Champion Strike Impressions: A Clash Royale of Champions

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s an old saying that fits like a glove in Champion Strike, a new game that draws inspiration from hits such as Clash Royale and Minion Masters. However, it adds an interesting mix to its core mechanics that makes all the difference: a player-controlled champion. We were sponsored to review the game and tell you about it, but if you want to download while you listen, hit the link in the video description.

Champion Strike is the kind of addictive game that gets your blood boiling. You have your champion and unlock dozens of cards to summon units and magic spells. Its bite-sized strategy matches are great for short sessions, but your performance in the long run will make or break your rank.

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If you plan on playing Champion Strike via a PC emulator such as Bluestacks or Nox – it works flawlessly, as you can see –, it’s recommended that you set up keyboard shortcuts. This will make the selection of cards from the deck a much smoother process, shaving those precious milliseconds that can make all the difference in this kind of game.

You can pick from a few champions with different abilities, but your selection is down to a pair during your first matches: Ariel, the bow and arrow-wielding techno fairy, and Leon, the hard-hitting knight. Later, you’ll also get Hecton, the tough-as-nails steampunk terminator. Killing the rival champion will earn you one point and remove him from the game for a few precious seconds.

Leon has the most hit points of the trio, but his damage per second rate is low. Ariel, on the other hand, has the largest deploy zone, something that can’t be neglected, and her damage per second rate is the best of the champions, along with her range. Finally, Hecton easily delivers the most damaging shots, but his hit speed is extremely low, so make sure to time his strikes right.

While the champions move somewhat slowly, it adds a layer of strategy that is lacking from Clash Royale and similar games. You can use your champion to defend the towers without spending precious mana, so effectively consider when you should attack, and when you must stay behind and resist the rival’s offense.

Controlling your champion is crucial, but when you are busy choosing cards and planning your strategy, your champion takes the initiative to target the priority enemies first. As you move the champion to your rival’s playfield, your deploy area increases, allowing you to summon cards closer to the enemy’s champion or towers. Destroying the two enemy towers will net you a win, but you can’t neglect the precious points that you score by eliminating the champion.

The layout of the map is a classic design by this point. The arena is divided into two areas, each one with two towers. It’s up to you to create a deck and send your units to attack the enemy towers. Offense is the best defense in this type of games. There are over 50 unique cards to choose from, and all of them can be upgraded to become stronger.

Champion Strike is an extremely tactical game, with each card having its own strengths and weaknesses. As an example, the gremlin troops may seem weak at first, but they represent sheer strength in numbers and become very useful when it comes to taking down stronger but single-minded units such as the Goliath. Magic cards such as the meteor strike may be essential to deal the death blow, so there is an intricate balance to the decks. Learning the ins-and-outs of the cards is crucial to win the matches and climb the ranks.

And ranks you will climb, with rewards coming in regular intervals. The medals that you earn will get you many rewards, unlock different arenas, and you also have achievements and daily missions providing you with other useful boosts.

Matchmaking in Champion Strike seems fairly balanced for a game that was just released. I never had any issue finding a match, as it boasts a very healthy player base. Although it’s not uncommon for you to face players with slighty different tower or hero health, this never felt like a problem. I’ve won matches against theoretically better opponents, while having also lost some to rivals who supposedly had inferior cards. This is testament to the impact that player skill and deck knowledge makes in each match.

Clans are an interesting addition to Champion Strike. By joining a clan, you can contribute to its overall rank, request cards from your teammates or support them by donating some of your cards. You can also copy other player’s decks if you want to try different strategies.

Champion Strike looks pretty good for a game where most of the units must be incredibly tiny in order to fit in the small playing field. However, the units have some distinctive traits and animations that make them easy to spot in the middle of the heated battles, and there are seven different arenas to unlock as you make your way up to Master League.

It’s too early to tell if Champion Strike will be a huge success, but the core mechanics are in place and the player base seems large enough to keep the game thriving for a while. There is definitely a competitive edge to it, so if you like games such as Clash Royale but with a controllable hero twist, we recommend you download the game using the link in the description and try it out.