Pairing the massive hitpoints of the Lava Hound with the devastating burst damage of the Balloon creates an aerial synergy that has dominated the competitive meta for years.

However, playing LavaLoon effectively requires an incredibly specific mindset; you are abandoning the ground war entirely, which leaves your towers highly vulnerable to fast rushes.

Building the Armada

As the Hound approaches the river, you drop the Balloon directly behind it, slightly closer to the outer edge of the map.

While the Hound slowly dies, the Balloon reaches the tower completely untouched and drops a bomb that instantly erases half the tower's health.

• Placement is everything.
• Never play the Lava Hound if you are down on elixir in the first two minutes.
• The single biggest counter to LavaLoon is the Minion Horde; Arrows will instantly clear the sky for your Balloon.

Surviving the Counter-Attack

Because your deck is filled with expensive, flying units, you have very few cheap, sturdy ground troops to stop an incoming Elite Barbarian or Battle Ram rush.

You must become incredibly comfortable with your Princess towers taking damage; if your tower is at 1000 health, you must remain calm and focus on building your final, unstoppable air push in double elixir.

Ruling the Skies

When you perfectly execute the combo and watch the opponent's anti-air defenses completely fail, you will understand the true power of the archetype.

Take to the skies, weather the ground assault, and drop the bombs.