Players who treat the game purely as a test of reflexes will inevitably hit a skill ceiling they cannot break without learning the underlying mathematics.
To truly master the genre, you must stop looking at units as 'characters' and start viewing them as numerical investments.
The Cost of Inaction
The only way one player can mathematically gain an advantage is if the other player 'leaks' elixir by sitting at the maximum cap of 10.
If your bar reaches 10 and you do not play a card for 2.8 seconds, you have permanently lost one unit of energy that you can never recover.
- Never sit at 10 elixir unless you are waiting for a very specific enemy push to cross the river.
- In double elixir, the leakage happens twice as fast.
- If the opponent leaks 3 elixir at the start of the match, launch an aggressive push instantly.
Winning the Economic War
The entire goal of defensive play is to execute 'positive elixir trades', where you spend less energy to destroy a push than the opponent spent to create it.
If you consistently make negative trades, you will eventually find yourself trying to defend a massive push with absolutely zero elixir in your bar.
| Advanced Tactic | The Math |
|---|---|
| Pulling Aggro | Using a 1-elixir Skeleton to pull a 4-elixir Mini P.E.K.K. Here is more info in regards to tower rush look into the web site. A across the map until both Princess towers shoot it to death; +3 profit |
| Multi-Targeting | Waiting until the opponent places three different support troops near their tower before dropping the Rocket, destroying 12 elixir with 6; +6 profit |
Tracking the Numbers
You should always know exactly who is 'up' in elixir at any given moment.
Master the economy, and you master the game.