Lava Hound Dominates in Clash Royale META

Clash Royale Lava Hound Decks: A Guide to Domination

The Lava Hound, a legendary air troop in Clash Royale, targets enemy buildings with its massive 3581 HP (at tournament levels). While its damage output is minimal, its death triggers the deployment of six damaging Lava Pups, making it a potent win condition. The Lava Hound's high health makes it a formidable force, and its effectiveness has been enhanced by the introduction of new cards. This guide explores the evolution of Lava Hound decks and presents three top-performing strategies for the current Clash Royale meta.

How Lava Hound Decks Function

Lava Hound decks operate as Beatdown decks, but instead of relying on Giants or Golems, they leverage the Lava Hound as their primary win condition. Support typically consists of air troops, with one or two ground units for defense or distraction.

The strategy involves a methodical, slow push, deploying the Lava Hound at the back to overwhelm the opponent, even at the cost of some tower health. This trade-off is often necessary to secure victory. The Lava Hound's consistent win rate across skill levels has been further boosted by the Royal Chef card, which significantly enhances Lava Hound's effectiveness when used as a Tower Troop.

Top Lava Hound Decks

Here are three leading Lava Hound deck compositions for Clash Royale:

• LavaLoon Valkyrie
• Lava Hound Double Dragon
• Lava Lightning Prince

Details on each deck follow.

LavaLoon Valkyrie

This popular deck combines two powerful flying win conditions. Despite a higher-than-average elixir cost (4.0), its faster cycle makes it a strong contender.

Valkyrie and Guards provide crucial ground support. Valkyrie counters swarms (Skeleton Army, Goblin Gang) and tanks for X-Bow decks, while Guards offer sustained DPS against units like Pekka or Hog Rider. The core push involves simultaneous deployment of Lava Hound and Balloon, utilizing the Hound as a tank for the Balloon to reach the tower. Inferno Dragon provides air DPS against high-HP units. Evo Zap resets towers/troops, and Fireball eliminates counters or deals direct tower damage. Skeleton Dragons provide additional support for the Balloon push.

Lava Hound Double Dragon

This deck benefits significantly from evolution cards. While the Lava Hound remains the primary win condition, Evo Bomber provides substantial tower damage, and Evo Goblin Cage effectively stops most win conditions (unless countered by Lightning or Rocket).

Guards continue to provide DPS and tower defense. The absence of Balloon requires strategic Lava Hound pushes. Inferno Dragon and Skeleton Dragons offer air support, while Lightning eliminates enemy troops/buildings and Arrows handle swarms. Arrows' higher damage compared to Log or Snowball allows for effective spell cycling.

Lava Lightning Prince

This deck, while not the strongest, is a good starting point for Lava Hound players. It utilizes powerful cards and is relatively easy to play.

Evo Valkyrie's tornado effect pulls in both air and ground troops. Evo Skeletons provide DPS. The Prince offers a secondary push option, and Skeleton Dragons/Inferno Dragon provide air support. The push begins with the Lava Hound, ideally timed to benefit from Royal Chef's level-up buff. Prince can be replaced by Mini-Pekka for a lower elixir cost.

Conclusion

Mastering Lava Hound decks requires practice, especially for players accustomed to cycle decks. The slower, methodical approach focuses on building a powerful push from the back. The decks presented here offer a strong starting point, but experimentation with card combinations is crucial to find the best fit for your playstyle.