War Review

Hey guys, after a nice war win we've had two straight losses to tough war clans, the first a lvl 9 clan and the second a lvl 8 clan.  While a loss can be expected when a clan is matched with a much higher level war clan, this also gives us some good opportunities to review and see what it takes to be a successful war clan.

So reviewing the war logs what does it take to win wars consistently like the top war clans?  What did the enemy do to us that we weren't able to do to them?

Here are a few of my observations.  Feel free to comment on this post or in the game chat with your own observations.

War Offense

First off we had some great attacks in both wars.  Highlights were pounds getting 4 stars last war including 2 on a TH11, kev getting 5 stars this war including a 97% on a TH10, gard 3 starring a max TH9 this war, and soumya getting 6 stars this war.  Great job guys!

We also had areas to improve.  Rather than focusing on any specific attacks I'll just mention my observation about what seems to be the standard for successful war attacks to be competitive.

For TH8 and below, you should be able to 3 star your same TH level with your best war army.  This could be the enemy opposite number in war or 1-2 below.  Strong TH8 armies are GoWiPe, Mass Drags, Mass Hogs, or GoHo.  I would stay away from hog based armies until your hogs are lvl 4 or higher due to their vulnerability to giant bombs.

For TH9 and TH10, you should be able to 2 star your same TH level or 3 star any lower TH level.  This is what the enemy is consistently doing to us so if we can do the same then we will at least tie.

For TH11, you should be able to at least 1 star the enemy TH11 and at least 2 star a maxed TH10.

Check where you are in the above categories and see if you are consistently doing this in war.  If you are then you're in good shape.  If you are able to do this most of the time then that's also good.  No one's perfect.  If you are struggling to 3 star th8s or 2 star th9s on a regular basis it means one of three things.

1) you may not be using the right army.  watch other 3 star war attacks to see if that is the case or just ask in the chat.  people are willing to help and give constructive suggestions.
2) you may need more practice and experience attacking with that army on war bases.  most of us practice war attacks during war.  try to occasionally make war armies outside of war and practice attacking maxed bases to see how you do.  getting to know your troops outside of war is best so you'll know what they're going to do in crunch time.
3) your troops and heroes may need to be upgraded for your TH level.  keep your lab busy at all times and this should not be an issue.

If we are able to consistently 3 star the th8 bases on our first attack then it frees up more of our th9 players to focus on the other bases rather than having to do cleanup.  This was our downfall the last two wars, especially this last war.

Also this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway.  Everyone needs to use both attacks in war.  If you can't then just opt out.  It's not fair to your teammates if they are making two strong war armies and using both attacks and we lose because others didn't bother to use both attacks.  So be considerate of your teammates.

Yours in Clash,

golgon

Congrats on Lvl 5 Clan Perks! War Review

Congrats to all on reaching Level 5 Clan Perks this week!  A great accomplishment and I'm sure our clan castles all appreciate it!  Let's keep up the good work.  Level 6 gives a 35% troop cost donation refund along with 30% extra loot storage.  Level 7 is even better, letting you request every 10 minutes.  So let's keep pressing on!

Latest War: Dragonblood vs Ghabile Karash

Not a lucky draw and this was a mismatched war to begin with since the enemy had two extra th9s.  So we were at a disadvantage and as a consequence had a hard time closing out their number 8-10 bases.  That was the difference this war.  Not completely our fault because of the mismatch.  What we can improve upon is our attack efficiency.  What this means is maximizing our star count with as few attacks as possible.  In order to do that we need to do a few things:

I've said several of these before in previous posts but I'll say them again because they serve as good reminders.

• Communicate:  Before attacking talk with your clanmates, especially those close to your rank so that you can coordinate attacks.  You can also brainstorm and discuss strategies.
• Be smart:  Make the right war army for the job.  Every base requires a slightly different army to defeat it. Tight bases favor hog attacks, wide open bases favor golem-based attacks, weak air favor drags and loons.
• Make your attacks count: Unless you're number 1, it is not necessary to attack your opposite (same number enemy base).  If you're a TH8 or low TH9 it will be better to attack the highest base you can confidently 3 star.  This will close out a base so that your clanmates can focus on other bases and not have to clean up a base you already attacked. That is inefficient. Of course use common sense and ask if you're not sure.  And wait several hours for the lower mates to attack before going for the bottom bases.
• Defend: Make sure your base design is difficult to attack with the major war armies.  In this war the enemy had tougher base designs than us and therefore we struggled 3 starring their lower bases.  This means we need to exercise better judgment and gain more experience and also make it more difficult on our enemies.
• Watch and Learn:  If at first you don't succeed, try try again.  But before you do watch the replays to see what went wrong and what can be improved.  For example I saw a few attacks where our spell timing & placement was not right and spells got wasted.  These things take practice.  But we need to take the time to watch & learn from our mistakes.  And also learn from the successes of others.  See what went right on your clanmate and enemy attacks and emulate those tactics.

Here were the stats from this war and areas for improvement.  Primarily in maximizing our first attacks and being more efficient.

Enemy 3 starred 7 lower bases on their first attempt, requiring no clean up from others

We 3 starred 0 lower bases on our first attempt, all lower bases required at least two attacks to 3 star and clean up. 

Dragonblood vs Zedbazi.tito

After a strong last war, this was not our best war guys.  I thought we'd have good chances this war because they had four th7 bases compared to us only having one th7.  But we struggled getting 3 stars on many of their bases including the th7s.  My last post was to help us get guaranteed 3 stars on th7s so we don't have this struggle next time.

As Kev pointed out we had too many 1 & 2 star attacks compared to the enemy's 3 star attacks so some of us need to aim lower and use stronger armies.  4 of the bottom 6 enemy bases were not 3 starred at the end of the war which is just low hanging fruit that we're not taking.

Stats tell the story

Enemy's TH7s 3 starred our TH8s

We only had a few 3 star attacks

War heroes (4+ war stars):
Jean - congrats for being the only one with 4+ war stars this war.  Nice job!

Many people only used 1 attack and didn't say why:

Gard - phone problems, could not attack

Jimbo - Got 3 stars on 1st attack, did not use second

Casey - Attacked late for 1st attack, did not use second

Gard Jr - Made mass drags army for 2nd attack, but did not attack

Buntheang - Did not use second attack

I don't want to kick good people and shrink our clan further but this is a warning.  Please explain the issue using both attacks and either use both attacks or opt out of war, thanks.

Suggestions:
Soumya - move your outside teslas to the center of the base surrounding your TH.  They will help to protect better against pekkas and others penetrating the core.

If you guys want to war back to back please provide constructive analysis and suggestions on how we can improve in the in-game chat so we make progress and improvements each war.  That way we can get more wins and get to level 5 even faster.

Thanks and let's keep improving!

TH7 enemy bases: mass dragons + 3 lightning + max loons cc = 3 stars guaranteed

Hey Guys,

Great job with 2 wins in a row!  A very nice, decisive win this last war.

One thing we can improve upon.  I've noticed the last few wars that we have used multiple attacks to 3 star TH7 enemy bases.  There's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't 3 star every TH7 enemy base on our first attempt. The answer is to use mass dragons with 3 lightning spells.

Here's how it works.

Preparation
Make 10 dragons on your camps.
Make 3 lightning spells.
Request max balloons for your clan castle.

Strategy
Since air defenses are the only real threat to dragons, and there are only 2 air defenses at TH7, take out one air defense with the 3 lightning spells and then overwhelm the other air defense with the dragons and loons.  There's no way one TH7 air defense can take out 10 dragons and 4-5 max loons.

Execution

• Drop 3 lightning on the hardest to reach air defense.  This is usually the one closest to the center of the base.
• There should now only be 1 air defense left. 
• Next funnel your dragons to target the remaining air defense.  This means dropping them closest to the air defense so they do not spread out and go away from the air defense.
• Once you have dropped all dragons and they are taking fire from the air defense release your clan castle full of max loons and the drags will tank while the loons take out all defensive buildings including the lone air defense.
• That's it, and works every time!

This video is pretty funny.

Other video if you need more examples:

War Rules, Lessons Learned

Guys, let's do post-war analysis and come up with a set of war rules.  I'm talking about more than just "attack your opposite in war".  I personally don't like that rule.  So let's come up with our own set of rules based on lessons learned.

I'll start with a few from this past war:

1) Make every attack count and not go to waste.  Every attack is precious.  We have won and lost wars by a single star and a single attack.  Lower level players (in the bottom half): Attack early in the war before all of the easier bases are gone.  Higher level players: save lower level bases for the lower levels unless you are on cleanup duty at the end or they have already all attacked.

2) Go for the low hanging fruit first.  Get it out of the way.  To our lower level players attacking in the first 12 hours of the war: go for the highest base you can confidently 3 star.  If everyone can earn 3+ war stars total for the clan and we use all of our attacks we will win every war.  Basic math.  Also if you 3 star your first attack then it means others can use their attacks on other bases and not have to attack the same base you already attacked.

3) Do not attack a higher number base than yourself unless all lower bases have been 3-starred.  There are others higher than you that have two attacks to use also.  They have a better chance to 3 star that base than you do.  If you think there's an exception to this rule then check with a co first.  

4) Do not attack a higher TH level than your own.  For the same reason as the previous rule.

5) Use the right army.  We had some failed (1 star) attacks due to the wrong army being used.  There are a limited number of war armies that will yield 3 star success at various town hall levels.  If you don't know what the best army is, just ask and someone will help.  And start by reading these old posts:

Clan War Tips Part 1
Clan War Tips Part 2
Army Comps and Attack Strategies
Dragons and GoWipe Tips

6) Put high level dragons and high HP defensive troops in war map CCs.  Max wiz and archers can be lured and killed with one poison spell now unfortunately and no longer provide good defense in war.  Dragons, max loons, valks are better.  If you don't have level 4+ dragons, or max loons and valks then don't donate.  Let the higher levels fill the war map so everyone has the best defense possible.

7) Once you have started a war attack you cannot Surrender and use the attack later like you once could.  If you click Surrender and have not placed a troop you will get 0% on your attack.  This is why they put a war attack confirmation screen in to remind you if anything is missing before your war attack.  Be sure to review it carefully before attacking.

8) Don't forget about the corners.  It only takes one archer on each corner.  This is mentioned in Clan War Tips Part 1 & 2 but it cost us a star again this past war which we needed to secure our victory.  If you have archers or barbs to spare always do it early in your attack.  Getting 99% sucks and has happened to most of us at one point.


What else guys?  Let's keep adding to this list.

Dragonblood vs Evolution

Hey guys, long time since the last post.  I've been super busy with my job and family and will continue to be but wanted to congratulate everyone on a nice, close war win over a level 5 war clan named Evolution.  We had some struggles in this war but came through clutch in the end.

Here were some highlights and low-lights:

Recap
In the first 6 hours with almost the same attacks used we were losing 12-23.  This was mainly due to 1 star and 2 star attacks from unlucky or weird army attacks while the enemy was getting 3 star attacks on all of our lower bases.
The enemy had a double digit lead through most of the war.
In the last 5 hours of the war we had several clutch attacks including:

Pounds' triple on #3 with a max GoWiPe (TH10 vs TH9).
G Jr's triple on #15 with mass drags (TH8 vs TH7).
Gol's triple on #7 with hogs (TH8 vs TH8).
Jimbo's triple on #8 with HoGoWi (TH9 vs TH8).
Gol's triple on #10 with GoWiWiPe (TH8 vs TH8).
Fury's triple on #12 with mass drags (TH8 vs TH7).

During this time when the enemy was getting very few new stars per attack we were pouring in new stars and managed to get the victory by one with a clutch 3 star mass drags attack on #12 by Fury at the last moment.  Their #7 tried to get a star in the last seconds for the tie on Casey's base with a GoWiPe, but dropped their connection and got a 0%.  Tough break for them.  Good for us!

Special mention and congrats goes out to Pounds for getting a perfect 6 stars on the toughest bases.  #2 & 3, both TH9s.  Those max troops are paying off pounds.  Nice job!  Well done to those earning 4+ stars.  You're carrying your weight in war and then some!  If you only got 1 or 2 stars this war then watch your own replays and compare them to some of the 3 star attacks to see where you can improve.  It could be your target base choices, your army selection, your timing, spell choices and spell placement or a combination of the above.  Always make sure you are choosing the right army for the right base.  Some armies are better than others for certain bases.  If you're not sure then just ask.  That's what we're here for.  :)

*Note:  Soumya had a broken phone and was unable to attack.  He will get another one tomorrow.  He said his friend subhrajit's mother was sick and he had to travel back home to visit her.  So that is why subhrajit did not attack.  No explanation for Brunden though.  He was kicked.

Death By Dragons (War Recap: Dragonblood vs Hawa Pawa)

Hey guys, I'm calling this post Death By Dragons.  We got absolutely annihilated this war by dragons on both the offensive and defensive end.  On offense we only managed to get mostly 1 star per attack with our dragon attacks while the enemy got mostly 3 stars per attack with their dragon attacks.  Consequently we have roughly used the same amount of attacks as the enemy yet they have double the score of us.  No es bueno mis amigos.

We're getting 1 star attacks with our dragons

Enemy is getting mostly 3 star attacks with their dragons

 

Enemy is getting mostly 3 star attacks with their dragons

So what does this mean?

• The enemy knows how and when to use dragons and spells better than we do.
• The enemy has better designed anti-air bases than we do.

What can we do going forward?

• We can refine our dragon attack strategies to turn them into guaranteed 2 & 3 star attacks.  Dragons are not recommended against TH9s, but on TH8s mass dragons should be mostly 3 star attacks.  Watch the below videos to see how it's done.
• Some bases are easier to attack with GoWiPe or Hogs.  Last war I got 6 stars on TH8 attacks using GoWiPe and Hogs.  The bases were strong anti-air so I gave my dragons a rest.
• We can work on maxing our anti-air defenses and base designs by upgrading our air defenses and air sweepers and ensuring that our bases are as difficult as possible for the enemy to 3 star.  Triangulate your air defenses so they are not near the edges and position your air sweeper to give your air defenses more time to go to work.

So with that said everyone please watch the below videos to see some great tips and attack strategies for TH8s.