Bandit (Clash Royale)

Main article File:BanditCard.png

The Bandit is a Legendary card from Clash Royale that is unlocked from the Rascal's Hideout (Arena 13) or a Legendary Chest. She is a fast, single target, melee troop with moderate hitpoints and damage that has the ability to dash to nearby enemies, dealing double damage if she hits a target with her dash, similar to a Prince's charge. She is untargetable during her dash, making her immune to all types of damage. She has white hair, wears a mask, and wields a blackjack. A Bandit card costs 3 Elixir to deploy.

## Strategy

* The Bandit functions well as a cheap punishment or dual lane push card due to her dash mechanic and fast speed making her an immediate threat. Completely ignoring a Bandit is often fatal as she will take the Princess Tower's health to 50% for just 3 Elixir.
* The defender can force the Bandit to target weak units, such as Skeletons, by placing the weak units in front of their stronger units in order to soak up her dash attack. This must be done, at the latest, right before the Bandit dashes.
* The Bandit cannot dash towards targets that are within 3 tiles of her. Take advantage of this and place melee troops directly in front of her to prevent her from initiating her dash and dealing high damage. Without the dash, she cannot one shot any mini-swarm with hitpoints higher than or equivalent to a Goblin. Knowing this, the Goblins can easily shut down the Bandit for a positive Elixir trade.
* The Bandit's dash is able to cross the river. Knowing this, she can be effective at taking out ranged troops that are placed near it. Her dash damage is enough to one-shot equivalently levelled Dart Goblins and Princesses, and it will take down troops like the Musketeer to half health, only requiring two more regular attacks to completely defeat them.
* When there is a single troop that is one shot by the Bandit's dash between the bridge and the Princess Tower, place the Bandit down so that she will dash onto the troop, then dash onto the Tower. This lets her get to the Tower faster while countering a troop.
* She pairs well with the Dark Prince. They are able to keep up with each other while not colliding too much, and the Dark Prince's splash will eliminate swarms like a Goblin Gang. When this damage is combined with the Bandit's dash, they can take out glass cannons like a Lumberjack. However, this combo is susceptible to air units, such as the Minion Horde, so be sure to have proper supports.
* The Bandit's dash is affected by Rage, meaning that while under Rage, she will be able to dash quicker. Knowing this, she pairs well with the Lumberjack, as not only will the Lumberjack weaken swarms and mini-tanks for the Bandit to finish off, but after he is defeated, the Bandit will also dash to her next target faster.
* The Bandit has relatively low DPS without her dash, so cheap swarm units like Skeletons and Goblins can be used to soak it up, protecting more important troops such as the Dart Goblin or Princess.
* It is best to put Bandit at a range while defending as her relatively low hitpoints and damage without her dash will cause her to lose most one-on-one interactions. However, her powerful and quick dash can be highly threatening on offense, making her more of an offensive card.
* The Bandit is very effective against units that are spread out as her dash attack can easily cover the distance between the troops and deal double damage.
* If the Bandit dashes while being targeted by an Inferno Tower or Inferno Dragon, their ramp up damage will reset, allowing her to distract them for an extended period of time. This makes her an effective distraction for both, although the Bandit will still get incinerated.
* The cheapest but riskiest counter to the Bandit is the Ice Spirit. Release it on the fourth tile and one tile in the other lane 1.3 seconds before it is in the Bandit's aggro range. This allows the Ice Spirit to escape her dash and freeze her, completely denying the Bandit.
* A lone Bandit can be countered completely with just Skeletons. When she is charging up her dash, the player should place Skeletons 2 tiles from the centre to the Bandit’s attack side and 3 tiles from the King Tower. She will dash into the attacking range of both towers and be defeated right before she is about to attack the Princess Tower.
* The Bandit is great at being a card that can bait out counters. She is usually countered with cards like Mini P.E.K.K.A. but their absence would mean that other similar cards like Hog Rider can be used in the other lane without having to worry of being countered by that Mini P.E.K.K.A. She is the best at this tactic compared to other similar cards because of her great mobility and low Elixir cost.
* When defending against the Bandit, you can activate your King Tower using precise placements of 2 low-hitpoints cards such as Ice Spirit and Dart Goblin.
* When using her defensively, place her at a distance from the opposing troop, similarly to how you would place a ranged troop. This allows her to dash for the extra damage, which can allow her to preserve more of her hitpoints for a counterattack.
* When defending against a Bandit with a melee mini-tank, place that troop close to her so that she does not dash and deal unnecessary damage.
* A risky play is deploying Bandit as soon as the battle begins. If the opponent does not react fast enough, the Bandit will dash onto the Tower and deal massive damage. This can also allow the player to quickly scout the opponent's deck if they happen to react to her fast enough.
* The Bandit's long dash range and fast dash initiation makes her effective at reactively punishing the opponent for overcommitting.
* The Bandit is an effective counter to the Prince and Dark Prince. She can dash towards them, dealing damage and absorbing the charge thanks to the invulnerability
	+ Miner can be used to force the bandit to walk, leaving the bandit user helpless.

## History

2017

* The Bandit was once available in the Bandit Draft Challenge which started on 17/3/2017. In this challenge, gameplay was similar to a regular Draft Challenge, except that one of the players was able to choose who would use the Bandit. If the player achieved 12 wins, they obtained the Bandit early.
* The Bandit card was generally released on 24/3/2017.
* On 12/6/2017, the June 2017 Update, decreased the time required for charging her dash to 0.8 seconds (from 1 second).
* On 13/6/2017, a maintenance break, increased the Bandit's hitpoints by 4%. This was supposed to happen the previous day in the mentioned balance changes, but it did not make it to the game. This got fixed.
* On 9/10/2017, the Epic Quests Update, fixed a bug where she dashed a shorter distance than she normally should have.

2018

* On 12/2/2018, a Balance Update, decreased her minimum dash range to 3.5 tiles (from 4 tiles).
* On 25/4/2018, the Clan Wars Update, made a small change to the Bandit's card description.
* On 5/9/2018, the September 2018 Update, changed it so that Template:Rarity cards start at Level 9 and end at Level 13 (from 1 to 5). It also made the Bandit immune to damage while dashing, instead of untargetable.

2019

* On 1/4/2019, a Balance Update, decreased the Bandit's hitpoints by 4%.
* On 26/11/2019, the End of November 2019 Update, added a card render to the Bandit's card info screen.

2021

* On 7/6/2021, the Summer 2021 Update, fixed a bug where the Bandit's dash would continue after the timer reaches zero. It also moved the Arena to unlock the Bandit from Jungle Arena to Rascal's Hideout.
* On 27/10/2021, the Champions Update, increased the Level cap of all cards to 14 (from 13).

2022

* On 30/3/2022, the Miner Update, fixed an issue where the Bandit would become untargetable before dashing. It also fixed an issue where the Bandit could be damaged at the end of her dash.
* On 15/12/2022, a maintenance break, fixed various damage inconsistencies with the damage of the Bandit's dash.

## Trivia

* The Bandit 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, Miner, Royal Ghost, Ice Wizard, Magic Archer, Lumberjack, Fisherman, and the Skeleton King.
* The Bandit is 1 of 22 troops that has been featured in the Troop Rush game mode, the others being Skeletons, Skeleton Dragons, Fire Spirit, Bats, Elite Barbarians, Firecracker, Rascal Girls, Royal Hogs, Heal Spirit, Elixir Golem, Guards, Prince, Balloon, Golem, Wall Breakers, Ram Rider, Sparky, Phoenix, Royal Ghost, Lumberjack, and the Monk.
* In the Japanese language setting of the game, the Bandit's personal name is revealed to be "*Juno*".
* The Bandit will whistle before dashing and often says “*Ha!*” when attacking.
* The Bandit is the subject of 3 Emotes.
* When 2 Bandits face each other, they will charge at each other, but neither side would be damaged by the other's dash. In a one-on-one duel between them, the Bandit that was placed second will survive, instead of both being defeated at the same time.
* A cloned Bandit does not fall from the sky when deployed.
* The 17/3/2017 Bandit Draft Challenge was originially going to reward players with 100 Gems after reaching 2 victories. However, this was changed to a Golden Chest last minute. It was also changed to have a free first entry fee instead of a 100 Gem entry free.