Bomber

Bomber
Elixir Cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Troop
Arena	Bone Pit
Release Date	4 January 2016

“Small, lightly protected skeleton who throws bombs. Deals area damage that can wipe out a swarm of enemies.”

The Bomber is a Common card that is unlocked from the Bone Pit (Arena 2). It spawn an area-damage, ground-targeting, medium-ranged, ground troop with low hitpoints and high damage. He is a type of Skeleton that carries a black bomb and wears a team-colored cap with golden-rimmed pilot's goggles. A Bomber card costs 2 Elixir to deploy.

Strategy

For Battle Decks with this card, click here

• The Bomber is best used as a defensive troop, being able to take out Barbarians, Skeleton Army, Goblins, Spear Goblins, Archers and other ground swarms more effectively than most other cards, due to his moderate splash radius, high damage and low Elixir cost.
• Even though he has low hitpoints, his survivability is good for his Elixir cost, as he is able to survive any 2 Elixir damaging spell of similar Level. Therefore, using any spell that is more expensive is usually a waste of Elixir, as a Fireball or Arrows played to defeat a Bomber results in an Elixir advantage for the opponent unless the player can hit something else with the spell such as a Crown Tower or troops nearby. He has a lot of damage potential when placed safely behind high hitpoint troops such as a Giant.
  • A lone Bomber can be countered with a Zap, Giant Snowball, Rage, or The Log alongside the help of a Crown Tower without the Bomber doing any damage. The player should hold the Zap ready, and when the Bomber is within range of the Crown Tower, cast the spell. The Crown Tower's damage along with the Zap's stun time of 0.5 seconds will prevent the Bomber from throwing any bombs for a neutral Elixir trade.
  • Barbarian Barrel is the best 2-Elixir damaging spell to counter the Bomber behind a tank or alone on the enemies side as the Barbarian Barrel used properly will leave the Bomber on critical health, leaving the Barbarian that spawns to safely defeat it.
• For a further positive Elixir trade, the Heal Spirit can counter him due to the Bomber taking two hits to defeat it, allowing your Crown Tower to finish him off. Any other Spirit such as Ice Spirit, will not work in this scenario as the Bomber will do just enough damage to instantly defeat them.
• Left alone, the Bomber will connect to the Tower Princess, hitting it once for a slight amount of chip damage. This means that the player can safely ignore him if they are running a heavy deck. However, a Cannoneer will completely prevent him from connecting, by OHKOing the Bomber.
• For just 2 Elixir, the Bomber deals good area damage and is one of the cheapest counters to Barbarians due to his range. In fact, it takes a Bomber just 3 throws to defeat Barbarians of the same Level. He complements tank pushes very well because of this. However, due to his somewhat slow hit speed, the Bomber will often be taken out by the Barbarians, but the player can place him in the center or slightly staggered to the opposite side to increase the Barbarians' travel time. Another method is to place protective troops such as the Ice Golem or to push them back with a card that has a knockback like The Log.
• An effective way to counter a lone Bomber is to place a cheap unit like Skeletons or an Ice Spirit followed immediately by another cheap unit like Goblins. The first unit will distract the Bomber while the second unit destroys him. This is generally a negative Elixir trade, but can used to make an counterpush.
• Surrounding the Bomber with Skeletons can cause him to take them out in two hits instead of one due to the deploy stagger of the Skeletons, though this is somewhat inconsistent due to the Bomber's area damage radius.
• The Bomber cannot attack air units, making him vulnerable against Minions and other flying troops. However, when using the Bomber, the player can place protective troops such as the Goblin Giant or the Baby Dragon to assist in taking these troops out.
• Because of his low hitpoints, he can be easily defeated with mini tanks placed on top of him like the Knight. This is useful to do in case he is part of a larger push.
• Since he is very light, the Bomber can be pushed by almost any other troop in the game. In particular, fast units like the Goblins can provide the Bomber with a major speed boost. Putting this card with Spear Goblins is a good idea since together they can engage targets within their comfortable range, making for a quick ranged point-target and splash damage backup for the player's other troops across the river, or even a quick and small push.
• For a neutral Elixir trade, he is able to counter Wall Breakers, even when split. He does enough damage to weaken them so that any tower troop can finish them off, and he will remain with full hitpoints for a counterattack.
• The Bomber can be played as a response for a Goblin Hut. While he will not be able to fully deny all waves, he will prevent a lot of damage for only 2 Elixir. A similar strategy works against the Furnace and Barbarian Hut.
• Miner is a decent counter to a defending Bomber, as it will 2HKO him and can be deployed anywhere around him. The defender can use swarms to reduce the likelihood that the Miner locks onto him. However, if the opponent also has Poison, they may decide to fake the player out and deploy the Miner on the Crown Tower, while the Poison is placed on the Bomber. If the player uses a swarm to protect him, this will give the opponent spell value and chip damage.
  • If the Miner response is placed in a poorly position, you can use Tornado to send the Miner toward the King Tower, activating him early while also saving your Bomber.
• The Bomber paired with the Prince is a high-risk, high reward strategy. The Prince can take out mini tanks such as the Mini P.E.K.K.A, while the Bomber can take out swarms such as Minion Horde or Skeleton Army. However, the combo is countered by separating the duo, since they have different movement speeds and ranges.
• He is able to stop a Princess at the bridge relatively well. He can survive one attack from her, and 2HKO her back, although the player should be wary of predictive troops or spells used with the Princess.
  • On the contrary, a lone Bomber can be stopped by a Princess with the help of a tower troop. Place her from a distance to avoid her taking damage from the Bomber.
• If protected by an Ice Golem, the Bomber, along with the Crown Tower, can take care of mini tanks such as Elite Barbarians, Bowler, Knight, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Bandit, and others due to his decent damage per second.
• The Bomber is a good counter to the Royal Hogs. The Royal Hogs are unable to attack the Bomber, and the Bomber can hit all of them and prevent a lot of damage for a +3 Elixir trade.
• With great timing, a Bomber can prevent most damage from a Goblin Drill. He has enough damage to OHKO the Goblins, and if the Bomber attacks just before the Goblin Drill expires, he will be able to finish off the death Goblins. This allows him to counter it for a +2 Elixir trade.
• Depending on what the player wants to use in their deck, the Bomber's function can be replicated by other similar cards.
  • Most Spirit cards have an even cheaper Elixir cost than the Bomber, making them a good alternative to use against frail swarms. However, unlike the Bomber, they are unable to handle bulkier swarms such as Barbarians, and will require the use of additional cards, which will often cost more than using a single Bomber.
  • The Bomber is interchangeable with the Wizard. However, he cannot attack air troops and has fewer hitpoints, meaning he can be OHKOed by Fireball or Arrows. In exchange, the Bomber is better in desperate situations where the player's Elixir is low, as he only costs 2 Elixir, as opposed to the 5 Elixir Wizard.
  • Another alternative is the Firecracker. The Firecracker costs 1 more Elixir than the Bomber, has slightly less hitpoints, and attacks less frequently. However, the Firecracker has the ability to attack air troops, has a longer range, a larger spread, and the ability to push herself to safer positions, thanks to her recoil.
  • The Princess is another alternative to the Bomber, as a cheap splash card. She has a larger area splash compared to the Bomber, from a longer range, as well as the ability to hit air troops. However, much like the Firecracker, she is even frailer, just as slow, and deals less damage.
  • More expensive alternatives include the Valkyrie, Bowler, Baby Dragon, Skeleton Dragons, Magic Archer, Executioner, Witch, and Ice Wizard. While all of them have improved hitpoints, allowing them to survive for longer, they have a higher Elixir cost, making them worse choices for quick defense.
  • If the player already has great coverage against swarms in their deck, they may choose to use other cheap ranged troops instead to replicate Bomber's role. Such examples of cards include Archers, Spear Goblins, and Dart Goblin.
• A good counter for the Bomber is the Bandit. The Bandit will dash towards the Bomber, dodging the bomb thrown at her, and OHKO him with her dash, which will leave her at full health for a counter attack. This is better when the Bomber is in the middle of the opponent's territory as this will allow the Bandit to reach the Tower faster. A Mega Knight can work in a similar way, though at a heavy negative Elixir trade.
• A Dart Goblin has a much longer range, allowing him to easily defeat a lone Bomber, even from the other lane, and prepare himself for a counterattack.
• The Bomber has great synergy with the Electro Giant, as it can assist in taking out large swarms or mini tanks that cripple the Electro Giant. His cheap Elixir cost and range allows him to support the Electro Giant, weakening defending troops enough that the Electro Giant can defeat them with his Zap Pack, and save more of his hitpoints for the attack.

Statistics

Cost	Hit Speed	Speed	Deploy Time	Range	Splash Radius	Target	Count	Transport	Type	Rarity
2	1.8 sec	Medium (60)	1 sec	4.5	1.5	Ground	x1	Ground	Troop	Common

Level	Hitpoints	Area Damage	Damage per second
1	130	90	48
2	143	99	52
3	157	108	58
4	172	119	63
5	189	131	70
6	208	144	77
7	228	158	85
8	250	173	92
9	275	190	102
10	302	209	112
11	332	230	123
12	365	252	135
13	401	278	148
14	440	305	163
15	483	334	179

Card Mastery

Type	Level/Tier	Objective	Reward
Damage Dealer	1	Deal a total of 77,500 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings	200 Bomber cards 25
	2	Deal a total of 235,000 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings	2,000 25
	3	Deal a total of 390,000 Damage to enemy Troops or buildings	150 25
Troop Destroyer	1	Destroy 280 enemy Troops	3,000 100
	2	Destroy 800 enemy Troops	200 100
	3	Destroy 1,400 enemy Troops	5,000 100

History

2016

• The Bomber card was added with Clash Royale's game launch on 4/1/2016.
• On 2/2/2016, the February 2016 Update, increased the Bomber's hit speed to 1.9 seconds (from 2 seconds).
• On 29/2/2016, the March 2016 Update, changed the Bomber so that he would no longer stop his attack if his target dies during the attack animation. It also decreased the Bomber's sight range to 5.5 tiles (from 6 tiles).
• On 3/5/2016, the May 2016 Update, increased the Common card Level cap to 13 (from 12). The update also fixed the "range bug", which decreased the Bomber's range to 4.5 tiles (from 5 tiles), but his effective range was unchanged.
• On 18/5/2016, a Balance Update, increased the Bomber's damage by 10%.
• On 4/7/2016, the Tournaments Update, increased the Bomber's damage by 9%.
• On 19/9/2016, the September 2016 Update, decreased the Bomber's hitpoints by 2% and increased his damage by 2.5%. This resolved a minor issue where Goblins could not defeat an equal Level Bomber in three hits at some Levels, e.g. Level 7.
• On 15/12/2016, the December 2016 Update, increased the Bomber's damage by 4%.

2017

• On 16/3/2017, a maintenance break, increased the Bomber's projectile speed to 400 (from 300). This was done to fix some unexpected behavior that the Bomber showed.

2018

• On 20/6/2018, the Summer 2018 Update, moved the Arena to unlock the Bomber from Training Camp to Bone Pit.
• On 2/7/2018, a Balance Update, increased the Bomber's range to 5 tiles (from 4.5 tiles).

2019

• On 28/1/2019, the January 2019 Update, made a small change to the Bomber's card description.
• On 6/5/2019, a Balance Update, increased the Bomber's hitpoints by 28%.
• On 30/9/2019, the End of September 2019 Update, added an extra Star Level.
• On 26/11/2019, the End of November 2019 Update, added a card render to the Bomber's card info screen.

2020

• On 9/9/2020, a Balance Update, decreased the Bomber's attack time interval to 1.8 seconds (from 1.9 seconds).

2021

• On 30/3/2021, the 2021 Quarter 1 Update, decreased the Bomber's cost to 2 Elixir (from 3 Elixir), decreased his hitpoints by 31%, and decreased his damage by 32%.
• On 6/9/2021, the 2021 Quarter 3 Update, decreased the Bomber's range to 4.5 tiles (from 5 tiles).
• On 27/10/2021, the Champions Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 14 (from 13).

2023

• On 19/6/2023, the Card Evolution Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 15 (from 14).

2024

• On 3/1/2024, a Balance Update, increased the Bomber's damage by 4%.
• On 5/2/2024, the February 2024 Update, added the Bomber's Evolution.

Gallery

Bomber's card image before its release.

Current card render.

Trivia

• The word "Bomb" and by extention "Bomber" come from the Greek "bombos", meaning booming or buzzing, referring to the sound that bombs do when they explode. Bombs were first invented in China during the ninth century. Initialy, they were made with ceramic material along with gunpowder, however, they were later changed to cast-iron shells with the Thunder crash bomb during the twelve century.
• The Bomber is 1 of 16 troops that inspired a troop in Clash of Clans, the others being Spear Goblins, Bats, Skeleton Barrel, Minion Horde, Battle Ram, Ice Golem, Zappies, Baby Dragon, Giant Skeleton, Ram Rider, Inferno Dragon, Miner, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, and Night Witch.
  • The Bomber's card render is taken from his Clash of Clans counterpart's render.
• The Bomber is 1 of 15 cards associated with Skeletons, with the others being Skeleton Dragons, Skeleton Barrel, Tombstone, Bomb Tower, Guards, Skeleton Army, Witch, Balloon, Giant Skeleton, Wall Breakers, Graveyard, Super Witch, Skeleton King, and of course, Skeletons.
  • A Loading Screen Hint relevant to the Bomber reads "One day, Wall Breakers realized that they could do a lot more damage if they THREW the bomb rather than sat beside it. Imagine that...". This may be a reference to his creation as a ranged counterpart to the Wall Breaker in Clash of Clans. Ultimately, the Wall Breakers were added in one of Clash Royale's updates.
  • In the Japanese language setting of the game, the Giant Skeleton's description refers to how the Bomber is a tiny skeleton carrying a much smaller bomb.
• The Bomber is one of the first troop cards to receive a card render, alongside the Archers, Knight, Goblins, Skeletons, Barbarians, Bats, Royal Recruits, Skeleton Barrel, Rascals, Musketeer, Giant, Valkyrie, Wizard, Flying Machine, Hog Rider, Royal Hogs, Dart Goblin, Zappies, Elixir Golem, Baby Dragon, Skeleton Army, Witch, P.E.K.K.A, Prince, Balloon, Giant Skeleton, Goblin Giant, Hunter, Electro Dragon, Wall Breakers, Bowler, Cannon Cart, Mega Knight, Ram Rider, Miner, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, Magic Archer, Bandit, Lava Hound, Night Witch, and Fisherman.
• In the Spanish and Finnish language settings of the game, the Bomber's name translates to "Bombardier". In the Russian language settings of the game, the Bomber's name translates to "Demoman".
• The Bomber is 1 of 22 cards that has had its Elixir cost changed, the others being Fire Spirit, Royal Recruits, Cannon, Mortar, Musketeer, Three Musketeers, Heal, Bomb Tower, Barbarian Hut, Furnace, Elixir Collector, Skeleton Army, P.E.K.K.A., Wall Breakers, Electro Giant, Bowler, Goblin Barrel, Barbarian Barrel, Rage, Fisherman, and the Monk.
• The Bomber throws 1 bomb in-game, holds 3 bombs in his card render, and has 2 visible bombs in his card image.
• The Bomber is the subject of 2 Emotes.