I am having trouble countering Baby Dragons. I encounter:
- Spear goblins get killed by one attack.
- Minions get killed quickly by the AOE as well (unless I use something else to distract the dragon)
- Archers suffer the same AOE problem as spear goblins.
- The musketeer does well but seems to trade evenly unless I put something else to distract the dragon (like minions).
How do I decidedly win an elixir trade with a baby dragon?
Best Answer
There are a few different tactics that will allow you to come out ahead against a baby dragon.
It's important to use your crown towers to your advantage, to apply additional damage. The first way to leverage them without letting the baby dragon hit your crown tower is to drop a tank troop, like a knight, a giant, or even a pekka if you'd like. If you drop the troop while the baby dragon is within range of your crown tower then you will end up killing the baby dragon from the crown towers arrows before they can kill your tanky unit, making this an effective trade which you can follow up on to create an offense.
Another strategy involving your crown tower is to allow the crown tower to take the baby dragons hits and then summon some troops to kill the baby dragon outside of the range of the baby dragon's splash. This tactic works well because the baby dragon doesn't really do that much damage; it's just its splash damage kills groups of minions so quickly it becomes hard to kill.
If you've reached Pekka's Playhouse, using an Inferno Tower against the baby dragon will also work. The Inferno Tower has increased damage the longer it hits a target; since the baby dragon has quite a bit of HP, it works quite well.
Since you mentioned the musketeer, it's worth mentioning that the musketeer is a great minion to play against the baby dragon. If you use my first tip with a giant, putting a musketeer down behind the giant will almost guarantee you a crown tower at lower arenas, as your opponent is now down their baby dragon, and new minions will prioritize the giant while the musketeer shreds them.
If you can't afford to put a Giant in your deck and you're running tombstone, the same effect can be made if you put the tombstone down and then the Musketeer. Ensure you don't stack them so the splash damage doesn't kill them both at the same time. This strategy is less efficient than the previously mentioned Giant strategy because it will not give you the offensive push the Giant strategy will.
Finally, and maybe ironically, a great counter against the baby dragon is... the baby dragon. If you play it while the enemy dragon is on your side of the field you will win the trade due to your crown tower.