X-Bow Beatdown Deck (Heavy and Solid)

Hey guys, what’s going on, this is sam8ddd with my first CRA guide!

A little while ago I was dropping in trophies like nobody’s business, and nothing was working for me. Hog, nope. Giant, only level 5? Golem, zilch. Eventually I decided to try some X-Bow. I threw together a deck using some of my favorite cards, got my X-Bow to level 4, and tried to get some wins.

Before long, every deck that I was losing against became wins, those BMers got their butts kicked, and overall I was having a great time. So far it has helped me to gain several hundred trophies.

The X-Bow Beatdown Deck

First things first, what’s in this deck, and why is it there? My card levels are in parentheses.

X – Bow

It’s awfully difficult to play a X – Bow deck without an X – Bow.

This card is your win condition, and can take down a tower from full with a little under 3/4 HP.

Just 1 lock-on can deal massive amounts of damage, so it’s no wonder that people will do nearly anything to defend against this card.

Usually you’ll want to keep this card hidden, almost like a pocket card, until you can properly support it, and thus get a lock-on.

Why this card?

Well, at the time, this was the only win condition that was working for me.

The main reason that I use X – Bow over Mortar is because of its greater DPS and tankiness, greater rewards for a lock-on, and actually a halfway decent defensive building if it comes to that, all for just 2 more elixir. I would say that’s worth it.

Mini P.E.K.K.A

This card is quite viable with its mini-tank-like HP, its formidable DPS, and cost.

It can 1-shot nearly all ground support troops like Witch, Wizard, Musketeer, Archers, etc., then go after the tank!

This card is also your primary Hog counter and when paired with the Ice Spirit, can prevent all shots from that Hog, and effectively give you a 1-elixir Mini-Pekka that must be responded to by your opponent.

This is the last-priority card to defend your X – Bow with.

Why this card?

The original rendition of this deck had tornado in this slot (because of Exenado), but I kinds needed another tank killer and solid ground troop.

Lumberjack could work, but it’s just not as tanky, which is generally what you want when defending an X – Bow. No Infernos here either, because Inferno Towers don’t support your X – Bow very well and Inferno Dragons do nothing against Hogs.

Valkyrie

Even before the buff I used this axe-wielding orange-haired gal.

She does wonders against swarms and support troops in beatdown pushes. She’s your mini-tank #2, and has DPS and HP comparable to that of the Hog.

She’s your go-to X – Bow support card, and can now 1-shot Princesses, dart goblins, etc. in addition to Goblin Gangs and Skeleton Armies.

Why this card?

The closest replacement for this card would be the Knight, as he can actually fight back against that panic Wizard they placed down to kill your X – Bow.

He’s a little slower and more unreliable against Skeleton armies, Barbarians (both kinds), etc.

If you really don’t have either to a sufficient level, then your last resort would be the Ice Golem for a cheap tank and slow effect. But the Ice Golem is even worse at killing Barbarians than the Knight is.

Mega Minion

This card is your air DPS for Dragons, Minions, balloons, and that sort of stuff.

Solid, can’t be Fireballed, and has high DPS for those support troops again for a nice 3 Elixir.

Makes a Hog get off 2-3 shots, depending on the level comparison, and can safely chip down a stray Knight, Valkyrie, Bowler, etc.

It is the third card you you’ll want to support your X – Bow with.

Why this card?

The biggest plus is that no spell costing 4 or less can kill it. It gives this deck the air DPS that it needs. Minions/Bats are a little too fragile for me. Minion Horde would make this deck a bit too heavy too.

Maybe replace with Archers/Musketeer if it’s not at a desirable level?

Executioner

The good ol’ Executioner. This card comprises your air splash, with a little bit of tankiness. This fantastic card is your 2nd priority X – Bow Support.

Minion Horde? AXES! Goblin Gang? AXES! Dirt Barbarians? AXES!!!

Why this card?

The biggest plusses are the tankiness and the splash area.

Wizard is not particularly spell-proof, and his splash radius isn’t as good as the Executioner’s for killing split-up troops or support cards behind an incoming tank. Princess shoots too slow, Archers kill things too slow, Musketeer is single-target. And none of them can also kill the Wizard behind their Giant, so this slot goes to the Executioner.

Ice Spirit

I have grown to love this guy over time.

He’s a very cheap cycle card that can counter a ton or cards on his own. When he can’t counter, pair him with another card like the Mega Minion or Valkyrie for even more value!

Resets Infernos, add to Mini-P.E.K.K.A for a 0-shots Hog, etc. He can even do an extra 100-ish ship damage to a Tower if you so choose, which can win games, believe it or not.

This card is your 4th priority card to add to a X – Bow push.

Why this card?

For the way it makes your deck cheaper, and can counter so many more cards when used with something else.

For example, a Balloon will likely get a shot off if you counter it with a lone Mega Minion. But when paired with an Ice Spirit, it will get none, for a +1 Elixir trade. The closest replacement would probably be Spear Goblins for their added air DPS, cycle power, and distract power.

The Log

The Log is, in my opinion, the best legendary in the game.

For only 2 Elixir it can get about 100 chip damage, has a large area, and can create a pseudo-stun.

It’s fantastic against spell-bait, and can give you that little bit more damage to kill an annoying Electro Wizard.

Some games you will find yourself cycling it to take off that final 200-300 Tower HP.

Why this card?

Mainly for Spell-Bait, as it gives you +1 Elixir each and every time you Log a Princess or (preferably) Goblin Barrel.

The next closest replacement would be Arrows, as they can cancel everything The Log can in spell bait.

It also has similar chip-damage power. Zap is NOT Recommended, and neither is any other spell for that matter for this slot.

Elixir Pump (7)

The first version of this deck used the Tombstone in this slot, because of Hogs, Giants, Golems, Sparkys, Pekkas, Battle Ram, and Bandit.

The reason why that changed is because I discovered that when using this deck, it matters more than in most decks to have an Elixir advantage. When you have that, all the rest and so much more comes.

You can also use it to bait heavy spells, but more on that later. I would recommend looking at any guide featuring how to efficiently use Elixir.

Why this card?

Because Elixir Advantage, that’s why!

As CWA once said, ordinary players like us need a card that passively generates Elixir to cover that Log we didn’t need to play (he didn’t say anything about the Log, but you get the idea).

To the untrained Clasher this card only seems to give +2 Elixir for its risks, but in reality it is an oasis of extra Elixir production flowing into the arena to wash away your foes (whoa, that was really vivid).

The only replacements would be a defensive building, but this is for SURE not recommended.

General Gameplan

The beginning

As Elixir advantage is so important to this deck, you really want a Pump in your hand.

Cycle a Mega Minion and/or Ice Spirit if you have to

It’s understandable that someone would be afraid to Pump early on, but consider the costs of your support cards (3, 4, or 5). These costs allow you to play one even after pumping to stop a push.

For example, Mini P.E.K.K.A for a punish Hog + Ice Spirit. It’ll get off 2 shots, but now you know they have a Hog (so you’ll want a Mega Minion/Mini P.E.K.K.A in your X – Bow pushes), and you know that their deck is a little on the cheaper side, so prepare to use Mega Minion/Mini P.E.K.K.A for future pushes.

If all you got is Log, X – Bow, Executioner, and Mini P.E.K.K.A, wait a little bit at 10 Elixir, then cycle an Executioner in the back or something.

x1 Elixir

Get the Elixir Advantage! Identify potential trouble cards for your X – Bow, so you can customize your push and defend against it.

Here is where you’ll really want to use the “Example Situations and Matchups” section. Make +1 Elixir every 30 seconds, and get 1 good Pump, and you have +6 Elixir. Not so hard, is it?

Remember that you can start to place troops at the back at around 1:20, and it’ll be Double Elixir by the time they get to the bridge. If you get 2 good custom pushes in a game, that’s usually a Tower (most of the time you only need 1!)

x2 Elixir

Get those customized pushes going! I try to get off 2, maybe 3 and take the Tower.

Take note that enemies often play that pocket Mega Knight/P.E.K.K.A/whatever when you have a strong push going.

You may need to abandon that push and reset for another one, so be prepared for that.

Make the most out of your Elixir advantage (I’m starting to sound like OJ now), and play smart.

Know when to abandon an X – Bow, be wary of heavy spells.

Overtime

Sometimes you can win in overtime, but most of the time when you get to this point, it means that your pushes aren’t cutting it.

Try to make one last, really GG push to get that Tower down, if in 1-minute overtime.

If you’re in a challenge, then you have enough time to recuperate and get some more advantage before making that GG push.

Matchups

Hog Cycle

Mini P.E.K.K.A is fantastic against the Hog.

Something to prepare for is their playing of Hogs against your X – Bow, so get that Mini P.E.K.K.A ready in your customized push!

Miner Chip

Really any of your troops aside from the Executioner is worth to counter the Miner.

Yes, you’ll want to protect the Pump against the Miner. Many decks use Miner as an alternate win condition (sometimes Giant, Hog, or Lava Hound), so be ready.

Finally, I’ve seen people put their Miner to the side of your X – Bow to chip, distract, but most importantly, divert the attention of your Executioner’s Axe. Predict where they’ll put the Miner (generally where troops aren’t around the X – Bow) with an Ice Spirit to kill it fast.

If they go Miner + Ice Spirit + Bats, then Ice Spirit most of if not all of the Bats, then Mega Minion and anything else. You will get +2 Elixir in exchange for 200-300 damage on your Tower.

Siege

Usually you want to set an Executioner straight in mine with the Mortar to tank, deal damage, and pierce through support troops. You get -1 Elixir through this, but you also deal with any support troops that place down.

Beware of Hybrid Mortar Decks, and that Rocket will hurt too!

Against X – Bow, Executioner and/or Valkyrie will do the job. This matchup isn’t difficult most of the time, as many meta X – Bow decks are fairly cheap, Executioner-pierable troops.

Don’t let it lock-on, as a 100% HP X – Bow will deal a whopping 4,160 damage at tournament standard!

Bait

First and foremost, most bait decks use Rocket. Bait and punish.

Save the Log for the Goblin Barrel exclusively (unless you are 3 or less Logs away from a win), as Mega Minion or Valkyrie will 1 – shot a Princess. Executioner and Valkyrie can melt the Goblin Gang.

When you have a custom push going, have troops ready to tank and kill the Inferno Tower, or Ice Spirit to prevent significant damage to your X – Bow.

Beatdown

Identifying their win condition early on is vital, even if you need to trade Elixir or Tower HP for that knowledge.

If you X – Bow and they Golem/Giant, then unless you have the Elixir advantage (at least +4/+5 against Golem), then reset and be prepared to DPS that tank down next time.

Note that if they’re playing Golem, you can play your X – Bow even when you don’t want to in order to force their Golem play, which will be likely unsupported and easy to punish because their play was forced at bad time. This technique can easily create Elixir disadvantage, so be ready and be smart about it!

As for the push coming in, placing the Executioner in a straight line can deal some damage to the tank as well as damaging the support troops, while a Valkyrie or Mini P.E.K.K.A (preferably Mini P.E.K.K.A) can finish off the support troops, then go after the tank.

Keep up in pumps, otherwise you will be forced to take that L.

Although only the Mega Minion will die to Lightning, it will still weaken your troops to feeble levels, as well as reset and severely damage your X – Bow, so be sure to watch out for that, and bait it out.

3 Musketeers

Again, keep up in pumps, otherwise they’ll take you down faster than you can hit the cry emote.

Remember that a Mini P.E.K.K.A can 1-shot a Musketeer, and that a Mega Minion can take down a lone Musketeer (with the help of the Tower, of course). Valkyrie can take down 2 Musketeers (with the Tower), and Executioner can help against the Battle Ram. Ice Spirit is a general support.

eople will usually not use 3 Musketeers on defense against your X – Bow, so you’re pretty safe with that.

If they split, deal with one side as cheaply as possible (Ice Spirit, Mega Minion, or Mini P.E.K.K.A), then deal with the heavier side with Valkyrie/Executioner/Ice Spirit/Log.

P.E.K.K.A and/or Mega Knight Beatdown

Your worst enemy, but not GG. Play smart, very smart.

A Valkyrie/Mini P.E.K.K.A can slay a Mega Knight with their Tower, for a cool +3 Elixir trade, and don’t be afraid to use the Ice Spirit to pseudo-kite/stall the Mega Minion until you have the hand/Elixir to properly defend.

As for the P.E.K.K.A, kill the support first, and keep in mind that Executioner, Valkyrie, and Mini P.E.K.K.A can each tank 1 shot. You’ll just have to DPS it down, and try to do it efficiently.

When you have your customized pushes going, these troops are especially annoying.

Make sure that the Valkyrie is far enough ahead of the X – Bow that the Mega Knight’s splash won’t damage your X – Bow.

Regardless, try to get Mega Minion and/or Mini P.E.K.K.A in your push for maximum DPS. And don’t forget the Ice Spirit!

Lavaloon

This deck type isn’t as prominent anymore, but it will absolutely destroy you if you’re unprepared.

The best strategy against this deck is to use Executioner to damage the Balloon too, then Ice Spirit + Mega Minion from behind. Valkyrie for the Miner/Pups, and go for the counter push.

Executioner DOES NOT kill the Balloon very well at all!

Graveyard

Valkyrie. Just Valkyrie.

You can also stall with Ice Spirit. Place the Executioner TO THE SIDE of the Graveyard so that his axe passes through the midst of the spell, killing 2-3 Skeletons in 1 swing.

They usually don’t have any annoying X – Bow defense cards besides the Bowler, so you should be all set!

Royal Giant/Elite Barbarians

This is a deck that you’ll want to counterpush against, as a defensive lvl 13 Royal Giant is very strong.

Mini P.E.K.K.A + Ice Spirit to DPS that thing down (and Executioner for support troops), and go for an X – Bow while their Royal Giant is out of cycle.

Valkyrie, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Mega Minion and Ice Spirit for Elite Barbarians. EZ.