Miner (Clash Royale)

Main article 
The Miner is a Legendary card from Clash Royale that is unlocked from the Electro Valley (Arena 11) or from a Legendary Chest. He is a single-target, melee troop with both moderate hitpoints and damage that can be placed anywhere in the Arena. He wears a dark grey helmet with a partially melted candle on top, carries a shovel, and has a large reddish nose and a slightly dirtied face. A Miner card costs 3 Elixir to deploy.
==Strategy==
*Due to his ability to be placed anywhere in the Arena, the Miner can be used for surprise attacks on Towers and troops.
*He deals only 25% of his normal damage to Crown Towers, so it is generally not recommended to use him on them alone.
**He can act as a surprise tank for high damage per second troops, which is a reliable way to deal immense damage if ignored by the opponent. The Miner will tank the damage from the Tower or other troops while the supporting units deal massive damage. This can be countered by swarm troops or spells, however.
**Even a lone Miner can dish out similar damage to a Rocket for half the price to a Crown Tower if ignored, so it is generally advised to address him whenever possible and reduce the damage he deals with each push. However, if one is using a high Elixir cost deck, it may be worth ignoring a lone Miner that is used to punish one's Elixir investment, so that they have more Elixir to create a large, unstoppable push. Compared to other 3 Elixir cards, he does not deal very much damage to a Crown Tower.
**The Electro Wizard works well with the Miner on offense. After the Tower locks onto the Electro Wizard, a Miner can be sent in to tank for it when. The Electro Wizard's stun attacks will cause the Tower to retarget onto the Miner, allowing the Electro Wizard to survive longer and deal more damage. You can also do this with the Zappies or an Electro Dragon.
**If the player is sending the Miner to a Princess Tower, sending the Miner on the center tile of the inner side will allow the other Princess Tower to target him. This can be helpful in that the Miner is distracting both Princess Towers, so the player can send in fast backup troops to attack both lanes (eg. Wall Breakers). However, if the Miner is being sent in alone, it is generally not recommended to deploy him here as he will simply die more quickly and deal less damage, also increasing the risk of him activating the King Tower if pulled with a Tornado or with other units. 
***On the contrary, due to this interaction, this placement is very effective when one only needs a few Miner hits to take down the Tower, as many players will not expect this "self-destructive" placement.
*If the player deploys him in front of the Tower, their supporting units are much easier to counter as splash units can easily splash the Miner and support troops, while incoming single target troops can easily be distracted by the troops that were used to defend against the Miner. An Ice Golem can also be placed in front of Tower pushing the Miner and forcing him to change target. Due to this, it is not recommended to deploy him here, even as a surprise attack, as a unit placed far enough forward can take care of both the Miner and incoming support troops.
*If one wishes to attack the King's Tower without their Miner being within range of a Princess Tower, they should place the Miner on the left corner or 1 tile beside said corner of the King's Tower to avoid getting targeted by the right Princess Tower, and vice versa. Conversely, if one wishes to attack a Princess Tower without getting targeted by the King's Tower, place him in the bottom right corner of the right Princess Tower so that he can target it without getting targeted by the King's Tower, and vice versa.
*If the opponent has the Tornado card in their deck, they are able to drag the Miner to their King's Tower against many common placements, causing a King activation for an equal Elixir trade and very little Princess Tower damage. One should be aware of the two safe spots in which a Miner cannot be dragged to the King's Tower by the Tornado, those being the bottom-most tile on the non-King Tower side and the tile directly above that. Although a Miner is safe in these positions, this makes its attacks very predictable and easy to block with units as soon as the Miner is seen approaching. One may want to consider intentionally placing the Miner in a Tornado-vulnerable position and supporting him with fast, high damage units like Goblins or Bats. If the opponent is low on Elixir, they will take major damage from the supporting units should they decide to activate their King's Tower (more than they would have if they simply ignored the Miner and addressed the supporting units).
**A Tesla can be placed on those two tiles, to prevent the Miner from being placed on them to avoid a King activation or simply to limit where the Miner can be placed, which will make addressing him easier. 
*Miners can destroy enemy buildings such as spawners when they are not attacking or defending, as his damage is only reduced to Crown Towers, and will deal normal damage to other buildings. An Elixir Collector is also particularly vulnerable to Miner attacks, potentially allowing for large positive Elixir trades.
**However, it is important to note that most players will attempt to protect any passive buildings placed in the back from Miner damage. Single units placed behind the Princess Tower can "catch" most Miner placements provided the defender reacts quickly enough. Cheap swarms are more lenient on this timing as they can spread out. One should either wait for the opponent's blocking unit to be out of their hand, or if the opponent uses swarms to defend him, use a spell alongside the Miner on reaction. Another strategy is to feign an attack on the building (i.e. aiming for the Princess Tower instead) in order to make the opponent waste Elixir, which can allowing for spell value on their unit, the Princess Tower, and the building.
**If the opponent places their building beside their King's Tower, a high-risk, high-reward play is to send the Miner towards the back of the building, rather than the front or side. This is risky because if the opponent ignores it, the Miner will activate their King's Tower after destroying the building (which is still a positive Elixir trade, but will notably limit future Miner damage). However, if the opponent plays a card to defend a Miner in front or beside the building, the unit will waste time walking towards him and defeat him before he can get a chance to activate the King's Tower, which also results in an even larger positive Elixir trade as the opponent will have spent Elixir to deploy a unit, and would have lost the opportunity to activate the King's Tower.
**The Miner should not be deployed directly above and 1 tile beside on the left (for both sides of the Arena) of the Princess Tower as he will target it instead. The Miner will always attack the left corner of the targeted building.
**The Tombstone is the only passive building which is not recommended to be taken down with a Miner under any circumstance. The constant Skeleton spawns make it difficult for the Miner to connect to it, and its equal Elixir cost and death spawn will deny all Miner damage even if the Miner does connect. In fact, a Tombstone is typically only placed behind a Princess Tower specifically in anticipation for Miner attacks.
*It's not recommended to reel the Miner to the King's Tower with a Tornado when the Miner is at low health, as the Miner can possibly die during the spell effect, resulting in a waste of three Elixir.
*When mirroring a Miner, the Mirror will reveal its location. Due to this, it is not recommended to mirror a Miner when using it on offense, as the Mirror's visual indicator will make it easier to block with a troop.
*The player can also support their pushes by deploying the Miner next to their troops. However, the Miner is best used to tank, diverting some damage from the main push.
*The Miner can be used to take early-placed opposing defenders by surprise. That way, Miner can tank for the player's main offense.
*The Miner can take out squishy but powerful troops such as the Princess or Musketeer that are protected by a tank. Against a Princess that is attacking a tower from the bridge, placing him on the outside tiles will not cause her to re-target to him; the player needs to deploy the Miner on the inside or the center tile to cause her to re-target.
**Much like feigning an attack on a building, this tactic also works on ranged support troops, as the opponent is more likely that they will try to protect their ranged troop. Sending the Miner on the Tower while using a spell on the troop can result in a larger positive Elixir trade.
*Being a single-target troop, the Miner is very weak against a small swarm of troops, such as Skeletons, which distract the Miner and prevent him from attacking nearby buildings. High damage troops like the Mini P.E.K.K.A can also easily destroy the Miner.
*Switching up the placement of the Miner unpredictably is highly recommended and prevents the opponent from efficiently addressing the Miner, allowing him to chip the tower constantly. Many players will start anticipating a Miner's position even after just one attack, so deploying him in the same spot twice is mostly ineffective. Another method to sneak in Miner damage is to deploy him nearby an enemy unit placed near the Tower, but barely far enough so that he will not attack them. This is effective because many players will expect the Miner to be placed far away from all units so that his damage is maximized, but this ends up being predictable.
*Miner pairs well with the Poison as the Poison will defeat any swarms trying to counter the Miner while the Miner does constant chip damage to the Princess Tower. The Poison, too, will chip some damage off the Tower. The Earthquake can work in a similar way, but unlike the Poison, it does not hit air troops , and its damage is notably lower, that the Miner might not be able to defeat the swarms in time.
**Make sure that the Poison or Earthquake are deployed at the exact same time that the Miner resurfaces. Otherwise, the opponent might have an idea of where you placed the Miner and react accordingly. Alternatively, you can place the Miner and the spell on different tiles to foul the enemy into thinking that the Miner is placed on the same tile.
*The Miner has an excellent synergy with the Skeleton Barrel. The Skeleton Barrel initially tanks for the Miner, then the Miner tanks for the Skeletons from the barrel. However, this synergy is easily stopped by a spell after the Skeleton Barrel pops, so be sure to make do with bait such as Skeleton Army or better yet, those that still synergize with the Miner such as the Dart Goblin or Bats.
*Similarly, he can work with other troops that spawn troops after death, such as a Goblin Giant or a Lava Hound. These troops will tank for him initially, and then when they are killed, they will unleash their fragile death spawn troops that the Miner will tank for. In the case of the Lava Hound, a ground spell cannot be used to damage both the Miner and the Lava Pups.
*Pairing up the Miner and Hog Rider is a great choice for a push. Against buildings, the Miner can be placed as a prediction on them, so that he takes all the damage, which will allow the Hog Rider to destroy the building. However, it is vulnerable to air troops, such as Minions, and is also easily stopped by Barbarians or Skeleton Army. It is recommended to have a spell ready to support them.
*If the Miner digs under a place where troops are standing, the troops above him will move aside. This uprooting of the dirt can re-aggro troops as it pushes them aside and make them switch targets. However, this is not substantially used as it is hard to predict Miner movement.
*A Goblin Barrel works well with the Miner. The Miner can soak up damage, while the Goblins deal damage, and vice versa. However, this combo is very vulnerable to spells. Deploying a Miner alongside the Barrel may simply allow the opponent to damage the miner for "free". Another way to use this combo is to deploy the Goblin Barrel on one Princess Tower and the Miner on the other. This is especially effective if the Miner is tanking for both towers, which can allow the Goblins to sneak damage in if they are not one-shot by a spell.
*The Miner also works very well with the Graveyard. The Miner will tank the damage from the Tower or counters while the Skeletons continuously spawn, allowing them to potentially deal heavy damage to the Tower. A Minion Horde or Poison can counter this combo for an Elixir advantage, however. This strategy is also very bad against decks with Tornado since they can activate the King Tower and reduce damage in future pushes.
*An Ice Spirit is useful as a cheap support unit when defending against the Miner. An Ice Spirit deployed behind the defending Princess Tower will, at most, only allow one Miner hit to get through before it freezes him. This gives the defender time to deploy units and force the Miner to retarget onto them.
*The Miner can be pushed back by The Log while underground. However, The Log will not deal any damage to the Miner and will not cause it to pop out of the ground upon contact. As such, the player should not commonly rely on this tactic.
==History==
2016
*The Miner card was added to the game on 3/5/2016, in the May 2016 Update.
*On 18/5/2016, a Balance Update, increased the Miner's hitpoints by 6%.
*On 4/7/2016, the Tournaments Update, decreased the Miner's deploy time to 0.75 seconds (from 1 second). This change was not mentioned in any change notes and was later said to be unintentional by Supercell.
*On 24/8/2016, a Balance Update, increased the Miner's deploy to 1 second (from 0.75 seconds) and decreased his hitpoints by 6%.
2018
*On 20/6/2018, the Summer 2018 Update, moved the Arena to unlock the Miner from Builder's Workshop to P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse.
*On 5/9/2018, the September 2018 Update, changed it so that cards start at Level 9 and end at Level 13 (from 1 to 5).
2019
*On 1/7/2019, the July 2019 Update, decreased the Miner's range to 1.2 tiles (from 1.3 tiles), now classified as Melee: Medium.
*On 7/10/2019, a maintenance break, added a new Star Level.
*On 26/11/2019, the End of November 2019 Update, added a card render to the Miner's card info screen.
2020
*On 3/3/2020, a Balance Update, decreased the Miner's Crown Tower damage to 35% of the full damage (from 40%).
*On 4/8/2020, a Balance Update, decreased the Miner's Crown Tower damage to 30% of the full damage (from 35%).
2021
*On 7/6/2021, the Summer 2021 Update, added the blurb "A shovel that deals reduced damage to Crown Towers." to his description.
*On 2/9/2021, a maintenance break, changed the Miner's card render.
*On 27/10/2021, the Champions Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 14 (from 13).
2022
*On 26/10/2022, the 2022 Quarter 3 Update, moved the Arena to unlock the Miner from P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse to Electro Valley.
2023
*On 4/4/2023, a Balance Update, decreased the Miner's Crown Tower damage to 25% of the full damage (from 30%).
==Trivia==
*The Miner is 1 of 19 troops that originated from Clash Royale and reappear in Clash Mini, the others being Knight, Spear Goblins, Mini P.E.K.K.A., Musketeer, Battle Healer, Dart Goblin, Guards, Prince, Giant Skeleton, Mega Knight, Electro Wizard, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, Magic Archer, Bandit, Lumberjack, Fisherman, and the Skeleton King.
*The Miner is 1 of 15 troops that inspired a troop in Clash of Clans, the others being Bomber, Bats, Skeleton Barrel, Minion Horde, Battle Ram, Ice Golem, Zappies, Baby Dragon, Giant Skeleton, Ram Rider, Inferno Dragon, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, and Night Witch.
**Unlike his Clash of Clans counterpart, he does not have the ability to burrow again after surfacing.
**His Barracks image in Clash of Clans and his old card render are likely based off of his card image from Clash Royale.
*The Miner is 1 of 6 troops to have their own Hero versions, the others being Archers, Knight, Goblins, Skeletons, and Barbarians. In his case, it is the Mighty Miner.
*The Miner is the only troop that can be placed on the opponent's territory.
*The Miner is 1 of 3 troops to deal reduced damage to Crown Towers, the others being Electro Giant and Phoenix. In the case of the Miner, his regular attacks deal 25% of the full damage.
*According to Fan Fang, the Game Lead/Designer of Clash Mini, the Miner is his favorite troop, as stated on Pocket Gamer.
*The Miner is the subject of a few Emotes.
*During the 1st Anniversary Offer, when the free Magical Chest is opened, a right-facing Goblin will be there trying to blow out a candle. The candle will appear on a Miner's helmet if the Gold and Gem pack in the middle is purchased, and a left-facing Goblin will appear if the Gold and Super Magical Chest pack on the right is purchased.
*The initial balance change for Miner on the 4/4/2023 balance changes was a 7% hitpoints decrease, but it was changed to a Crown Tower Damage decrease to 25% (from 30%) last minute.
Category:Clash Royale