Digger

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> Digger
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> The Digger
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> ### Mana Cost
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> 3
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> ### Type
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> Troop
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> ### Release Date
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> 5 April 2023
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> ***"He can dig underground."***
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The Digger is a 3 Mana card. He is a single-target, melee troop with both moderate hitpoints and damage that can be placed anywhere in the Arena.

## Strategy

* Due to his ability to be placed anywhere in the Arena, the Digger can be used for surprise attacks on Crown Towers and troops.
* If the player deploys him in front of the Crown Tower, their supporting units are much easier to counter as splash units can easily splash the Digger and support troops, while incoming single target troops can easily be distracted by the troops that were used to defend against the Digger. An Explorer can also be placed in front of Crown Tower pushing the Digger 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 Digger and incoming support troops.
* Diggers can destroy enemy buildings such as spawners when they are not attacking or defending. A Mana Collector is also particularly vulnerable to Digger attacks, potentially allowing for large positive Mana trades.
	+ However, it is important to note that most players will attempt to protect any passive buildings placed in the back from Digger damage. Single units placed behind the Crown Tower can "catch" most Digger 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 Digger on reaction. Another strategy is to feign an attack on the building (i.e. aiming for the Crown Tower instead) in order to make the opponent waste Mana, which can allowing for spell value on their unit, the Crown Tower, and the building.
	+ The Skeleton Hut is the only passive building which is not recommended to be taken down with a Digger under any circumstance. The constant Skeleton spawns make it difficult for the Digger to connect to it, and its equal Mana cost and death spawn will deny all Digger damage even if the Digger does connect. In fact, a Skeleton Hut is typically only placed behind a Crown Tower specifically in anticipation for Digger attacks.
* The player can also support their pushes by deploying the Digger next to their troops. However, the Digger is best used to tank, diverting some damage from the main push.
* The Digger can be used to take early-placed opposing defenders by surprise. That way, Digger can tank for the player's main offense.
* The Digger can take out squishy but powerful troops such as the Bomber Girl or Gunner that are protected by a tank. Against a Bomber Girl that is attacking a Crown 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 Digger 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 Digger on the Crown Tower while using a spell on the troop can result in a larger positive Mana trade.
* Being a single-target troop, the Digger is very weak against a small swarm of troops, such as Skeletons, which distract the Digger and prevent him from attacking nearby buildings.
* Switching up the placement of the Digger unpredictably is highly recommended and prevents the opponent from efficiently addressing the Digger, allowing him to chip the Crown Tower constantly. Many players will start anticipating a Digger's position even after just one attack, so deploying him in the same spot twice is mostly ineffective. Another method to sneak in Digger damage is to deploy him nearby an enemy unit placed near the Crown Tower, but barely far enough so that he will not attack them. This is effective because many players will expect the Digger to be placed far away from all units so that his damage is maximized, but this ends up being predictable.
* Digger pairs well with the Poison as the Poison will defeat any swarms trying to counter the Digger while the Digger does constant chip damage to the Crown Tower. The Poison, too, will chip some damage off the Crown 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 Digger 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 Digger resurfaces. Otherwise, the opponent might have an idea of where you placed the Digger and react accordingly. Alternatively, you can place the Digger and the spell on different tiles to foul the enemy into thinking that the Digger is placed on the same tile.
* The Digger has an excellent synergy with the Skeleton Keg. The Skeleton Barrel initially tanks for the Digger, then the Digger 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 Horde.
* Pairing up the Digger and Super Ape is a great choice for a push. Against buildings, the Digger can be placed as a prediction on them, so that he takes all the damage, which will allow the Super Ape to destroy the building. However, it is vulnerable to air troops, such as Devils, and is also easily stopped by a member of the Footmen or Skeleton Horde. It is recommended to have a spell ready to support them.
* A Faun Barrel works well with the Digger. The Digger can soak up damage, while the Fauns deal damage, and vice versa. However, this combo is very vulnerable to spells. Deploying a Digger alongside the Barrel may simply allow the opponent to damage the Digger for "free". Another way to use this combo is to deploy the Faun Barrel on one Crown Tower and the Digger on the other. This is especially effective if the Digger is tanking for both Crown Towers, which can allow the Fauns to sneak damage in if they are not one-shot by a spell.
* The Digger also works very well with the Cemetery. The Digger will tank the damage from the Crown Tower or counters while the Skeletons continuously spawn, allowing them to potentially deal heavy damage to the Crown Tower. A Devil Horde or Poison can counter this combo for an Mana advantage, however.
* An Ice Tiny is useful as a cheap support unit when defending against the Digger. An Ice Tiny deployed behind the defending Crown Tower will, at most, only allow one Digger hit to get through before it freezes him. This gives the defender time to deploy units and force the Digger to retarget onto them.

## History

2023

* The Digger card was released with Boom Arena's game launch on 4/5/2023.
* The Digger's Crown Tower Damage was reduced from 202 to 51 on 6/27/2023.

## Trivia

* He's the Boom Arena equivalent to the Miner. His hitpoints, damage, damage per second and Crown Tower damage are between level 11 and level 12 of the equivalent.
* The Digger is the first card to ever receive a nerf.
* He's one of the few troops to deal a different value of damage to Crown Towers.