Today we have LucasXGamer on the channel sharing some of the best 2.6 Hog cycle matches in the history of the game! This is probably the most OG deck and has been a strong deck throughout every meta and has truly stood the test of time. It is a fairly free to play friendly deck and you can swap the log for zap if you don't have log at a decent level. With this deck you need to learn to play defence through offence and take advantage of your cycle cards to make positive elixir trades while supporting your other units. Pressuring with the hog rider before playing a musketeer or canon on defence will force the opponent to allocate elixir on defence rather than offence, this allows you to be able to defend easier. Against graveyard you will rely heavily on the canon to defend the graveyard while using ice golem and musketeer to deal with the tanks, I highly recommend using hog opposite lane (you might need to keep switching lanes) to force to opponent to split their elixir. If your against a heavy deck like golem or hound you will need to keep up to offensive pressure throughout the match. Use the canon to kite their tanks while using the musketeer and ice golem to tank down their support cards, you might need to use your spells defensively. The two spells inside this deck have great synergy and can both be used to support your hog rider or your towers on defence. Both spells have a knock back ability which can be used to reset certain units charge.
Ice golem is a strong mini tank and can offer a lot of value for only 2 elixir. He can be used to kite certain units into the opposite lane and away from your princess towers, this works well against, knight, brawler, pekka, prince, any of the dragons etc. Use him to tank for the hog rider on offence or the musketeer on defence and then try to counter push behind him. His frost nova ability can kill bats or skeletons, this makes him a good counter to skeleton barrel, skarmy etc.
This guy is your main win condition and almost every card inside this deck can be used to support him. He is unfortunately hard countered by tornado and fisherman, if the opponent has either of these units you will need to pair him with ice golem on offence to make it harder for your opponent to pull the hog rider.
Musketeer is probably the second most important card in this deck, use her to the snipe units and potentially force a spell from your opponent's hand. Just like all cycle decks you need to be able to defend and support your ranged units as much as possible to maximise your elixir value. She is your main defensive unit against air, if your against a balloon cycle deck play her as much as possible and try to cycle back to a second musketeer. Playing the musketeer in the centre allows her to defend both lanes, you can use canon, ice golem or skeletons to kite units into her range.
Early game you can start out the match with a hog rider, skeletons, ice spirit etc, the only cards you should play at the beginning is the musketeer, canon or fireball. Learn what units your opponent has to defend against your hog rider and what their main win condition is. Is very important to try and go into double elixir with a damage advantage against heavy decks.
In double elixir you can begin ramping up the offensive pressure and using your spells to support your pushes a lot more. Try to use your key defensive units as much as possible and quickly cycle back to them by applying pressure with your hog, ice spirit etc. I highly recommend watching the video the see the decision making that Lucas makes while using this deck throughout the different match-ups in today's video. I would also like to say a special THANK-YOU to everyone who uses Creator Code 'CWA' in the shop.
