Over the past decade, mobile video games have become increasingly more popular in our society. Many MVHS students play mobile video games every day. Currently in MVHS, one of the most popular mobile games to play is Supercell’s Clash Royale. Clash Royale is a free-to-play real-time strategy video game that combines elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena. Supercell released Clash Royale to the public on March 2, 2016. While there are many MVHS students who play Clash Royale, not many can match the skill of senior Anoop Boyal.

Boyal started his Clash Royale journey in seventh grade on the day it was released. He was 12 years old at the time and didn’t realize how much this game would end up meaning to him. The game itself is simple. Battle players in games featuring two or four players (1v1 or 2v2) where the objective is to destroy the most opposing towers. Players battle each other with their own unique decks of cards that they create. More and more cards are unlocked as players progress through the game with a total of 103 possible cards to use. 

Each card has its own strengths and weaknesses which is something Boyal likes about Clash Royale. “I really like how every card in the game can be good if you use it correctly,” said Boyal. “It’s all about strategy and there’s really no such thing as a bad card.” When asked if he has a favorite card, Boyal said, “I don’t have a favorite, I just hate electro giant.”

A player’s deck can often make or break a game which is why it is so important to make a strong deck. Certain cards work better with others and the goal isn’t necessarily to use the strongest cards, but rather to use the cards that work together the best. Boyal’s deck consists of skeletons, log, dart goblin, valkyrie, goblin hut, prince, goblin barrel, and poison. “Finding the right deck can be hard as a new player,” said Boyal. “When I first started it took some time to put together this deck. It’s not really the easiest thing but once you make one and get a feel for how to use it properly, it’s hard to be beaten. I use this specific deck because it’s very versatile and can be hard to defend. Sometimes it can be hard to counter balloon, e-barbs, and electro giant but it’s still a good deck.” 

The attacking strategy a player opts to use will also affect the deck. Boyal attacks with a combination of a goblin barrel cycle and a prince with valkyrie. Sometimes different players are also naturally better at using some cards than others which can determine a players deck tremendously. For example, Boyal is very strong with prince, “I’ve used prince for a long time so I’m very experienced with it,” said Boyal. 

Experience is also an important factor to the game. Boyal has been playing Clash Royale for over five years now. This gives him an advantage as there aren’t many other players that have been playing for that long. With this much experience under his belt, not many opponents stand a chance. 

While Boyal is an extremely skilled player, there are some MVHS students that are able to withstand his might. For example, senior Vance Arnold said, “He’s a difficult opponent, definitely better than the average player but nothing I can’t handle.” Arnold is now retired from Clash Royale and has focused his efforts on Brawl Stars, another popular mobile game by Supercell.

Another very skilled player, senior Grady Wheeler, has been one of Boyal’s top opponents since the beginning. “He’s a very competitive player with high level cards,” said Wheeler. “He definitely doesn’t lack experience either since he’s been playing since day one. Gotta respect the hours and work he’s put into the game, its made him a strong player.” Boyal plays about an hour of Clash Royale every day. Take someone who’s been doing that for more than five years now and you’ve got a dominant player.

Trophies are also an important factor of the gameplay. Players earn trophies for every battle they win. If a player loses a battle, trophies are taken away. Boyal’s highest ever trophy count is 5742 which isn’t particularly amazing by any means but still strong. The number of trophies however, doesn’t necessarily define how skilled a player is. Players sometimes take breaks from the game and in that time the game will lower their trophies and place them in a new league. While trophies are an important aspect to the game, they do not represent skill in Clash Royale.

On March 2, 2016, Supercell released the mobile video game Clash Royale to the public. Since that day, Boyal has been a formidable opponent. What started out as a fun game to play with friends has now become something Boyal is known for. No matter what grade or clan, there is one name that all MVHS students fear, Krazy king.