CoC BH8 - Minion Drops Attack Strategy

Minion Drops itself really hasn’t changed very much at BH8.  The additional Army Camp lets you take more troops, and the L16 upgrades make them much stronger.  Drop Ships pick up 234 HP at level 15, and the Skeleton Summon cool down drops a full half second to 3.4 seconds.  That means more skellies and a troop that’s harder to take down.  The Beta Minion picks up 6 points of DPS and 18 points of HP (10% bump) at L15, and gets another Long Shot added to his ability for a total of 6, long distance…er…spitballs.

The strategy itself is pretty much the same.

1. Figure out the base’s weak side - This can be tough.  Look at the defenses and ask yourself - what’s going to take my attack down the fastest?  For my part, I usually like the Roaster for my launching point; others (like MexicanBob) tend to go after the AirBombs.
2. Take out some junk buildings on the outside - It’s important to knock out as many of the distraction buildings as you can so your Drop Ships can get to the heart of the base, taking enemy fire while your Beta Minions provide a solid thrashing.  The last thing we want is our tanks or primary firing line spending time outside the base, taking a pummeling from enemy defenses.  Be thrifty here - you can often take out 3 buildings with just a single Beta Minion; consider where it will go after it destroys each so you can best control deployment and pathing.
3. Send in the first salvo of Drop Ships to soak up hits - The first Drop Ships you place are going to set the pace for your attack and it’s usually best to send in 3 to 4 at most.  (Some players go even more slowly, depending upon the base layout.)  Most bases are designed with rings of defenses - the outermost ring is typically there to slow your troops down and break their approach; after that, you will hit 2 or 3 layers of defenses directly.  A well designed base will have the strongest defenses surrounding the BH itself with target zones that overlap the ring of buildings in front of it.  As such, you want to get the first line of Drop Ships past the junk ring and focus them (and your Beta Minions) on the first regular defense layer.
4. Send in Beta Minions to rake the base - The Beta Minions are the workhorse troop in this attack strategy.  Keep them behind the Drop Ships and on the attack.  They secure the forward progression of your attack.
5. Replace the Drop Ships as they go down - This is why you only send in 3 or 4 Drop Ships in your initial salvo - they WILL go down, creating a gaping hole in your forward defense that enemy defenses WILL take advantage of!  This is especially the case with the Roaster - the Weapon of Mass Beta Minion Destruction.  By slowly backfilling them just before they go down, you ensure continuous tanking and maximum damage.

Some players will hold a few troops back for clean-up at the end, others drop the lot of ‘em right away - it’s really up to you.  It’s worth giving the base a solid once over before you launch the attack though, just to see where the attack might end up and how those few held-back Beta Minions might just help out.

As it was at BH7, success with Minion Drops is all about timing - you need the Drop Ships to stay up long enough for the Beta Minions to take down the most significant defenses, which are air targeting defenses - AirBombs, FireCrackers, and the Roaster.   At BH8, the key to success with Minion Drops is patience, plain and simple.  You have 3 minutes to execute your attack and even though these attacks typically take much less than the full 3 minutes, they just might need it if the base is particularly complicated or the upgraded defenses are well positioned.

The Battle Machine’s role in this attack is distraction, destruction, and clean-up.  It’s not always necessary to wait until the end of the attack to deploy the Battle Machine and, sometimes, it makes sense to send him in sooner rather than later (especially if you need to deal with the Roaster).  You’ll want to take down the primary defenses that work against the Battle Machine though, especially the Giant Cannon.

Many players have upgraded their ground troops but there are still a lot who have level 7 or lower air targeting defenses, so this attack is quite viable at early to mid BH8.  Likewise, level 14 troops are frequently strong enough to carry you through with high percentage, 2-star results.  When BH8 first hit, Minion Drops was the attack of choice until so many of the more competitive players hit level 16 with their Cannon Carts.  For those who stuck with it, it’s a great strategy to use well into the 5000s.

The companion video for this guide is up at….