Battle Ram Goblin Barrel (Pencil Stabber) Deck For Arena 9+

Wassup guys! It’s DabMaster2 back at it again with another deck guide for you guys. Today I’ll be showing you my Battle Ram Goblin Barrel Deck.

Battle Ram Goblin Barrel – The Pencil Stabber

I like to call this cool off-meta deck the Pencil Stabber Deck because the battle ram looks like a pencil (courtesy of Phonecatss) and because of the stabby Goblins from the Goblin Barrel. This deck is made to play much like a Graveyard Bowler control deck but with the Executioner, but it double elixir time, you can constantly pressure your opponent with the Goblin Barrel and Battle ram. Look down at the Tips & Tricks section for interesting tips when using this deck and special tricks you can do to get an edge in the battle.

Let’s get into it!

Cards Breakdown

Battle Ram – Ah, the Battle Ram. AKA the Pencil. In the Battle Ram challenges, it greatly underperformed because literally everyone had Battle Ram counters in their deck. Although now, this Pencil is a beast! If you can get it to the tower it’s charge does almost as much damage as the Prince! Its capabilities don’t end on offense though. It took me awhile to figure it out, but it’s even great on defense! It tanks damage from the P.E.K.K.A, counters a Prince and Dark Prince, and basically any single targeting troop. Don’t under estimate it.

Goblin Barrel – The Goblin Barrel is your main win condition. The reason why the Battle Ram isn’t your main win condition is because it can be tough to get the Pencil to the tower. That’s where the Goblin Barrel comes in.  It provides constant pressure and chip damage to the enemy tower. When your opponent has used up their counter to the Goblin Barrel (Arrows, Zap), send your barrel right away for immediate chip damage.

Executioner – I probably use the Executioner is almost all my decks. And yes, he will save you money on your insurance (reference to one of my previous guides). He clears the path for your Battle Ram to charge in and somehow uses the powers of Magneto to use his axe like a boomerang. And, somehow managing to somehow not chop himself up. I’m sure all of you guys know how to use him by now.

Skeleton Army – This is your main Zap baiter. It’s a master at baiting (no pun intended)! Mainly use no defense to take down pesky tanks and OVERPOWERED Elite Barbs. If your opponent has a Zap, be ready with a backup to defend your tower. If your continually send your Goblin Barrel to the tower and they always Zap it, this allows you to use your Skeleton Army freely and forces your opponent to play on your card rotation.

Ice Golem – Use him as your Mini-tank to distract and soak up damage. Paired with the Battle Ram, he will protect it for the ram to reach the tower and your Goblin Barrel to shred to tower. When your opponent rushes you, use the Ice Golem to kite enemy troops and protect your tower. Take a look at here for more details about the Ice Golem!

Inferno Tower – This is your main defense. Use it wisely. A misplayed Inferno Tower can cost you’re the game. While to inferno melts enemy tanks, the Executioner takes care of the backline troops and the Ice Golem is there to distract them all.

Fireball – Use the Fireball wisely too. Here’s a scenario: A lone Minion Horde is coming and you have a Zap and a Fireball. Obviously use the Zap! Only use the Fireball if you gain a good positive elixir trade.

Zap – No explanation needed.

General Gameplan

Offense:

Like I said, this deck is mainly a control deck but it also has blitz components like the Battle Ram and chip components like the Goblin Barrel.

Before double elixir time, this deck is slow and must be played very controlled. Make positive elixir trades and punish your opponent for bad moves. This deck takes a lot of practice because one wrong move and you are completely screwed over, so play it slow.

In double elixir time, you can now play very aggressively. Constantly pressure your opponent with the Pencil and the Goblin Barrel. Defend enemy pushes then counter push quickly. Keep on doing this and you will eventually take their tower by chipping away at it.

Normally, it’s a very bad idea to start off with your Executioner at the back. Your opponent can rush the other lane without your Executioner to help clear out hordes. Play something else instead even if it’s your Skeleton Army. The only exception is if your only other card to play is the Inferno Tower. In that case, play your Executioner because you only want to play the inferno reactively.

Here are your main pushes:

Recon Push – Goblin Barrel/Battle Ram: This will scout out your opponent’s counters at the beginning of the match

Shielded Pencil Rush – Battle Ram + Ice Golem: Ice Golem tanks for the Battle Ram to hit the tower

Shielded Pencil Rush X – Battle Ram + Ice Golem + Executioner: Ice Golem tanks for the Battle Ram to hit the tower and the Executioner clears the path

Pencil Stabber – Battle Ram + Goblin Barrel: The Pencil distracts the tower and enemy troops for the Goblin Barrel to shred the tower

Ultimate Pencil Stabber Push – Battle Ram + Ice Golem + Goblin Barrel + Executioner: Although this is your strongest push, it can be counter easily. The trick is to catch your opponent off guard and to continually chip away at their tower.

Defense:

The cards in this deck are designed to help each other in where they lack and fill in the weaknesses. Like I always say: “Teamwork makes dream work!”

Here is how you want to use the cards to counter other cards:

Battle Ram: It is a good distraction of defense. I only use him for a last-ditch effort or if there is not much time left.

Good Counters: sparky, Prince, Dark Prince, Electro Wizard, Musketeer, Lumberjack, Mini P.E.K.K.A, P.E.K.K.A (distraction),

Goblin Barrel: Don’t even think about using it on defense. Unless it’s the only card you can play.

Good Counter: None 😛

Executioner: Clears swarms.

Good Counters: Minion Horde, Minions, Barbarians, Witch, Skeleton Army, Executioner, mega Minion, tombstone, Lava Hound,

Skeleton Army: Counters single -target high health troops.

Good Counter: Elite Barbs, Giant, Golem, P.E.K.K.A, Mini-P.E.K.K.A, Giant Skeleton, Miner, Lumberjack, Electro Wiz, Musketeer, Bowler and Executioner (surround), Hog Rider

Ice Golem: Cheap distraction card. Can also counter Skeletons.

Good Counter: Skeleton Army,

Inferno Tower: Destroy tanks.

Good Counter: Giant, Golem, Giant Skeleton, P.E.K.K.A, Lava Hound, Balloon, Hog Rider, Royal Giant

Fireball: Clear a group medium health troops. Only Fireball when 2 or more of these troops are bunched up except for Minion Horde.

Good Counters: Witch, Wizard, Electro Wiz, Ice Wiz, Bomber, Musketeer, Elite Barbs, Minion Horde Lava pups, Baby Dragon, Princess

Zap: Clear low-health troops and reset troops like sparky.

Good Counters: Skeleton Army, Goblin Gang, sparky (stun), Inferno Dragon (stun), Inferno Tower (stun),

Deck Matchups

Lava Hound – This is probably one of the toughest matchups. Your best counter to the Lava Hound will be the Executioner. If your opponent has a Balloon, use your spells often to deny most of the damage. Place the Inferno Tower right at the corner of your arena tower and next to side of the arena and have your Ice Golem ready to distract the pups and other troops.

Royal Giant – The hated RG. Place your inferno right at the middle of the river or right at the corner of your arena tower next to the side of the arena. Use your Executioner to strikethrough the RG and hit the support troops. Fireball if necessary.

Elite Barbs – The even more hated Elite Barbs. I just had how people just place them down, have a Zap ready for Skeleton Army, then the Elite Barbs just completely wreck your tower! It’s even worse than the RG because the RG in my opinion is easier to counter. Your best counter the the E Barbs is the Skeleton Army. Keep launching Goblin Barrels at the tower so your opponent must continually Zap it. Some other good counters are Ice Golem + Executioner and Battle Ram + Executioner/Ice Golem.

Zap Bait – Not that tough to play against. Your Executioner can deal with swarms easily. Watch out for Goblin Barrels since Zap doesn’t one-shot them anymore. If you have trouble playing against Zap bait, switch Zap for log.

Hog Cycle/Chip – Inferno Tower and your Skeleton Army can kill hogs easily. Don’t be caught with no elixir from overcommitting because your will get punished badly by the hog.

Graveyard – Your Executioner is really your only good counter to the graveyard. Use him wisely and counter push from your opponent’s attacks.

Giant/Golem – This should be pretty easy. The inferno will melt the Giant or Golem and your Executioner chops down the support troops with your Ice Golem distracting.

Battle Ram – Finally, the Battle Ram. If you know for sure your opponent has a Hog Rider or a tank, don’t counter the Battle Ram with your inferno. Your Executioner and Skeleton Army should do just fine in defending.

Tips & Tricks

• A good opponent will know to reserve their Arrows or Zap spell specifically for your Goblin Barrel. To counter that, force your opponent to use their Zap spell by playing your Skeleton Army often. If they Zap the Skeleton Army, send your Goblin Barrel, and if they don’t, the Skeleton Army will just completely shred enemy troops.
• At the beginning of the match, it shows a screen with both players’ names. If you quickly tap on the screen once, it automatically brings you to the battle while your opponent is still looking at the beginning screen. Take advantage of that and either launch your Goblin Barrel at tower or place a Battle Ram with your Zap ready against Skeleton Army.
• Don’t underestimate the Battle Ram’s capabilities on defense
• Think of this situation in overtime: A huge push is coming at your weak tower while your opponent’s tower is at 1 health. You launch a Fireball but your tower get destroyed right before the Fireball hits the tower. But, you could have won that. How? If you position your Fireball directly in front of the enemy tower while still being able to hit it and move the Fireball couple tiles close to their king tower, your Fireball will hit their tower about a second faster that placing the Fireball in the middle of their tower. This allows you to win more clutch battles.
• The BM (Bad Manners) Strategy. I hope your guys don’t rage about this but BMing your opponent can actually be a legitimate strategy. The strategy is to basically just to BM your opponent. Simple. This causes your opponent to make more mistakes giving you’re an easier win. Please don’t hate on me in the comments for mentions this BM Strategy.
• Mute your opponent. This is the opposite of the BM Strategy. If you don’t like getting BMed, simply mute your opponent.

That’s it for now. This has been my longest guide so far, almost 2000 words (1887 words to be exact)!

I hope you enjoyed this guide and have a Clashtastic Day!