History of Clash Royale's Most Polarizing Card

[@GratzClash]

Check out Honkai Impact 3rd’s new update here: hoyo.link/019JDVAd

[@Triflame.]

honk honk

[@PIZZAloverNUMBERS]

Get that bag 🗣💯💯🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️‼️🔥‼️💯‼️💯‼️‼️‼️🔥‼️💯‼️🔥

[@Usbest23A]

History of the golem???

[@afif381]

No.

[@virensharma700]

History of e golem

[@ofirnadel]

You forgot to mention the era when ice golem made troops and buildings immune to spell damage, indirectly buffing xbow

[@rustypro7615]

Yeah that was a huge disaster 💀

[@Meet_Your_Death]

Not really a big deal. Good players will usually fireball the back of xbow to get tower damage and stall out the remaining xbow with a mini tank.

[@buny0058]

It is a big deal. A good player has to waste extra rsources for a inconvience to focus on the enemy ice golem. Even so. The X bow player can simply react fast enough to deploy a ice golem as a fireball or a rocket is hitting the building.

[@lowdownpapaya7292]

@@Meet_Your_Deathfound the Xbow player

[@gio4931]

@@Meet_Your_Deathhow is that not a big deal? Like what?

[@Jozhin_s_Bazhin]

The part of Xbow that takes skill is when you have to make it connect trough 4 minitanks in mid-ladder.

[@muizmin]

Real

[@goofygamer12345]

I used to play it when I first unlocked it but it was really tough to win becase of the mega knight pekka players

[@GarethBale-vw8hc]

It's no skill

[@zero1188]

Nah it was easy to play

[@bluedragon_rl]

I used to play icebow when I was midladder and I agree completely, also, my ice wiz not killing skeletons was worse. Different problem though.

[@Coraledge]

I think we can all agree the xbow is a card

[@sandy_nes31]

No way, i thought it was a gamemode

[@DamTay_13]

@@sandy_nes31bro it was an update

[@Roid33]

​@@DamTay_13TOILETGANG!?

[@ponydark]

@@sandy_nes31 😂

[@abgeluxxt]

​@@DamTay_13isnt it a chest?

[@UserMatt21]

I bet they're gonna make evolved x bow that shoots inferno tower beam considering the mortar evolution

[@SyntheticNuclear]

And make it have infinite lifespan and buff cards around it to deal 200% more damage around it

[@capricous7196]

How about giving it extra health and second crossbow with shorter range to deal with incoming enemies

[@Yesenn]

Tombstone that spawns Giant skeletons

[@kacperk6484]

​@@Yesennthat actually was an April Fools prank if I'm not wrong

[@omnipotantsaibot5845]

I feel that would unironically make it worse.

[@KogasaTatara514]

The 2016 April Fool's update also introduced a mortar that fired level 15 goblin barrels at max level.

[@wojerd]

hmmmmmmmmmmmm i sure wonder what inspired the mortar evolution

[@bludinparis]

@@wojerd 💀 oh no

[@P_I_G_G_A]

​@@bludinparisoh yes😭

[@Jack47uzi]

Well now it's here to stay apparently.

[@Unwebonnn]

And they really liked that idea so much that it's going to be put in the game...

[@dark_matter8420]

I don't understand why people STILL hate Xbow so much. It's so bad. I literally never lose to Xbow whenever I face it, and I'm playing around 7800 trophies. Half the entire card selection in the game counters it, and the meta archetypes are all extremely oppressive against Xbow. But most of all, how is playing against Hog EQ with evo FC any less boring than playing against Xbow? Playing Xbow takes an extreme amount of skill and like the video points out, it's not worth it. Literally every other deck is easier to play with easier success. Playing Hog is literally as much of a snoozefest as it gets. Every single card/evolution that gets added has been hard countering the Xbow. So if you can't beat Xbow, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're trash at this game.

[@Brekt69]

lol i main ice bow and i agree its hard to play ice bow specially on path of legends now

[@ZekeParker-fd9bl]

I played xbow and it was not that hard.

[@supremerage3328]

Especially with the realease of void ,If you lose to x bow with a midladder megaknight pekka deck then I'm sorry but you unfortunately don't know how to play your deck

[@LadleLoverDS]

Complaining about Hog EQ? Opinion ignored.

[@Musketeer2.6]

As a hog 2.6 player, xbow is a decent matchup I hear eragon say it is a 50 50 situation

[@fireboltchamploo7620]

Can't lie, I took like a 4 year break from Clash Royale and I was so lost coming back to it a couple months ago. Watching these videos are both educational and entertaining to listen to while working, keep up the badass content Gratz!

[@man4437]

So you came back after level 14 and right before level 15? I mean, same, but at least I had some time to play before level 15

[@lucass4827]

This is probably the last few months of the games history so hope u have fun while supercell gets the wr any%speedrun of killing their game

[@bruh_bruh_the_bruhest_bruh]

Uninstall it it keeps getting worse

[@chefcoolguy]

I'm in the same boat and you took the words right out of my mouth!

[@fireboltchamploo7620]

​@@man4437yeah and I'm realizing firsthand how underlevelled i am. My King Tower level is 12 and everyone I play against on Trophy Road and in Clan Wars are either close to or are lvl 14.

[@gems_cr]

30:40 It’s actually not bad for us for xbow to be on the weaker side because then the meta won’t actively try to destroy it. High skill cap deck than can succeed on the down low. Though I wouldn’t recommend learning how to play it in this day & age as it’ll take months or even years to master every matchup.

[@Rikka_V1]

Good thing I watched you and BestNA in 2021 and leant xbow, still going strong 💪

[@redwarrior118]

Gems!!

[@ST-in7fo]

It's damn hard + it's damn boring + it's damn annoying to face. This card is a design flaw

[@yomismo8675]

Fair point. However, for players like me that came back to the game after the last nerf, you need to learn again basically from 0. It feels so fragile against spells that seems like every trade of elixir spell-xbox always benefits the rival no matter the spell.( ignoring the extremely confusing cards)

[@toonyoshi5734]

you sure about that? evo royal giant and firecracker are everywhere and they are so oppressive against xbow

[@thehr99]

5:56 I like how an April Fools joke for the Mortar ends up being a reality 7 years later.

[@Local_Toilet_Stealer]

and everyone hates it, clash royale bouta get the world record for destroying their game

[@НеМоАнуар]

​@@Local_Toilet_Stealerevolutions is a W

[@detectiveg7885]

@@НеМоАнуарyes and no. yes because they are cool additions and no because for one, getting evolution shards is extremely tedious, unless you pay and two, Evolutions make the game unfun is some cases

[@justalexiadude]

waiting for the xbow evo to start hitting ur own towers

[@drakeweddner]

​@@НеМоАнуар no it's pay to win trash

[@MisterySB]

One thing I thought you could've mentioned was the broken pump + mirror + archer queen mini pekka deck that was dominating the meta for a little while when aq and mirror were overpowered

[@jungqianchen8348]

It's not mentioned because that deck had a life of like 2 weeks, in the same season people started to play Egiant rocket/eq mirror cycle that killed the deck lol. The mirror buff helped more egiant than xbow for a long time.

[@IHandOutLs4You]

homie that was like a 10 day deck. L comment

[@IHandOutLs4You]

homie that was like a 10 day deck. L comment

[@DevilMayCarry]

@@Lucy_5952.9, Icebow...

[@Im_Not_Eddy]

@@DevilMayCarryhow many years ago was that? Lol

[@bcnm-bs]

Tip: never play hog rider to counter xbow when the timer on the xbow is 3/4 clocked in. If you do the hog rider will jump the river and for the fraction of a second the hog is in the air the xbow will lock on to the tower

[@kaifmohammed337]

I count on it because I play xbow lol😂

[@roazim]

Then just place the hog rider in a different spot, cuz nobody plays xbow in the middle to attack anymore. And if they do put it in the middle, just place anything to distract for 3 seconds and then place the hog rider

[@eternallife8898]

​@@roazimAs an icebow player I always start with xbow in the middle. Because it helps in activating king tower against unsuspecting players who don't know the trick.

[@Meet_Your_Death]

Hog players have cycle cards so all they need to do is place ice spirit when the hog is about to jump.

[@SyntheticNuclear]

@@Meet_Your_Deathnot midladder

[@sadiqabbaszade4789]

I am not even x-bow main, and probably no one ever will read this comment, but for what it is worth, I think x-bow one of the most skilled decks one person can ever play. I never respected people who beat me in tournaments with meta decks while being in the midladder themselves, but I always respect x-bow players who have to memorize 27834 predictions and millisecond timing plays just to get their x-bow to connect for 0.2 seconds before getting stroke by lightning or zap or crap. X-bow requires more skill to play than playing with your fav streamer's meta deck, and I will fight for this opinion

[@addisonpernsteiner6569]

Thank god for this comment

[@thephoenixgods]

Skill over stats it seems. It's like an MG. So it should be good against swarms at least.

[@ZekeParker-fd9bl]

No man, just no. Out of decks that require skill, xbow needs some of the least. Pop xbow, Evo Tesla, then Evo knight, and you basically win. Bonus if your opponent doesn't have a counter to Evo bomber

[@Saujas]

I m an xbow 3.0 player myself and imo xbow doesn't require any more skill u just need to get the basic placement right and know the macros like ur opponent cycle and stuff like that

[@awokeninsanity]

thats true. Xbow really requires hell amount of skill. I dont play xbow aswell but it sure requires skill. Even the most skill taking decks. All the predictions and stuff.. qesey dedin))

[@JereMania0]

Hog 2.6: defensive deck that exists X-Bow 2.9: look at what they need to mimic a fraction of our power

[@muizmin]

😂

[@Sasageyo-oj5ph]

I love 2.9 so much, it’s the only deck i play, even now lol

[@Thorschancesofbeatingsuperman]

@@Sasageyo-oj5phI dislike you

[@jaysolo8256]

​@@BLET_55artem55it's better right now because of rg being popular, but 2.9 is the more fun varient imo

[@fVcker1]

​@@Sasageyo-oj5ph🤡

[@Michelletto0]

These videos are so relaxing, I stopped playing this game but coming to see what's new and see the history is great. The Minecraft music and everything else you put also hits different at the end of the videos, It gives these videos such a great send-off. Thank you for making all of your videos man and I hope you only grow from here

[@coltmcdougall1196]

That’s what game the music is from lol. I kept hearing the oblivion soundtrack but each note sounded just a slight bit off

[@ImKnivey]

I'm happy seeing a channel grow like this, you're really underrated Edit: Y'all 🤓in the replies better be checking back the definition of underrated, you're not the hero you think you are.

[@funnfungusie9622]

Underrated is a word that truly lost all its meaning. At least hes not alone with "woke" and "literally".

[@Meet_Your_Death]

After 1 M subs:- "What an uNdErRaTeD channel"

[@Uncharted8907]

@@funnfungusie9622fr

[@bevvvy1374]

Your edit is dumb and so are you

[@consumerofbepsi5254]

​@@funnfungusie9622I literally don't know what you're talking about. Literally no-one over uses literally.

[@eamoncasey4728]

It’s crazy to see how fundamental changes to the game did more to the card’s success more than any balance changes ever did

[@mythic_Tisiphone]

I play X-Bow and I can confidently say that only mid ladder players hate on in since it’s impossible for them to break through with their fatherless Electro Giant pushes. X-Bow is imo one of the most difficult to play cards, just look at Eragon. Edit: What I meant was not that to win with X-Bow requires a lot of skill, especially in midladder, but that X-Bow has a much higher skill cap than most other decks, allowing good players to push to the top of ladder with it (like Eragon). Though its dead now anyway.

[@dylanverstraete5323]

Fax but sadly your comment will get lost in a sea of Xbow haters. I don’t like playing against it but it truly is a very hard deck to play

[@snopdogg2x]

Definitely not difficult. Your skill only amounts to 100 - 0 matchups. Miner wb is without a doubt more skilled and i would say even logbait but cmon bro you can't tell me that placing your win con on your tower is skilled

[@mythic_Tisiphone]

@@snopdogg2x you clearly never tried playing X-Bow, since, especially in difficult matchups like Hog EQ, Its a lot more difficult than just placing an X-Bow. I can see the argument being made, that Miner poison decks take more skill, while I still believe that the average X-Bow player has more skill, considering what kind of Miner WB/Miner Poison players I have faced both in Mid and Top ladder. What I do not agree with is that logbait takes more skill. Its just cycling rockets, putting princesses at the bridge and throwing goblin barrels. And don’t tell me you need skill do defend with logbait ;-; Other people have already said it in this comment section. One wrong X-Bow and you‘re fucked, and even if you didn’t missplay, Its still harder to get one X-Bow lock against a skilled player than to throw goblin barrels, rockets and Princess the bridge all game.

[@cortexlite6082]

​@mythic_Tisiphone I don't thinks it's really fair to claim xbow takes lots of skill and then immediately use a scenario like hog eq which is basically its worst match up lol. But I do think it takes a average amount of skill, definitely not a brainless card. It's really just about cycle tho

[@mythic_Tisiphone]

@@cortexlite6082 thats something I can agree with. I just wanted to point out, that you can get screwed over really bad by matchups, for example you can basically immediately throw your phone out of the window if you’re versing Royal Giant rn

[@sk_555]

Xbow deserves a buff 🥹 I appreciate you making a long and comprehensive video on this! My personal opinion is that Xbow is inherently a very weak card in its current state, so the archetype has success due to either the merits of broken support cards in the meta itself, or simply the best players and their skill level. I would love to see my favorite card get a buff one day, but I don't foresee it happening anytime soon, solely due to how much hate the archetype gets from the community.

[@GratzClash]

If they buff xbow, they need to nerf spell cycling. The amount of times I went against xbow and just cycled 10 fireballs because they couldn’t break through is awful. Fireball and log should do 10% crown tower damage. They’re used an insane amount. Props to you for being so devoted to the archetype even though it hasn’t been that great in a while!

[@sk_555]

@@GratzClash I'm completely fine with that. What some people don't realize is that since Xbow is oftentimes a weak win condition in many matchups, spell cycling becomes the only viable option of getting tower damage. Breaking through with an Xbow vs Hog EQ Bomb Tower or RG Monk Lightning simply isn't feasible. It's my favorite card, and I learned the archetype because of its nature of rewarding perfect gameplay many years ago, so I've just stuck with it! Thanks for the response! :)

[@ilikecheesecauseitsmellsgo4545]

w

[@mornan5795]

​@@GratzClashIt's true that fighting xbows is very boring and frustrating because all they do is defensive and spell cycles, I think this is the best position for xbow.

[@muizmin]

I got a BOLD xbow rework Buff its spawn time to 1 sec & make it 5 elixir BUT nerf its health, die to fireball

[@RandooGaming]

I love it when the content creator puts the sponsor on its own segment, it makes it very easy to skip

[@crios333]

Dont point that out, might make the sponsors request otherwise

[@eternallife8898]

@@crios333 You think sponsors are so dumb they don't know these stuff already?

[@ivettrivera5306]

​@@eternallife8898 yes.

[@dzbrio7419]

I don't even play clash royale anymore but your content is so fantastic. I get so much nostalgia thinking back through the history of the game with your videos. Thank you for satisfying this niche interest so damn well.

[@axxREAL]

For your final video you need to do a 5 hour long video of the history of clash royale; various metas and how the game progressed, it would be oh so impressive and would be a nice send-off.

[@armokil]

0:42 hearing someone say ‘2020’ as if it was ages ago hurts me so much. i still feel like it was only a few months ago man 😭

[@eclipse9727]

As someone who's been around the game for a long enough period (Currently not active in it anymore), I wonder if you'll do a video on Sparky. It's been a card that has been so... under the radar for as long as I remember it. I even remember giving it a rework idea to make it much more flexible that people liked. But... nowadays, Idk it's fate, or if it's been touched at all, so I'm curious to see how it went.

[@IoannisSavvanis-on5xz]

A real work is much-needed to sparky it has no place in any meta.

[@Rikka_V1]

​@@IoannisSavvanis-on5xzIt's always used more than xbow, drill, and 3m.

[@efeozdemir-ry5pv]

Before stopping I mained sparky. The problem is it has too many counters and they all result in a positive elixir trade. Pekka, literally any spell, electro wizard, zappies, skeletons, spirits, guards. It is supposed to be a defensive tank killer but zap is enough to finish your whole defense and you always take damage because you cant afford a minitank with a 6 elixir card. Sparky is scary but that is its only perk. Against a cool minded player all you can do is to sparky the back then put your giant (gob or normal), do this for 2 minutes in overtime and hope they mess up. Sparky does not have a great matchup. There was one 3 spell sparkynado deck but that is it and there are better options.

[@walkerwatters8607]

It’s a tough life as an Xbow sparky player

[@eternallife8898]

Nah, sparky has been decent. Especially after rocket got killed you have no right to complain. Just get good.

[@gerardaslisauskas1217]

This card, just before its last neft was hella hard to play, just to make a single connection for 3s ment so much. This deck required ESTEEMED knowlage in placement and advantage. People playing this deck knew to play this deck might be even harder but much more rewarding as it demands high skill and offers good rewards in return.

[@MewPurPur]

10:47 Oh I remember this. All ranged cards started attacking 0.05sec slower. 0.25sec to 0.3sec is a really big difference, it made X-Bow's DPS 17% lower. This also had a significant effect on cards like Dart Goblin, but not as significant. Before this, X-Bow stated it had a 0.3sec hitspeed in its card description, but that was fake. It actually always had a 0.25sec hitspeed. This is why hell didn't break loose at the "17% DPS buff" you mentioned

[@MewPurPur]

Archers' thing was from the update that introduced Legendary Arena. They tried to make it so cards always lock on the same target, even if a projectile is about to kill them. For example, an Ice Spirit is right next to a 1 HP Sparky and can jump and kill it immediately, but it doesn't because the princess tower just shot her sloooow arrow. They tried to remedy this, but the consequence was that two things can shoot their last arrow at the same target, which was best shown by Archers on a Graveyard. People didn't like it and it was reverted in the next update.

[@ozitopolar]

X-Bow Spirit?

[@jeremypage143]

????

[@Leah-Heala]

X-bow cart

[@spasswitz5342]

Great video Gratz! You’ve really become essential for the clash Royale community. A video about the goblin Hut would be interesting, since it’s either been op or not being played at all 😶

[@swap6984]

I’m not even gonna lie Watching these types of videos from you is why I’ve started playing Clash Royale

[@goo04]

I loved X-Bow and Mortar, especially during that time with that one mortar deck that either meant your drew or won no losing

[@TiiroyGX]

X-biw is my favorete builfing

[@ValkyRiver]

I had this idea to change the xbow’s range to be rectangular (like the log), which would buff its offensive capabilities but nerf its defensive capabilities

[@floorman7327]

When my oppenent plays x-bow it has more health than a golem, but when I play x-bow its as fragile as a spear goblin

[@amirzohn5815]

I like the analysis and history lesson. I've been waiting for this one! Good stuff. I like X-Bow, overall, for what it is and what it represents. It's no less frustrating than losing to hyper-offense decks, but the frustration just takes longer because of the way the card is built, and I think that's okay. Elite Barbarians Rage is to ripping the bandage off as X-Bow cycle is to peeling it slowly. When winning against it, though, it's relieving and satisfying to have the X-Bow player scrabble for any hold on their position left, just like any other deck, but they can take even longer to gain the advantage again, so even that sense lasts longer. Losing as the X-Bow requires a cool head to collect any pieces left from falling apart, and comebacks in the average loop are a struggle for domination or else they don't happen. Winning as X-Bow is still a battle, but one that's lost early on more often than decisively, due to it slowing the pace and working on pushing the opponent into a corner, albeit that aspect of the gameplay for offensive pushing is still quite similar to normal, just without contesting the defending Princess Towers. It's a different "gamefeel" from any other deck, both in its perspective and against it. It's inherently frustrating, but all decks are, because they all want to progress their own game plans while also frustrating the enemy's game plan, so I don't think it deserves to be left in the dust like the rest of the cards. No one asked, but I don't exactly like the X-Bow's current direction, especially where something so antithetical and unique to the rest of the game is so weak, inconsistent and impractical, and would like to see it better maintain a generalized defensive purpose (currently, it can't handle too-large swarms, it can't take on fast-moving targets before being struck, it can't chew up even the smallest mini tanks on forward defense, and it doesn't hit air) in addition to its niche usage as a "win condition" (I would argue that it's not a win condition on its own, it's more something that you can use if you want to press an advantage you already have and keep the opponent off of progressing their gameplay). If the X-Bow were to hit air, I think that would make it more interesting and to the goal of being the "all 'round" building. Air decks can defend against it outside of saving Balloon or some spell for a response and mounts jumping over the river don't lose their distraction on it, so that's a nerf, but then it would make a couple interactions consistent and further that personal vision. It would need a buff, however, to compensate, especially for its currently lacking place. Its hit rate is too slow to handle too-large swarms, behind towers on defense in the middle, and especially not at the bridge, so maybe buff its attack speed, to the effect of killing Graveyard's Skeletons before they can hit tower and reduce a Goblin Barrel's Goblin overall stabs, maybe even take on more of a Skeleton Army on the bridge when placed defensively. But this is a pretty huge DPS buff, and that would not do well to the vision as-is. It should get a damage nerf back to 3-tapping skeletons, even at +1 on the X-Bow to account for Mirror and the bad Elite Levels, but attack at such a speed that it maintains the aforementioned properties to maintain the changes and its overall function. Since it would hit air in this "what if," it would already take down Minions and Minion Hoard when on the defensive proper, maybe even be able to help DPS things like Balloon and Lava Hound (while also helping clean up pups) if you don't have available ramp-up damage and only tankbusters that would still be too slow and might need just a little more DPS. I would hope such adjustments find a spot for X-Bow in other decks, as a "I don't know what my opponent has right now, but it'll buy me advantage for a short while if I need to respond to anything" sort of card for most structures of play, improving its practicality and giving it some identity, and not something that you'd have to struggle building around for winning with. It still maintains the weaknesses of slow deployment and high cost to give the opponent the opportunity to counter your investment for a stronger advantage for the next sixth of the game. Describing it like that, it sounds like an Elixir Pump, as while you would make back in a stronger gamestate later, it's still a hefty initial buy-in, except without so much snowballing even when you're cycling X-Bows. It's too long. Making X-Bow more inline with its appearance in Clash of Clans, in air mode, might actually be better for the game and maintain its unique qualities that just seem to defy everything Clash Royale claims it wants to do

[@goofygamer12345]

Jesus fucking Christ I ain’t reading all that

[@pupcicle]

I’ve noticed that the main problem for most defensive decks like 2.6 or xbow is spell cycling. It would be interesting to see what would happen if supercell nerfed spell cycling

[@SyntheticNuclear]

They already have like twice. One of the biggest nerfs to xbow

[@Bootymuncher23]

Already did every cycle deck took a big hit even some decks dying like log bait or miner rocket cycle and even xbow

[@FinalBoy99]

Xbow locks onto once the tower -> Spell cycling + Defense until the time runs out = gg

[@lanceisanewby]

I don't usually comment on youtube videos but your videos are so high quality that it surprises me how you dont have a couple million subs by now 👍 keep up the good work mate

[@Asendra01]

I think you totally missed one important era of xbow when champions got added! 3 card cycle was massive for all cycle decks including xbow and later a new PumpBow variant rose up with archer queen, 3 1 elixir cards and surprisingly mini pekka. Later there was a PumpBow variant with mighty miner and archers instead of aq mini pekka back when archers were the best card in the game. Also with the topic of champs, the monk totally destroys xbow.

[@cocoqtpi]

I’ve been an x-bow main since you could shove a tesla in front of it, it’s always been my favorite card in the game. Even though barely anyone likes the card I’ve always found the play style fun because it’s such a stark contrast to how you play basically any other deck in the game. And theres still no better feeling than getting your x-bow to lock on to the enemy’s tower.

[@ZekeParker-fd9bl]

Yet playing hog is a problem?

[@bossman4856]

Thx to Ken for making a 2.3 cycle x-bow deck ive be having a blast.

[@kongsir658]

Honestly with X-Bow it’s one of those cards that gets indirectly affected by the buffs/addition of new cards/concepts in the game. This is the same on the other side of the spectrum with the nerfs of other cards. As a card that’s unquestionably been polarizing, it’s as you said, incredibly weak in the current meta (noting evolutions especially with rg + monk+the broken evolved mortar). X-Bow is a “WIN condition” and with all of these buffs and additions of new concepts, that title certainly comes into question especially for the higher end of ladder. Diversity of decks is probably what supercell ultimately wants, so I think X-Bow needs a buff

[@coreenforcer6404]

I've been playing 2.9 X-Bow since 2019 and not much else. I absolutely love it, and stuck with it through thick and thin.

[@talonthief1494]

I adore your content All of clash royale content is loud. If it isn't, its freakishly boring. I really really hope your not running out of ideas soon. Im loving the more discussionary and informative content thats actually able to keep me entertained without jamming seven hundred special effects and noises at me. Especially funnier with the channel pfp being the lumberjack

[@mat0432]

Congrats of getting 100k subs! I remember when you were not a famous KZbinr, but now you are a big content creator.

[@zoty4049]

How much money b-rad gave you to make this video?

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

As someone who played the game mainly in 2017, that was a nice trip down memory lane. ^^

[@Z0mbify]

I wish they made xbow an option to target air and ground or only ground that would be amazing

[@Z0mbify]

Before matches of course

[@enigmaticshadow6934]

Surprised you didn’t mention the infamous Mighty PumpBow. It made 2.9’s cycling look like a joke

[@cannibalskitchen8421]

I haven't played with or against X-bow in a minute, but Mortar always felt like a much more interesting tower that filled a similar niche.

[@eternallife8898]

Good thing you didn't use it, it's not for average players. You cannot just drop an xbow and expect it to get 400 damage like hog

[@Ive03]

wdym? 1 xbow connection = whole tower. One of the most toxic cards in the game.

[@ezrahaskard3527]

@@Ive03boohoo. Just say you’re hardstuck midladder and you’re butthurt your megaknight e barb deck doesn’t work against people over the age of 5

[@thiccchungo1041]

I loved the concept of mortar but I couldn’t bring myself to use the card, it’s just so trash

[@Brekt69]

its not trash u dont know how to use it @@thiccchungo1041

[@jeff09_]

Mr beast says success on KZbin is not luck, and that good videos will do good. You’re one of the few KZbinrs who I believe to fall under what he says because your videos are consistently high quality and entertaining, and you get hundreds of thousands of views consistently as well. Even at 30 minutes in length I was always interested and never dragged out. Keep it up!

[@Lootstealius]

As someone who loves defensive playstyles in games and was an xbow main for 4 years I am sad about the current state of the deck but I have to admit that it is sometimes annoying to play against.

[@roazim]

I’m an xbow main and 2.6 hog main and when getting outclassed by defensive decks when using any deck, it’s frustrating and suffocating to play against

[@gdprince748]

Gayy both of ya

[@SalmonRow]

@@gdprince748 as in happy? Thats true.

[@bludinparis]

@@SalmonRowxbow is king

[@Lootstealius]

@@gdprince748 🤡

[@griled_chez647]

I’ve always thought an interesting buff to give the xbow. Like in clash of clans, you can choose to set it to hit ground troops or air troops with a corresponding change in the look of the xbow to show the opponent which troops it could hit. I think being able to set it to air or ground in your deck before queuing for a match would make it fair so your opponent isn’t switching from air to ground troops constantly in a match. It wouldn’t make the xbow any less hated, but I think it would be an interesting change.

[@kleinerkek2994]

You forgot the monk as a hard counter Good video btw ❤

[@pijushadhikary1326]

I am a clash royale player since 2016. Honestly speaking brother I watch your videos just to reminiscence those good old 2016 days when I used to be happy. Really man your videos are so full of Nostalgia, I just love it.

[@WorldofSoupS]

Xbow was by far my favorite deck to run when I used to play. I wish it was good, I'd probably play again if so.

[@dapapa2432]

i quit playing clash royale like 5 years ago but as soon as i saw the title i remembered my main deck, 2.9xbow and was instantly hyped

[@rogerchen4525]

X-Bow targetting air is probably the worst nerf it could possibly get. While it does raise its defensive capabilities, the card is inherently considered a (siege) win condition, meant to be used to attack. The whole concept of X-Bow is to gather an elixir lead and then go in for one devastating connection, as anyone who has played X-Bow knows that 4/5 times you place X-Bow first play you will not only lose the X-Bow, but also have insufficient elixir to defend the inevitable counter push (assuming the opponent knows how to efficiently defend an X-Bow, i.e. placing a tank low and kiting the shots opposite lane, a trick that very little people know about since it is so counterintuitive, but very effective). In other words, if you have even elixir with your opponent, it's almost always a subpar move to go in, unless you are confident you can defend. This goes without saying, but if you're shoving an X-Bow down at exactly 6 elixir, you're only going to lose the game outright (unless you are punishing with it from an elixir lead). Back to my original statement about targetting air cards; if an X-Bow is allowed to hit every single type of unit, how is it supposed to do its job (attacking the tower)? Similar to how other win conditions ignore troops (with the exception of Mortar), shouldn't X-Bow also be allowed to ignore some troops? The definition of a win condition is for a card to be solely building targetting; by allowing a "win condition" to target all types of troops defeats the purpose of having it as a win condition entirely. This is the whole reason why cards like megaknight, prince, and pekka aren't considered win conditions; because they can be distracted so easily and thus rarely have the chance to reach a tower. Believe it or not, they are technically defensive or supportive troops, just look at megaknight zap bait, giant double prince, or pekka bridgespam. All these decks have their corresponding win conditions (skelley barrel, giant, battle ram) that only target buildings. It's what makes the decks viable, otherwise they would never connect. Essentially, allowing X-Bow to target everything would turn it into more of a supportive troop, one that--like the megaknight, prince, and pekka--has the potential to reach the tower (like every other card), but not a win condition.

[@jeremye1159]

🤓

[@zombieslasher5474]

@@jeremye1159what? Can’t read something with more than one sentence?

[@eternallife8898]

It's a nerf, but more importantly it only improves the defensive power of xbow which should never be the goal to balance a card.

[@jackrivard6668]

Thank you not only for making videos but first using the most relaxing music for them

[@TheR0b1991]

Just like the comments said xbow isnt the problem its the cycel cards just look at every single most broken deck, hog cycle, xbow cycle, e giant cycle, monk cycle, pheonix cycle, rocket cycle. Anyone see a theme there yet every time its never the cycle cards getting nerfed.

[@ZekeParker-fd9bl]

Phoenix and monk cycle don't exist, hog isn't op, it's just annoying

[@TheR0b1991]

@@ZekeParker-fd9bl phoenix/monk cycle doesn't exist anymore, but the season they came out it was around 80% usage or something crazy.

[@cephalosjr.1835]

The problem with Phoenix Monk cycle wasn’t the cycle cards. It was Phoenix and Monk. Those 2 cards were broken in everything. I would guess it goes similarly for Electro Giant cycle.

[@kanishkraturi8695]

Congratulations for 100k subs!!! You totally deserve it!

[@Sibron_131]

To everybody that haven’t seen this video yet, the good part starts at 18:20

[@KangoTheGreat]

Congrats on 100k man

[@slushyplane]

Xbow really needs a buff especially now that all these evolutions are coming out. Right now xbow is one of the highest skill cards in the game. I think it needs its deploy time decreased by at least a second, it wouldn't be huge but it would definitely make it more viable.

[@eternallife8898]

Nah, the high skill cap is what makes xbow players unique. Altough people might call you toxic/no skill, deep inside they know very well they cannot win a single match with that deck if they themselves use it

[@denizseyhan1053]

​@@eternallife8898It should get a +5 lifetime If it does not take any damage.(Spells are a exception.) Health should be the same though.

[@denizseyhan1053]

​@@eternallife8898I watch Eragon,Hunter and Ian's X-Bow videos. They are so good with it but if they have a single hevy spell or earthquale x-bow loses, even If it gets 0 hits it destroys itself after 30 seconds. My change will still keep the high skill cap and be fair to the skillfull players.

[@huntersuper98]

On the topic of the xbox 2.9 deck being highly skill based. There is a MASSIVE difference between skill floor and skill ceiling. Something can have a rock bottom skill floor and also have a sky high skill ceiling. The existence of a high skill floor does not mean the skill ceiling is high either though. These traits in any video game are not mutually exclusive. I know basically nothing about Clash Royale personally so I can't tell you if this deck truly had a large skill ceiling though.

[@SaryM29]

Thanks for the video! Although I really understand the frustration many people have to deal with against X-bow, I really love the card, and have used it as my main win condition ever since I was new to the game, even though I didn't play for very long periods of time. My personal opinion is that it could have a higher hp, while keeping the lifetime the same or even slightly lower, in that way the opponent doesn't have to deal with constant long-lasting pressure from allowing it to connect just once, but the X-box player also isn't countered that hard. (Also, please take it easy on me, I don't even spell cycle the towers, my only spell on deck has always been Arrows lol) But yeah, I understand the frustration, and I have played quite a bit against X-bow myself, and later on I had quite a bit of X-bow vs. X-bow matches (most I went up against were Ice-bow, but I usually win those), I just really don't think many cards should be allowed to counter it that hard, like Rocket, Earthquake, Giant, Royal Giant, Electro Giant, etc... (I hope they're done with that giant thing 🥲) But anyways, I did use some of the cards in the past, but I always like creating and figuring out things on my own in games, so I had two decks I used a lot, but none were like "2.9" or "Ice-Bow". The first one I made and used for a pretty long time consisted of: Archers, Arrows, Skeletons, Bats, Tombstone, Megaminion, Bowler and, of course, X-bow. Although it can have decent success, and might be even better on defense than the one I use right now, after I came back to the game some years later, I just couldn't use it with the same success anymore, plus the fact that my only way to even hit tower with decent damage is with the X-bow, there were matches that I just could never win, and even if the deck's defense was great, eventually I'd only get spell cycled or chipped away until the end of overtime. Nowadays I use one that I feel it's a bit more "adapted" (also better at dealing with Hog 2.6, which is probably like 95% of what I go against), and allows me to get a bit more troop pressure, even though the X-bow remains as my only actual win condition. It consists of: Arrows, Bats, Hunter, Bowler, Goblin Cage, Tombstone, Dart Goblin, and again, X-bow. My decks were never really the cheapest ones, but they do allow for specific fast cycles (ofc this new one is way heavier, tho). That being said, my main strategy is to get as much value as possible from each one of them, and accumulate an elixir advantage so high the opponent cannot deal with it. With tombstone and goblin, I'm able to "invest" elixir into later attacks, and may accumulate something like a 8+ elixir lead. Also, on this new variation, the Goblin Dart can also kinda reliably chip at the tower, and the Goblin Cage cannot really be left without an answer, even if it doesn't need to be an expensive one. Although I have to cycle X-bow for the win sometimes, I am much more a fan of figuring out my opponent and hiding it until I can get a perfect X-bow that might actually win the game in one deploy. I have won quite a bit of games in which I'd only respond to the opponent for like 2 or 3 minutes until I was able to find the perfect X-bow to turn the game around. And even if there are a lot of hard counters, I like developing a whole strategy around it and being able to beat thing like Electro Giants with my dear X-bow. As anyone that read this definitely realized, I definitely enjoy being more of a defensive specialist, but I do understand that it's not a playstyle for everyone. And to be fair, I only stumbled on X-bow because of this playstyle, since it was the only win condition I could find to be good surrounded by so many defensive cards and not requiring an offensive push, and it also kinda makes a new little game of defending the X-bow, and not only the towers lol (just please do something about the rocket, I hate it so much, at least give me a positive elixir trade against it or anything at all) Well, if you've read through all that, thank you! -A lifelong X-bow player Edit: Came back to the video more than a year later and just realized I had written graveyard instead of tombstone, I don't play the game in english and both are pretty similar in meaning so... yeah... I honestly can't imaginely how it'd be like to use X-bow and Graveyard in the same deck 😂

[@ImGede24]

I hope x-bow never gets a buff that card is the reason why I’m a rg main

[@RandomAsFunk]

I’m glad you mentioned it I think xbow targeting air would give ppl more options to distract it, plus make mega minion more tanky and useful for that, over phenix

[@i_saidmeow2469]

I think 6 elixir is way too much for getting countered by literally every minitank. Once you place X-Bow, the opponent has already enough elixir to deploy a card like Valkyrie, Rascal, Electro Wizard or Barbarians, while you only have 4 elixir. To make it a more consistent win condition, reduce the elixir to 5 elixir. Essentially 4 elixir is the value of the card most of the time, but it being 4 elixir is too much, so 5 elixir and a tiny hp buff can help it become less punishing on playing X-Bow

[@totovaretardslap7986]

So practically as players begin to get good with xbow even when it's bad in the meta and underpower they nerf it again so it's even worse just for skill players to end top 1 to 100 with it either way. Good job supercell

[@Hope-mtz]

The xbow is so bad, it does deserve a buff -Me, as a xbow 3.0 player

[@BirdGod]

Pump-bow, ice-bow and cycle now. The only 3 variants possible

[@jraff2735]

Could you do Pekka at some point, it's always been the odd one out compared to the other giants (aside from g-skele) and it could really use the attention

[@nithraliabrawlstars6541]

I think Pekka is the most decent card in the game. Never has been op, never has been that bad to need a big buff. Im not even sure if she ever got any balance change.

[@samesaiwan]

Probably most decent card

[@jraff2735]

@@nithraliabrawlstars6541 I'd say elec spirit and royal delivery top it, but yeah, basically

[@matthewlarios.]

man this channel blew tf up. i guess people are really craving clash royale video essays since we’ve never had any content like this before

[@georgie5698]

i used to play x-bow before and i respect them alot. All i face on top ladder is hog eq, rg and lavahound all of which counter x bow hard. you rlly gotta play perfectly to win those matchups thats why eragon is so talented.

[@its_haydos]

My dad has played xbow since launch and its crazy that hes stuck with it for so many years. His deck was always: Xbow Tesla Witch Valkyrie Archers Fireball Then variations of Baby dragon Mother witch Log Arrows Goblin hut Mini pekka I know it seems very mid ladder but he had some insane success

[@Zaary]

witch

[@adamerdmann1293]

I was surprised that you didn't mention queenbow

[@muizmin]

FR

[@AdicH69]

Yo! Did you use Hollow Knight's Fungal wastes music for the video? I love that game

[@bayeuxx]

Something you didnt really mention is how free to play friendly 2.9 and 3.0 xbow were, thats a big reason for why i used to main the deck before i quit last year. Most of the cards are commons or rares so it is very easy to max out without spending money, especially back before magic items were a thing. Edit: also about the people who say xbow takes no skill, it used to take no skill back in the early years but for the last set of years its been in an abismal state in terms of match ups and you need to be incredibly high skilled to out play and out smart your opponents in top ladder.

[@thatonebonkchoyguy]

I've just been binging your content for a while now, and I find it so fascinating. I have never played Clash Royale, and I know nothing about how it works or how you play, but you explain this stuff in such an interesting way that I can't help but enjoy it.

[@theoverseer393]

Xbow itself feels balanced enough. It isn’t unusable by any stretch, but it definitely isn’t as versatile as other cards like mortar. It’s likely the commitment required to get such high DPS means it can’t have secondary win conditions like mortar

[@korayk1999]

Xbow is weak

[@sprei1533]

You're talking out of your ass, x-bow itself is inherently weak

[@Seai-ki7om]

I would love to see a video on the most dominant metas ever (e.g. e golem witch, monk phoenix, rhogs aq eq, and other completely overpowered decks) Keep up the amazing content!

[@zayd162]

as an xbow player I honestly found it super frustrating why there was so much hate behind it, I joined the game after the final nerf it had so I never got to see how truly broken it was prior. However I still disagree with all the hate, defo goes wayy too far at times, gets countered so easily especially in the old ladder, any rg deck destroys it, then people manage to say it's xbow matchupo still one missplay with xbow ruins the game for you, miss click e.c.t, you said one small lock spells the end of the game however I found it's just not the case, alot of the time if players swap and go same lane There's not much you can do to break through but spell cycle there are times you just don't get to play the xbow, some time u can ignore the xbow and they just push your other side and it works out, with the meta how it is rn it's honestly shit, I get how it can feel frustrating t ogo against as alot of xbow if u wanna be good will rely on cylce and elixir counting so it may feel like you can't do anything but that takes alot of time to master, if both sides were at the same level ods are xbow will lose. However I will say for matchups that are good for xbow sometimes the opponent can't do anything against it, but every deck has it's matchups

[@bulletium5163]

it's hated because it's such a ridiculously annoying card to face

[@ImGede24]

The reason why it’s so hated is because when a xbow locks on the tower then the next xbows for the rest of the match is defensive and then it’s just spell cycling

[@tristan12424]

I still have trauma because of xbow

[@zayd162]

@@ImGede24 nah there still are manyyy ways to counter it, the stats show it, spell cycling is shit there are few good matchups for xbow

[@N12015]

Because people is awful at playing defense and because X-Bow is so bad as a Wincon it needs to play the whole 5 minutes, dragging the match.

[@Sup_3rr]

2:44 bro that wizard was confused 😭😭🙏🙏

[@invincibleanik]

1:57 AD skip button for non revanced users.

[@GhostRS3411]

A long time ago, I used to use a deck consisting of giant, x-bow, sparky and mirror (don't remember the other cards). It was fun but required a lot of game knowledge and unfortunately stopped fully working due to numerous balance changes over the years (mainly pertaining to how long the x-bow survived and elixir rate changes).

[@addition2127]

Very sad to see the Xbow in the state it's in currently, I'm not the greatest in the game and I didn't use a traditional Xbow deck but it was such a fun deck to play

[@KV-88]

Well, Bigspin just Released his merch and guess what it is: a handycase with a burning X-Bow.

[@Waaz732]

Do a video on the X-Bow's 4 elixir counterpart next! The Mortar is such an interesting card, it's never used by Midladder, but it's one of the most consistent, versatile win condition that can basically be put in any archetype an do well, except beatdown and split push archetypes probably. Nonetheless, I have a few thoughts on its strength, I like the consistency of it throughout the years, but I kind of dislike the versatility of it. See, I like using the Mortar as a win condition, my issue is that it can also take the role as the defensive building, and it's also super good at that. I wished that the Mortar would be a more offensive win condition a bit like the X-Bow instead of this super versatile card, I want it so that when you use the Mortar, you have to base your playstyle around it.

[@Rikka_V1]

Mortar actually is used slightly more than xbow. Xbow is way more difficulty than mortar

[@funkymachine]

Mortar is my favorite card in the game, so maybe I'm biased, but it feels almost like a balanced and liked version of the xbow

[@Meet_Your_Death]

​@@funkymachineCalling mortar balanced and liked is exactly a mid ladder trait. It's actually the more broken and no skill version of xbow according to any high ladder player.

[@funkymachine]

@@Meet_Your_Death the new one? Most likely. The not evo one? Definitely not. I play mortar almost every day and it definitely isn't overpowered. I use miner poison mighty musket gob ice log mortar. It doesn't have insane use rates or win rates.

[@Meet_Your_Death]

@@funkymachine Not even referring to evolutions. If you check thee tweets of any pro player like Mo light or Lucas they always talk about Mortar needing a hp nerf.

[@codynelson7575]

I'd love to see videos for cards you talk about in many videos as op, like Elixir Golem or royal ghost

[@omarmachin4852]

Very clear you were one of those Xbow haters. Funny how in every video you talk about competitive bracket and mid-latter bracket. However not a single mention on this one. Just mention top latter stats. I wonder why if according to you the xbow requires no skill.

[@hellobye5952]

Man your videos are so good, genuinely gives me dopamine swing your thumbnails, great job bro

[@Anotherguy452]

Buff the XBow!!!👍

[@nosidenoside2458]

They should give it a rework i think. 6 elixir to place, 1 elixir to fire anywhere on the map like a spell for decent single target damage, decent cooldown time. Would be interesting

[@lancehamlett3054]

I’ve never understood how people can be like “xbow takes no skill it’s just spamming” then play golem beat down or play megaknight on every push.

[@perseperse1237]

I hate u

[@GTylker]

Love the Hollow Knight fungal wastes music in the background

[@emanueleprencipe5483]

Remember to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour

[@patrickn594]

Congratz on 100 000 subscribers man, keep up the great work!

[@dema636]

Last night, I was thinking of suggesting an Xbow vid, my dream came true.

[@lennyface5314]

I love how many people pronounce x-bow like "ex-bow" when it's just a pun of questionable quality on the word crossbow.

[@TinniestPlane22]

ConGratz on 100k subscribers!

[@sym959]

Xbow player here. Top 10k this season even with the broken RG. The reason why xbow players need to adopt such a defensive playstyle is because its simply not a reliable win condition. Against many matchups the best play is simply to spell cycle your opponent out. Matchups like hogeq, evo RG and splashyard rely mostly on spell cycle because your opponent can consistently defend your xbows, given that both players play perfectly. If xbow were to receive a buff and spell cycling a nerf, it would make the deck less reliant on defending perfectly and cycling fireballs on the tower - thus encouraging a more offensive playstyle that is hopefully more in line with supercell's vision for the game.

[@richcantgame]

I started playing this game and did pretty well for a beginner with underleveled cards using a X-bow deck. I hate playing meta in games so it was honestly just what I found fun and did well. Especially since I played a lot of 2s and school with friends. I don’t know what was cheesy at that time but I remember using Xbow Poison Tornado to keep weak cards off my Xbow and at a distance