Stone Slammer Attack Strategy COC 2026 — TH16+ Air Push

Seriously, I don't understand why the Stone Slammer isn't talked about more. Every TH16 and TH17 guide I see recommends the Battle Blimp for everything, and yeah — the Blimp is great for core dives. But there's a whole category of TH17 bases where the Blimp just dies before it reaches the core and the Stone Slammer actually does more work.

I switched to Slammer-based lalo about six weeks ago after getting burned three times in a row on a specific CWL base that had its Air Defenses and Air Sweepers positioned to counter Blimp approaches from both sides. The Slammer's higher HP pool meant it survived long enough to deliver troops deeper into the base and the bomb drops it does on the way changed my funnel angle entirely.

Let me break down what the Stone Slammer actually does, when to use it, and the specific army comp I've been running at TH17.

The Stone Slammer is a siege machine that carries up to 14 housing space of troops (same as the Blimp) and flies toward the Town Hall. The key differences from the Battle Blimp:

**Stone Slammer has significantly higher HP.** At max level, the Slammer has roughly 5,400 HP vs the Blimp's 3,800. That extra 1,600 HP sounds small but against TH17 Air Defenses that deal 360+ DPS at max level, it means the Slammer survives 4-5 extra seconds before going down. Those 4-5 seconds are often the difference between your Slammer troops deploying inside the second ring of defenses vs deploying at the perimeter.

**It drops Skeleton Bombs on the way.** Every few seconds during its approach, the Stone Slammer drops Skeleton Bombs that deploy small Skeleton clusters on the base. These Skeletons are weak individually but in aggregate they trigger traps, distract defenses, and occasionally destroy isolated buildings before your main troops even land. In longer attacks this matters — I've had Skeleton Bomb clusters take out Bomb Towers and Hidden Teslas that I didn't even target.

**It moves slower but more predictably.** The Blimp is faster and can sometimes take weird diagonal paths that mess up your funnel. The Slammer moves in a straighter line and at a pace where you can better predict where your troops will land. For Lalo attacks where precise troop deployment timing is everything, the Slammer's slower movement actually makes it easier to sync your hero deployment with the Slammer's position.

I'm not saying the Blimp is bad — it's still better for pure core-dive strategies where you need to reach the Town Hall fast. But the Slammer is better for durability-focused approaches where you need your siege troops to deploy inside the base rather than outside it.

Here's the army comp I've been running for Stone Slammer Lalo at TH17. I'll give you the TH16 variant too since the logic is almost the same with slight troop count adjustments.

**TH17 Stone Slammer Lalo:** - 3 Lava Hounds - 18-20 Balloons - 6-8 Minions (for cleanup) - 2 Haste Spells - 2 Rage Spells - 1 Freeze Spell - 1 Lightning Spell (for CC activation or Air Defense zap) - Stone Slammer with 2 Dragons inside (or Super Minions if you have them)

**Stone Slammer contents matter.** People load the Slammer with Balloons by default but I've found 2 Dragons or 2 Super Minions to be more effective. Dragons have more HP and keep attacking after the Slammer goes down, while Super Minions have ridiculous range and can shoot defenses from 9 tiles away. The troops inside the Slammer need to be high-durability or high-range — not glass cannon troops that die the second the Slammer pops.

**TH16 variant:** Drop 1 Lava Hound (run 2 total), reduce Balloons to 14-16, swap one Haste for an extra Rage. The core logic stays the same.

Here's the attack flow I use:

1. Identify the two strongest Air Defense clusters on opposite sides of the base. 2. Deploy two Lava Hounds toward the stronger side first — these soak air defense damage and delay it while your Balloons set up. 3. Send the Stone Slammer into the "weak" Air Defense side (the side with fewer or lower-level ADs). The Slammer's HP means it can handle some AD fire on the weak side without dying before delivering troops. 4. Deploy your main Balloon group behind the Lava Hounds on the strong side. 5. Use one Haste Spell on the Balloon cluster around the time they reach the first Air Defense. 6. Deploy your third Lava Hound on the clean-up side once the first two have tanked enough damage. 7. Freeze the Eagle Artillery once it's in range and your Balloons are clustered. 8. Deploy Minions last for cleanup on the outer buildings your Lava Hounds and Balloons haven't reached.

Heroes in Lalo attacks are more support than frontline. Here's what I run:

**Archer Queen with Frozen Arrow + Giant Arrow.** The AQ doesn't go into the main Lalo push — I typically use her for a pre-funnel kill on one of the Air Defenses or Clan Castle troops. Deploy her on the side opposite your main Lalo approach, let her take out 2-3 outer defenses and ideally trigger and kill the CC troops, then recall her before she gets too deep. This removes CC threat from your Balloon group without wasting a Lightning spell.

**Grand Warden in air mode.** Non-negotiable for Lalo. Keep the Warden following your main Balloon cluster. His Eternal Tome ability at max gives your Balloons enough immunity time to survive the Eagle Artillery detonation burst and keep moving. I trigger the Tome manually when I see the Eagle Artillery about to light up — don't auto-trigger it.

**Dragon Duke on the opposite flank.** The Duke in solo mode (keeping him away from your Lava Hounds and Balloons so Royal Rampage activates) can independently take out one full side of outer defenses while your main Lalo push handles the other side. This dual-threat approach means the base is getting attacked from two directions simultaneously and defense AI can't optimally respond to both.

**Barbarian King.** Honestly, the BK is awkward in air attacks. I sometimes skip deploying him until the very end for cleanup, or I use him as a funnel opener on a corner building before the main Lalo group arrives. Don't force the BK into the air attack core — he can't hit air units anyway and he'll just wander around doing nothing near the Lava Hound splash zone.

For equipment, Frozen Arrow on the AQ and Eternal Tome on the Warden are the must-haves. For the Dragon Duke, Fire Heart + Stun Blaster is what I run on Lalo days since the Stun Blaster's radius stun helps the Duke survive against defenses that are still active on his flank. You can check out the super troops guide for info on which super troop upgrades boost your Lalo army the most.

For official troop stats and update notes straight from Supercell, clashofclans.com posts all balance changes in their news section — useful for tracking if Stone Slammer HP or Balloon DPS changed in recent updates. And if you want to practice reading bases for Stone Slammer vulnerability before your next CWL, the Base Drop browse page has plenty of TH16 and TH17 layouts to study.

The Slammer isn't a universal answer. There are specific base types where it underperforms.

**Don't use it on spread-out Air Defense bases.** Some TH17 designs place all four Air Defenses in wide outer positions that the Slammer has to fly through before reaching the Town Hall. The Slammer's higher HP helps but against 4 maxed ADs firing simultaneously, even 5,400 HP doesn't save it. On these bases, the Blimp's speed means it can actually reach the Town Hall faster because it doesn't have to tank as many shots on the approach.

**Don't use it if the CC troops include Super Minions.** Super Minions at 9-tile range will absolutely delete your Balloons before the Slammer even delivers its troops. Against bases with Super Minion CCs, use a Lightning spell to trigger and kill the CC before starting your main push — but even then, the Slammer's approach path often brings it right into Super Minion range. Blimp + Invisibility Spell is better against Super Minion CCs.

**Don't use it on bases with centralized Air Sweepers pointing at your main funnel side.** The Slammer is slower than the Blimp, which means Air Sweepers push your Slammer sideways for longer. If two Air Sweepers are both aimed at the same approach vector, the Slammer can end up significantly off-path and your troops land in the wrong position. I've had Slammer attacks get completely derailed by double Air Sweeper coverage that a Blimp would have punched through.

Bottom line: know the base before you pick your siege. The Slammer is the right call against high-HP core bases where you need a durable delivery system. The Blimp is better for speed and precision core diving.