Clash of Clans Strategy - Mass Dragons Theory (Post 1/3)

This post isn't about how to attack, but rather the thinking behind an attack.  This post is the first in a series of 5 posts.  This post will help you size up an enemy...what to look for in their base design etc.  It will also help you understand the beasts you are trying to unleash on your opponent in a way to maximise his pain.

Attacking strategies for different TH levels will be in subsequent posts.

Using mass dragons is a very expensive attack, and is often reserved for war.  As a result, many wars see lots of dragons, but few show successful dragon attacks.

In order to help address this, the following Dragon Funnel theory is presented to help inexperienced dragon fighters control their dragons to make sure of a 2-Star raid, and preferably a 3-star raid.

In order to execute a solid all-dragon attack, it is important to size up your enemy first and make sure the attack is implemented according to the specific base layout.  11 dragons are powerful, but they can all be brought down after gaining only one star (or zero stars!) if the attack goes badly.

When you attack with that much firepower, you have to ask - what can possibly go wrong?  The main thing that causes a dragon attack to fail is distraction.  Dragons are basically large brawling beasts that are distracted by *anything*!!  

In order:

1. Things that move...Clan Castle troops, Heroes or Skeletons.
2. Whatever building is closest, unless it spots the clan castle troops.  This means that a well designed base will take the dragon on a merry chase around the outside of the base in order to allow its air defence to pick off the attacking monsters, or it will surround key buildings like the Town Hall or Air Defences with high hit point buildings like Storages.  That way the dragons get stuck trying to destroy these building while they are slowly getting killed.

Knowing this, it is important to understand that tactic and construct your attack to allow for and work with this distraction approach, so as to effectively counter it.

It is all in the planning and the opening dragon drop.

When looking to decide the best way to take on a base, there are some base design implications to consider:

1. What level is the Town Hall and how advanced is it?
2. Where is the Clan Castle and is it near the Town Hall?
3. Where are the Air Defenses and what level are they?
4. Where are the Air Sweepers and which way do they face?
5. Where are the Gold and Elixir storages?

Now, I am paranoid about Clan Castle troops, as a good team in the defending Clan Castle can just annihilate your attacking troops.  In fact, the defensive Clan Castle troops are the highest damage per second (dps) defensive unit on the field.

That said, this is one of the few times that I would suggest this is not that important for a dragon attack - believe it or not.  The amount of power that your dragon attack possesses should allow you to steam roll anything that might be hiding in the Clan Castle.

So, let's work through these items one at a time:

The Town Hall

This is the most important consideration.  This will tell you if you should proceed with the attack at all.

If it is TH9 or above, do not proceed with the attack unless it is a rushed base with lousy defences.  Any decent TH9 or above should be able to repel an all dragon attack to prevent a 3-star, and quite possibly even a 2-star result.  Remember, if you take on a TH9 or above, you are taking a risky approach, and you had better have high level (> Level 3) dragons!

Even TH8 should give you cause to think...if it is an advanced TH8, one with well developed anti-air defences, then you should really consider whether you want to proceed with the attack, as it could be very risky.  Usually for experienced dragon raiders only.

That said, a rushed higher-level base or less than a mid-TH8 should be a 3-star finish every time.

The Clan Castle

This consideration is to help with determining the direction for the start of the attack.

If the Clan Castle is on the outside in the middle, that is the side to attack from.  If it is on the outside near a corner, then hit either side of that corner.

If the Clan Castle is in the centre, and if you have level 2 or higher dragons, attack with the Town Hall in between the attack front and the Clan Castle.  This will mean when the Clan Castle troops pop out, they will draw your dragons (once they sense them) towards the defence troops and the Town Hall.

If you only have Level 1 drags, attack with the Clan Castle between you and the Town Hall so you get to hit the defensive troops while your troops are still strong and healthy.

The Air Defence

These are incredibly important as they are some of the only defences that can really hurt the mass dragon attack, although Archer Towers are not much fun.  The Air Defences will typically either be centrally located, protecting the Town Hall, or they will be scattered around the base.

The most important thing to note is the level of the Air Defences and their range.  When scouting the enemy base, check at what point the Air Defence will start hitting your dragons...especially if they are driving straight at the Town Hall, which is the primary goal of the attack.  

This is usually the point at which the healing spell is required if you have one.  And yes, one earthquake and 2 level 5 Lightning spells will destroy a level 6 AD.

The Air Sweeper
Now this one is very interesting.  Underestimate this defence at your peril!  Check this video to see how a single Air Sweeper nearly kept a Dragon raid to zero stars!

Find them.  Figure out which way they are pointing, and try to use them to your advantage.  There are two basic strategies for dealing with the Air Sweeper.

1. Fly into the back of them.  It completely eliminates their effectiveness and you can take them out without any impact.
2. Fly to the side of them and have them push you towards an Air Defence or other target building.  Knowing your Dragons will be distracted, if you fly the right angles, you can actually get them to help you take out the key parts of the base.

If you are lucky, you may find a Sweeper and an Air Defence close to each other.  In this instance, you may be able to take both out with the same strike.  If that is the case, go for it, but always make sure that you are slightly close to the Air Defence as that *must* go down.  The Sweeper is just a bonus.

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Just remember, unless you have a very good strategic reason to, don't fly directly into them!

The Storages
These buildings are a massive problem for a dragon, as it sees them and just like any other distraction, it tries to destroy them. The problem is, they have lots of hit points and can distract a dragon for a long time.  I have seen an Air Defence surrounded by Storages, and the Air Defence just wrecked the Mass Dragon attack while they all tried to burn down the storages and completely ignored the Air Defence.

FAQ
Q: Shouldn't I take a kill squad for the Clan Castle troops?
A: No, not really.  It will take up a slot from a dragon, and a bunch of dragons together will make short work of any Clan Castle troops.

Q: Will 3 Lightning spells kill any Air Defence?
A: Normally yes, depending on the level of your spell and the level of the Air Defence.  The best way to tell is to look at the hit points on the Air Defence and then multiple the damage of your spell by 3 and see how you go.

If you have any more question, please leave them as a comment and I'll add them (with recognition) to this post.

Have fun and keep on Clash-ing!

Morgrim