So, if you saw our video yesterday, you’ll have seen our 50-50 success-failure on Touchdown Draft mode in Clash Royale. The mode first came out in 2017 and it comes back around regularly as one of the challenge options – but we’ve definitely not really got the hang of it!

The game mode works quite differently to your normal ‘attack towers / defend towers’ approach in the main game – so, what’s Touchdown Draft all about?

1. You have to do anything you can to get a troop (any at all) to cross the touchdown line at the opposite end of the Arena. A lot of the time, it can be a sneaky little skeleton who manages to make it all the way across and survive!
2. Your troops will run in a straight line towards the touchdown zone, unless they get lured by other troops or buildings… Just as in the main game, they behave the same way, so a Gollum will still ignore troops but be attracted to buildings and a wizard would still stop in his path to fire on other troops that come into range.
3. Getting a troop across the line wins you a Crown and it’s either first to 3 crowns, or most crowns in 3 minute game to Win. (You’ll get sudden death too, if tied).
4. Some of the cards that you can normally use anywhere across the Arena – like Goblin Barrels, Graveyard and Miner – cannot be sent directly to the end zone, you can only place them up to the halfway line…

So, what does this all mean…?

Well, firstly it means that cards that are good in the normal game may not be useful in Touchdown mode, especially stuff like Spells…

Spells are good if they can deal a lot of  damage to groups – like Rocket, Fireball, Poison, Quake and Arrows – Touchdown mode is chaotic and draws groups of Troops together, so taking out a lot of enemy Troops in one go could lead to victory! Cloning, Healing, Lightning, etc. will have limited effectiveness. However, a well timed Freeze, Lighting or Heal near your Touchline or the enemy one could be enough to push you to victory or prevent a Troop crossing your line – so if you do get one of these cards, save them for the finish lines!

Buildings can still be useful (as distraction or defence, as well as spawning randoms little Troops who might accidentally make it across the lines!) Some of the best ones would be Mortar, X-Bow, Goblin Hut, Furnace or Barbarian Hut.

Troops You really want guys with range and a good mixture of air and ground cover, to maximise damage. A Troop card running through the middle of the pitch with good range can take out Troops on either side covering most of the Arena.

Dart Goblin and Princess both have good range – so keep them protected and they will help you in Touchdown. Other good Troops are ones with ability to hit multiple Troops in one hit:Wizard, Executioner, Valkyarie…

The Best Cards in Touchdown Mode?

Above would be the best Legendary card picks – although I also like Magic Archer for range, so a good alternative to Princess… And for your standard cards- Hog Rider and Ram are fast and very difficult to counter if your opponent has used their Elixir. Also, hard to kill Troops like Gollum can make it across the line – just very slowly….

Main Tips for Gameplay

1. You don’t get the chance to build and save Elixir so much in this mode, so I would always use as little as possible in your early moves on an attack and hold it for defence (depending on the cards you’ve been dealt…)
2. Try using cards in combo, like Witch with a Giant or Gollum – one takes all the hits as a shield, the other attacks from behind and may have enough health left to make the Touchdown when the shield is taken out. (Sometimes called ‘Tanks’). This is definitely effective with a ‘splash’ Troop in the combo.
3. Buildings are a good distraction for your end zone to keep Troops busy whilst to form some defence – placement is key for best use of these cards.
4. Quite often it is one tiny Troop that survives the chaos in the middle to make the Touchdown, so Lava Pups and skeletons can be useful if you keep them away from the main fights.
5. Spreading your Troops across the line is helpful, rather than grouping them together – that just makes defence easier.
6. Splash Troops are better than single target in this mode, so try to choose those.
7. Playing with someone from your Clan is generally better for this mode – they tend to work better with you on combos and understand how you play.
8. Spawner buildings can be useful – and every player ends up with one, so if you get one, position it well and play it often – the card that keeps on giving! 🙂
9. Avoid slower moving or defender Troops in your selection when you can.

Think that’s about it…Good Luck!!

Some you win and some you lose – especially in the Touchdown Draft challenge, which has reappeared this week as part of the new Party Mode update inside the spooky Halloween version of Clash Royale currently out…

I don’t know about you, but we’ve never quite got to grips with the best way to play the Touchdown Draft – most of the time a win or loss seems pretty accidental. Anyway, don’t know what we mean? Then check out today’s video where we accidentally win and lose as we try and share our (very limited) wisdom on how to tackle this special game mode of Clash Royale…

Want to know more about it from the experts – we’ve gathered together some of the best tips around for successful gameplay and will post these tomorrow, to help you get started!