Hi guys and gals Galbers Gaming here with another 3500+ trophy deck with troop levels no higher than 10/7/4/1. This guide’s focus is on a Zap/Arrow Bait Deck with a twist and that twist is none other than the Clone Spell. I have written a 3500+ Zap Bait deck guide, however the addition of the Clone Spell which may make the deck a little harder to play certainly makes up for it in the three star capability and fun department as well as the kudos factor of using a new card. I should also state here that I have recently, unintentionally and disappointingly leveled up to level 11 but I still believe that this is a 3500+ deck and I am currently sitting on 3602 trophies with it.
Before I go on to explain this deck just a quick message: if you like this guide please subscribe to my YouTube channel Galbers Gaming for more strategy, guides and tips in Clash Royale, it really does help and allows me to produce the content like the article you are reading right now :)
Clone Spell - Cloning Skeleton Army & Minion Horde - Clash Royale-0
Tips and Tricks with the Clone Deck as well as gameplay
The Deck
Clone (3) Minion Horde (10) Goblin Barrel (4) Minions (10) Skeleton Army (4)Ice Spirit (10) Knight (10) The Log (1)
Must have cards
Clone: whilst not a necessity in a Zap Bait deck, in this Clone version it unsurprisingly is!
Minion Horde: one of two targets of your Clone spell and is the preferable option with Skeleton Army being the other option
Goblin Barrel: this is a must as it is your other big threat which needs to be Zapped or Logged
Ice Spirit: this little fellow has three uses. Firstly: allows you to quickly cycle through your deck which is sometimes needed to catch the opponent off his/her rotation. Secondly: to set up some potent pushes. Thirdly: very handy in defence.
Replacements
The Log: the Log is in the deck is to take care of a Princess. This is a personal preference although I do feel that when playing a squishy deck it is important to take care of her. If you do not have The Log you can replace it with Arrows or if you have the Miner you can replace the Log for him so long as you replace your Knight with Zap too.You can also use Zap but as I stated above you may have issues versus Princesses.
Skeleton Army: if you are coming up against multiple players using Logs you can swap this card out for Mirror. I am unsure if this variation is better, but this did push me over 3600. I found myself Mirroring: Ice Spirit, Goblin Barrel, Knight, Minions.
Knight: you can swap for Miner (as stated above) or Ice Golem depending on your preference. I started out with the Ice Golem but decided that I prefered the damage from the Knight at the expense of one more Elixir.
Minions: you could swap out for the Mega Minion which could make the deck defend more easily, relying on squishy troops to defend is dangerous, something that I will get into shortly.
Clone Spell Usage
Defense: As this deck is extremely ‘squishy’ I hardly if ever use the Clone Spell in defence.
Offense: like all cards but especially true of the Clone Spell, you should only use it if you are going to get something out of it, once your opponent knows you have it you have to either:
Out cycle your opponent
Outwit your opponent
Know and pounce when your opponent makes a mistake
All of these are possible otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this guide.
General: You may get unlucky and Clone as the opponent Zaps, so be sure to minimise that risk and work out when you can play it i.e. know your opponent’s rotation. Thus it can be the case that you only show this card when you take your opponent by surprise and take down their tower in overtime.
Remember that the Clone Spell stops your units attacking and so in some instances it may be better not to clone your units which are on top of the enemy’s tower. Do not clone your Goblin Barrel, it will exceedingly rarely be of benefit - in the cloning process your Goblins will have some damage ‘down time’ (goblins not attacking) and this will give the opponent more time to react or gain more Elixir to be able to react.
The above may look a bit negative but this is only really relevant when pushing the limits of the deck. One of the main aspects of this deck is the sheer joy of watching a swarm three star your opponent and if you can pull off the Minion Horde and Skeleton Army Clone, a true sight to see! Let me know if you have been able to pull this off, I have been able to pull of a number of times, one of which is in the video linked below.
Pushes:
Goblin Barrel & Ice Spirit: one of my favorite pushes in the game, and yes I know I say that often! Throw the Goblin Barrel directly onto the opponent’s tower and then immediately drop the Ice Spirit on the bridge, it is important you do it in this order, c.600 damage difference. Ideally, you want your Ice Spirit to be targeted by the opponent’s tower as the Goblins burst from the Barrel, this is because the Ice Spirit will take two hits from the tower and then freeze it all the while your Goblins are happily stabbing away.
Ice Spirit & Minions: Minions by themselves will get a couple of hits off on the enemy’s tower, but with the Ice Spirit tanking two arrows from the tower before freezing it allows your Minions to do work
Knight & Minions: standard attack, the trick here is to defend with either one of the cards and then counter attack with the help of the other. This attack is also a clone option.
Knight & Goblin Barrel: standard attack which again if you can use your Knight to do ‘something’ before tanking the enemy’s tower that is efficient Elixir usage!
Minion Horde & Clone: obviously if you can get your Knight or Ice Spirit in front of the Minion Horde, this combination is even stronger. Due to the high Elixir cost it is difficult to pull off, don’t force it. Work out your opponent’s cards and see where and when you can fit your Minion Horde in without being countered. If the opponent decides to defend with only (off the top of my head): Mega Minion, Musketeers, Minions, Clone your Horde and watch them wreak havoc. Don’t really need to say this but - the Minion Horde by itself is potent.
Skeleton Army & Clone: like the Minion Horde works best if able to get behind the Knight or Ice Spirit and is also potent by itself.
Defense
Be wary of becoming readable. If the opponent sees you dropping Skeleton Army to defend, a premeditated Log will ruin your day, the same goes for defending with Minion Horde (Arrows).
“Tank and Spank”: if you have to defend a push the ‘tank and spank’ technique is your go to defense process. Example, the opponent is pushing in with a Giant-Wizard combination: wait until you can place your Knight so that it can tank and attack the Wizard and then immediately drop your Skeleton Army, Minions, or Minion Horde on the Giant afterwards. Do not fall for the classic Giant no support bait, where the naked Giant baits out your Minion Horde (or Skeleton Army) only for your Horde to get hard countered by Arrows/Fire Spirits/Wizard etc.
This deck is not made for defending, try to avoid it! “The best defense is offence” ;) To avoid defending try to force your opponent to defend versus your attacks as much as possible, but do not be too wasteful of your Elixir.
Starting Hand / Plays in order
Knight: play him at the back
Goblin Barrel & Ice Spirit: as stated above, as soon as you throw the Barrel drop your Ice Spirit on the bridge.
Ice Spirit & Goblin Barrel: when your Ice Spirit is in hand and your Barrel is your next card to go into your hand - drop you Ice Spirit on the tile directly in front of your tower and then play your Goblin Barrel as soon as it comes up, that is the timing so that your Ice Spirit tanks the enemy’s tower hits as your Goblins drop on the tower.
Goblin Barrel: throw on the enemy’s tower, this is a ‘feeler’ to what cards the opponent has to defend against your deck
Minions: drop on bridge, ‘feeler’
Skeleton Army: drop on bridge, ‘feeler’
Summary
Generally speaking if the opponent has any of the following three cards in their deck they are favored (if they have four GG to them) but this is not common: Zap, Log, Princess, Fire Spirits, Arrows, Ice Golem, Bomber, Wizard(s). Don’t get frustrated if you get countered like this, it’s the nature of the game, some call this “Rigged”(!) but with enough games you will get over this unlucky variance. The worst I have come up against is: Zap, Arrows, Log, Fireball, Valkyrie, ridiculous deck which would only win against this deck!!
As always, if you have any questions at all just let me know.
May your Clones bring you fun and success,
Galbers