Death Elevator

International Clan * Active Adults * Clan Games * War Leagues * Max Troops

Leadership

Queen VonRewl - Level 202

Baron Wasteland - Level 192

SofaKingAwesome - Level 187

Drumplestiltski - Level 154

The Beast - Level 139

Elder & Co-Leader

Elder is given out regularly to members who remain in the clan for at least 3 weeks, donate at least 300 spaces worth of troops, and are consistently active. Co-leader is rarely given, but players who remain in the clan for at least 3 months, donate 2,000+ troops per season, and display leadership abilities will be considered. 

Donating

Donate what is requested, and try to keep donation ratios reasonable - around 1 donation for every 3 troops requested, at a minimum. Donating the wrong troops and requesting a lot without donating will get you a warning, and may get you kicked out if it keeps happening. 

Requesting

If you want your request filled as quickly as possible, give people options. Higher level players in our clan usually keep PEKKA, wizards, bowlers, giants and golems ready to donate. Here are some frequent requests: 

Ground: Any ground troop EXCEPT goblins or wallbreakers. PEKKA, valkyries, miners, bowlers, witches, or a combination of giants and wizards are generally preferred. 

Defense: Dragons, balloons and witches make the best defense troops. Lava hounds, golems, minions, archers and wizards and valkyries (when in combination with other troops) are good too. Also use these for filling war castles. 

For War: When requesting for war, be specific and use "for war" or "high level/max troops" as part of your request so other players know to let players with high level troops fill your castle. If you are not requesting for war, you should not be too particular about the troop level. 

Clan Wars

Clan war search 2x per week - Thursday & Saturday ~10pm EST. Use both attacks. Lower level players try to attack early. Pick reasonable opponents you have a chance to 3 star. Always make sure you have a full army with heroes and Clan Castle troops before each battle. If you miss attacks, you may be left out of wars. If you don't know what base to attack or what army to use, or if you are not in war but would like to be, ask. 

Have Fun & Clash On 

If you aren't the greatest attacker, don't worry. We all screw up sometimes, and mastering different strategies takes time. We are more interested in having players who are active donators and clan games participants, and who are willing to learn and take advice to get better at war attacks. 

There are plenty of videos on YouTube that can help you master the best strategies for each town hall level. And there is advice in this blog, or you can ask for help in clan chat. 

Here is a quick reference of strategies we recommend: 

Town Hall 7

Dragons: All dragons spread out along one side of the base. Drop 1 dragon at each end first, wait a couple seconds, spread the rest in between. If you have level 5 lightning, 2 lightning spells can be used to take out the further air defense before the attack. Otherwise use 3 rage. Advanced players may also substitute 4-12 hogs or balloons for 1-3 dragons to strategically target air defenses more quickly. 

Hogs: The key to this attack is to lure and kill the enemy clan castle and barbarian king if possible before releasing your hogs. Try 30 hogs, 8 wizards, 18 archers, 3 heal spell. Try to save 2 wizards and a few archers for cleanup at the end. Release hogs in groups of 7-8 along one side, targeting 4 separate defenses to start. Use heal spells on hogs as a giant bomb appears, or around wizard towers. 

Town Hall 8 

The dragon and hog strategies above are good strategies for Town Hall 8 as well. Other strategies include: 

Golem/Wizard/Pekka: 1golem/3pekka or 2golem/2pekka + 12-16 wizard, 6-8 wallbreaker, 10-16 archer, 2 rage, 1 heal, pekka in clan castle. Drop 2 golems spread about 12 spaces apart along one side, or 1 golem in the middle and 1 pekka on either side. Then drop a row of wizards behind. Concentrate more wizards where the enemy clan castle comes out, and use poison. Use wallbreakers to create 1-2 openings in the base. Use heal to keep wizards alive and rage to speed up Pekkas through the middle. 

Golem/Wizard/Valkyrie: The keys to this attack are 1) make sure and dragons or balloons from the enemy clan castle are dead before releasing your main valkyrie force and 2) clear outside buildings on the side you are attacking to create a funnel so valkyries go toward the middle of the base. If luring the clan castle, you may opt for a 1 golem attack. Otherwise, 2 golem, 12 wizard, 9 valkyrie + 3 valkyrie in your clan castle, 8 archer and 6 wallbreaker. This will make it easier to create a funnel. Use 2 heal at minimum with 1 jump or rage, or 3 heal (valkyries prefer heal, they are so fast that they don't stay inside a rage spell very long). Poison is helpful for enemy clan castle, and quake will make it easier to get through walls on the back side of the base.

If You Have Trouble Funneling: The biggest key to many ground attacks is getting your troops to go into the middle of the base instead of around the outside. A single archer can often pick off outer buildings at the corners while staying outside the range of defense. 2 golems spread about 12 spaces apart or a row of 8+ giants can distract defenses long enough for a row of wizards to get rid of outside buildings. Groups of 2-3 wallbreakers can help get through the first 1-2 layers of wall, but you have to avoid wizard towers and mortars.

If you are having trouble mastering wallbreakers or funneling troops, a jump spell or 4 earthquake are an easy way to help direct your troops toward the middle. Too many players underestimate the value of using jump or earthquake, but giving up a rage or heal can often be worth it to make sure your troops go toward the center of the base, or to help troops get through the back side of the base on bases with higher level walls.

Town Hall 9

Town Hall 8 strategies can work at Town Hall 9. More to come soon. 

Top TH8 War Strategies

1. MASS HOGS

Strategies involving level 4 hogs (either mass hogs or goho) are the most effective and consistent way to 3 STAR enemy bases at TH8. Even level 3 hogs are a solid option for 3 STARRING mid to high TH8 opponents.

Basic Army Composition

~30 hogs + 5 in Clan Castle (CC)
6-10 Wizards
10-25 Archers (and sometimes some barbarians
3 Heal
1 Skeleton Spell in CC

Base Selection

Bases that are highly compartmentalized with an easy to lure CC and Barb King off to one side are ideal. Avoid bases with lots of space inside the walls to hide double giant bombs (DGBs - two giant bombs right next to each other.

Attack Strategy Overview

1. You must lure the enemy CC and kill it before the start of the attack. Use 1-2 hogs to lure, making sure all troops come out. Lure to a corner using archers or barbs, and kill with archers, 2-3 wizards, and possibly a poison spell.

2. If enemy Barb King is easy to engage, take him out next. 2 giants will lure him out, followed by 2-4 wizards and usually your Barb King.

3. Place hogs in 2-4 groups of 6 or more, targeting cannons, archer towers, and teslas first, then wizard towers.  Start on opposite side from Barb King if still alive.

4. Follow hogs and heal whenever a giant bomb appears, or if too many hogs are dying, especially when being targeted by a wizard tower.

5. Use poison and skeleton on enemy skeletons and/or Barb King.

6. Save at least 3 wizards and a few archers for cleanup. Spread as needed on side where hogs started and elsewhere.


2. GOHO

GOHO stands for Golem/Hog, and is used when the enemy bases has one or more areas inside it that could be hiding DGBs, when the enemy CC is hard to lure, and/or when the Barb King is in the core of the base.

Basic Army Composition 

2 Golem
17 Hogs
9-10 Wizards
2 Wallbreakers
2 Heal
3 Earthquake + 1 in CC
2 Witches in CC, or sometimes 5 Hogs.

Base Selection

Good for bases with a large central area with a couple obvious DGB spots and smaller compartments around the outside.

Attack Strategy Overview

1. Select an a place to go in that will trigger the CC and engage the Barb King as quickly as possible. Pick an area to drop your quakes that will allow for the deepest penetration by your golems possible, and cause golems or Barb King to trigger possible giant bomb spots. If chosen point of entry is far from CC, you may want to lure CC first.

2. Drop all 4 quakes in the same spot. You do not have to break the outermost wall, but you want to break the 2nd layer. If you break the outermost wall you do not need to bring any wallbreakers.

3. Drop your golems about 10 spaces apart with a row of 5-6 wizards behind. Wizards should take out at least 3-4 outer buildings.

4. Drop wallbreakers in the center of the attaack, avoiding mortar fire.

5. Drop witches, Barb King, and all but 1-2 remaining wizards behind wallbreakers so they go in to the base.

6. Wait until enemy Barb King and CC is engaged. Drop hogs in 2-3 groups on one side of where your other troops went in, relieving some of the fire they are taking.

7. Heal hogs and other troops together with first heal if possible. Use second heal when needed.

8. Place last 1-2 wizards for cleanup or to help take out final defense that is being distracted by golem or hogs.


3. DRAGONS

Mass Dragons are the first 3 STAR war army you should work on upgrading at TH8 since they can be maxed more quickly than most other war armies. Your CC and Dragons should be upgraded first, followed by lightning spell, earthquake unlock, and rage.

Basic Army Composition

10 Dragons
2 Lightning + 1 Earthquake
1 Rage
5 Balloons + Haste in CC

Base Selection

Bases with air defenses closer to the outside are better for dragons. Those with air defenses closer to the core, especially if they have empty space between core air defenses and outer buildings designed to force dragons around the perimeter, are considered anti-dragon and should be avoided.

Attack Strategy Overview

1. Consider the location and level of air defenses and location and direction of the sweeper when deciding where to go in. Choose an area where you can take out 2 ADs with your troops as quickly as possible.

2. Use 2 lightning + 1 quake to take out the AD you will not be targeting with dragons, or 3 lightning if using level 4 lightning against level 6 AD (against level 5 AD 2 lightning 1 quake works, but it must be a level 4+ quake in your CC.

3. Place 1-2 dragons on each side of where you intended to deploy your main force, about 5 buildings apart. Place them so they turn inward after destroying their first building. This creates a funnel that will make your dragons go toward the center of the base instead of around the outside.

4. Deploy the rest of your dragons between the out dragons.

5. Rage the largest group of dragons once they start getting shot at by an AD in order to take out the AD and enemy CC as quickly as possible.

6. Use loons and haste to target AD that you are not targeting the bulk of your dragons and rage.

7. Use your Barb King to take out outer buildings on one side when your dragons start to stray so they head back toward the center of the base.


4. GoWiPe, GoWiWi, GoVaWi

These Golem/Wizard attacks feature either PEKKAs, Valks, or Witches, and are solid strategies once you learn them, but are somewhat less consistent 3 STAR strategies than well executed hog or dragon attacks.

Basic Army Compositions: 

GoWiPe
2 Golem + 2 Pekka (or in some cases 1+3)
14-18 Wizards
4-8 Wallbreakers
CC Pekka, Witches, Bowlers or possibly Hogs
Usually 2 Rage 1 Heal, sometimes 1 Rage 1 Heal 4 Quake

GoVaWi
2 Golem
10-11 Valks
9-10 Wizards
2 Wallbreakers
2 Heal
4 Quake
CC Witches, Valks, or Hogs, or Bowlers

GoWiWi
3 Golem
18-22 Wizards
4-6 Wallbreakers
2 Heal 4 Quake
CC Witches

Base Selection

Bases with lots of defenses on the outer perimeter are particularly good for GoVaWi, using witches in the CC. GoWiPe is good for bases that you can rage through a tightly packed core and reach most of the defenses from the core.

Attack Strategy Overview

1. All these strategies work fairly similar to GoHo, with golems first to distract, wizards to create a funnel, wallbreakers to make an entrance or two, and then your main attack force.

2. With Valks in particular, wait until the enemy CC has been killed to deploy, especially if the enemy CC contains dragons, minions, or balloons.

3. Save 2-3 wizards and possibly a few barbs or archers for later in the attack when reinforcements are needed to finish the last couple defenses or clean up remaining buildings.

Notes for TH9s

Our last war was one of the best we've had in a while. Attacks were solid all around, but the TH9s in particular did a really good job. We had 4 different players 3 star with 4 different kinds of attacks, and were just 2 stars short of a perfect war.

It has been encouraging to see more players expanding the types of attacks they use and trying armies like GoHo, GoVaLo, GoVaWiWi, and GoLaLoon. Three starring bases on your level becomes increasingly difficult at TH9, but it is definitely still possible if you plan and execute well, and these are the sorts of armies that can get the job done.

That said, there's still some room for improvement, so here are a couple pieces of advice:


1. Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

This goes for everyone, really. It can be tempting to go after the tough bases, whether for the bonus or just to see if you can take them on, but remember war is a team effort, and in order to maximize our chances of winning, part of our strategy is to try to 3 star as many bases as we can on the first try while still attacking on the same TH level. This means that on the first attack especially, it usually pays to go a little lower than your opposite. If you're #4, for example, you should probably be looking at 5-8, depending on the clan makeup.

2. You Need to Plan EVERY Aspect of the Attack

Throwing down your entire army, trying to create a funnel, and then placing spells and timing hero ability for maximum impact isn't generally enough to 3 star most TH9s unless the base is rushed, the layout is really bad, or you happen to get lucky. Planning for the CC and Queen is important for most attacks, as is understanding how defense-targeting troops are going to move through the base, and planning accordingly. For GoHo, it's important to plan for possible giant bomb and double giant bomb spots, and try to deal with the King as well. For ground attacks, you can't just plan to get to the core; you need a plan to keep your main force alive long enough to make it out the far side of the core, which often involves troops skirting one side and taking out outer defenses, or a reserve force (usually hogs or loons) to take out remaining defenses.

3. GoWiPe and GoWiWi Aren't Enough By Themselves

While we're starting to see more variety and better strategies from our TH9s, we've still got a number of players that haven't moved past GoWiPe or GoWiWi.  PEKKAs in particular get fried far too easily by level 6 and 7 teslas to be effective in 3 star strategies, and while witches are definitely an upgrade from PEKKAs, GoWiWi attacks still typically need a reserve force of hogs or loons to have a shot at 3 stars.

TH8 Upgrade Guide - Top 10 Priorities

TH8 is where the game really starts to get challenging, and prioritizing your upgrades becomes increasingly important.

If you're like most players, you're probably looking to strike a balance between doing what will help the most for war, and building up your raiding armies and defense for single player.

The two overlap, of course, but since it is easier to raid for the loot you need to upgrade with lower level troops than it is to win wars, rather than covering every troop and defense and the order you should do them in (a lot of that is up to personal preference and play style, as well as the resources you have available and the timing of your builders), this guide will focus mainly on what your top priorities should be for war, which should serve as a starting point for planning your overall upgrade strategy.


1. Lab and New Defenses

This almost goes without saying, but you can't get higher level troops without upgrading the lab first, and getting your new defenses up to the level of your old ones (and upgrading any defenses you neglected at TH7) will give you the most bang for your buck, so this is where you should start.

2. Dragons 3

You're probably tempted to do some of your raiding troops first, but level 3 dragons are by far the fastest way to make a major impact against other TH8s in war. They will 3 star low to mid level TH8s relatively easily, and can even be used through max TH8 with the right strategies and on the right bases.

3. Lightning 5 and Unlocking Earthquake

Two level 5 lightning and one earthquake spell will knock out up to level 6 air defense, and still leaves you room for a rage spell. This will give your dragon army an added boost over using 3 lightning, and in many cases is more reliable than all rage or 2 rage 1 heal.

4. Air Defense 

Since dragon attacks are probably to most common TH8 war attack, the best way to give your base a better chance of defending in war is to upgrade your air defenses to level 6 as soon as possible. The sweeper is somewhat less important, but also helpful.

5. Clan Castle

The only upgrade other than heroes that increases both your offensive and defensive power, it should be one of your top priorities at any TH. At TH8, there's definitely a case for doing air defense first, but after that, the clan castle should come next.

6. Hogs 3 and 4 and Heal 5

If you haven't gotten your Barb King to level 5 already, that's the first place you'll want to spend your dark elixir. Once he is level 5 though, your top DE priority should be upgrading your hogs. Level 3 hogs can 3 star mid TH8 bases, and level 4 are widely considered the most effective troop against max TH8 bases. Level 5 healing spell will also give this army an added boost.

7. Teslas

Many people neglect their teslas, mostly because they take so long. They pack a powerful punch at higher levels though, which is especially helpful against the increasingly frequent GoWiPe armies you will see starting in the later stages of TH8 and throughout the rest of the game. In order to avoid a situation where all your builders are on teslas and none will be free for days, it helps to get started on teslas early, and dedicate one builder to them, or at least alternate with other defenses.

8. Giant Bombs

Don't overlook these; they are very helpful in stopping hog attacks.

9. Unlocking Valks and Golems, then PEKKA

Valks are really just a stepping stone toward golems, but you'll want to prioritize unlocking Golems over PEKKAs. This will give use the ability to use GoHo instead of a straight mass hog attack, a strategy that may become necessary against well designed high level TH8s or even TH9s. Three or even 4 golems with wizards and wallbreakers (and witches or a PEKKA in your CC) can also be an effective attack strategy, but having PEKKAs without Golems is sort of like having icing without cake, or butter without bread--a PEKKA-heavy attack, even with giants as a shield, won't get you too far, especially against bases with higher level walls and teslas.

10. PEKKA 3, and Golem 2

You may be doing well enough with hogs and dragons, but getting level 3 PEKKA and level 2 golems will round out your war armies, and perhaps more importantly, set you up to be successful at TH9.

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Other Troops and Spells, and Defense

While you prioritize the things above, you'll certainly have time to work in raiding troops and other defenses.

On offense, the most useful troops and spells for war armies that weren't listed above are wizards, wallbreakers, and rage. For raiding, wizards and giants get the biggest boost, and are good to do early if you want to raid at higher trophy levels to get DE faster. Balloons can be placed in the same category if you want to use balloonion as a loot army. The added HP on barbarians is probably more beneficial than the added HP or damage from upgrading archers. Healers also get a pretty big upgrade, and are good for supporting giants, and wallbreakers make a big difference when going up against level 8 walls.

On defense, archer towers and cannons are more useful than mortars and wizard towers in war, with archer towers being the most useful. The opposite is true in multiplayer though...level 6 mortars and wizard towers (to say nothing of level 8 walls) are your best defense against barbs, archers, and goblins, particularly those that have been upgraded to TH9 max.

Not to Be Neglected before You Go to TH9

Before going to TH9, don't skip over these commonly neglected upgrades.

1. Balloons

You may not have used them much at TH8 or below, but max balloons at TH9 are one of the most effective troops in the game.

2. Golems 2 and PEKKA 3

You're going to have a lot of other things to spend your resources on when you get to TH9, and not having these puts you at a real disadvantage in going up against other TH9s.

3. Two Level 4 Dark Barracks

You don't want to lose your ability to make golems when upgrading to witches. You're also going to be relying heavily on your dark barracks for TH9 and 10 war armies, using 2 or more golems, and in many cases 4 or more witches as well, or 3 or more hounds if you're attacking by air, so not having both dark barracks upgraded is quite an inconvenience. Regular barracks are slightly less important, but you'll want a minimum of 2 max barracks, ideally 3.


You'll also want to max your drills, and make sure you do your wallbreakers. Having a level 10 king is helpful, but not critical, and getting at least some level 8 walls will also come in handy, though it is understandable if you don't want to sit on full elixir with nothing to spend it on while doing your walls at TH8.

Once you're ready for TH9, it is highly recommended you use the 8.5 strategy, which is covered in more detail elsewhere on this site. The basic idea though is to hold off building your new defenses, with the exception of your air defense, sweeper, traps, bombs, and walls, until you've gotten a good start on your TH9 offense (starting with lab, spell factory, camps), helping avoid putting  you and your clan at a disadvantage in the war matching.

Upgrading to TH9 and 10 - the .5 Strategy and Avoiding a Disadvantage in War

One of the most exciting things about upgrading your town hall is that you now have all these new things to build and upgrade, but if you're concerned with how your base affects your clan's war match-ups, take a minute to read this .5 strategy guide.

What is a .5 strategy? 

Because defense is weighed much more heavily than offense in the war matching system, players who have just upgraded their town halls and were following what otherwise would have been a sensible upgrade plan were becoming more of a liability than an asset to their clans. Their shiny new xbows and infernos were matching them against other players with similar defenses, but with significantly more developed offenses, so while they may only have been capable of getting 1 or 2 stars against their mirrors, their mirrors were getting 2 or 3 stars on them.

This led to the advent of the .5 strategy, where players put off building most of their new defenses until they've had a chance to get their offense up to speed. Depending on how far you take it, this strategy can help give your clan an advantage in war, though mostly it's about not putting yourself or your clan at a disadvantage.

Prioritizing Gold Builds

1. Don't build (most of) your new defenses right away. 

Xbows and inferno towers are hard to resist, but they also have the biggest impact on your war matchups, and will almost certainly get you matched against a base stronger than yours if you build them right away. After that, wizard towers and mortars are most heavily weighted, then archer towers, teslas, and cannons.

Air defense, sweepers, traps, bombs, and walls carry relatively little weight, so this is where you start. Your first priority with gold should be to build these and get them up to the level of your other defenses. As a new TH9, the 4th air d and extra air mines will make it virtually impossible for anyone with level 3 dragons to 3 star, and the extra giant bomb makes hog attacks more difficult as well.

2. Clan Castle and Skeleton Traps

Many players underestimate the value of the Clan Castle and put it off for far too long. In reality, it should basically be the first thing you do, as it gives you added offense and defense, as well as added loot storage. Just think of all the attacks you've done that end in 47 or 97%, where 5 extra spots could have easily been an extra star. At TH9, you also get an extra level on your skeleton traps, and it's worth it to max them early on. The affect on war weight is minimal, and they can really slow down hogs, or waste time during a GoWiPe attack, and keep your defenses up longer.

3. E Storage (TH9) and Collector (TH10)

This is barely worth mentioning, but when you have builders free and nothing else to do, these are relatively cheap and quick, so get them out of the way.

4. Level 8 Walls

It's understandable if you didn't do level 8 walls before moving to TH9--walls are boring and expensive, and worse, causes many TH8s to sit around with full elixir storages and nothing to spend it on. If you haven't done at least 40 or 50 level 8 walls before going to TH9 though (or at least 100 before TH10), now is a good time to dump some gold into your walls. Not only will it make you less of a target while you're trying to save large amounts of E and DE, you'll thank yourself later when you finish your E upgrades well before your gold upgrades are done, and have nothing to do with your E but build level 9+ walls.

5. Neglected defenses

If there are any major defenses you didn't max at the previous TH, now is the time to do them.

6. New Archer Tower and Cannon (TH10) or Tesla (TH9) vs Upgrading Existing Teslas

Because the gap between TH9 and 10 is so large, many people will tell you that 9.5s can get away with building their new archer tower and cannon without getting matched against full TH10s. It can be done, particularly if you have existing defenses like wizard towers or xbows that weren't maxed at the previous TH, but it doesn't really work at TH9, and even at TH10, building a new defense has a much greater weight--even if that defense is low level--than upgrading an existing one. So at this point, if you're looking to milk the .5 strategy a bit longer, the best way to build up your defense without affecting your war weight too much is to upgrade your teslas. After that, archer towers would be the next logical step.

7. When to Build the Rest of Your New Defenses

Generally, if your mirror in war is consistently the same TH as you with all their defenses built, then it's time to build the rest of your defenses. Don't base it on just 1 or 2 wars though, as you can easily get matched against clans with numerous rushed bases, and a mirror that has all their defenses but has a significantly rushed base is not a good indicator.

Prioritizing Elixir and DE

1. Lab, Spell Factory, Camps, Archer Queen

The spell factory and army camps are the obvious place to start when trying to improve your offense. And if you finished all the major lab upgrades at the previous TH, you'll want to upgrade the lab right away as well. At TH9 you'll also want to buy your Queen.

2. Start with a DE Lab Upgrade?!

At TH10 this is pretty much a no-brainer since you don't have a brand new Queen whose ability you need to unlock, and the army camps are much more expensive. As a brand new TH10, your first goal should be to make sure you can smash pretty much any TH9 with relative ease, and the quickest and cheapest way to do this is to upgrade your hounds to max. If you didn't do your haste at least to level 2 (that's a TH9 upgrade), this might be a good place to start too, and will allow you to move back your lab upgrade. After hounds, you'll want to do golems, or if you aren't experienced with air attacks, still have level 1 hounds, or need to take on TH10s with infernos sooner rather than later, you may decide golems are the place to start.

At TH9 it's much more of a trade-off since it means your Queen will be without her ability for a couple weeks longer than she would otherwise, but the sacrifice can be worthwhile. Starting with hogs in your lab will keep it busy and free up elixir for camps, and maybe even drill upgrades, and max hogs are a good TH9 starter army that can help you 3 star many low to mid level TH9s.

3. Lab Priorities at TH9

Keeping your lab busy is a priority, and in the early stages of TH9 in particular, it can be tricky balancing hero upgrades, elixir builds, and lab work.

If you plan to upgrade your queen to level 5 straight away, you'll want to start with 1 or 2 regular e upgrades. Balloons are the biggest upgrade you can do for war, but they cost 6m, and unless you plan to raid with them, you'll only use the occasionally as a support troop until you unlock hounds.

It may be beneficial then to start with somewhat cheaper options so you have more elixir to spend outside the lab. The jump spell is quick and cheap, and the extra time helps a lot. The heal spell isn't that cheap, but if you plan on relying heavily on hogs early on, it's not a bad place to start. Other relatively inexpensive options include healers and barbs, though you won't be using them for war (at least not any time soon). You could also go the other direction and start with dragons, but even level 4 dragons aren't a particularly reliable war army against most TH9s.

Once your Queen is at level 5, if you haven't done hogs, you'll probably want to start there. Minions are also cheap and useful for raiding, but golems are a big part of many war armies. Doing these early on will also free up elixir to upgrade your drills, which will speed up your progress in the long run.

As far as raiding troops go, giants will give you the biggest bang for your buck if you use them. Barbs are probably second, as their increased hitpoints make a bigger difference than the stat increase to archers. Archers come next, then healers.

4. Upgrade Drills, Storage (TH9) and Mine (TH10) 

At TH10 in particular, since the early levels of the drill are significantly cheaper than the camps, you may decide to build your new drill and upgrade it to level 3, 4, or even 5 before upgrading your camps, particularly if you still have relatively low heroes or DE lab upgrades you skipped at TH9 and want to go back to. Even at TH9 though, it's helpful to upgrade these sooner rather than later.

5. Unlocking Witches 

Witches are a big deal at TH9, and many players want to get them as soon as possible. The problem, however, is that unlocking witches will affect your war weight more than anything except building xbows, so if you're trying to milk the .5 strategy, you'll want to put off unlocking witches as long as possible, because once you do, it will probably be time to build the rest of your defenses.

6. Unlocking and Upgrading Haste and Hounds

Once you get witches, you're probably at the full TH9 stage, which means you want to get to work on those high level TH9 armies. If you upgraded golems to level 3 or 4 while at the 8.5 stage, you may want to upgrade witches first. Otherwise, the fastest way to TH9 army that can 3 star higher level TH9s is to get max balloons, unlock and upgrade hounds, and unlock haste. Upgrading haste is somewhat less important but also useful.

7. Lab Priorities at TH10

Golems and hounds are a fairly obvious top 2 choices. After this, if you want to keep the lab busy while you finish your camps and drill, you'll have minions and dark spells to choose from. If you are partial to air attacks, look at doing haste. If you're more of a ground person, upgrade earthquake or poison.

As far as regular E upgrades go, it's a tough decision, but you're basically looking at PEKKA, Giants, Wizards, and Wallbreakers. Wallbreakers are a good first choice if you see lots of bases with level 9+ walls. If you still use PEKKA at TH9, you may want to start there, and they're also good against TH10s with infernos on multi. Giants aren't typically used against TH9s in war, but they're great for raiding, and you may find yourself putting some in your TH10 army, particularly if you're going up against infernos set on single. Wizards are probably the last of the four you'd want to do due to their relatively small stat increase.

Freeze upgrades are of course critical against higher level TH10s, but these will affect your war weight more than anything other than building infernos, so you'll want to hold off on these until your mirror in war is regularly a TH10 and/or you're getting ready to build your infernos. Once your infernos are building though, you should plan to do 2 or 3 consecutive freeze upgrades.

8. Hero Upgrades

When you first get to TH9 and buy your Queen, you can choose to upgrade her to level 5 immediately, or leave her at level 1 while you get max hogs, then do her to level 5. After this, you mostly want to prioritize DE troops over hero upgrades, particularly golems, witches, and hounds. After both heroes are at 10, you'll want to do 5 levels of one, then 5 of the other, as they really only get a significant boost every 5 levels.

Dragons

Mass dragon attacks have long been the war army of choice for TH7s and early to mid stage TH8s, eventually giving way to level 4 hogs, and GoWiPe.

Even with the addition of level 4 dragons at TH9, and level 5 at TH10, they are not generally considered a preferred attack strategy beyond TH8, as they still have trouble with 4 air defenses, 2 sweepers, and 4-5 seeking air mines. There may be exceptions, however--if you're going below your level, attacking a base with weak or poorly positioned air defense, or going for 1 or 2 stars only. This guide, therefore, is primarily directed at TH8s, but does contain some additional tips for TH9 and 10 at the end.

What Makes a Good Dragon Base? 

By far the most important thing to look for is the level of the air defense. Level 2 dragons take out max TH7s rather easily, and level 3 dragons can 3 star pretty much any base with 3 level 5 air defenses. When it comes to level 6 air d, the base design, spell selection, and support troops matter a lot more. Typically, bases with spread out air d that can by quickly taken out by raging dragons or support troops are going to be easier than bases with air d that is closer to the center. Base that are too spread out will be difficult to 3 star with dragons, especially if you don't bring compliment of rage spells.

TH8s can also use dragons to 2 star lower level TH9s with spread out air d, or even 1 star TH10s with spread out bases and compacted air d.

Picking Where to Attack From

As a general rule, the faster you can take down the air d, and the more you can avoid the sweepers (or the faster you can take them down), the better your attack will go.

Deployment

A lot of dragon attackers just spam their dragons all in one spot and hope for the best, but this usually leads to some or all of the dragons going around the outside of the base instead of toward the town hall, often resulting in a 1 star attack. Skilled dragon users know that funneling is key to successful dragon attacks.

The basic idea behind a funnel is to clear 1 or more buildings on either side of where you plan to launch you main attack. Typically, you drop 1 dragon on either side of your main attack area, targeting buildings where they won't immediately get shot by an air defense. Ideally, you generally want them to target the outermost building you want to destroy first, then turn toward each other so they will join the rest of the pack. A five building span usually works well, though it could be slightly larger depending on how spread out the buildings are. This will help direct your dragons toward the center of the base.

Hero Use

Heroes can be used to create your initial funnel, but this usually causes them to die pretty quickly, and they are generally more effective if you save them for later in the battle. If you see one or more dragons heading away from the center, dropping your hero to clear outer buildings can help redirect them back toward the middle. Heroes are also useful on the back side of the base, where they can sometimes take out archer towers, teslas, and even air defense or sweepers before they kill your dragons. In either case, it is usually helpful to wait until the air/ground defense has already locked on a dragon to help the heroes live longer.

Balloon Support

While many players like to simply take a full compliment of dragons, the most effective strategies usually have at least a few support troops. Taking max loons in your clan castle is probably the most common strategy, and can often work better than having a max dragon. This strategy is usually used when the air d is tightly packed in the middle. Drop the loons behind your dragons, aiming at an air d, and get them both raging when closer to the middle. Alternatively, coming in ahead and to one side can help the balloons target the air d the dragons will get to last more quickly, but the air d and surrounding defenses will need to have locked on to the dragons, and you'll want to have a rage mostly for the loons. Either way, in most cases the 5 balloons you can carry in your clan castle, though in some cases you may consider dropping a dragon and adding 4 more to your army.

Hog Support

Hog support is only used for very select bases, but when it works, it works really well. The hogs are used to take out air defenses quickly, before they can do too much damage to dragons.  For the strategy to work, the hogs need to target the air defense quickly (usually first or second) and live long enough to get the job done. There should be no spaces in their path for a possible giant bomb. It is also best if the Barb King will not be activated, or can be distracted with your Barb King.

The dragons are placed first, as you want them taking out the clan castle before releasing any hogs. It also helps to use your Barb King to distract defenses. Max hogs in your CC are generally enough to take out a single air d if it is being targeted first or second, though if your hogs will be taking heavy fire, you may want to drop a dragon and add 4 more.

If going after 2 air d's with hogs, it's generally best to take 8 in your army, along with 5 in the CC. Send 1 of yours in front of the CC, use the other 7 for the second air d. Having hogs in your army and not just in your cc also allows you to send 1 on a suicide mission if you need to trigger a giant bomb. Using a dozen or more hogs could also warrant a heal spell if you think you can get them to take out an additional 2 or more teslas or archer towers, or you're going after an air d that they won't target first or second.

Spell Selection

Spell selection is key for dragon attacks, and really depends on the type of base you're trying to attack. If the air defense is tightly packed, in most cases you're going to want all rage, or 1 heal and the rest rage, along with balloons for support.

If the air defense is somewhat spread apart, you're more likely to want some lightning with earthquake to take out one or more before the start of the battle...generally on the opposite side of the base from where you're starting. If the air defense is really spread out, to the point where you can get at them with your heroes, or hogs or loons will target them first or second, consider using these options before lightning and go back to rage.

If your lightning spell is still level 4 or below, you'll need 3 of them. If it is level 5 and you have unlocked earthquake, 2 lightning 1 earthquake will take out an air d, freeing up the last spot for a rage spell.


Town Hall 9

Even with level 4 dragons, you're typically looking at 2 stars at best unless the air d is weak, or very poorly positioned. Attack strategies become more complicated as well; if you want to 3 star, you typically need a strategy to take out at least 2 air defenses using something other than dragons, and even then it can be a bit dicey if you don't take out the other 2 relatively quickly.

Spell Selection

2 level 5 lightning and any level earthquake will destroy a level 6 air d, but in order to destroy level 7, you'll need level 6 lightning OR level 3 earthquake (this may need some testing). You also only have enough spell spots to destroy 1 air d unless there are 2 air d's that both fall within the radius of a single earthquake. In this case, you may consider 4 lightning and an earthquake. Otherwise you'll generally want 2 lightning 1 earthquake and 2 rage, or possibly 1 rage and the final spell for your support troops.

You also have the option of haste at TH9, but dragons benefit from the damage increase the rage spell gives enough that it is hard to justify swapping out a rage for 2 haste. If you're using balloons for support though, haste can be helpful, as the balloons already do enough damage without rage, and mainly just need a speed increase.

Support Troops

The hog and balloon support apply even more to TH9. If you want to 3 star, you need to make sure you have a plan to deal with all the air defenses, and don't leave any standing longer than necessary.

Kill Squad

The main idea here is to use your heroes along with some support troops to take out 1 or more air defenses, and hopefully the enemy Queen, particularly if she is higher level. Typically, this involves a golem, at least a few wizards, and enough wallbreakers to get into 1 or 2 compartments, and possibly a jump or a rage spell (a golem in your cc plus 4 wizards and 2 wallbreakers leaves room for 10 dragons). Depending on what you hope to accomplish, however, you might be able to get away with as little as 1-2 giants, 1-2 wizards and a couple wallbreakers (meaning you could even bring 11 dragons), particularly if the air defense is easily accessible and you have high heroes.  On the other end of the spectrum, you can go with 2 golems with about 6 wizards (leaving you with 8 dragons. In this scenario you really need to take out 2 air defenses, so there's a decent chance you'll want to use 4 earthquake to open up one side of the base. This could leave you 2 lightning 1 quake for the 3rd air d, or 2 rage and a poison. You're probably best off poisoning the Queen, and you may want to use one of the rage spells on your kill squad to make sure they get both air d's.

The one advantage you have over other armies that use kill squads is that you can lead with your dragons if you want. This will divert some damage away from your kill squad, which should be considered if using a smaller kill squad.

A final option you have that doesn't work with other kill squads is using a lava hound as a meat shield instead of a golem. the hound won't likely last as long, and it won't protect from cannons, mortars, or xbows set on ground, so it helps if you have a relatively high level Barb King, but it will keep the air defense off your dragons if you time it right.

Lava Hounds 

It may be tempting to use lava hounds to soak up damage in dragon attacks, but they do so little damage and take up so much space that it's really not a good combination. Other than the above use, a single max hound in your CC might be helpful, but the real key is timing. Deploy too soon, the hound is dead before the dragons are anywhere near the air d. Deploy too late and you'll lose at least 1 dragon before the air d locks on to your hound.


Town Hall 10

Max dragons can pretty effectively deal with many TH9s if you use the tips above. Plus you now have an extra spell, so you could take out 2 air d with 4 lightning and 2 earthquake, and then have a poison to use on the queen. If your freeze spell is high enough, that can also be an effective weapon.

Against other TH10s, there's a chance you could 2 star if the air d's are far enough out, though if there's an inferno set on single within range of the TH, dragons are probably still a no-go. The strategies remain similar to those above--directing your dragons toward the TH is key, as is taking out any air d's that might target your dragons as quickly as possible.

Going to Town Hall 10 (and the 9.5 strategy)

Many of us are at the point in the game now where we’re considering going to TH10. If you are, you might strongly consider using the 9.5 strategy to help us get better matchups in war.

The TH 8.5 and 9.5 strategy was developed in response to the war matching system, which takes defense into account much more heavily than offense. The idea is that you mostly do NOT build the additional defenses so you’re still matched against TH9s, or at worst rushed TH10s.

The biggest disadvantage, of course, is that TH8s we be worth a lot less now if you’re attacking for loot in multiplayer, but you’ll get increased resource production with the additional mine, collector, and drill you unlock, and you’ll also be able to significantly beef up your attacking power both for war and multiplayer.

When to Upgrade to TH10

1.     You’ve done pretty much every elixir upgrade in the lab and on the base, and are dumping elixir into walls.

Without question, you should have Barbs, Archers, Giants, and Balloons 6, Wizards and Wallbreakers 5, PEKKA 3, Max Rage and Heal, and Jump 2. I’d also highly recommend doing Dragons 4, as they have become an important defensive troop again, and can also be used pretty effectively against TH9s. Goblins, Healers, and Lightning Spell are the only things you might consider neglecting.

You also definitely want both drills maxed, and your dark spell factory maxed as well. You could get away with a level 5 Dark Storage, but I’d recommend maxing that as well; the additional 300HP is helpful in war and protects your DE better in multiplayer. It’s also probably a good idea to have both dark barracks maxed, and at least 2 regular barracks.

2.     Defensive upgrades should put you at least at mid-level TH9.

I definitely think you want to have level 11 cannons, level 7 mortars and teslas, a 30 spot Clan Castle, level 2 xbows, and all walls at least level 7 before you consider going to TH10. You should be able to get at least this much accomplished while doing your elixir upgrades anyway. The rest could be done while working on TH10 elixir upgrades.

3.     DE Troops and Heroes

You really should have witches 2, golems 4, hounds 2, hogs and minions 5, at least 1 if not both heroes at level 10, and upgraded dark spells. Without witches 2 and golems 4, there doesn't seem to be much point, since you're going to need them to attack TH10s. It's also nice to have 2 or 3 options when choosing an attack strategy, so which is why hounds and/or hogs are also pretty important. Valks 4 can work well too but are the most difficult of any troop to direct and use correctly.

It probably won’t kill you if you’re missing a few things, as you can work on them while you’re making TH10 elixir upgrades before building any TH10 defenses, but remember, you'll probably be stuck with whatever level heroes you have for a while if you're going to do DE lab upgrades. 

What to Prioritize at once you reach TH10

1. The first order of business when getting to TH10 should be to build and upgrade your new mine and collector and traps (giant bomb, seeking air mine, skeleton trap, etc), and to upgrade your spell factory.  Even without upgrading army camps or troops, having an additional spell in battle will make it that much easier to 3 star TH9s. 

2. Depending on what troops and spells you can still upgrade before upgrading your lab, you might choose to hold off on this and focus on the new drill and even army camps first.  Maxing your drill as soon as possible, even before worrying about army camps, will help you speed up the process of upgrading your dark troops and heroes, particularly if you don’t spend a ton of time raiding for resources.

3. As far as gold goes, if you haven’t gotten all your defenses to TH9 max, now may be the time to focus on that. Maxing your CC is a good idea too. You may also be okay building the extra archer tower and cannon, but this has more of a chance to affect matchmaking, so you might consider dumping gold into walls for a bit while you finish upgrading your camps, or maybe doing some of those air traps you probably never got around to. Once you start noticing that the number opposite you is a TH10 with infernos most of the time, it's probably time to build your infernos and third xbow. Ideally, you want to start these on prep day so they're not counted in matching but you have them for war. 

Lab Upgrades

You probably want to upgrade your camps and drill before worrying too much about regular e lab upgrades, so your best bet is probably to focus on dark troops and spells first. If you've still got dark troops that you haven't finished at TH9...particularly hogs, golems, or hounds, now might be the time. Haste is also very effective, particularly with air attacks, and the other dark spells can be very useful as well. 

If you’re pretty much maxed on TH9 troops, getting max lava hounds may be the best way to improve your chances of 3 starring TH9s. Another option, though it is regular elixir, would be level 5 dragons, which may provide a fairly easy strategy for 3 starring most TH9s.

If you’re more comfortable on the ground, golems may be the way to go. 

Once you've got your army camps, and you're starting to put down new defenses, you're going to be expected to attack TH10s more often, so you're probably going to want to start by upgrading your freeze spell at least to level 3 before you worry about any other troops. On infernos set to multi, GoWiWi or GoWiPe with a few giants added in ca be an effective strategy, so you might want to think about PEKKAs or Giants after you do your freeze spell a couple times.