PEKKA Balloon(for the lower arenas!)

Hey! everyone, it’s Dart Goblin FTW(Regeneration) back after a short break with a new deck that I’d like to share. So let’s get into it!

• PEKKA
• Balloon
• Witch
• Fireball
• Tombstone
• Knight
• Minions
• Zap

There are substitutions, fear not, but just keep in mind that this deck is aimed towards lower level/arena players so the replacements might be better or worse depending on the arena, meta, etc.

How this deck became a deck

A couple of weeks back I installed bluestacks and started playing CR on my computer. As I go through the tutorial for the account I was thinking of just making it another way to play my main account, Regeneration. But then I got to tutorial 3 where you unlock your first epic card from the free chest, and low and behold I got the Witch. I thought that you know what, Witch is a really strong card in the early arenas, I shouldn’t just waste that opportunity. It synergizes well with Giant which you also start out with so I figured, maybe I should just start a new account with this and see how far I go. And I did. And its name is AI Regeneration(because I was playing on a computer). Fast forward a week and I’m in spell arena, trying to unlock new cards. Now at this point, I have unlocked Balloon, and I was taking advantage of this by running the dreaded Giantloon combo(deadly in the lower arena) and I was hoping for the mirror to just demolish everyone(I was facing level 8s and everything why wouldn’t I as a level 5 lol). Now fast forward to 2 days before writing this. I just unlocked PEKKA. I immediately swapped Giant out for PEKKA and I just got instant success. Everyone panics to a Balloon, but a PEKKA and Balloon? Scary! And with a little help from deck shop(thanks Pavelfi and OJ you guys are awesome) I created this deck. I checked it, it has great offensive and defensive potential and counters a lot of cards(including Royal Ghost supercell please nerf him a little bit, not like Night Witch…). Its synergies aren’t the greatest, but it’s still a great deck, and I just keep pushing with it.

TL;DR: I made this deck for lower arena/leveled players like my bluestacks account and it’s strong so if you have trouble climbing from the bottom due to low leveled cards, I recommend this deck for you.

Card Roles

PEKKA: Still a good card, nothing much else to say that hasn’t been said about it. For 7 elixir you have a high HP tank/tank killer that does massive damage and can shut down pretty much anything except lavaloon. In other words, get your opponents panicking in the lower arenas(not so much higher up as they know how to counter her), especially with a Balloon behind her. They have to pick one or the other, as their counters to Balloon are horrible and weak to spells, likewise PEKKA.

TL;DR: Tank, tank killer(make sure to counter push when possible), threat card.

Balloon: Never underestimate the power of the Balloon. Deadly behind a tank, deadly in the lower arenas, and without buildings and/or tornado, is almost guaranteed to get death damage off the tower when you send it. Keep in mind that this 5 elixir win condition is nothing to scoff at; the death damage racks up. FAST. At tourney standards, it does nearly 300, but at lower levels around 230(that’s where I have mine). A neat little trick is to use the Balloon as the mini tank for your support troops(when you counterpush) or any high DPS troop. For example, say you’re in a 2v2 with a Hog Goblin Barrel deck and you’re using this deck. A nice trick is that if you know your opponents can’t counter Goblin Barrel properly, drop a Balloon at the bridge. Most likely(at least from my experience), your teammate will support you by throwing the Goblin Barrel along. Your opponents won’t be able to counter Goblin Barrel properly and will start wasting elixir on it like dropping Valks, Muskets, Witches, etc. This is when the Balloon(while still tanking for the Goblins) becomes deadly as the arena tower is the only thing targeting the tower, and you can take out the tower. So in response, your opponents will overcommit, allowing your teammate to drop cards in the other lane such as Hogs, and you have enough elixir to support them. Easy win.

TL;DR: Win condition, main damage dealer, don’t forget the death bomb

Witch: Your third epic and just a great card to have in the lower arenas. She’s really annoying in the lower arenas behind Giants, and now you’ve got her behind a PEKKA. Players will be under so much pressure as Witch synergizes almost perfectly with PEKKA: She splashes swarms and distracts mini tanks and other cards that are used to counter PEKKA like infernos with her skeletons. For 5 elixir, you just can’t have her in a PEKKA beatdown deck. Plus, she’s an epic, which means she’s better than cards that are equivalent level to her(for example, at level 1 she’s better than a level 1 wizard). As for defense, she can defend against opposing PEKKAs, princes, and even Giant with only 2 or 3 hits off. Balloons might be a challenge, so you’ll rely on another card for those.

TL;DR: Support troop, splasher, mini swarms with spawned skeletons.

Tombstone: I love this card. For 3 elixir you can shut down a lone PEKKA(+4), Hog Rider(+1) and even Giant(+2)! It’s level independent, and it’s a passive spawner building that most people tend to just ignore because, well, what harm can a Tombstone do? The skeletons never make it to the tower right? WRONG. When left untouched, a Tombstone will spawn a total of 17 skeletons(including the 4 spawned at death), which is more than skarmy(14)! Another great bonus is that in lower arenas, people will tend to Fireball your Tombstone(for some reason), and won’t Zap or Arrows it, making it a sturdy defensive option. Plus it’s a great opening move. As for its threat, the skeletons distract your opponent’s troops and arena tower. So for example if you’re in a 1v1 PEKKA vs PEKKA battle, that 1 spawned skeleton will distract your opponent’s PEKKA long enough for your PEKKA to come out on top(most likely your opponents will support their PEKKA so don’t rely on this too often. And remember when 1 elixir Skeletons spawned 4 instead of 3 skellies? You remember don’t you, their amazing DPS for 1 elixir? Well, would you look at that: Tombstone spawns 4 skeletons on death! Now it doesn’t have to be from death, it can accumulate over time. It will take a bit more time so it won’t stack like say, Spear Goblins, but when those skeletons stack up behind a tank or mini-tank, GG. Besides, who’s going to Arrows or even Zap 4 skeletons?

TL;DR: Defensive building, distracts all win conditions(except Rocket… yes Rocket is a win condition)

Knight: One of the first cards you unlock, and the first card you have to level up(which is why level 1 accounts can’t have everything at level 1). This means that from day 1 you will just be unlocking Knights after Knights after Knights(it will feel like that). Not only that the tutorial already shows you how to use him(a bit); a mini-tank with good DPS. So that’s his role. He’ll take out support troops that are around his level, and he’ll tank for cards like Minions, Balloon, Witch, and if ignored, having him tank the spawned skeletons from Tombstone will take out a tower(I told you that the skeletons still have high DPS!)! Just a great card, really f2p friendly, I don’t see why you wouldn’t have him(actually for 1 more elixir the Valk will give you splash damage if you want)

TL;DR: Mini-tank, support killer.

Minions: Another f2p card, and while weak to Zap early on, they become a really strong card. Minions counter ground swarms, distract Minion Hordes, somewhat deal with opposing Minions, take out mini-tanks, and when distracting a splasher with something like a Knight or PEKKA, can take them out. They also pair well with PEKKA and Balloon to distract Infernos, and will act as your Zap when opponents use ground swarms for your PEKKA(not the best but). Oh yeah, they counter Graveyard and Balloon(really popular win condition) but try to protect them as they are weak to Arrows, Poison, and Fireball(Zap if underleveled enough).

TL;DR: Anti-air swarm, defense

Fireball: The crown tower nerf hurt this card a bit. It almost seems like now you need 3 fireballs just to take out a tower that would have only taken 2 or 1 rocket. But that doesn’t stop it from being the first spell unlocked and the best spell to overlevel in the early arenas. For 4 elixir take out those support troops. Musketeers, Witches, Wizards, even Archers: GONE. And even if your Fireball is under-leveled, that’s ok. Sure you might not get extra hits off whenever you combo this card with Balloon, but what did I tell you about the death damage? It’s more than enough to finish off those wounded troops. You see in lower arenas players have a bad habit of putting their troop near the crown tower trying to defend a Balloon, or even clumping them together(this is why exenado would be the death of the lower arenas but you can’t unlock him until higher up when players have learned). Take advantage of this by sending the Balloon with Fireball in hand. You know that they’ll counter with those support troops, so when they drop them, wait until the Balloon dies and the timer starts; this is when you drop the Fireball on them. Timed correctly, the death bomb explodes, the support troops are wounded, and Fireball finishes them off. Now you don’t have to worry about the pushback of the Fireball pushing them away from the bomb or anything. Just positive elixir trades for you and damage of their tower.

TL;DR: Medium damage spell to take out support troops.

Zap: This one is tricky. In my version, I use Arrows since my zap is so weak, but if your zap is high enough of a level, use it. The only real purpose of zap here is to reset and stun troops, and finish off wounded support troops. It can also be used to clear Bats, Spear Goblins, and Skarmies. As for the Arrows variant, for 1 more elixir there’s more utility. You can’t stun and reset troops, and I don’t recommend using Arrows to finish off wounded support troops(7 elixir for 4-5 elixir troops). 3M would be a +2 trade, but there’s really no other reason. Now if the opponent drops a mini tank in front of that crippled Witch for example, then yes, use Arrows. Now for the other use of Arrows: Get rid of Goblin Barrels for a neutral trade, Minion Hordes for +2 elixir, Minions for a neutral trade, and any other swarm for a neutral trade. Arrows have a very useful radius of 4 that can come in handy when your opponent is dumb enough to clump together with their swarms; it’s really satisfying to wipe out Minion Hordes and their Skarmy for only 3 elixir(especially if you counterpush and take their tower!)

TL;DR: Use Zap to reset and finish off wounded troops, or use Arrows if Zap is under leveled.

Upgrades

This is just my personal recommendation and opinion, feel free to adjust the deck how you want.

Card Levels and Priorities:

1. Minions: They’re fine as long as they can survive Zap. So if you face a lot of level 7 Zaps, get them to level 6 and/or higher. Minions and Minion Hordes that are 2 levels under a Zap will die, so that’s really why. They get first priority
2. Zap: Speaking of Zap, it should be able to one shot Goblins, so overlevel this card if you can. However, it’s only second priority because you can also run Arrows. Now if you’re using Arrows, level it up so that it one shots Minions and Minion Hordes. Minions survive Arrows if they are 3 levels higher, so for level 7 Minions, have at least level 5 Arrows. Goblins survive if they are 4 levels higher, and Archers will survive an equal level. You get the idea.
3. Fireball: This one is for an obvious reason, and it’s so that you can one-shot support troops so try to overlevel this card. Remember that the Witch survives Fireball better than other support troops, so don’t get discouraged if she doesn’t get one shot(it is fun to watch though). Not much else to say, so this gets third priority.
4. Witch: Not only for Fireballs but mainly for Skeletons. You see, at level 1 she spawns level 6 Skeletons, and can one-shot those level 6 Skeletons. But she can’t one-shot level 7s. So if you face level 3 Skarmies(or level 8 Skeleton swarms), then get her to level 3 as well. Since she’s an epic, and there are higher priorities, she gets fourth.
5. Balloon: I have seen so many times when a Balloon looks like it’s about to get a hit off, and then it dies right before it can. IT’S SO FRUSTRATING. My personal guideline would be to get a level 2 Balloon from Arena 1-6, and level 3 from Arena 7-9. From there on you should have enough gold to go continue to level up your Balloon when you want. These guidelines just make it so the Balloon does get that hit off. Again, it’s an epic, and you’re really only upgrading the health and death damage, so it gets fifth priority.
6. Knight: For a common, this card is really level independent. Now if the upgrades are cheap then yea upgrade this card first but when push comes to shove, the Knight doesn’t need too many upgrades to make him strong(you don’t have to overlevel him like other annoying common cards…*ahem* E-barbs *ahem* Royal Giant *ahem* *ahem*). Sixth priority.
7. Tombstone: Just so that a Hog won’t take it out with one swing. That’s the only reason(also the DPS gets slightly better). Seventh Priority.
8. PEKKA: This card is just level independent. At level 1 she has more health than a level 4 Giant, and already does massive. You really don’t need to level her up compared to the other cards, so while it’s nice to have a high-level PEKKA, you don’t need it. Last priority.

Replacements:

Some of them make the deck better, some worse, it’s all up to you.

• PEKKA: Mini PEKKA, Giant, Elite Barbarians, Lavahound, Golem
• Balloon: Goblin Barrel, Miner, Hog Rider, Battle Ram, Graveyard, Freeze, A pocket card
• Witch: Night Witch, Wizard, Executioner
• Tombstone: Furnace, Goblin Hut, Inferno Tower, Bomb Tower, Barbarian Hut
• Knight: Ice Golem, Valkyrie, Mini PEKKA
• Minions: Bats, Fire Spirits, Archers, Minion Horde
• Fireball: Poison, Lightning, Rocket
• Zap: Log, Arrows(my recommendation if you already can’t tell), Tornado

Gameplan:

Play this like a beatdown deck. Your opening moves should be Tombstone 4 tiles from the bridge(doesn’t matter left or right), Knight in the back, Witch in the back, Minions split between the back or an aggressive test Balloon. Defend your opponent’s pushes and counterpush. This deck really shines in 2x(3x in the challenges) as you can push with everything.

Matchups:

Spellbait: The hardest one. Arrows for Barrel, Witch for Minion Horde, Minions for Skarmy. If it’s the Hog bait deck you have Tombstone. Don’t let them out cycle you, and if you take out their Inferno Tower it’s GG for them.

Lavaloon: Not really seen in the lower arenas, but if you do, Minions for Balloon, Tombstone + Witch for Lavahound. Sometimes you might use the Tombstone for the Balloon, in which case place the Tombstone as far as possible to the opposite side so that the Balloon will still be attracted by it(if the exclamation point shows up on the Balloon while planting if you’re good). This will buy you more time to take out the Balloon. Watch out for spells.

3M: The 3M themselves aren’t too big of a problem, just when they split it. PEKKA for the 2 on one lane, Knight for the 3rd. Tombstone for Battle Ram. Fireball the pumps. Make sure you get a lot of value(as usual).

Hog cycle: Tombstone. PEKKA. Don’t let them outcycle you(or at least try to keep up).

Miner Cycle: Knight for Miner. however, they might have a really strong defense so just watch out.

Siege: PEKKA. That’s it. Tombstone for a distraction if you don’t have the elixir, and in that situation use Knight as the tank.

Golem/Mega Knight/PEKKA/Giant: PEKKA, PEKKA, Tombstone, PEKKA or Tombstone. Just take out the support troops first and watch out for Infernos.

Conclusion

I think that just about covers it, I hope you enjoyed this guide and if you’re pushing like me, I wish you the best of luck, and for everyone, have a clashtastic day!