Hey guys, today we are going to discuss about a Brand New challenge deck inside of Clash Royale called the Xbow Hunter Siege Deck. Before I start I would like to wish everyone a very happy New Year. I hope this new year brings out the best in you and proves to be a game changer. So, without further ado, let’s start the first article of the New Year.
Lets have a look at the Deck:
To start, Focus on the word “Siege”. What does it mean? A google search states the following:
a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling those inside to surrender.
That is exactly what this deck revolves around. The main focus of this deck is on the Hunter and the Xbow. Everything else is a support unit, which can be used on offense as well as defence. You want to surround the enemy’s troops with a massive push of your own, which would revolve around the xbow placed on the bridge, such that it hits the enemy’s tower. This deck is a siege deck in the sense that you have to surround your X-bow as well with your own troops, such that the enemy has no way past it, and has to surrender. What better way to make the enemy surrender than to use a cheeky X-bow?
The Deck contains cheap cycle cards like the ice spirit, log, ice golem, and the guards. This is a very key component of every Xbow deck, because you want to make sure that you cycle back to the xbow faster than you opponent does to its counter. This is what will win you matches. That is why, even though it has a 6 elixir card, it’s average cost is very low, at 3.1. This gives you an opportunity to always have something to defend against the enemy’s moves, be it the guards, mega minion, ice golem, ice spirit, or the Hunter, about whom I will be discussing in detail, as it is a new card that has immense potential in the meta. So let’s talk about it.
The Hunter
The Hunter is a new card which was released alongside the Zappies in a recent Update, described as one of the biggest ever. It is a very peculiar card, because the amount of damage it deals depends on the distance of its target from him. So, say a Hog Rider comes and you drop him right on him, he will deal massive amounts of damage, as compared to shooting a troop 5 tiles away from him. He has a gun and can shoot both air and ground unit. He is like the Musketeer, but he can deal extremely high damage and virtually no damage depending on the distance. This feature of his makes him a force to be reckoned with, and makes him especially effective in defence, where he is a cheap and effective counter to Tanks like the Giant, Golem, and even the Lava Hound. His main job in this deck is initially on defence, to counter the likes of Hog Riders, Mini Pekkas, Giant or virtually anything that the enemy throws at you. In the second phase, however, the role of the Hunter is to support the Xbow along with your other cards in this deck to make your Xbow indestructible. His Hit speed isn’t the greatest at 2.2 seconds per hit, but with a reasonable cost of 4 elixir, he is a strong part of every deck .
Ice Golem:
The Ice Golem is another card that has completely changed the game ever since it was launched, and even though it has been about a year, it still continues to dominate the meta and is an integral part of every deck, and hence received a much deserved nerf recently. That didn’t stop people from using it however, and neither did it stop it from making its way into this deck. The Ice Golem is a very essential part of this deck, because it has the ability to distract enemy troops with its high health, and the ability to attack only buildings , and not troops, which gives it the edge over other low cost cards, as it can kite troops into the other lane, from elite barbarians to Pekka. The Ice Golem paired with the Mega Minion, or the Guards, or even the Hunter, can easily take down any troop. Its main job in this deck is to act as a distracting troop, and as a supporting unit for the Xbow, because of its ability to slow down units after it has died, gives you just enough time to back the Xbow up with another unit. All this is bound to frustrate the enemy, making him rage quit more often than not. Either way, victory is guaranteed.
Log & Fireball
The Log and Fireball are direct damage spells that are a must for every deck. What I mean by this is, you need to have some kind of direct damage card in your deck, that can win you those 1 Hp battles in close matches, where once the enemy realises you have not direct damage card in your deck, does everything to make sure you don’t get as much as a look at his tower. You all know what I’m talking about. Along with that, Direct Spells also help you rectify an error a the last minute in case you misjudged something, maybe a troop’s health, or projectile. Another very great benefit that comes with them is that you can always take out a card dropped at the back of the enemy’s field, when it comes in contact with his tower, for double benefits, just be wary of one thing- it should kill the troop. The Fireball is also very effective for killing Swarms of Air troops, as there aren’t a lot of air countering troops in this deck. So, killing that Minion Horde on top of your xbow will be just that bit easier. The log is a great card, and I mean it. It’s one of those which can be fit into any deck. It has similar uses to the fireball, but can excellently counter Any form of Goblins- Gang, Barrel, and so on, and also has the ability to push back all Units, giving your tower more time to kill them. Many a times people use swarms of troops like Archers, goblins, gangs, to counter the Xbow. The log will kill them all effortlessly, also doing damage to the tower. That is insane value. These small things are what win you matches. That is something I am sure everybody knows.
Mega Minion:
You just knew this one was coming..
The Mega Minion is mostly usable as a defensive card as it has high damage but is slow and cheap. However, it is often used on the offensive as a support card, being able to clear out small units and deal good damage.
Its high damage and medium hit-points allow it to be able to defend relatively well against many ground-based pushes, while not being as vulnerable to Zap, Arrows, or Fireball as a Minion Horde or Minions due to its relatively higher health.
The Mega Minion is effective against Balloon combos as due to its damage and health it can survive Arrows or Fireball and still have some health to take out the Balloon before it attacks a Crown Tower.
To defend against a Minion Horde, the player can place this card in the middle so the horde of Minions will be pulled to the center, delaying them from reaching a Crown Tower and killing at least two of them.
It’s main use in this deck is on defense in combination with the Ice Golem and Ice spirit, to slow down troops while it takes them out, or even with guards in case the enemy throws in a big push. The “Meta ” Minion was a part of the Meta, still remains , and will always be in the near future atleast, due to it’s cheap cost and effectiveness.
Ice Sprit
The Ice Spirit has also been dominating the meta recently with the rise of cycle decks and siege decks, considering its value at practically nothing, sitting at 1 elixir. In this deck it is very good when used with the Xbow, or even the Hunter, where the Ice spirit freezes the troop, similar to the Zap spell, and the Hunter can take the troop out in that time. This is especially effective against the Hog rider or the lumberjack, or even the mini pekka. This combination will basically shut down all troops that come towards your tower. The reason this card is more popular than the zap spell is because at half the cost not only does it damage and stun the troops, but the stun effect actually lasts longer. The only downside is that you need to time and place it correctly, or you are up for a beating. A good method to deal with air swarms like Hordes is to place an ice golem followed by an Ice spirit, which will kill them all. You effectively dealt with a 5 elixir card using just 3 elixir. This gives you a positive trade which will help you push harder with the Xbow later, which is more or less the main aim of this deck. The Ice Spirit can be played at the bridge just to cycle through the cards as well, which will help you get to your Xbow faster than the enemy gets to his counter. Thus, using an Ice Spirit is always a good first move.
The Guards
The Guards are my favourite defensive card in the game. They are just the perfect Meat shield to kill every Ground troop that the enemy throws at you. With the introduction of more and more cards with special abilities like the Mega Knight, which deals area damage when deployed, and deals damage in area splash as well, and cards like the low and zap extremely popular, it has become extremely important to have a defensive card that is not vulnerable to these attributes. The solution: Guards. Not only do they have a shield, meaning that not even a rocket can take them out directly, but they also have a considerable amount of health of their shields, meaning that they are not as vulnerable as the Goblins or The Skeletons. They will take 6 hits from a pekka, meaning an extra 12 seconds to defend! How insane is that! They are the readily available solution to practically every ground troops thrown that you by the enemy. With the introduction of the Royal Ghost, which also deals area damage, Supercell is basically begging everyone to use the guards and honestly, with the recent buff that they received, I don’t see why the guards aren’t everybody’s favourite. When used in conjunction with the xbow in this deck, they will provide an excellent Meat Shield for you other support units around the Xbow. the Guards can be played at the back as your first move of the game, or when you are sitting at full elixir.
The Xbow
The Xbow is the heart of this Deck, as it will your main win condition. It is the main troop with which you will take down the enemy tower. The whole deck revolves around the Xbow. Your main aim is to surround the Xbow with so much support that the enemy does not know how to react except close the game before he isn’t able to live with the overwhelming defeat he just witnessed. A good strategy is to wait patiently during the first minute of the game and see how the enemy is playing, observing his cards and his moves. It is also the time when you build keep building elixir advantages over your enemy and prepare for the big push. Once you see him make a mistake, capitalise on it by dropping either the ice golem or the guards at the back, followed by the Ice spirit, just to build up a series of mini tanks that the enemy will have to chop away before having a shot at your xbow. Then you have to drop you Mega Minion and the Hunter, which will kill everything that comes in the Xbow’s way of taking down that tower. The Log and fireball will be aids to kill swarms and hordes, and even finish the Tower when it is down to about 500 health. It is better to defend at that time and finish off the tower using your spells, for a safe victory. This is how the deck works.
That is it for this guide guys. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any feedback regarding this article, feel free to comment down below. Till then. go win some challenges!
