Overview
The Aerial Explosive becomes available upon reaching Town Hall level 5, making it the initial trap specifically designed to target flying units. It activates when a hovering troop enters its vicinity, then ascends from the ground and pursues the nearest airborne unit. Upon making contact with the aerial unit or the location where the unit was destroyed, the Aerial Explosive detonates. Contrary to its name, it is not a floating variant of the typical Explosive since it possesses the ability to move.
The Aerial Explosive is particularly potent against swarms of Minions and inflicts substantial damage to Balloons, particularly those at level 3 or lower. However, it is considerably less effective against high-health targets such as Dragons. Similar to other traps, the Aerial Explosive needs to be rearmed after activation, which occurs automatically and free of charge when the player logs in.
Tactics
Defensive Strategies
In the initial stages of the game, positioning an Aerial Explosive adjacent to an Air Defense can yield great results. Upon the destruction of the Air Defense by ground troops, the opponent might deploy their powerful aerial units simultaneously, allowing the Aerial Explosive to damage a large portion of the enemy forces.
Nonetheless, at advanced Town Hall levels, it is inadvisable to place Aerial Explosives within the range of an Air Defense, as Lava Hounds will directly approach and trigger the trap, sustaining minimal damage. For lower levels, where Balloons possess relatively low health, positioning two Aerial Explosives together can rapidly annihilate clusters of Balloons before the attacker has an opportunity to respond with a Healing Spell, assuming they possess one.
Arrange your defenses to compel enemy Balloons to congregate, then eliminate them using Aerial Explosives when they cluster accordingly. At higher levels, while Aerial Explosives may have a diminished impact on Balloons, they can still significantly affect Minions, Lava Pups, and Bats (the latter only if another troop activates the trap first). Even so, multiple Aerial Explosives can pose a challenge to Balloons, particularly if a Wizard Tower is nearby, forcing the attacker to employ a Healing Spell.
Offensive Strategies
To safeguard your robust aerial forces from Aerial Explosives, deploy your weakest air units (such as a Minion or Balloon) in the area where you suspect an Aerial Explosive is present. This will deceive the Aerial Explosives into targeting these weaker units, ensuring the safety of your more powerful aerial troops.
Refrain from deploying your Minions in areas where you suspect an Aerial Explosive might be hidden (e.g., near an exposed Town Hall or resource storage, or close to an Air Defense), as it can detonate and almost always instantly eliminate a large group of Minions. This scenario may not apply when deploying level 9 or higher Minions against a level 1 Aerial Explosive, which is exceptionally situational, unless their hitpoints have been enhanced by the Life Aura of the Grand Warden, in which case a level 10 Minion can withstand Aerial Explosives up to level 5.
Aerial units with greater hitpoints, such as Dragons and Electro Dragons, can typically disregard the Aerial Explosive, as its damage is insignificant relative to the troop’s health. However, the Lava Hound can be an exception in specific cases; if the Aerial Explosive detonates just as the Lava Hound divides into Lava Pups, it may eliminate all the Lava Pups simultaneously before they can inflict any damage.
