destroying your tower.
Can be used on defense in this deck if you are desperate or just to gain a positive elixir trade from a clump of badly placed troops.
Rocket is played more like a chip siege deck, because you are rocketing your opponent’s tower down. The best time to Rocket is when your opponent places a troop in the back. If you Rocket a Musketeer and their tower, for example, you are spending two elixir to deal 493 damage.
You can replace this with Fireball but the deck will no longer have two win conditions.
Inferno Tower: A staple in any X-Bow deck. As X-Bow decks usually lack the power to deal with heavier tanks and also royal giant, this card cannot be replaced. It is better at a higher level but usually one of your last priorities to upgrade since it is one of the few cards that work well one to even two levels lower than it should be.
The Log: Do I really need to explain this? Also seen in many X-Bow decks because it synergizes with many cards. Take a look here to read a guide about the log.
You can replace this with zap but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Ice Spirit: Cheap multi-purpose support card.
Use it to stop an Inferno Tower or prevent the Royal Giant from getting that one hit off. VERY useful in lots of situations.
Honestly, I cannot even tell you how good this card is and how much I love it. (Maybe I should change my name to Ice Spirit FTW…)
Strangely, I thought using the Ice Spirit would be pretty straightforward but nobody has bothered to write a guide on it. That’s one more item on my to-do list (Thanks god – Will).
Can be replaced with archers but your playstyle will be very different. Do not hold me responsible.
Skeletons: Since they brought back Ledoot, skeletons have been seeing a huge increase in the meta. Great card for distracting several things.
If you don’t know their counter to your x-bow, skeletons are a good gamble for a distraction.
Can be replaced with skeleton army which will make defense stronger but they will not be as viable as a distraction.
Fire Spirits: Your emergency defense card. Usually I save this for their minions or minion horde if they have it, which prevents me from using them otherwise (unless you swap out rocket for fireball).
Don’t be afraid to use it in emergencies, though because minions and minion horde can also be killed with a well-timed skeletons + ice spirit.
Can be replaced with ice golem for better tanking but that leaves this deck without a hard counter to minion horde.
There is a guide on them but it is a little outdated.
Mega Minion: Your anti-splash along with inferno tower in emergencies. Great for killing glass cannons, especially ones with splash.
Even after being nerfed so many times, this is still a great defensive card.
General Gameplan
Normal Elixir time
I usually start out with a light x-bow + ice spirit combo to see what threats they have.
The biggest tip I can give you is to predict their counters.
Beware, however: An incorrect prediction may result in the loss of a winnable game. For example, if they counter with inferno tower, next time I know to bait out their log and use skeletons to distract it.
After the first “Test Push”, you can keep placing the x-bow and countering their counters.
Double Elixir time: Same as above. I usually try to overwhelm my opponent at this time because this deck is kind of cycly and you can usually get another x-bow whenever one dies.
However keep in mind that your opponent also more elixir to build up pushes.
Siege is naturally weak against beatdown but cycle decks are naturally strong against beatdown; keep this in mind.
Defense
Giant: You can kill it easily with the inferno tower and use your other troops to deal with support.
If they bait your rocket with their pump then you can cycle back or kill the Musketeers by quick dropping Skeletons and fire Spirits. Be careful, though. They might have minion horde.
If they are playing Giant Graveyard, use Ice Spirit + Skeletons + Fire Spirits + Mega Minion. Space out your troops because they could have freeze.
Against Giant Hog Hybrid you will have to try to use your inferno tower on the giant or cycle back to it twice as fast as your opponent.
Royal Giant: Usually the sight of it is bad news to the X-Bow player. However, if it is planted at the bridge, it might be your lucky day.
Most Royal Giant decks only have one counter to the X-Bow: The Royal Giant. Defend theirs and you X-Bow will be able to take the tower with little resistance.
If it isn’t at the bridge, by the time it does get to the bridge he will probably have already cycled back to another one. You want to permanently offset their cycle balance.
If they are playing Hog RG, turtle up your defenses and say your prayers.
Hog Rider: The relatively low HP makes it easier to kill. If they are playing hog log bait then try to save the log for the goblin barrel (although fire spirits will kill it too.) Hog hybrid was discussed above.
Non-Hog Spell Bait: Same as above.
Non-Spell Bait Hog: Same as above.
P.E.K.K.A.: Place an Inferno Tower next to it and/or spam small troops while the Inferno Tower kills it. If they are using P.E.K.K.A. 3M see above.
Golem: Inferno Tower shreds this as long as they don’t have lightning. Keep up the pressure so they don’t have enough elixir to support it. For Golem 3M see above.
Elite Barbarians: We all know the drill: Spam troops to distract it.
Another X-Bow deck: You have two hard counters to the X-Bow: Rocket and Inferno Tower. Use them wisely.
Mortar: See above. Beware however as it might be a Mortar Hybrid deck.
Defensive tip: If you are ahead a tower, you can use a tactic called turtling up and is exactly what it sounds like: Place your X-bow as a defensive building and defend like it’s the end of the world.
Conclusion
I hope y’all liked this deck! If there is anything I missed, tell me and I will add it through comments.
Until next time, this is Dreemurr signing off.
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