![]()
With the
new July update, we've received a new Arena 8 called Frozen Peak. Players can unlock it when they reach 2300+ trophies. It's going to be a hard road to hit Arena 9 (legendary Arena with 3000+ trophies) so today I am gonna share a few various Arena 8 decks with you, each page with a typical key card. Hope they can help you climb to Legendary Arena!
The rising Goblin Barrel deck
Goblin Barrel got a buff with elixir cost reduced from 4 to 3, which is a big change for this card. With the 1 elixir decrease, your opponent won't gain elixir trade value if they use Arrows/Fireball to counter Goblin Barrel and they can be put in any corner of the map, baiting your opponent's AOE spells.
First of all, there are two ways you can use your Goblin Barrel:
That's how you normally throw your Goblin Barrel:
![]()
That's a tricky Barrel:
![]()
After the update, Zap is the perfect counter of Goblin Barrel. However, at the same time, it can also work with your own Goblin Barrel very well because normally your opponent will play small troops near the Arena Tower to deal with your Barrel if they happen to not have spells. In this way, your Zap can stun enemy troops + Arena Tower for a brief period of time, which can cause 400-700 HP if played in a right time.
Of course, it's a bit hard if you just want to use this to win the game. Here we need another weapon to end the game - Rocket!
Battle deck:![]()
The main strategy of this deck is to bait your opponent's AOE spell first and use Goblin Barrel to constantly deal damages to the enemy Arena Tower. In the end, use Rocket to end the game. Below I'll explain a little bit about the opening hand:
![]()
The would be the best opening hand. Wait until you get full elixir, then place down Elixir Collector. Having Elixir pump on board will increase the winrate. Then you have Inferno Tower and Barbarians in hand, both are excellent defense cards. In addition, if your opponent plays Witch/Musketeer/Sparky/Elixir Collector in the beginning of the game, Rocket it along with the Arena Tower!
![]()
But if you don't have Elixir Collector in the opening hand, play Goblin Barrel when you get to 8 elixir or above. This is to test what cards your opponent will use to deal with your Goblin Barrel.
![]()
This is a bad opening hand without Goblin Barrel/Rocket/Elixir Collector in hand. In this case, play Minion Horde when the elixir is full. If your opponent has Arrows/Zap to counter Minion Horde, then you lost elixir advantage. But if they don't, get Zap ready and you may still advantage.
![]()
This is the worst opening hand. In this case, you can only wait for the full elixir and see what your opponent plays first. If your opponent initiates attack with Hog Rider, the case is not that bad. But if your opponent plays Golem/Pekka, you can only play Barbarians behind the King Tower and circle the deck.
Zap Hog deck:
It's a budget deck but with incredible high winrate at 90%.
Battle deck:![]()
Brief deck analysisPros: Try to deal as much damages as you can to your opponent's Arena Tower before the double elixir time. We don't have Elixir Collector in this deck so we don't have advantages in the last minute. When time goes to there, stepping backward is moving forward. Goblins, Spear Goblins and Minions can gain an advantaged elixir trade if placed properly.
Cons: this deck is weak when facing Ice Wizard/Ice Wizard+ Royal Giant/Golem decks because the damage Zap Hog causes is limited when facing those big creature decks. Especially Ice Wizard, he can slow down Hog Rider and make Hog attacking not that effectively.
Card analysisHog Rider: How you use Hog can be very flexible. If your opponent plays Golem/Pekka/Giant behind the King Tower, then push Hog Rider immediately in another lane. Pay attention on how your opponent deals with your Hog. If he uses Valkyrie, then remember don't play the Hog Rider + Goblins combo; If your opponent uses Barbarians to counter your Hog, the Hog Rider + Goblins + Zap combo can still do if you have advantage in previous elixir trade. Goblins deal good damages so in this case, your Hog can hit 3 times to Arena Tower and his Barbarians will be nearly dead when they come over the bridge.
Lighting: it can be a very tricky card as you need 6 elixir to cast the spell, which means if you catch the wrong timing to use the spell, you may just lose the game. Normally we use it to lighting Wizard/Musketeer/Princess. If you can hit both the troops + Arena Tower, it's a good elixir trade.
Cannon: though it has been nerfed for two times, it's still a popular card as it only costs 3 elixir. Don't play Cannon easily unless you have nothing to play at 10 elixir.
Mini Pekka: key card when playing Royal Giant. Also, it is great when dealing with Miner if you can pre-judge where the Miner goes. Don't use Mini Pekka to initiate attack as it will be distracted easily. Here a small tips when playing Mini Pekka: it can be hidden under Minon Horde. Your opponent might just ignore the Mini Pekka if he doesn't turn on the game music.
Goblins/Spear Goblins: it's an all-purpose card and can deal huge damages to the Arena Tower. If your opponent runs out of elixir, Hog Rider + Goblins can deal tons of damages in a few seconds. Goblins can also be used to distract Mini Pekka/Pekka.
Zap: it's an awesome common card. Noted that Zap Minin Horde after they cross the bridge so they can't deal any damage to your Arena Tower. If your opponent has Goblin Barrel in his deck, leave the Zap to the Barrel.
Minion: the reason why I didn't bring Minon Horde is because Minion is more flexible than Minion Horde due to its low elixir cost.
Budget Royal Giant Knight Deck
This deck is quite budget with only one epic card - Baby Dragon. The average elixir cost is 3.4. It's not that high for a Royal Giant deck so we didn't put Elixir Collector in this deck.
![]()
A new combo: Royal Giant + Baby Dragon![]()
![]()
The issue Royal Giant worries most is after he crosses the bridge, your opponent will undoubtedly place troops to hit him. That's why we bring Baby Dragon as a support.
Cards for specific use:![]()
![]()
It's time to pay more attention to Knight after Miner decks got popular lately. Knight is the best card to counter Miner while Goblins can be very versatile. We can place Goblins after our Royal Giant takes down one of our opponent's Arena Tower.
How to play this deck:
This deck relies on the
Royal Giant + Baby Dragon combo. At the early game, we can play Goblins/Knight/Spear Goblins to circle the deck until you get the three key cards:
Royal Giant + Baby Dragon + Fireball. After Royal Giant crosses the bridge, place Baby Dragon right behind and at the same time, get your Fireball/Arrows ready as your opponent might probably play Barbarians/ Goblins or Minion Horde/Minions to counter.
