What’s good guys!! Norbysweg here, and as you can tell, we are celebrating Jake Paul hitting 10 Million subscribers! Just kidding, we are celebrating the biggest challenge in the game, the Crown Championship Challenge!
After I saw the new meta decks and checked them all for a while, most of them had a weakness to Goblin Barrel.
If you know me, you know I’m a Log Bait enthusiast, but this time I decided to leave the common Log Bait deck behind, and tried this Hog Barrel deck out.
Nitrome95 wrote a guide on it after the First CRA Tourney took place, and he got first! Now I’m bringing the deck back, and hopefully do a good job at explaining!
Surprise, surprise, I got 20 wins with it! I’m not joking at all, 20-1! That was the best accomplishment with this deck, but two 12-win Grand Challenges after are also pretty great! Hyped yet? Let’s get right into the guide!
Hog Log/Spell Bait Deck
Pros
Cons
Very aggressive
Punishes Pumps nicely
Devastating if your opponent doesn’t have Log
Very good against any type of beatdown
Good against 3 Musketeers
Extremely good in the meta
Weak against quick cycle decks with Log
Weak against Graveyard Poison
Cards Breakdown
Hog Rider – Your primary win condition, and part of the combo.
This guy re-entered the meta as a very popular win condition, because of his stability, and efficiency in both ladder and challenges.
You can couple him nicely with the cards in this deck: Goblin Gang, Barrel, Ewiz, or simply the troops left from defense. Some Goblins and a 1HP Ewiz can mean a lot in some scenarios.
The hog barrel combo done the right way would mean you send the Barrel first, then the Hog, so the Hog tanks for the Barrel more. This is your punishing, starting, ending and tower taking combo.
Goblin Barrel – Your secondary win condition and second part of the combo. This card goes coupled extremely well with the Hog Rider, since they are a fast, punishing combo together, and can’t be easily countered.
If your opponent just pumped or placed some Expensive troop, you can very easily punish them by using Goblin Barrel.
The Goblin Barrel itself can be used to bait out spells, so you can defend in tough scenarios, and you can use the Gang/Skarmy to bait out spells, so you can get damage with the Goblin Barrel!
If you know your opponent is low on elixir, but he has Log or Arrows, do the Trickster Barrel, by placing the barrel 3-4 tiles ahead of the Crown Tower. If they miss the spell, GG!
Goblin Gang – Your first defensive wall! The Gang is perfect against Zaps, because the Stab Goblins always survive.
They have high DPS, and for 3 Elixir, they can deal over 1000 damage if unanswered.
They counter Hog nicely, move faster than the Skarmy, and couple well with the cards in this deck overall, mostly offensively-incined among the defensive cards.
Skeleton Army – The second defensive wall! This card can overpower almost anything in the game if they don’t have an answer to it.
Giants, Pekkas, Glass cannons, Hogs, Musketeers, Splash cards, they will all get destroyed by this mountain of bones if not answered.
Extremely powerful on defense, although hard to use on offense due to their slower speed.
Electro Wizard – He is still a very powerful card in this meta!
He counters Ice Wizard, Mini Pekka, resets siege units such as X-Bow and Mortar, and stuns every threat, making it slower, and weaker.
He also counters swarm troops easily, and helps a whole lot in defense.
Never attack with him since he can get easily countered. Use him in defense, and counterpush rightafter.
Inferno Tower – Your defensive building, use it against Hogs, Giants, Golems, and all that stuff.
Never overcommit with this, since you can’t counterpush with the Inferno Tower. Use it only when needed.
Fireball – Your high-damage spell!
Use it to clean low-HP towers, and most importantly, damaging Ice Wizards, Electro Wizards, Three Musketeers, and all that important stuff.
Use it offensively, to destroy buildings, to kill Barbarians or Minion Horde, so your Hog gets those juicy hits!
Zap – Now with the addition of Bats, they’ve become a very good counter to Hog. Zap clears them out, and stuns the tower too!
Of course that’s not the only scenario you have to use the Zap, but you surely know when and how to play it!
Replacements
Zap – Log: Of course, if your Log is very high level, or you just feel like using it, go ahead and do this replacement. I play Zap because of the Bats going around in the meta, but you can do as you wish.
Goblin Gang/Skarmy – Minion Horde: Kind if a tough replacement, because it’s more costly to do a Hog Horde push, or Barrel Horde. It also kind of breaks the synergy, because you don’t really have a Miner, like in the old Bait deck, but you can definitely make this change if you feel more confortable that way.
E-Wiz – Princess: If you simply don’t have Electro Wizard, or you’re just better with the Princess, go ahead and make this change.
General Gameplan
This time I will explain the gameplan in scenarios! This maneuver helps you identify better with the deck, and game itself.
Early game: Your opponent is preparing for a big push, and you’re at an elixir disadvantage. You send in the Goblin Barrel, and they Zap it. When their half-push reached the bridge, you easily counter it with a Skeleton Army, because they don’t have Zap.
Overtime: Your opponent’s tower is low on health, but he attacks you with a Hog Rider.You know he has Lightning in cycle, so you use the Goblin Gang to counter that, and to bait out his Log. You have your E-Wiz ready, so the Hog dies just in time. You baited out his Log, so you send in the Goblin Barrel. He doesn’t have anything to defend, so you take the tower and win.
Now let’s take a look at what could’ve gone worse
First scenario: You don’t send in the Barrel, and prepare to defend. You place the Inferno Tower, but he uses the Lightning on that. You place the Skeleton army on top of the Pekka, but he Zaps. The Goblin Gang left isn’t enough, and you lose the tower.
Second Scenario: You play the Inferno Tower, even if he has his Lightning in cycle. Of course he uses it, and the Hog gets on your tower. Your E-Wiz is not there in time, so your opponent gets two Hog Swings bonus. You send in your Barrel, but it gets Logged. You just took around 900 damage for no reason.
Now that you understand how Bait should be used defensively and offensively, let’s move forward.
Matchups
Lavaloon – One of the easiest, because you can simply go aggressive opposite lane, and easily counter with Inferno Tower/E-Wiz.
Remember to do the trickster Barrel!
Golem Beatdown – A little bit harder, since they can easily get advantage by a pump, if you have a bad rotation.
Always have some space between the E-Wiz and the Inferno Tower so they can’t lightning both.
X-Bow – Now that it re-entered the meta and got buffed, the X-Bow is stronger than ever.
You don’t wanna go into overtime with a quick cycle Log deck, so you better get a nice push and a good amount of damage, because you will eventually fall apart in overtime, trying to defend the X-Bow.
Hog Cycle – The same as X-Bow!
You really need to get that damage in, otherwise they’re gonna get a prediction Fireball or something like that, and you will sit there, watching how the Hog is humiliating your tower.
Soooo… That was it guys! Sorry for not posting in like 163 years, but I hope this guide, (and especially the deck) made it up for you! I hope you will enjoy playing this deck, because it has a huge potential when used correctly! Thanks for reading this 1.3k word guide, and see you in the next one!
Old Guide by Nitrome95
Cards Breakdown
Hog Rider
The main mistake that a lot of players make with this deck is that they play it like a Hog control/cycle deck. That is exactly the wrong mindset that you should have while playing this deck. Instead, think of the Hog Rider as a tank that applies lots of pressure to your opponent with its speed and high damage output.
When playing the Hog Rider, you want to play it against the left/right wall right at the bridge. That way, the Hog Rider jumps over the river and makes it harder for your opponent it counter it. Once you have a tower down, you will want to play the Hog Rider in the pocket so that it can tank both arena towers.
If your opponent plays a tank in the back and you are not behind on elixir, you can attack the opposite lane with it.
Goblin Gang/Skeleton Army/Goblin Barrel
These three cards all have the purpose of baiting out your opponent’s spells, while punishing them if they do not have their spells in hand. Skeleton army is best used in defense because it has the highest DPS. Goblin Barrel is best used on offense because it can be placed directly on top of the tower. Goblin Gang is a hybrid of both, not having the best offense or defense, but it is well rounded.
Electro Wizard
This card is sooo good. It is your secondary defense against hog rider if you don’t have inferno tower. With decks like these becoming popular, a Goblin Gang Hog Rider combo is countered by an Electro wizard for a (OJ) positive elixir trade. Usually, you will want to utilize the spawn Zap to get +2 elixir value out of the troop. However, if the push has tons of high DPS, you might want to use the Electro Wizard’s long range.
On offense, this card is also a threat because of its fast speed and retargeting abilities.
Good against any tanks, decent against Hog rider and Miner. Just make sure that you keep it away from your other defensive troops or else your opponent can get a value spell.
Fireball
I chose Fireball over Poison to take out Minions faster when dealing with Royal Giant so that your Inferno Tower can lock on. If and when possible, it is worth it to take a -1 elixir trade to hit the troop and tower. However, if you are behind on elixir, don’t do so.
The Log
Don’t be stupid with it. If a Goblin Barrel is coming at you, track the Goblins so that you don’t miss a trickster barrel.
Simply put, this is a spell bait deck, meaning that you bait out your opponent’s spells and punish them for doing so with a Goblin barrel, Goblin Gang, or Skeleton Army with a tank. Your tank is usually the Hog Rider, but Electro Wizard is sometimes a good tank on a counterpush with goblin barrel.
Opening Hand
The best opening move is Hog Rider so you can see your opponent’s response to your Hog Rider. Once you defend their push, you will most likely have cycled to your Hog Rider again.
If you do not have the Hog Rider, a Goblin Barrel is your next best move. Otherwise, wait for your opponent to make the first move and react accordingly.
1* Elixir
Unlike a beatdown deck, you can play this deck in single elixir.
If your opponent uses their spells only on defense, you will wait until double elixir to be aggressive. If they use their spell on your Skeleton Army on defense, use your Goblin Gang to continue defending, then punish them with a Hog Rider Goblin Barrel.
You should be able to take down a tower easily or at least chip it down fairly heavily.
2* Elixir
At double elixir, you have to assess the situation.
If you have the tower already, defend the crap out of your tower. However, you should know when your tower will probably go down so that you can apply bonus damage to the opposite lane.
If you have the tower down to critical hp, a few Fireballs and a Goblin Barrel here and there should do it.
If you still do not have much damage on the tower, you have to play mindgames with your opponent. Try to make it seem like you will make one play, and then quickly switch it up, hopefully for some good damage.
If the game is 1 tower to 1, this is where you go for the ultimate push. Wait for your opponent to have wasted at least one of his spells and immediately do a Goblin Barrel Hog Rider Goblin Gang Skeleton Army rush(Will go more into detail). When doing so, make sure your opponent does not have some major splash like a Valkyrie or Bomb Tower.
Offensive Combos
Plain Hog- Used to scout out your opponent’s counters.
Plain Goblin Barrel- Used to scout out your opponent’s counters.
Goblin Barrel Hog- The ideal way to play this is to play the Goblin Barrel, immediately followed by the Hog Rider. Used to quickly punish your opponent for misusing spells or wasting elixir.
Goblin Gang Hog- A less ideal version of the Goblin Barrel, as Goblin Barrel is used to bait out spells. Do not place the Goblin Gang too close to the Hog Rider or else the Hog Rider won’t pig push.
Skeleton Army Hog- It is a better protector of the Hog Rider from the Inferno Tower.
Ultimate Push- Do your Goblin Gang Hog Push with a Skeleton Army in the pocket to distract any defenses/troops. Once you have enough elixir, drop the Goblin Barrel.
Defensive Matchups
In general on defense, you want to use your spell baity cards when your opponent does not have any splash and Inferno Tower and Electro Wizard if needed.
Graveyard Poison
This one is tough because the poison counters your Skeleton Army and Goblin Gang, some of your main defense. Wait for some skeletons to spawn before you place the Electro Wizard to take advantage of the spawn zap. You have to judge on your own when to log to clear out Skeletons.
Miner Poison
Use your inferno tower! By placing the Inferno Tower, you are practically denying your opponent from placing a miner without killing the Inferno Tower first.
Hog Rider Cycle/Control
It is important to know how much you should defend without overcommitting. On a lone Hog Rider, you should only use Electro Wizard, not Inferno Tower to save your elixir. If your opponent does not have any spells in hand, you are always free to use your Skeleton Army or Goblin Gang. You should only use your Inferno when the Hog Rider is accompanied by a good amount of support
Heavy Beatdown
Make sure that they do not build up their pumps! A good technique that I use is to Goblin Barrel the Collector. Since they can’t log it, they will have to place down a troop. Pre fireball for great value. And of course, pressure the other lane if they drop a tank in the back.
Spell Bait
Don’t be afraid to only use your log offensively. This deck has enough Goblin Barrel counters with your Skeleton Army, Goblin Gang, and Electro Wizard.
Siege
This matchup is like a “hurry up and take down their tower at any cost”. Once you take down their tower, they will have a lot harder time attacking, forcing them to switch lanes. Don’t attempt to use the Inferno Tower to kill the Xbow, only use it for its hp pool in between your towers.
Lava Hound
You want to apply as much opposite lane pressure once they drop the tank in the back without overcommitting too much. You can lean on the Inferno Tower to kill the Lava Hound, but you need to an Electro Wizard and Goblin Gang or Fireball to deal with the Balloon. Based on this, save the required amount of elixir needed to counter.
Here are some of my good replays from the tournament I won narrated by my fellow clanmate, GeneralNX. You should really check him out if you like his content here:
Trickster Barrel
Whenever I know my opponent has a spell on them and I want to play a Goblin Barrel, I place the Goblin Barrel 2 tiles behind the tower. Also good when doing your Goblin Gang Goblin Barrel push as a surprise.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this guide. I’m am very passionate about this deck and hope you all learned something valuable today. Bait out your opponent’s spells, punish, and you should be fine!
Sorry guys! Nothing here!
I am just an editor guy with zero knowledge about this awesome game.
Want to have your own author box? Contact me once you have more than 5 articles posted!
I just changed to this deck after EWiz got nerfed I went from 3000-3400 in just 1 week with 0 losses.I just changed the zap with the log because my log is lvl.2.I have 9 Legendaries Log,Lumberjack,Miner,Lava Hound,Bandit,Inferno Dragon,EWiz and Mega Knight(Log and Lava Hound Lvl 2)
By 
Zap – Now with the addition of Bats, they’ve become a very good counter to Hog. Zap clears them out, and stuns the tower too!
Lavaloon – One of the easiest, because you can simply go aggressive opposite lane, and easily counter with Inferno Tower/E-Wiz.
Golem Beatdown – A little bit harder, since they can easily get advantage by a pump, if you have a bad rotation.
X-Bow – Now that it re-entered the meta and got buffed, the X-Bow is stronger than ever.
I just changed to this deck after EWiz got nerfed I went from 3000-3400 in just 1 week with 0 losses.I just changed the zap with the log because my log is lvl.2.I have 9 Legendaries Log,Lumberjack,Miner,Lava Hound,Bandit,Inferno Dragon,EWiz and Mega Knight(Log and Lava Hound Lvl 2)
I have a great time with GY, I play Golem Yard or Giant Yard. Lumberjack IMO is the best Legendary in the game but that’s just my opinion.
I know i use gy too now, that post was almost a year ago xD