Clash Royale:

I had a bunch of throughts about this game but didn't get the post up while I was playing, for the archive ;

I started playing a game called Clash Royale it combines a lot of things I like into an accessible format and after talking a few friends ears off I wanted to consolidate my thoughts about it into one place. I'm currently in Arena 4 and will be talking about the units I have unlocked

The game introduces you to a neat set of mechanics, play cards to summon units on your side of the field (saturated area).

There are quite a few options for cards, they tend to fall into a few categories;

Melee or Ranged, Tower targeting or Wildcard or Straight ahead, Single target attack or area of effect attack, Single summon or spawner. This is a bit of a lot to take in with the words or a list of units. Thinking about the units in a radial / color wheel fashion helps me group them. Starting from the 12'00 position and moving around the wheel clockwise. 

Ranged units, 

these are fragile high damage units. They come in a few flavors, good vs a single target or many targets. The Spear Goblins closer to the center summon a group of three ranged units which are good against either groups of enemies or single units without area of effect attacks. 

The Spear Goblin Hut summons a stream of goblins over the course of a minute. It is a great way to put pressure on a lane and when played in response to a Giant (tanky tower targeting) a wave of Spear Goblins will build up. 

Archers is a personal favorite, it summons two units which deal moderate damage and have decent survive-ability. They can help push back waves of small units and damage comparable to Musketeers.

Musketeer deals great single target damage and is good for dropping large units when a tank in the way. I tend to not use this quite as much that since it will only target one unit. 

Towers, 

These are great for defending, each one has a specialty, since they can only counter but don't offer a path to victory. These don't tend to be part of my deck unless I have a strategy that is built on them. They slow my games down when I use them.

Horde Breakers

The horde breaker categories are spells and units which are great against clusters of enemies. The Witch is a very high utility card which is good against Bruisers, ground hordes and air hordes. The Valkyrie is great against ground hordes and can be used to start a counter push into enemy territory.

While all the area of effect damage spells are excellent I use them only a limited amount, their single use nature and relatively high cost makes it hard to play them just right for me. They tend to be able to flip a situation in your favor if used well.

Anti-Heavy

This spell (Lightning) and tower (Inferno) are great against high hit point opponents, with the x-bow straddling the line as a great anti tower building as well. The Inferno tower is wear against hordes but will counter a Bruiser. 

Anti-tower

The Anti-Tower units will head directly for the nearest building and work on crushing it down. They tend to get caught up in hordes of enemies and are the force needed to swing the game one way or another. 

Bruiser

These are the scary units that force your opponents to reply, They each do strong damage for the elixir cost and have enough health that left unattended they will take your tower. Their weakness is that they are easily distracted. A quick drop of a horde unit will be a solid counter to this unit. 

Horde

A bunch of dudes for the elixir. It is simple and a solid counter to most things. Barbarians are the only unit in this class which are tanky enough to push towers. These are a great staple in a deck, pick the one that matches your deck speed. 

These combinations and counters lead to a lot of interesting game play. Jump in, get to deck building