Clash of Clans - BH8 is finally about to drop!

So...I’ve been perusing the coming changes with BH8 and pondering attack strategies, troop upgrade paths, and the BM.

Originally, I was thinking the added air defenses would swat air attacks right out of the sky.  BUT...it looks like SC has balanced that out with some buffs to air attack strategies.

1) Beta Minions get additional DPS and HP as well as improved Long Shot.

2) Night Witch gets additional DPS and HP as well as improved Bat Swarm.

3) Drop Ships get a massive 213 HP increase, improved Skeleton deploy,net speed, and all levels get a 10% HP buff.

Add to this the sixth Army Camp and I think air is going to do just fine.  The best air attack strategies (and the ones I will start working first)....

Minion Drops - 4 camps Beta Minions, 2 camps Drop Ships as the standard attack, occasionally going with 3/3 when it makes sense.

Drop Mitch - Drop Mitch was great at BH7 but lacked the longer air tanking capabilities needed to let the Beta Minions wreak their havoc.  With the sixth camp and Drop Ships, this strat makes a comeback at BH8.

Mass Beta Minions - MBM will carry a decent player all the way to current max loot (4K).  Under BH8, it will get you there even faster.  I don’t think it will be viable beyond 4K, but that sixth Army Camp and rushing just got a LOT more powerful.  There is no reason why new players can’t get to 4K in under a month now.

The ground attack has some new challenges with the added ground defenses.  The Mega Tesla, added Cannon and Double Cannon, Hidden Tesla, traps and MegaMine...this will prove to be challenging for the ground attacker.  The Boxer Giant gets an additional unit plus increased DPS and HP, Raged Barbs get tougher, and Sneaky Archers get tougher with 2 more units per camp (the nerf will discourage mass SA, but they b4vome stronger support units).  The real gem of the ground update, though, is the additional Cannon Cart in each Army Camp.  Between that and the earlier buff, CCs will be a force to be reckoned with at BH8, especially when they have more tanks (+1 Boxer Giants) and the Super PEKKA.

What ground attacks do I see coming out strong...?

GiBoCC - 2 camps Boxer Giants to tank, 1 camp Bombers to clear barriers, and 3 camps of Cannon Carts to beat everything down.  Once mastered, I think this will become one of the strongest ground attacks in the game.  Eventually, I think the Super PEKKA will replace one camp in this strat (GiBoCCa?) but I’m not Sure which we Drop - Boxer Giants or Cannon Carts.  I’m realit, I think it could go either way.

The Old Standards - GiBArch, BomBArch, Bombarian, Bombarian Carts...all of the standard ground attacks are strengthened enough at BH8 to be sustainable into at least the max-loot trophy ranks.  Sneaky Archers May lose some of their cloaking time, but the additional units per camp and HP/DPS increases will solidify their position as stealth key defense removers.

GiWitch will make a comeback as well, especially with the added Army Camp and increased units of Boxer Giants.  I’ll run this one as 2 camps Boxer Giants, 4 camps Noght Witches.

The Super PEKKA is an unknown here.  As I mentioned above, I definitely see GiBoCCa in our future, I see using her with GiWitch too.  A version of DroPekkaMitch looks good too (1 camp Drop Ships to tank for the Beta Minions, 1 camp Super PEKKA to tank for the Night Witches).  These three will be my first to play around with, followed quickly by an SP, RB, SA combo.

Because ground is so strong, most players will likely put traps/mines to ground and centralize defenses into the strong hub design.  This will be good for air attackers and strengthen the air attack.  The third MegaMine will almost certainly go to air though - two on the ground should be enough, and I think putting a couple of regular mines to air makes sense as well. Centralizing key defenses, especially with the lack of additional walls, will create a series of overlapping defense zones.  The strong hub base design will really consolidate defensive strength - one star results will be easy but getting the second star, much less the third, will be difficult.  65% 2-Star wins will likely be the bar when the dust settles.

As to upgrading troops...I was able to max my BH7 game for everything except walls (got ‘em to level 6 then stopped just a few days ago).  I will follow my usual upgrade path of air then ground....

1) Beta Minions to L16

2) Drop Ships to L16

3) Cannon Carts to L16

4) Boxer Giants to L16

5) Bombers to L16

6) Night Witch to L16

The Super PEKKA...I am in a wait and see mode on where to insert her in the upgrade process.  I need to see the stats and figure out where she becomes usable. BB troops start out too weak to be used at upper level play; they really need to hit mid-level before they become strong enough to really be useful, and I expect the SP to be the same.  As in the past, I will likely gem a few levels as I get the feel for the SP’s attack capabilities.

So...now we wait for the update to drop.  I am expecting SuperCell to let the update fly either Monday or Tuesday.  That’s when the real fun begins...!  I’ll be posting my BH8 upgrade guide, troop and attack strategies, new base designs, and much more.  I’m going to try a livestream of the first upgrades I run as well.

Stay tuned!