How to Kill CC Troops

Most war attacks need to lure out and kill the Clan Castle troops before the base can be attacked. Clan Castle troops can destroy an army quickly so it is important to know how to lure and kill CC troops.

Dealing with the enemy CC troops takes time and is a step by step process. Your army composition should include a "kill squad" reserved for luring and killing enemy CC troops. The point is to quickly overwhelm the enemy troops with enough to kill them and a few extra as well. Messing around trying to spend as little troops as possible to kill them will cost more time and not overwhelming them can cost more troops in the long run. Just kill them and move on. Make sure they are dead as well, don't leave stragglers.

Step one: The "lure"
Scout the enemy base and check the range of the Clan Castle and know what you have to do in order to lure out all the CC troops. Also note the amount the enemy CC can hold, indicating what types of troops they might be. There are a few types of Clan Castle layouts that should be considered:


 * 1) Lurable: These Clan Castle ranges are free and clear of defensive buildings and simply putting a troop down withing its range will start bringing the enemy troops out.
 * 2) Partly lurable: The range on these Clan Castles are covered by defenses. Even though you can deploy troops in the range, they will be killed quickly and may need several troops to lure out all enemy Clan Castle troops.
 * 3) Unlurable: The range on these Clan Castles are completely covered by enemy buildings. Either buildings need to be destroyed before attempting to lure out enemies or troops that target defenses and/or ignore walls need to be used (giants, balloons or hog riders for instance).

Take what you need to lure all enemy troops. Having an extra or two to get them all out is advised. Count the enemy troops if you need to make sure the Clan Castle is empty. Let all the luring troops die to keep control of the CC troops (see below).

Step two: The "kill zone"
Once all enemy troops are out of the CC, you have total control where they go by placing one troop at a time and allowing that troop to die. Enemy CC troops mindlessly go after any troop on the base so by only having one troop down, you control where they go. Pick a "kill zone" that is best suited for you:


 * 1) Free and clear: Select an area that is free and clear of defensive buildings to allow your "kill squad" a one-on-one battle area. Don't fight the CC troops where you are at the mercy of cannons, archer towers, etc.
 * 2) Overall attack: Consider where your main attack is going to start and, if possible, have the "kill zone" behind the starting point. This can allow your main attack to cover the "kill squad" once they are done killing the CC troops, saving as many troops as possible from the defenses. These troops can live throughout the main attack and destroy buildings the entire time.

Note: if there is a building in the right area, take advantage of it. A single archer shooting a building will draw CC troops to the area. The archer will not move away until the building is destroyed, these building are called an "anchor" to draw cc troops to an area.

Step three: The "bunch up"
Once the enemy troops are in a suitable "kill zone", spending a few low troops (barbarians, one at a time) on either side of the enemy CC troops will work them back and forth, bunching them up. Don't mess around all day bunching them up but making sure they are bunched up helps with most "kill squad" strategies. Get a feel for how bunched up they have to be and know when it is "good enough".

Step four: The "kill squad"
Now that the enemy CC troops are exactly on your terms, use the "kill squad" to overwhelm them and start your main attack quickly afterwards. The methods for killing enemy CC troops vary depending on what troops are in the enemy CC and what troops are available for the attacker.


 * 1) Below TH 7: Having enough archers to kill a Valkyrie or Dragon is essential. This means taking 30-40 archers to deal enough damage. Left over archers can be used as clean up after the main attack, once defenses are down.
 * 2) TH 7 and TH8: Having access to a "tank" with enough hit points changes how a "kill squad" can be effective. Dropping a Barbarian King will allow wizards free splash damage on any bunched up group. 4 or 5 wizards will destroy the CC troops while they are distracted by the BK. Taking 8 wizards to make sure will also give good clean up troops after the defenses are down.

"Kill squad" troops should be deployed in a loose ring around the bunched up CC troops with some space in between to prevent returning splash damage. Replace any troop that is killed immediately to keep the overwhelming force up.

Note on spells: spell usage to destroy CC troops should be weighed against what a spell would do for the main attack. Single lighting spells will do very little to defenses and therefore can be used on the CC troops. If there are high hit point troops in the CC, any spells are just to weed out the rest and the high hit point troops still need to be dealt with.

Links
Tips on CC "kill squad"

Lightning spell deployment against CC troops

CC lure principles

poison spell considerations

lure tips for hog attacks

TH 9 and 10 considerations