Best TH13 Attack Strategy 2026: 3 Armies for War and CWL

If you're still at Town Hall 13, you don't need a fancy army. You need one or two attacks you can run without thinking.

This guide gives you three. Each one comes with a deploy order, the base it suits, and the mistakes that cost the third star. Everything here is current as of October 2026.

Most TH13 fails come from the same few defenses. In an August 2026 Reddit thread, TH13 players named the Infernos, the Scattershots and the Eagle Artillery as the ones that ruin attacks. For air armies, they added the Air Defenses and the Air Sweepers.

Single target Infernos are the worst of the group. They melt a tanky troop or a hero in seconds. Multi target Infernos are softer on heroes but shred swarms.

The Eagle Artillery is the other big threat. It wakes up once you deploy enough troops, and it hits hard in a wide area. That's why so many TH13 plans start by removing it, or by landing a siege machine on it.

Know where these sit before you pick an army. A base with a buried Eagle and spread out Air Defenses asks for a different plan than a base with everything packed in the core.

This is the main attack of the guide. I read a 2026 TH13 attack guide from a Supercell partner creator, and this was its top army. A December 2025 Reddit thread on TH13 attacking options backs it up. One player wrote that an Invisibility RC charge with mass Dragons worked well for them at TH13.

The idea is simple. The Royal Champion dives into one side of the base with Invisibility spells and clears the defenses there. Then Dragons and a few Balloons sweep through the space she opened.

The core pieces:

1. 1Royal Champion with Electro Boots, plus Rocket Spear if you have it.
2. 2Mass Dragons, with a few Balloons to tank and pick off defenses.
3. 3Invisibility spells for the charge, and Rage spells for the Dragons.
4. 4Grand Warden and Minion Prince flying with the Dragons.
5. 5A Battle Blimp or a Stone Slammer as the siege machine.

The Electro Boots carry this army. The creator called them the powerhouse of the charge.

Electro Boots are the Royal Champion's second Epic equipment. They first appeared in the Toyshop Throwdown event in December 2024. Since August 2025 they can also show up in the Trader for Gems.

The boots give the Champion a blue electric aura. It deals constant damage to ground and air units around her. She also gets extra hitpoints and heals a little every second.

That aura changes the charge. Clan Castle troops that swarm her die inside it. Small defenses she walks past keep taking damage even when she isn't targeting them.

It also explains a rule the creator stressed. Don't use a second Invisibility on the same defense. Once the Champion has damaged a building, the aura usually finishes it. A second spell on that target is a spell you'll miss later in the charge.

If you don't own the boots yet, the charge still works. It just needs more spell support and a cleaner entry point.

Pathing decides this attack. The creator's advice was to dive toward the Eagle Artillery or the Town Hall, or from the side next to the Town Hall. Those lines give the Champion a predictable path.

The order:

1. 1Pick an entry where the Champion's first targets lead toward the Eagle or the Town Hall.
2. 2Drop the Champion and cast Invisibility as she takes fire from the key defense in front of her.
3. 3Use Rocket Spear to reach defenses behind walls without walking into them.
4. 4Keep one Invisibility in hand for the moment an Inferno locks on.
5. 5Stop the charge when the side is open. Don't chase deep defenses with her.

The spell mix depends on your gear. With Rocket Spear, the creator took an Earthquake spell to thin defenses and save Invisibility. Without it, they took one extra Invisibility instead. That's a small swap, but it's the right one.

In this army, the Archer Queen's main job is one shot.

Giant Arrow is a one use ability. It shoots a large arrow across the village that pierces everything in its path. The creator's plan used it right after the Champion's dive, aimed to take out an Air Sweeper, and an Air Defense too if the line allows it.

That shot matters more than it looks. A Sweeper pushes Dragons back and stalls the whole wave. Removing it before the Dragons launch saves a lot of time.

Line the arrow up before you drop the Queen. Look for a Sweeper and an Air Defense that sit in one straight line from the edge. If no line covers both, take the Sweeper. Air Defenses die to Dragons anyway, but a Sweeper can quietly ruin the run.

Once the side is open and the Sweeper is down, send the air wave. Drop the Dragons in a wide line behind the cleared side, with Balloons just ahead of them. Then send the Grand Warden and the Minion Prince.

The siege machine depends on what fell during the charge:

Rage the Blimp when it reaches the Town Hall area. That's the creator's advice.

Time the heroes carefully. Use the Grand Warden's ability early, while the Dragons cross the middle of the base. That's where the air traps usually sit. Save the Minion Prince's ability for later, when the Dragons hit the far defenses.

Yes, but only as a donation. I checked Supercell's Town Hall 18 release notes. The Totem Spell unlocks at Town Hall 16. A TH13 player can't brew it, so it has to come from a clanmate in the Clan Castle.

Supercell describes it as a cosmic rock slab. It stuns and damages buildings where it lands, and enemies target it for a short time. That makes it a distraction tool.

The creator used it on the defenses that hurt most: single target Infernos, Air Defenses, or defending heroes. A well placed Totem buys the Dragons a few seconds in the worst part of the base.

Before the Totem existed, one player in the Reddit thread put a Freeze spell in the Clan Castle instead. That still works if your clan can't donate a Totem. Freeze the Inferno or the defense that guards the core.

The second army is the Hydra. It mixes Dragons and Dragon Riders, so it has more punch against single defenses than mass Dragons alone. Our Dragon Rider army guide covers the troop in more depth.

One player in the Reddit thread described their version clearly:

1. 1A Royal Champion charge with five or six Invisibility spells.
2. 2Dragon Riders plus Dragons as the main wave.
3. 3A Battle Blimp carrying Super Yetis into the core.
4. 4The Archer Queen with Giant Arrow on the opposite side.

The Yeti Blimp is the key change. Yetis drop deep into the base and split the defenses' attention. While the core deals with them, the air wave works from the outside in.

Other players in the thread ran a half Dragon, half Dragon Rider split. Try both in a friendly challenge before war day. The split that suits your hero levels is the right one.

Not every base suits air. A base with grouped Air Defenses and Sweepers covering every angle can crush Dragons. That's where a ground army helps.

The Queen charge with Hogs came up in the Reddit thread as a working TH13 option. The Archer Queen walks a path along one side with Healers behind her. She clears outer defenses and opens a lane. Then the Hog Riders go in with Heal spells to take out the rest.

This army rewards scouting. Hogs fear Giant Bombs, so look for the spaces between defenses where pairs of bombs often sit. Your Heal spells should land just before those spots.

It also needs a strong Queen. If your Queen sits far below max for TH13, an air army will usually serve you better. Players in the same thread also mentioned Super Witches with Bats and Freeze as another ground choice.

I compared the three armies against the defense layouts players complained about most. This table is a starting point, not a rule.

The TH13 war base layout guide shows the defending side of these layouts. Reading it helps you spot the traps a base builder sets.

Most failed TH13 attacks share a few errors. Most of these come straight from the creator's guide.

1. 1Casting Invisibility twice on one defense. The Electro Boots aura usually finishes it.
2. 2Sending the Blimp while the Eagle Artillery still stands.
3. 3Using the Grand Warden's ability too late, after the Dragons hit the middle traps.
4. 4Picking an entry with random pathing. The Champion wanders and the charge stalls.
5. 5Forgetting the clock. The creator warned to watch the time and send cleanup troops before it runs out.

The last one hurts most. A 99% attack is often a few buildings left in a corner while the timer ends. Keep a small group of cleanup troops for that corner.

It's also easy to over plan. Watch your own replays. They'll show you which step broke.

I read a TH13 attack guide from a Supercell partner creator, uploaded in 2026. I don't quote its numbers here. I only kept the plan and the order of steps.

I read the December 2025 Reddit thread on TH13 attacking options for the army list, and an August 2026 thread for the defenses players fear most. I checked the Totem Spell's unlock level against Supercell's Town Hall 18 release notes.

I didn't list exact troop counts. Hero levels, equipment and Clan Castle size change the right mix from player to player. Use the order and the logic, and fill your camps to match your own account.

This guide reflects what players reported as of October 2026. If a balance change shifts these armies, I'll update it.