Top Counters to Champion Miner Control (7,000–8,000)

Champion Miner Control is frustrating at 7,000–8,000 trophies because it wins by a thousand cuts: Miner chip, Poison value, Phoenix pressure, and Skeleton King punishes every swarm you play. If you don’t have a clear plan, you’ll “defend fine” and still lose by 300 damage. This guide gives you the most reliable counters to Champion Miner Control and exactly what to do in-game.

Beat Champion Miner Control by denying Miner value (not by catching every Miner)

Miner is going to connect sometimes. Your goal is to make every Miner + Poison cycle a bad trade.

Use buildings that don’t feed Skeleton King

The biggest mistake is overcommitting swarms that charge Skeleton King.

Best building choices into Champion Miner Control:

Bomb Tower: Clears Phoenix support lines and protects vs Miner + small units without giving big Skeleton King value.
Inferno Tower: Forces Phoenix to commit and makes Miner tanking awkward.
Cannon: Cheap, but only if your deck can kill Phoenix reliably (Archers/Musketeer).

Placement tip vs Miner:

If Miner is going on your Bomb Tower/Cannon, place the building 3–4 tiles from the river centered; you force awkward Miner angles and reduce Poison hitting tower + building.

Action item: Put a building in your deck that survives Poison value trades (Bomb Tower/Inferno) and practice standard placements in friendlies.

Counter Skeleton King + Phoenix without feeding ability

Skeleton King wins games when you “defend with swarm,” then he pops ability and you lose your tower to a graveyard of souls.

High-value answers (with numbers)

Valkyrie / Dark Prince: 1 card answers most ground support and doesn’t overfeed souls.
Executioner + Tornado: Pull Phoenix + support together; you often get 400–800 extra value if they Poison late.
Archer Queen: If protected, she deletes Phoenix quickly and forces them to spend Poison defensively.

What not to do

Don’t play Skeleton Army/Goblin Gang into a ready Skeleton King unless you’re forcing an immediate tower trade.
Don’t stack 3+ units behind your tower when you expect Poison; that’s how Miner + Poison gets 700–1200 damage over time.

Action item: Swap at least one “swarm-only” defense card for a medium-body splash unit (Valkyrie/Dark Prince/Exectioner).

Punish Miner Control with decks that outpace Poison cycles

The cleanest way to counter Champion Miner Control is to run a win condition that punishes their low-commitment style.

Royal Hogs EQ is a top counter to Champion Miner Control

Royal Hogs + Earthquake forces them to defend wide, and EQ deletes Bomb Tower-type defenses while you keep pressure.

How to play the matchup:

Split Royal Hogs 2-2 at the bridge when they spend Miner in the back or use Poison offensively.
EQ their building + tower only when you also force a response (Hogs on tower). Don’t “naked EQ.”
Keep a medium spell (Log/Barb Barrel) for their Phoenix support and to stop Skeleton King from farming small units.

Action item: If you’re struggling in this trophy band, test Royal Hogs EQ for 20 ladder games and track how often you force Poison on defense.

Use siege to make Miner chip irrelevant (if you can defend Phoenix)

Siege works because Miner Control wants long games. If you lock early, they’re the ones forced into bad spells.

Best siege options into Champion Miner Control

X-Bow with Tesla: Tesla discourages Phoenix dives and gives you a strong anchor vs Miner.
Mortar control: Mortar often gets chip while you play cheap answers to Miner.

Matchup rules:

Don’t stack support troops behind X-Bow/Mortar; Poison is their best comeback tool.
If Skeleton King is in cycle, keep your defending units “single-card” (Knight/Valkyrie) instead of swarms.

Action item: In siege, set a rule: you only play 1 support troop with your win condition unless you’ve already baited Poison.

What to do next (quick action steps)

Add one building that stays useful under Poison (Bomb Tower or Inferno Tower).
Replace at least one swarm with a medium-body splash answer (Valkyrie/Dark Prince/Executioner).
Choose a proactive counter deck path:
- Royal Hogs EQ to outpace
- Siege (X-Bow/Mortar) to force responses
In matches vs Champion Miner Control, track these two mistakes:
- Did Poison hit tower + 2 targets?
- Did Skeleton King gain a big soul stack from your defense?

Closing: keep your counters consistent, not flashy

Champion Miner Control is beatable in the 7,000–8,000 range when your deck denies Poison value and your defenses don’t feed Skeleton King. If you want to climb, build around consistent answers, then punish every time they overspend on Miner + Poison.