The Bowler is a 6 housing space, ground based Dark Elixer troop available in TH10. It is the last troop available in the Dark Elixir Barracks as of June 2016. Ever since The Bowlers introduction there had been concerns about this troops overall capabilities… it was said to be too slow and too soft, while its attack was moderate and not an overpowering attack like the Wizard or Valkyrie. So.. Supercell Buffed the Bowler to the troop we have today. After a few months of use players started to figure out Big Blue and once they did.. Look out!

       The Bowler throws a large rock with three holes in it, resembling a primitive bowling ball. These boulders take a bounce thus having two points of contact with the ground and scoring damage on both hits. This unique attack has proven to be exceptionally effective if the player carefully plans the pathing of the Bowlers. The funnel of the Bowlers into the core of the base is more vital with this particular troop than most. If they separate their softer side comes out and will quickly fall to enemy turrets, but in numbers these bulky blue bullies can easily overpower Inferno Towers and the mighty Eagle Artillery.

       Using the Bowlers on offense takes a lot of practice

and the fact is that they are expensive troop to learn

how to use. Many players give

up on them before they ever really learn their true

potential. At 170 Dark Elixir per unit for maxed Bowlers,

and the average successful attack need at least 12-15

Bowlers to maximize their capabilities, players are looking

at spending 2000 DE or more just on them, not including

the use of Golems, which are also popular troops used to

shelter the Bowlers from the brunt of the defenses. This

being said finding the right bases to invade may also

become a taxing affair. Nexting to the right base is a must

when using Bowlers if you intend on turning a Dark Elixer

profit for your troubles. Their attack strategy is a common

one. Start the attack with tanking troops, use Wall

Breakers or a Jump Spell to breach the outer walls and use

Wizards, Baby Dragon or even Valkyries to clear out the outer trash buildings to start your funnel. Advanced players often star the Bowler attack with the infamous Archer Queen Walk to achieve the same results. Once the base has been breached and the troops have nowhere to go but into the walls deploy the Bowlers with their favorite companion troop the Healer, close behind them. (Most players use 3-4 Healers) As the Bowlers enter the base direct them in the direction that you need them to go by using more spells like the Jump or Earthquake spell and finally one last spell or two to top off the raid, use the Rage Spell to boost the Bowlers power and speed and if your attacking a TH10-11 that's protecting the core with Inferno Towers and/ or the Eagle Artillery a well placed Freeze Spell is just what the Bowlers need to succeed. As you can tell this is a high end, expensive, all in attack. That’s what a Bowler attack is all about, your going to throw everything you have at them! Its this mentality that has moved the Bowler out of the land of obscurity and into the "too powerful to defend against" talks. Give the Bowler a chance and they will pay off.

     There has been mixed reviews using Bowlers in the Defensive Clan Castle. They are slower than lots of troops, they do not attack air troops and their Hit Points do not allow them to hold up well against heavy hitters like the Valkyrie or Wizard BUT remember this.. they deal splash damage, on both strikes, This can prove to be very effective if things happen to go your way during an attack. For example if the attacking troops come in waves and the 1st wave of troops are the defense only troops, they will not fight back against the Bowler AND on several occasions we have seen the 2nd bounce come off of the Golems and land directly on top of the 2nd wave of troops which eliminated them before they ever got a chance to get close enough to Big Blue to take the

1st shot at him. Mixing a couple of Bowlers in with

a Witch or Baby Dragon may allow the Bowlers to

get the spacing they need to really dig in well out

of most troops range and land several crushing

blows before the attacking troops readjust and

prioritize them as a target. One last small point

to make is that whenever you have a long range

troop like the Bowler (we have watched the 2nd

strike hit targets 9 tiles away on the 2nd bounce

and some swear they have seen it hit 10) once the

offensive troop locks onto their position and the

attacking troop commits to engage the Bowler,

they must travel a significant distance without firing a single shot or taking a single swing all the while accruing damage from the defenses. Don't overlook the small details like this one because SuperCell does not EVER overlook them! We have all noticed that some of the greatest assets of a troop are the interactions and attractions they have with the other troops and defenses in between shots and strikes.

       Upgrading the Bowler will take an in-game 2nd mortgage of your base. They are that expensive! At 200,000 Dark Elixir for the maxed Bowler upgrade they share the top of the charts only with the Level 40 Archer Queen. Expect too see a Level 4 Bowler with an even higher price tag as soon as the next Town Hall Level comes out and the Storages get their next upgrade. I've always said that troops that bear that super expensive cost, do so because they are… worth it!

​

       The Bowler is part of 2 of the most lethal combo attacks in the game at TH10. The Bowler Walk (Bowler and 3-4 Healers) is used in tandem with the Queen Walk to wipe the outer portions of the base. Like the Archer Queen, the Bowler has such long range that Big Blue can keep the Healers alive on most occasions. Only bases that have Air Defenses placed in the exact kill zone for the Healers (8 tiles from the outer wall.. or 9- I should know this!) will be able to take down the Healers after the Bowlers pass by them, much like they can do to the Healers on the Queen Walks in similar situations. This strategy can also be used at TH9 if you use the Bowlers out of the Clan Castle. The 2nd combo is the Bowler/ Witch combo, yes the BItch has proven to be one of the strongest ground attacks as of the Spring Update 2017. This update offered the Witch a small buff that made her that much better in this attack. During this attack a mixture of Bowlers and Witches combine their strength, the Bowlers long ranged and stout attacks with the Witches countless reinforcement Skeletons. Advanced players are using 2-3 Witches with 2-3 Bowlers in two adjacent corners of the base and while those two groups clean out the outer walls the main body consisting mostly Bowlers and a few more Witches drive up the center of the base with a few tanking troops and the Heroes. 

       Overall the Bowler is a streamlined offensive superpower that takes loads of practice to master, even more Dark Elixir to upgrade and even carries a heavy toll every time you want to train one. What do you get for all of that cost? TONS of VALUE. Bowlers carry an auto-two star rating in my book, meaning that if you understand the Bowler, use them enough to effectively predict their pathing you should be able to 2 star just about any base with them. TH11s should be able to 2 star any other TH11 with the Bowler and TH10 should be able to 2 star any 10 with them. Keep in mind that they are a TH10 troop so TH9 has no real defense for them. Donate 5-6 Bowlers to your clan mates and help them with their army and spell composition and you will have them hooked too.. Which will cause them to ask you for your super expensive Bowler on each and every raid they do from now on… that doesn't sound as good as I though it would…