Welcome to the first instalment of Card Insights, where we take a closer look at cards in Clash Royale and offer some insights into their use. Today, we’ll be looking at everyone’s favourite butterfly-chasing robot: Big mother P.E.K.K.A herself.
P.E.K.K.A is a Defensive Card…. But Sometimes a Win Con
Most beginners look at P.E.K.K.A, sees that she costs 7 elixir, and proceeds to lump her in the same category as a Golem. However, P.E.K.K.A is a terrible wincon. She gets distracted too easily and can be completely shut down with a single ice golem that draws her to the opposite lane.
Where she shines is in a defensive role. P.E.K.K.A is arguably the single best ground defence in Clash Royale. Her high hp and ability to one-shot most units makes her more powerful than defensive structures.
However, there are a few scenarios where you might want to use her as a wincon. First, she puts immense pressure on the opponent if she stops a push without taking too much damage (e.g. vs a Royal Giant). Even if the counterpush doesn’t succeed, she would require immense resource investment from the opponent to deal with her, opening an opportunity for your own wincon safe.
Also, P.E.K.K.A is an excellent wincon vs LavaClone decks and decks that don’t pack 1) Swarm Units and 2) Ice Golems. When you see a Lava Hound opening, drop P.E.K.K.A on the other lane. Most LavaClone players don’t play enough ground troops to stop her and this play might potentially score you an easy 3-crown victory.
She Singlehandedly Counters the “Ladder Cancer” Push
Tell me if this is familiar: Opponent starts with a Wizard at the back of his King Tower. As the Wizard approaches the river, he drops Elite Barbarians and Rage. This is an all-too-familiar scenario, especially at the start of each season. It’s a pretty easy push to stop, but many beginners struggle against the sheer power of such a push.
P.E.K.K.A is the easy solution to stopping this push. Place her between the E-Barbs and the Wizard and watch her decimate the entire push.
She Can Completely Shut Down Hog Rider, But It Takes Skill
Hog is a headache for people who pack only P.E.K.K.A as their defensive option. However, there is a way to stop the Hog Rider with zero damage to your tower.
To do this, you’ll need to predict the opponent placing a Hog Rider and place your P.E.K.K.A exactly in the middle between your Princess Tower and the river. Your P.E.K.K.A would manage to take two swiped at the Hog and take him out before he reaches your towers. Don’t worry if you’re a bit slow – Most of the time you’ll be able to stop a Hog after he has taken only one measly swing.
She Works Best in Bridge Spam Decks
With all that said, what is the best deck to pack a P.E.K.K.A? That would be the Bridge Spam deck, which brings P.E.K.K.A, Battering Ram, Bandit, Poison, Zap, Minions, Dark Prince and your choice of either E.Wiz or Magical Archer. There are many flavors of this deck, and you can check out deckshop.pro to look for your favourite variation. This deck is the perfect home for her, as the decks’ modus operandi is to stop an opponent’s pushes with the soul-crushing P.E.K.K.A, all the while throwing hard-to-stop chargers at his towers.
Poison and Zap are the perfect spells to complement P.E.K.K.A. Poison creates an anti-swarm aura around her and stops all the usual answers to a P.E.K.K.A (Skarmy, Minion Horde etc.). Zap shuts down those pesky Inferno Towers and Dragons, allowing your P.E.K.K.A to take a few more meaty swings before she falls.
