Introduction to the PEKKA Evolution

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Get ready to experience a new level of power in the Clash Royale arena with the Clash Royale PEKKA Evolution. As the 22nd card evolution introduced to the game, this highly anticipated upgrade brings a fresh dynamic to the battlefield. Players have eagerly awaited the evolved form of the iconic 7-elixir PEKKA, and now, with the announcement of its arrival, the excitement is palpable. The PEKKA Evolution will be available starting September 2, 2024, marking the beginning of a new Clash Royale season. It will be part of the Diamond Pass Royale, allowing players who purchase it to instantly access its upgraded power.

The evolved PEKKA will retain its original 7-elixir cost, making it an accessible yet formidable choice for players. Following a one-cycle evolution, players will need to deploy a regular PEKKA twice to unlock its evolved form, which enhances its effectiveness on the battlefield. This evolution addresses the regular PEKKA's vulnerability to low-elixir troops, giving it greater versatility and making it an even more dominant force in battles. Prepare for an exciting new chapter as the PEKKA Evolution takes its place among the most powerful units in Clash Royale.

Evolution Ability: Healing Blade

The evolved PEKKA's unique ability, known as Healing Blade, significantly enhances its survivability on the battlefield. This ability allows the PEKKA to heal itself after eliminating an enemy troop or building, but the healing effect is triggered only by a kill, not each individual attack. When the PEKKA successfully defeats an enemy, a butterfly will appear around its sword, signaling the healing process.

The healing effect restores a portion of the PEKKA's health with each kill, initially reported as 10% of its HP per kill, but later clarified to 12.5% of its core HP per kill. Some variations of the mechanic also involve a reworked healing system, where the amount of health restored depends on the hitpoints of the defeated enemy. In this version, defeating higher-HP units, like a Giant, results in a larger heal, while eliminating lower-HP units, like Goblins, provides a smaller heal. The healing can range from 3.5% to 15% of the Evo PEKKA's original hitpoints, depending on the strength of the defeated unit.

One of the standout features of the Healing Blade ability is its overhealing effect. The evolved PEKKA can restore health beyond its initial maximum hitpoints, becoming a more durable tank on the battlefield. However, this overhealing is capped at 50% extra HP, meaning the PEKKA can only achieve this maximum by eliminating at least four enemy troops, based on the 12.5% healing per kill.

It's important to remember that the healing only occurs when the evolved PEKKA delivers the final blow to an enemy. If another troop finishes off an enemy the PEKKA was attacking, it will not heal. Unlike other evolutions that heal with every attack, the PEKKA's healing is strictly tied to kills. This makes careful target prioritization essential when using the evolved PEKKA to ensure it maximizes its healing potential and stays resilient in combat.

Stats of the Evolved PEKKA

The Evolved PEKKA retains the same core stats as the regular PEKKA, ensuring that its offensive capabilities remain strong. These stats are:

Damage Per Second (DPS): 453

Hitpoints (HP): 3760 (at tournament standard level 11)

Hit Speed: 1.8 seconds

Elixir Cost: 7

However, the Evolved PEKKA introduces a notable enhancement with an additional stat: Healing Per Second (HPS) of 261. This healing rate allows the Evolved PEKKA to regenerate health at a significant pace, potentially outhealing the DPS of certain Tower Troops, such as the Tower Princess, Baby Goblins, and Cannoneer.

In addition to this, the Healing Blade ability enables the Evolved PEKKA to overheal, increasing its maximum health beyond the base value of 3760 HP. The overheal is capped at 50% extra HP, meaning it can reach up to 5640 HP after achieving maximum overheal. At tournament level, the Evolved PEKKA heals for 12.5% of its maximum health per kill, which equates to about 470 hit points per kill. To reach the maximum overheal potential, the Evolved PEKKA needs to secure at least four kills.

In summary, while the Evolved PEKKA maintains the same offensive power as its regular version, its Healing Blade ability and capacity for overhealing make it a significantly more resilient unit on the battlefield. This added survivability allows it to perform better in extended engagements and survive longer against tougher opponents.

How to Use the Evolved PEKKA

The Evolved PEKKA, with its impressive damage and healing abilities, is a formidable unit on both offense and defense. Maximizing its potential requires a well-thought-out strategy to leverage its strengths and counter its weaknesses.

Offensive Strategies:

The Evolved PEKKA excels in PEKKA bridge spam decks, where its healing ability after each kill allows it to become a powerful and persistent threat when played aggressively at the bridge. However, it's important to consider your opponent’s deck before playing it as a first play, as this could give them an Elixir advantage if they have strong counters ready. To maximize its effectiveness, pairing the Evolved PEKKA with support troops that can clear out swarms is essential.

Units like the Wizard, Witch, Electro Wizard, and Firecracker can clear smaller units that would otherwise overwhelm the PEKKA and prevent it from healing. Additionally, pairing the Evolved PEKKA with a tank like the Giant can create a solid push, with the tank absorbing damage while the PEKKA eliminates threats and heals.

Using Rage can enhance the Evolved PEKKA's counter-pushes, especially when there are sufficient support troops present. However, using Rage on a lone Evolved PEKKA is often a waste of Elixir, as it doesn’t address its vulnerabilities to swarms and kiting. Decks should also be built to take advantage of the PEKKA's healing, including units that bait out swarm counters or provide a steady flow of smaller troops for the PEKKA to eliminate and heal from. For example, the Goblin Curse spell can transform enemy units into Goblins, making them easier for the PEKKA to defeat and heal from.

The Evolved PEKKA's high damage and health also make it effective at breaking through layered defenses. Fast charging units like the Prince, Dark Prince, Battle Ram, Ram Rider, or Golden Knight can be used to push the PEKKA toward more valuable targets, ensuring it makes connections with key enemy units. A Mighty Miner can be deployed alongside the PEKKA to create dual-lane pressure. Additionally, double PEKKA pushes can be overwhelming for your opponent, especially with spell support like Zap. When your opponent’s Elixir is low, an aggressively placed Evolved PEKKA can be very difficult to stop, as it heals after each kill.

Defensive Strategies:

The Evolved PEKKA is an excellent defender due to its high health and damage, particularly against single-target tanks like the Giant or Golem. Strategic placement can allow the Evolved PEKKA to take down a charging tank while also building up its healing charge for a counter-push. It can survive longer and transition into a powerful attack once the initial threat is dealt with. However, be cautious of its vulnerability to swarms and air units on defense; having supporting cards to deal with these threats is important.

The Evolved PEKKA can shut down large ground pushes, gaining positive Elixir trade by healing as it destroys units within the push. It is also a hard counter to the Evolved Mega Knight, with its high DPS and ability to tank the Mega Knight's jump, healing slightly after securing the kill. When dealing with a Double Prince push, the Evolved PEKKA combined with cheap distraction troops like Bats can easily stop the push and still leave enough health for a counterattack.

Additionally, it is highly effective against a Hog Rider, Valkyrie, and Musketeer combo, as it can one-shot the Musketeer, absorb minimal damage from the Valkyrie, and handle the Hog Rider effectively. If facing a Hog Rider or Ram Rider, an Evolved PEKKA placed in front can completely stop them, even if it results in a negative Elixir trade, leaving the PEKKA at full health for a counterattack.

In general, when using the Evolved PEKKA, focus on eliminating groups of smaller units to maximize its healing potential. Be mindful of its counters, and always support it with the right cards to ensure it reaches its target or survives enemy pushes. The overheal mechanic makes the Evolved PEKKA a persistent threat that your opponent cannot ignore.

Countering the Evolved PEKKA

Despite its impressive damage and healing capabilities, the Evolved PEKKA has several key weaknesses that can be exploited to counter it effectively. Recognizing these vulnerabilities and employing the right strategies is crucial to preventing it from dominating your pushes and taking down your towers.

Key Weaknesses:

One of the primary weaknesses of the Evolved PEKKA is its vulnerability to swarm troops. While it heals after each kill, large swarms of low to medium health troops can still overwhelm it due to its relatively slow attack speed. Cards like Skeleton Army, Goblin Gang, and Minions can deal significant damage before the PEKKA has a chance to heal substantially. However, spells like Zap or Giant Snowball can clear out these swarms, so careful deployment is essential.

Another key weakness is the Evolved PEKKA's inability to target air units. High-DPS air troops like Minion Horde and the Inferno Dragon can quickly take down the PEKKA without receiving any damage in return. Even lower-cost air units like Bats can be effective counters.

The Evolved PEKKA is also highly susceptible to kiting due to its slow movement speed. Using fast, low-cost ground troops like the Ice Golem, Knight, or Valkyrie to pull the PEKKA away from its support or toward your towers can buy valuable time for your towers and other units to deal damage. The Ice Golem is particularly effective for kiting, as it can pull the PEKKA away for a low Elixir cost.

Another way to neutralize the Evolved PEKKA is by utilizing units with high single-target DPS that can survive at least one hit from it. Cards like Guards or Royal Recruits, which have shields, can withstand a hit from the PEKKA while your towers or other units deal damage. The Mighty Miner, with its high DPS and ability to reposition, can also keep the PEKKA busy and prevent it from healing effectively.

Lastly, defensive buildings, especially those with high damage output or the ability to retarget, can be effective against the Evolved PEKKA. The Inferno Tower is particularly effective as its damage increases over time, melting the PEKKA before it can reach the tower.

Specific Counter Cards and Strategies:

Cards like Evolved Skeletons, Inferno Dragon, and Inferno Tower are all great counters due to their escalating damage over time. Sparky can also fully counter the Evolved PEKKA if placed correctly, often without taking damage. However, be mindful of the PEKKA’s level, as a higher-level PEKKA may survive two Sparky blasts. Royal Recruits can surround and stop the PEKKA long enough for your towers to deal significant damage.

A mirrored PEKKA on your side of the arena can be a strong play, allowing you to win the interaction. Three Musketeers, with their high combined DPS, can easily annihilate the PEKKA before it reaches them. Long-ranged troops like the Musketeer or Evolved Archers, paired with a mini-tank like the Ice Golem or Knight, can effectively counter the PEKKA while preventing it from healing, as the tank distracts it.

Spell cards and distraction units can also play a key role. Freeze can stop the Evolved PEKKA in its tracks, preventing it from attacking and healing. Tornado can be used to pull the Evolved PEKKA away from its target or toward your defensive units and towers, giving you more control over the engagement.

Important Considerations:

When countering the Evolved PEKKA, avoid using small to medium-sized ground swarms without support, as this can allow it to heal back a significant portion of its health, potentially leading to a devastating counterattack. Timing and placement are crucial, so surrounding the PEKKA with swarm units maximizes the damage, while well-timed deployment of tanky units can halt its advance.

Be mindful of any supporting cards your opponent may have to protect the Evolved PEKKA, such as Arrows or an Electro Wizard, which can neutralize air counters. Additionally, with the reworked healing mechanic, where the heal amount depends on the defeated unit's HP, try to prevent the PEKKA from eliminating high-HP units, as this will lead to more significant healing.

By understanding the Evolved PEKKA's weaknesses and utilizing appropriate counters, you can effectively neutralize this powerful evolution and prevent it from steamrolling your defenses.

Deck

Here's a P.E.K.K.A Evolution deck built around the cards you’ve chosen, designed to maximize the power of the evolved P.E.K.K.A while also leveraging synergy between your other cards. This deck has a solid mix of offense, defense, and control to help you dominate on both sides of the battlefield.

P.E.K.K.A Evolution
The centerpiece of the deck, the Evolved P.E.K.K.A, brings both high damage and a healing ability that allows it to stay alive longer on the battlefield. It's an excellent tank and offensive powerhouse that can clear through almost any enemy troop.

Skeletons Evolution
A versatile and fast card, the Skeletons Evolution can be used for distracting enemy units or supporting your pushes. The Evolved Skeletons can also swarm and overwhelm enemies, and their ability to evolve can add extra damage and control in a pinch.

Inferno Dragon
The Inferno Dragon is your primary counter to high-health tanks like Golem and P.E.K.K.A itself. With its ramping damage over time, it can melt through heavy units while flying, staying out of the reach of ground-based troops. It pairs well with your deck's control and defensive strategy.

Fisherman
The Fisherman is a great utility card for both offense and defense. It can pull enemy tanks or high-value targets toward your towers or P.E.K.K.A Evolution to disrupt their positioning. Its ability to control the battlefield can help you protect your Evolved P.E.K.K.A while it heals and deals damage.

Freeze
Freeze is a game-changing spell that can stop enemy pushes in their tracks. Use it strategically to freeze enemy tanks or defensive troops while your Evolved P.E.K.K.A or other damage dealers finish them off. It can also buy time for your Inferno Dragon or Electro Wizard to eliminate key targets.

Electro Wizard
The Electro Wizard offers a versatile utility role, providing stuns that disrupt enemy pushes. It can be used to freeze enemy troops, slow down advancing units, and support your offensive plays. It’s also a good counter to swarms and can help deal with high-damage troops.

Log
Log is essential for clearing low-health troops like Goblins, Skeletons, and Princesses that can harass your Evolved P.E.K.K.A or other key units. It’s also great for pushing back and damaging enemy troops that might be trying to swarm your Evolved P.E.K.K.A or disrupt your push.

Rage
Rage can speed up your P.E.K.K.A Evolution and other troops, allowing them to deal damage faster. It's especially useful when paired with P.E.K.K.A or Inferno Dragon to overwhelm your opponent quickly. Use it to enhance your offensive pushes, giving your Evolved P.E.K.K.A and supporting troops a massive power boost.

This deck provides a good balance of offense, defense, and control. With careful Elixir management and strategic play, you can maximize the potential of the Evolved P.E.K.K.A and take down your opponents with overwhelming pushes.

Conclusion

The Evolved PEKKA is a powerful and strategic addition to the Clash Royale meta, offering a blend of high damage, substantial health, and a unique Healing Blade ability. This evolution maintains the high damage and hitpoints of the regular PEKKA but introduces a game-changing healing mechanic, allowing it to heal a percentage of its health after each kill and even overheal up to 50% of its maximum HP. This feature makes the Evolved PEKKA a resilient force that can sustain itself through battles and continually pose a threat to the opponent.

In conclusion, the Evolved PEKKA is a formidable and impactful evolution in Clash Royale. Its healing ability adds significant staying power, making it an excellent choice for both offense and defense, particularly in ground-based strategies. However, its weaknesses to swarms, air units, and kiting tactics still provide clear paths for counterplay. Mastering how to use and defend against the Evolved PEKKA will be essential for success in the current meta.