Gorgeous Hog Musketeers Deck for Arena 8+
Wassup guys, Rtz02 here with my first guide ever on CRA!
Here I will be discussing an excellent 3 Musketeer Hog deck that got me from 3k to Challenger 2!
The deck is a variation on the 3 Musketeer Hog deck that was going around about half a year ago, but still works very well in the current meta.
Hog Three Musketeers Deck:
Three Musketeer
Your secondary win condition, some games you might not even use them!
Often used to defend a small push, but beware of your opponent’s spells. Then use the massive counter push abilities of those pink-haired ladies.
Pair with Hog or Knight for one of the deadliest pushes on earth!
Hog Rider
Your main win con, one of the best cards in the game now.
Cheap, versatile and easy to get some chip damage with, he’s worth a good shot in any deck.
When your opponent always uses the same counter, use a prediction Log or Zap.
Also you can try to outcycle your opponent’s counter, as the cheapest cycle is only 8 elixir.
Knight
Probably the most versatile card in the game, this moustache man will help you a lot on defense.
Tanking for Inferno Tower and Goblin Gang, or distracting the oncoming troops, he can do it all.
Counterpush with the Hog and Ice Spirit and they will wreck the opponent’s tower.
Inferno Tower
The main reason the deck hasn’t got an elixir pump. With the overleveled ladder, the Three Musketeers just aren’t enough to defend.
This big bulky building can easily defend a beatdown push, distract the support with Knight or Goblin Gang and you’re done.
Goblin Gang
Easy chip damage and high DPS if no Inferno Tower in cycle.
Useful in Tank-and-spank with the Knight.
Pair with Hog Rider for some insane damage.
Ice Spirit
A very versatile cycle card, pair with Hog Rider to get just 1 extra hit.
When the opponent Zaps your Inferno Tower, use the Ice Spirit to Freeze the troop to let the Inferno build up it’s insane damage again.
Zap
One of your main air defences, together with Ice Spirit it can wreck Minions, Minion Horde, Goblin Gang and more!
Can also be used to reset Inferno Towers, but only do that when you got more offense than just a Hog.
The Log
Probably the best Legendary in the game, The Log can be used to push back the opponent’s troops to give you just some more time defending.
Also pair it with a Hog to get some awesome predictions!
Replacements
Note: When replacing Inferno Tower the deck loses its defensive potential
General Gameplan:
Early Game (3.00 – 2.00):
Here you will want to find what spells, buildings and offensive units the opponent has.
You can try to outcycle your opponent’s buildings with small Hog pushes. When the opportunity of a counterpush comes up, take it!
You probably won’t have to play your 3 Musketeers, as Inferno Tower almost always is enough defence.
Possible pushes in the first minute will be:
- Hog + Ice Spirit
- Hog + Knight
- Hog + Goblin Gang
- Knight + Goblin Gang
Mid Game (2.00 – 1.00):
In this part of the game, you will want to be a bit more aggressive on your pushes.
When the chance to make a big Hog push appears, try to push with Hog, Knight, Ice Spirit and Goblin Gang.
Now you can also play your Three Musketeers, but only if you know your opponent’s spells.
Don’t be too aggressive, because you can get hit hard in your opponent’s counterpush.
Late Game (1.00 – 0.00 + Overtime):
Now it’s time for the ultimate push; Hog, Knight, Ice Spirit, Goblin Gang and your Three Musketeers!
If you took your opponent’s tower low enough, you can cycle your Log and defend a lot.
In this deck it doesn’t matter when you haven’t done that much damage, just go for the draw.
Try to predict any Skeleton Armies with the Log, and remember; Ice Spirit and Zap wrecks Minions (Horde)!
Matchups:
Spell Bait: 95% winrate
This shouldn’t be too hard as you got Log, Zap, Goblin Gang and Ice Spirit. You probably won’t use your Inferno Tower in this matchup.
Try to outcycle your opponent’s Inferno and predict their Goblin Gang.
It doesn’t matter if you use your Log on offense because you got Zap and Goblin Gang left. If they Rocket Cycle, use Three Musketeers more on your pushes.
P.E.K.K.A. Beatdown: 70% winrate
Try to pressure the lane the P.E.K.K.A. isn’t on. Defend the P.E.K.K.A. with Inferno Tower and block the E-wiz’s bolts with Knight or Goblin Gang.
If you know their push won’t make your lane in time, go really hard to take their tower.
Golem Beatdown: 50% winrate
Also here, try to pressure the other lane.
Punish any Elixir Collector, but make sure you won’t be at a too big elixir disadvantage as you will be wrecked. Distract the support with Knight, Goblin Gang or Ice Spirit while your Inferno Tower melts down the Golem.
It can be a tough matchup, especially when they have clone.
LavaLoon: 25% winrate
Very hard to deal with, if you can’t place your Three Musketeers in time.
Use Inferno Tower to distract the Balloon, while your Three Musketeers kill the Lavahound.
Distract any support with Knight or Goblin Gang. If they Lightning, you’re dead.
Hog Cycle: 60% winrate
Probably very easy, you got enough defence with Inferno Tower.
If they outcycle you, use Goblin Gang or Knight with Ice Spirit.
You won’t be able to outcycle their defence, so use your Three Musketeers a lot.
Overleveled Royal Giant or Elite Barbarians: 50% winrate
Unfortunately you will often meet these guys.
Ebarbs will be easy to defend with Knight, Ice Spirit and Goblin Gang. Royal Giant will be much harder, especially if they Lightning or Zap your Inferno Tower.
Try to freeze the RG with Ice Spirit so the Inferno Tower can still melt it down. To defend RG in the pocket, use Inferno Tower with Zap or Ice Spirit.
Conclusion
This deck works really well in the current meta and is useful on ladder as it is defence-heavy. Give the deck a try, and I would love to hear what you think of it!
Good luck everyone,
Rtz02
1st
2nd
Ayy off-meta but good looking deck! <3
I’ve actually seen this deck before I think! Well written guide too. 🙂
The three musket photoshop tho xD
3rd nobody claimed
what are your levels? I want to see what it takes to be in a league. and inferno tower seems useless, maybe replace it with minion horde or elixir collector?
inferno is one of the most solid defenses. ez get rid of golems and pekkas
but zap and lightning? and swarm distractions?
inferno tower isn’t really needed in a 3 musketeers deck because of their sheer dps
I’m not in a league but i’d say 10-11/8-9/5-6/2 at the minimum.
I have a few lvl 10 commons, I only have 3 musketeers as lvl 8, I don’t have any lvl 5 epics, and almost half of my leggies are lvl 2
im not even close to a league, but my levels are 10 (with lvl 11 zap)/7/4 (with lvl 5 goblin barrel)/1.5
4th no one claimed
i have never seen a 3M hog deck… my 3m are to low lvl but i can make a revamp withot 3m
mine are lvl 6, so…
Is this Surgical Goblin’s deck?
5th, and last.
3M sux, 3M rekts my deck, i hate 3M
3m is one of my decks weaknesses XD
I can play 3M, so can someone please help me
*can’t
3M decks are normally split push decks. For this deck I’d say the gameplan is Hog+ 1 musk on one side and Knight+2 musk on other side. How many trophies do u have? I can give u more specific tips if u tell me your trophy range.
I’m at 2618 trophies right now
You don’t need to play 3M if it doesn’t suit your playstyle. Play whatever archetype you feel is right for you 🙂
I have no friends :'(
https://link.clashroyale.com/invite/friend/en?tag=2CLVCV208&token=wgekathc&platform=android
who’s awesome2020 who friended me
Friended u, im really low, at 3550 or smthig like that now
😀
Lets do a friendly battle
no can’t i’m studying rn, maybe later?
Okay no problem
r u abkoebaba?
Yeah, that isnt my real name btw, i didnt know anything so i told my friend to give me a random name
it sounds weird af no offense xD
Ikr, i told you its random
But however in Dutch it sounds “less” weird
r u dutch?
Yeah
why does it sound less weird?
How did u become a mod btw? Just wondering
When i was really active and became 1st on challengers of the month without any ‘spam’ and making good comments
Wow you’re Dutch! European CRA family is now bigger! (Zigge (swedish), me (polish) and you (dutch)!
Ha yeah, but i think there are more european people, that didn’t say anything about it yet
Nah, 80% are Indian
Oh yeah forgot
Nope. Only Blazestone is from India. Oh, and me too.
No, Radioactive and a lot more are Indian. Just check 2v2 Tourney participants list, how many were Indian.
what 2v2 tourney? I wasn’t even here then lol
yeah i also was not in that
Are you even on CRA Discord?
Are there any famous pro Indian CR players?
I don’t think so, Blaze is 4.5k – 4.6k, correct me if i’m wrong. I don’t think it’s “pro” level.
I didn’t know. Whatever. And are you Golem FTW? He also called himself Radius, so was wondering.
Yeah, it’s me. I changed my nick since I’m not really a Golem lover anymore and Trainer Lay is my IGN name.
Oh.
and i think scarlett, b’yacht’ch, rg ftw, and i are asian
i m also bro
why are there so many indians here anyways
idk, really
Hey. I am from Croatia
U friended me right?
Yes. In game name Roko
Another European! Unfortunately I’m British, due to Brexit we don’t count as European do we?
Not sure
cool!
I’m British
Oh, cool!
But there’s Brexit soooo
what’s that got to do with anything?
edit: nvm, now i see
I’m also really active and don’t spam and make good comments lol xD
Well I guess Will has his choices
well u do reply to the same comment like 50 times…
and what do you mean by that
yeah its so weird name
I gotchu my friend
-SweDPI
Good one!
yeet! I have frens!
Got ya covered! ;D
Should there be issues in your clan, which I hope not.
Anyone who needs a clan, join here.
Lemme hop online.
I really like this deck, but Inferno Tower is the odd man out. I would highly suggest replacing it with Pump (I see you mentioned in the guide). At this point in the game, you need a Pump to play Three Musketeers effectively. You might play this more like a Hog deck, but then why would you need the Three Musketeers.
Inferno Tower makes no sense in a deck with one of the cards which does the highest individual damage per second (3M). There are no other obvious flaws I can see in this deck. Thanks for posting.
did u feature ur own comment again xD
If comment is important and quality, then why not?
Never said there was anything wrong with doing that
of course he did..-_-
To quote Hotshot Gamer Boy, October 27, 2017 – “Why the long face?”
Here in England, it’s 27th October, 2017. Sorry, just had to
-_-
I agree, Elixir Pump acts as spell bait and if opponent has no big spell or Miner or Goblin Barrel or whatever you can gain elixir so you can get 3M’s quicker in 2x elixir. This deck doesn’t need more overkill defense, it’s already got 3M.
45th!!
-_-
Are you Scarlet?
No. Sadly not. I loved her Cannons dream series though.
Are you SURE you’re not her? ‘Cause she has masqueraded as someone else earlier. And, no offence, but her series wasn’t that great. Childish language and unimaginative plot. Please understand that I am saying his from a purely disinterested view, and not to debase the story. From my personal view, it was nice. But as an unbiased critic? Not so much.
Ok sadly I kinda have to agree with you, it was kinda childish with a predicable plot line. But seriously man, I am not Scarlet.
Ohhhkay. No probs!
Yeah the plot was too Disney like. You know what I’m saying?
Wow you like debating ;D
Hehe…probably!
I miss Scarlett’s fanfic. Wish she’d come back. Btw Hotshot I’d like to see your guide writing skills! Do write a guide!
I don’t really get that much time and patience isn’t my best virtue.
You’re probably the most brutally honest person I know.
I’d like to take that as a compliment.
Why the long face?
I understand you claiming 45th as a joke, but I felt like it was my duty to reply with a long face.
Same….(57th)
XD IK. when has it ever been bad?
How about that time when… *thinks for a minute*
Never mind you’re right it’s never been bad
exactly… supercell… this is the one card that has never been bad
yeah lol
never
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/22526a82ffdbfbcdbed7e2057a7de272914da9e1694d099162f7f3da983f48b8.png
Here is another cool semi hybrid deck which, in my opinion looks great! Its like a chip deck with really strong defence. Sadly, I don’t have Miner or E-wiz. What would be some replacements for them in this particular deck? (I am not trying to spam, I am just trying to get some advice from some good players!)
Musket for E Wiz and Hog for Miner.
Also, Barb Hut works better than Gob Hut as the Barbs can act as a tank for Miner and Glass Cannons. Also they stack up very nicely behind the pekka.
it is not F2P tho
ice wiz and ewiz in the same deck is not very great, i would swap ewiz with something like goblins
Don’t you think E-wiz would be better in this deck? Because it could reset inferno tower, and deal damage to the tower while a miner is tanking I think if you had to take away one, it would be E wiz. (I won’t do this because I don’t have E-wiz)
If someone wants to add me…
https://link.clashroyale.com/invite/friend/en?tag=L9RRPJL0&token=r6yd7prd&platform=android
If anyone cares, here’s my latest deck guide:
Hey guys, it’s yours truly, NebulaNoodle, back at it again this time with the focus on a more off-meta deck. That’s right guys, as requested, here’s a hybrid deck! This one combines the deadly duo of the Mega Knight and the Mortar. I actually just got the Mega Knight yesterday, from the shop, so here’s a nice way to showcase this big daddy! Hope you enjoy!
Pros:
Strong defense
Not too high average elixir cost
Once the Mortar is locked onto the tower, it’s hard for the opponent to stop it
Cons:
Weak to Exenado
No low-damage spell
Cards:
Mega Knight:
What’s a Mega Knight deck without the Mega Knight?? Jumps on enemies with a satisfying clunk.
Synergizes well with the Mortar due to the fact that the Mega Knight protects the Mortar from large swarms and he is very tanky.
Best used in counterpush situations with Minions, Mortar, and leftover defensive troops.
He is weak to the PEKKA so your Minions will really help killing the PEKKA and other support troops your opponents has.
Poison:
This card works extremely well placed preemptively with the Mega Knight as part of a big push.
Works wonders against Minion Hordes, Goblin Gangs, and the like attacking your Mega Knight and Mortar!
Its large AoE means that it can provide huge value and possibly give you big elixir leads!
Ice Golem:
It may seem strange that Ice Golem is in this deck but you won’t really be playing your Mega Knight too much before double elixir, so he is a nice tank for the Mortar in single elixir for slow chip damage.
His death damage kills Skeletons and Bats, and is an awesome kiting and distracting troop.
Mortar:
Your main win condition, you could actually also consider Mega Knight a half-win condition (sort of like E-Barbs.)
Great for chip damage, hopefully you’ll be able to lock onto the tower, because then it will be extremely hard for your opponent to get to the Mortar unless they kill it with a spell!
Protect the Mortar, but know when to let it go. Don’t overcommit and be left vulnerable to a huge counterpush.
Musketeer:
Your main anti-air card. Even though she two-shots them, she works very good against Minion Hordes due to her pretty fast attack speed. Take advantage of her long attack range, use her to snipe away at troops attacking your mortar. She works nicely with Mega Knight along with Minions for a counterpush, just don’t overcommit!
Tornado:
This is an amazing defensive card! Pull Hog, Giant, Knight, E-Wiz, Valk, Miner, Goblin Barrel and the like to your king tower and watch your opponents cry. If you manage to activate the King against a graveyard player you barely have to defend their graveyard, the King tower can snipe away easily at all the skeletons.
If you don’t know how to activate the E-Wiz to the King, just pull him to the corner where one of his split attacks will hit the King!
Tornado also is amazing with Mega Knight, so he jumps and wrecks all the clumped troops. Great 10 elixir combo against near-unstoppable pushes. Tornado also works well with Poison, to keep troops from running away from the Poison so your Poison can get more value.
Here’s a Tornado tech video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR3mv8h47yY
Skeletons:
You can replace these cute doots with Goblins but I wanted to keep the deck as cheap as possible.
They still offer really nice value to distract and to cycle quickly to another Mega Knight or Mortar.
Minions:
Your other strong-anti air card. Weak to spells so place them away from your musketeer against, for example, lavaloon decks so your opponent can’t get a value fireball or poison or whatever.
I chose these guys over Bats due to their Zap resistance and they do a lot more damage. They still offer huge DPS!
Replacements:
Mega Knight: None
Poison: Fireball
Ice Golem: Knight, Valkyrie
Mortar: Miner
Musketeer: Any anti-air glass cannon
Tornado: None
Skeletons: Goblins, Bats
Minions: Bats, Spear Goblins
Gameplay:
Best starting moves:
Ice Golem/Musketeer/Minions (split)/Skeletons (split) in the back
Mortar at bridge (If opponent starts with heavy tank)
NEVER EVER start a mortar at the bridge unless your opponent gives you a chance to punish as he can easily counter your Mortar, having 10 elixir in hand. This is a hybrid deck so you can play this deck two ways: Passive siege or beatdown. Don’t play your Mega Knight too early, make your opponent think you’re playing a regular old Mortar deck. That’s what I like about hybrid decks; you can play one archetype style then stun your opponent! Only use your Mega Knight in single elixir as a reactive move to a big Giant/Golem push. You should be making Mortar pushes like Ice Golem+Mortar+Minions, without overcommiting and leaving yourself with no elixir to defend. I see a lot of people spending so much elixir trying to defend their siege weapon that they end up having only 2 or 3 elixir to stop a Pekka and Miner combo, for example. Mistakes like these can easily cost you a tower, and I feel like hybrid decks can be extremely difficult to play if you don’t have the right feel for them because you have to think: Do I want to play this deck this style or that style right now? Get a feel for your opponent’s deck and rotation too, what kind of playstyle they have and if you can cycle in time to counter your opponent’s cards, and most importantly, win condition.
Around mid-game you should be cycling your Mortars by using Skeletons/Minions. Try using poisons right in front of your mortar, so even if your Mortar dies you can get nice value against their troops. If you are struggling with tower damage by this time don’t use this tactic. Remember, this is a hybrid deck so don’t be afraid to try out different tactics than what one would usually use in a single archetype deck. Use your Mega Knight to defend your Mortar, he is very tanky and splashes everything trying to kill your Mega Knight. Combined with the Poison and one of either Minions or Musketeer. Use Tornado to complement your pushes. Here’s an idea: Place the Tornado so when the Mega Knight jumps on the troops, he also hits the tower and deals massive damage with each strike following as well!
In late game/overtime, build up big pushes, just spam everything behind the Mega Knight. Even if you have no elixir, you have so much elixir on the field that your opponent will struggle to counterpush. Overwhelm them with more mortars, and just keep cycling Poisons and Mortars for the win!
Matchups:
Lavaloon:
Minions work nicely against the balloon. Use tornado appropriately, and poison the Minions/Minion Horde. Keep your Musketeer in hand for their support troops, and if they have ground troops in their pushes wreck them with the Mega Knight!
Golem:
Use Mega Knight+Tornado to kill their glass cannons, and use Minions’ huge DPS to take the Golem out! There’s no building, but this deck is totally fine without one.
Giant:
See Golem. It’s a little easier because the Giant will die faster (less health) and you can go in for counterpushes faster.
Bait:
Use poison against clumped up swarms. Tornado the Barrel to the King and every time after that Tornado the Barrel away from the tower. Mega Knight just wrecks everything on the field, it’s like a VERY hard counter to bait. This should be an easy one.
Cycle/Control:
Against Hog Cycle, you should try to keep up with the counters. If you can place Mega Knight correctly the Hog will get no swings on the tower. Against Hog+Mini Tank+Glass Cannon push, the Mega Knight just wrecks everything. Use Minions to clean up the leftovers.
Against Miner decks, try to learn your counters again. Ice Golem can kite PEKKA away so it will be easier to counter the Miner with, say, Musketeer. You shouldn’t worry about the Miner as much, instead focus on countering their tank and support. Counterpushing is especially important against these decks.
Siege:
Against other Mortar decks, like the classic Mortar Rocket, don’t give them spell value. Mega Knight counters Mortar well, as he splashes and severely damages all the squishy troops protecting their Mortar. After you defend, just place a Mortar behind everything and watch them cry!
Against X-Bow, you have nothing to reset the X-Bow’s target so at all costs don’t let the X-Bow lock on because then you will have to spend so much elixir trying to defend that you will have no elixir to punish. You can easily get losses or draws against these decks.
Salty Ladder:
Against Royal Cancer, Mega Knight will wreck their support troops. Don’t use too much elixir defending as I see many people without buildings do. Instead, go in to counterattack and crush!
Against Elite Cancer, don’t worry! Mega Knight hard counters E-Barbs, even if they are raged. Musketeer does a nice job sniping from range against their Valk/Exe or whatever splash unit they have.
Thank you all for reading my guide, I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for my next guide, but that’s another time. Until next time, goodbye from NebulaNoodle! Peace <3
and you’ve playtested all of your decks? It takes me a week or more to playtest my decks…
same I dont understand how he tests decks so fast
plz dont spam this in the comment section, instead post a link or something
Well I’m not sending you a link, your saying that if I test decks so fast the guides mustn’t be in-depth…so it must not be a good quality guide.
The bad thing of the deck is how are you gonna deal with other triples
nice guide and great deck but not offence i would like to replace fireball by zap to kill wiz,musketeers etc.
lol i have starfire app in my mobile
IMO no cheap air defense, maybe replace log with princess, d-gob or fire spirits.
Fun fact: ice spirit paired with fire spirits deal enough damage to take out 3M; ice spirit needs to land on the 3M though(This gives you +6 elixir!). The other more secure option is zap fire spirits where you play both at the same time(drop fire spirits within 2 tiles of the 3M as you zap them). +5 elixir if they don’t split! If they do, just use knight on the side with 1 and not only have you gained +2 elixir, you also have a healthy counter push.
Ice golem is a ittle more stable
When i was at Arena 9, i used Trifecta 3M cycle. It includes Hog, Musketeer, Valkyrie, skeletons, ice spirit, log, zap, and 3M. The AEC is only 3.5! I’m just gonna push with hog + ice spirit/skeletons, than cycling until i got the hog again. After one tower is taken down, i put my 3M right in the centre of enemy’s field and watched how my enemy countered it. Pretty fun, i think, since my 3M was level 8 at arena 9 is quiet overleveled.
Sorry if i made grammar mistakes.
any decks for my arena 3 slump?
Isn’t this Arena 9+ because GG is Arena 9 Unlockable