Background Information
This is the seventh part of the series of arena decks that lead up to the legendary arena. This week we are going over the builder’s workshop arena deck. Some of you may know the builder’s workshop arena to be arena six. There are a few more cards available because the builder’s workshop unlocks important troops. You may have to wait a little to get all the needed cards. The new cards include the mortar, the elixir collector, the golem, the legendary sparky, and the legendary miner. The mortar is a structure that can be both defensive and offensive. Because of its super long range, it can target your enemy crown tower when spawned on your side of the map. It recently received a nerf which made it non existent but it just received a buff which may bring it back to life just a bit. If you play this, it is usually an offensive card and you have to defend it. If you do not even attempt to defend the mortar, it is basically wasting four elixir. The mortar can be powerful if it gets locked onto the enemy tower but is virtually useless if it only locks onto enemy troops. The next card is the elixir collector. The elixir collector costs five elixir and can generate up to seven elixir if left undamaged. This already gives you a two elixir advantage which is great. The main purpose of this building is not to give you an elixir advantage over time though, it is mainly for the point to make your pushes even bigger. You can possibly make a five elixir push into a six elixir push. You can also make a two elixir defense a three elixir defense. This one elixir may not seem like much but it can be the difference of watching the prince get his charge of on your tower and perfectly defending against him with barbarians. The next card that is unlocked is the golem. The golem is the tankiest card in the whole game and upon death, it spawns in two more tanks, although they are slightly weaker that the first golem and are called golemites. Upon death, both the golem and the golemites will explode and cause a moderate amount of splash damage to nearby buildings and enemy troops. The golem is one of the most expensive cards in the game costing eight elixir. The golem is very vulnerable to high damage troops like the pekka, the prince, the barbarians, and the mini pekka. It is also very vulnerable to high damaging towers like the inferno tower. The golem can actually do a lot of damage if it gets onto the enemy arena tower. Because of its health, second life, and death explosion splash damage, the golem can get a good amount of damage in even with its low damage per second stat. The sparky is another card unlocked when you reach spell factory. The sparky costs six elixir and is what I call a coin flip card. You can either use the sparky very well and destroy your opponent, or you do not play that well with it and your opponent crushes you by always countering your sparky. In other words, the sparky can be a blessing if you know how to use it but it can also be a curse if you can’t use it well. The spark is easily countered by the minions, the witch, the barbarians, and almost any troop targeting unit when combined with the zap spell. The sparky can however do massive damage if the enemy does not know how to counter the sparky correctly. The final troop unlocked in the builder’s workshop arena is the miner. The miner has almost the same mechanics as the goblin barrel but instead of flying through the air across the arena to any point on the map, the miner burrows and tunnels under ground to any spot on the map. Just like the goblin barrel, the miner is invincible to any sort of damage until it hits its mark. The miner costs three elixir and can be countered by almost any troop. It is very easy to counter if the miner placement is predictable, and it often is, but annoying if the miner placement is unpredictable. This deck consists of the golem, the miner, the minions, the barbarians, the elixir collector, the spear goblins, the fire spirits, and the zap spell.
BASICS: AVERAGE ELIXIR AND HOW TO USE EACH TROOP EFFICIENTLY
The average elixir cost for this deck is 3.8 elixir and contains the following cards:
TROOPS: USED FOR DEFENSE AND OFFENSE. IMPORTANT TO USE THE RIGHT COUNTER FOR EACH TROOP
Golem– The golem is your main tank and what your deck revolves around. The golem is your only tank in your deck and you should treat him in that way. You should not start any major offensive pushes without him leading your assault. Additionally, to build an even bigger push, it is recommended to have one to two elixir collectors at the minimum. Also, your deck is basically going to be a defensive deck until double elixir hits. Once double elixir hits though, your deck will shine. Another tip when using the golem is to spawn him at the very back of your base. This lets you gain more elixir before the golem crosses the bridge into danger and you are able to get an even bigger push started. In over time or double elixir, you have the possibility of sending out enough golems where there is two golems on the field at once! this makes it very difficult for your opponent because what every the put down to defend will get distracted by your golems while your supporting and high damage troops will kill them quickly. If you do get two golems down in double elixir, it is not unusual to get a three star victor with that push. If you have two golems down, it is almost a guarantees an arena or crown tower destroyed. The golem is very vulnerable to any air troop that targets enemy troops like the minions, the minion horde, and the baby dragon. The golem is also very vulnerable to high damage troops like the barbarians, the prince, the pekka, the wizard, and the mini pekka. The golem is only vulnerable to one defensive tower and that is the inferno tower because of its scaling damage. The golem can’t attack troops and only goes for enemy buildings, structures, or other arena or crown towers.
Spear Goblins- The spear goblin card is one of the most basic troops in the game. For its early unlock at Arena 1, it is surprising how well they perform. The Spear Goblins not only can defend against goblins, enemy Spear Goblins, and Minions in a on verse one with the help of your Tower, but it can also be used at the very beginning. If the Spear Goblins are used right at the start, you force your opponent to either react to them by placing a much more expensive troop, leaving an option to have a hard counter ready, or make them just watch those Spear Goblins chip 300 damage off their tower. 300 may not seem like a whole bunch, but do that 2 or three times in a match, and you got yourself 1000 free chip damage. The Spear Goblins can also kill a Princess that is on the bridge very quickly as long as the princess is distracted. If the princess is not distracted and you deploy the spear goblins, they will die before they can kill the princess, making you basically waste three elixir. On a very good note however, you can do an advanced move with these spear goblins. The spear goblins are extremely vulnerable to splash damage units like the bomber, the Valkyrie, the witch, and the baby dragon. The spear goblins are also very vulnerable to any direct damage spells such as the fire ball, the arrows, and the lightning spell.
Fire Spirits- The fire spirits are your only splash damage card. The fire spirits have a damage that is insane for only two elixir. Their damage exceeds 500 and can be put out all withing one second. This lets the kill bunched up thinks very easily like skeletons, spear goblins, and the regular goblins. It can take out equal level spear goblins, skeletons, or regular shank goblins with only one out of the three fire spirits that are present. This means that this one card that only costs two elixir can kill all three of those cards costing a combined total of five elixir. The fire spirits can also nearly take down the barbarians to their grave. The fire spirits can make the barbarian’s health points go so low that your arena tower can finish them off with out taking any damage. This gives you a three elixir value and a great quick reaction counter to swarm troops. The main strategy behind this deck when using fire spirits is to put them behind the golem. This allows the fire spirits to stay alive and kill or severely damage any troop, structure, or arena or crown tower that gets in the way. The fire spirits will also make your opponent think twice about playing down barbarians as a counter. The final reason fire spirits are very good in the sense that it is a cheap troop that can help support your expensive golem quite easily. The fire spirits do not do well against high health singular targets like the pekka, prince, or balloon. They also are countered by the zap spell. It does a so so job against troops that have medium health like the mini pekka, musketeer, and wizard ( as long as they can reach their target without dying).
Barbarians– The barbarians costs five Elixir. This is best used to counter Princes, P.E.K.K.A, and the Hog Rider. They are also an extremely helpful distraction for smaller troops that can do major damage if left untouched, like the Minions, Spear Goblins and the Goblin combo. Also, the Barbarians can help defend against the dark prince if the situation is desperate, but is not recommended counter since the Dark Prince is a pretty good Barbarian destroyer. The barbarians can also counter a miner. All you have to do is place the barbarians where the miner will pop out and only one of your defending barbarians will get killed, If the Barbarians are set on top of the much feared Sparky, they can easily destroy it, and you will gain a major Elixir advantage. The barbarians in this deck is for defense though. If the enemy spawns in a hog rider, send your barbarians just in front of the contested arena or crown tower. If you do this perfectly, the hog rider will get no damage onto your tower. Usually though, the enemy hog rider will squeeze through and be able to get one shot off. Additionally, if the enemy combines a fireball, zap, or fire spirit and zap combo,l they will be able to get a lot more damage off onto your tower so be very careful about what they have to support the hog rider and make adjustments accordingly. If they send in a prince, the barbarians are a great hard counter to him and will kill the enemy prince with ease. In my opinion, the Barbarians are one of the biggest staple cards in the game. The barbarians are extremely vulnerable to splash damage units like the bomber, the Valkyrie, the witch, the fire spirits, the sparky, and the baby dragon. The barbarians are also very vulnerable to most direct damage spells such as the fire ball and the lightning spell.
Minions– This deck uses the Minions instead of the Minion Horde. The Minions are preferred in this deck over the Minion Horde because you want to keep the cost of troops low. By keeping the cost low, you will be able to cycle through your cards faster. The Minions also do well enough against air troops like the Balloon or Baby Dragon, although for the Baby Dragon needs to target your arena or Crown Tower first. Minions also can take out the Barbarians with the help of the Spear Goblins. This leaves you with a major counter push at the ready. Also, these blue little monsters can help destroy Prince rushes with the help of some ground troops. Even if your enemy uses Arrows, you are not at a Elixir disadvantage, unlike the Minion Horde. The Minions could also kill a Sparky before it can take its aim at the Tower. The Minions can also kill a Princess that is on the bridge. The minions are very vulnerable to anything that attacks air troops like the baby dragon, the witch, the spear goblins, the musketeer, the fire spirits, and the wizard.
Miner- The miner is also a great card for a golem deck because it is cheap and can go around and attack any obstacle. The best way to use a miner is to put it on the front side of the tower right before your golem crosses the bridge. This way, if your opponent puts down an inferno tower, it targets the miner and not the golem. This will let your golem last a lot longer because the inferno tower has to target the miner, kill the miner, and then re target onto the golem before it can start doing any damage to it. This miner distraction can save up to around five seconds which can really help your push out. The miner also can counter the princess very well. Let us say that there is an enemy princess behind an enemy giant. Instead of countering the giant with barbarians and having them constantly bombarded by the princess, you can use a miner before you put down your barbarians. You can send your miner right next to the princess and the miner will kill the princess in two shots. After that, you can place down your barbarians to counter the giant. This will help save the lives of your barbarians, a five elixir cost, by using your miner, a three elixir cost. You can also use your miner just to annoy your opponent by placing him on one of your enemy’s arena or crown tower
TOWERS: HOW TO USE THEM AND WHERE TO PLACE THEM
Elixir Collector– The Elixir Collector is a very special card. Most people don’t see its full potential. At first glance, most people just think it just gives you two additional Elixir. While this is true, there is a hidden, more important use for it. The Elixir Collector allows you to build up an even bigger push faster than without one. This lets you gain an elixir advantage on your opponent during your assault or perhaps when you need a quick reaction defense. Since it is such a valuable card, instincts tell you to put it at the back of you base, where it can’t be touched. this is a good strategy because you can easily protect the elixir collector from any troops. Just be aware of any direct damage spells your opponent may have as they can get the crown or arena tower and elixir collector combo on you for a big elixir advantage. However, there is a draw back into putting an elixir collector in the back. Since you are down on elixir for a defense, the enemy can send down a elixir heavy push and you will have a hard time defending because you are very low on elixir. For example, a hog rider user can immediately rush you and destroy the tower. To counter this quick offensive push made by your enemy, you can put the elixir collector between your arena or crown towers, two to four squares in front of your king’s castle. This will make hog rider pushers think twice before making the attack. If they do launch one, be ready to deploy your minions, barbarians, and or the spear goblins to help take down the hog rider. The Elixir Collector is not mandatory to the process of beating your opponent but if played, it will make it a whole lot easier.
SPELLS: THEIR MAIN USES AND HOW TO MAXIMIZE THEIR POTENTIAL
Zap– The Zap spell is mainly used to support your golem. The best way to use the zap is to either severely injure a minion horde and let your spear goblins or your minions finish them off. The other major use for zap in this deck is to stun any inferno towers. With the most recent update,. the zap will now reset the inferno tower’s damage. This will greatly increase the survivability of your golem and make this deck even stronger. Remember, the longer your golem stays alive, the longer your high damage per second troops stay alive, and the more damage you can put onto enemy building, arena or crown towers, and on their troops. The zap will be your best friend because since it resets the inferno towers damage, it is better than the freeze spell. As a bonus when compared to the freeze spell, the zap spell only costs two elixir while the freeze spell costs four elixir. This lets you put two more elixir into your push that would have been spent on freezing the inferno tower. I recommend you zapping the inferno tower when the inferno tower’s beam is on the second stage. This will allow the golem to receive little damage and by the time the inferno tower resets, locks back onto the golem, and charges back up, the tower should be destroyed by your golem and the other supporting troops behind him. With this zap your pushes should be able to hit harder and last longer, a great support spell when trying to take down an enemy arena or crown tower. The zap spell hard counters small troops like the spear goblins, the regular shank goblins, the skeletons, the minions, and the minion horde. The zap also counters the gobblin barrel spell quite well. It has a hard time when trying to kill high health point troops like the golem, the pekka, the barbarians, any tpe of princes, the balloon, and other troops like that. The zap can also stop the princes harges and make them start walking before they charge again . This allows the zap to be used in some tight defenses when a prince is right next to your tower.
