Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Crafting Station is a free Home Village building that you turn into one of three temporary Crafted Defenses, then upgrade module by module. The defenses rotate in phases of about four months. Phase 4 (Hot Candle, Hero Hunter and Cake-A-Pult) runs from August 1 to December 31, 2026, and since August 1 the Station is open to every player from Town Hall 11 up.
How the Crafting Station works
You get one Crafting Station. It takes a 3×3 space, costs nothing to place and has 1,000 hitpoints until you pick a defense. Even empty, it counts as a defense, so Giants and Balloons go for it.
Choosing a defense is free, and you can switch between the three current defenses whenever you like. You can’t turn it back into an empty Station once a defense is chosen. Each defense has three modules (usually hitpoints, damage and one other stat), each upgrading from level 1 to 10. The defense’s level is the sum of its modules, so it starts at level 3 and tops out at 30.
Module upgrades behave like normal building upgrades:
- Each one needs a free Builder. Only one module per defense can upgrade at a time, but different defenses can upgrade at once.
- They cost Gold, Elixir or Dark Elixir depending on the module, and give experience.
- Gems, Magic Items and the Gold Pass Builder discount all apply, and the defense keeps fighting while it upgrades.
- Every module level earns 8 Sparky Stones for the Fancy Shop, so a fully upgraded defense is worth 216.
When a phase ends, every Crafted Defense goes back to an empty Station and any upgrade still in progress is refunded. War and Ranked snapshots taken before the switch still show the old defense.
Crafting Station at Town Hall 11 and up
Phase 4 opened the Station to Town Hall 11. Your Town Hall caps how far each module can go: level 1 at Town Hall 11, one more level per Town Hall up to level 7 at Town Hall 17, and levels 8 to 10 at Town Hall 18. That gives these max defense levels:
| Town Hall | Max module level | Max defense level |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | 3 | 9 |
| 14 | 4 | 12 |
| 15 | 5 | 15 |
| 16 | 6 | 18 |
| 17 | 7 | 21 |
| 18 | 10 | 30 |
At Town Hall 11 there is nothing to upgrade yet. Lower modules are quick (4 to 19 hours for levels 2 to 6), while the Town Hall 18 levels take days each. Maxing one Phase 4 defense takes about 67 days 13 hours of builder time, up from 54 days in earlier phases.
Every crafting phase so far
| Phase | Dates | Town Hall | Crafted Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 16 to November 16, 2025 | 17 | Hook Tower, Flame Spinner, Crusher Mortar |
| 2 | November 20, 2025 to March 31, 2026 | 18 | Light Beam, Hero Bell, Bomb Hive |
| 3 | April 1 to July 30, 2026 | 18 | Crafted Roaster, Air Bombs and Lava Launcher |
| 4 (live) | August 1 to December 31, 2026 | 11 to 18 | Hot Candle, Hero Hunter, Cake-A-Pult |
Phase 1 arrived with the “Let’s Get Crafty” update. Phases were first meant to last three months, but Phase 1 was stretched to the Town Hall 18 launch and later phases were set at four months. The Hook Tower pulled a troop into its blind spot and stunned it, the Light Beam’s shots weakened with distance, and the Hero Bell boosted defending heroes. Phase 3 brought Home Village versions of three Builder Base defenses; a May 2026 balance pass cut the crafted Lava Launcher’s damage and range and sped up Air Bombs and the Roaster.
Phase 4 defenses (until December 31, 2026)
Hot Candle
A multi-target defense that hits ground and air within 10.5 tiles, firing every 0.5 seconds. In its first form it splits its flames across up to six targets, much like the Multi-Archer Tower. It melts twice during a battle: after the first melt it fires four flames, after the second only three. Fewer targets in range means more flames on each one, so a lone hero takes all six.
| Module | Level 1 | Level 10 | Paid with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitpoints | 1,600 | 6,000 | Elixir |
| Damage per second per flame | 80 | 250 | Gold |
| Seconds before first melt | 59 s | 77 s | Dark Elixir |
Since the August 31, 2026 update, the melt timer starts when the attacker deploys a troop.
Hero Hunter
A card-firing cannon with 9.5 tiles of range that hits one ground or air target every 0.6 seconds. Heroes are its favorite target and take double damage. Each hit also poisons the target, slowing it and adding damage that fades quickly, like a Poison Spell.
| Module | Level 1 | Level 10 | Paid with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitpoints | 1,600 | 6,000 | Dark Elixir |
| Damage per second (vs heroes) | 145 (290) | 385 (770) | Elixir |
| Poison Spell level | 3 | 12 | Gold |
Cake-A-Pult
A lobbing defense with a 3 to 12 tile range, so troops standing right next to it are safe. Every 3 seconds it throws a cake that splashes ground or air troops in a 2.5-tile area, then leaves a bomb that goes off 3 seconds later and hits both ground and air in the same radius.
| Module | Level 1 | Level 10 | Paid with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitpoints | 1,600 | 5,800 | Gold |
| Cake damage per hit | 195 | 375 | Dark Elixir |
| Bomb explosion damage | 400 | 950 | Elixir |
Which Phase 4 defense to pick
Swapping is free, so try all three before spending builder time.
- The Hero Hunter punishes hero-led attacks such as Dragon Duke charges or a Queen walk. Its poison also slows whatever it hits.
- The Hot Candle is strongest against swarms and lone heroes early in an attack, before it melts. Keep it away from your Scattershots and Inferno Towers so one Freeze or Overgrowth Spell can’t shut them all down.
- The Cake-A-Pult’s delayed bomb hits air and ground, but troops at its feet are safe, so put close-range defenses or traps next to it.
- Upgrade the hitpoints module early on whatever you pick. Low-health Crafted Defenses are easy to snipe with equipment like the Giant Arrow.
Attacking Crafted Defenses
A Fireball plus an Earthquake Spell can remove a Hot Candle when both are high enough level. Send several troops at it together so the flames spread out, and use an Invisibility Spell, Freeze or Overgrowth when your heroes walk past it. The Flame Flinger and the Royal Champion‘s Rocket Spear can hit it from outside its range. Against the Hero Hunter, don’t send a hero in alone. Against the Cake-A-Pult, close the distance; anything inside 3 tiles is out of its reach.
Crafting Station changes
- June 16, 2025: Crafting Station added for Town Hall 17.
- November 17, 2025: moved to Town Hall 18; Sparky Stones and the Fancy Shop added, with past module upgrades converted.
- August 1, 2026: opened to Town Hall 11 and up, with module upgrade times rebalanced.
- December 31, 2026: Phase 4 is scheduled to end.
Crafting Station FAQ
What Town Hall do you get the Crafting Station?
Town Hall 11, since August 1, 2026. Before that it was only for the highest Town Hall: 17 in Phase 1, then 18.
When does the current crafting phase end?
Phase 4 ends December 31, 2026. Going by the four-month rotation, a new set of three should follow.
Do I lose my Crafted Defense upgrades when the phase ends?
Yes. The Station resets and module levels don’t carry over, but running upgrades are refunded and your Sparky Stones stay.
For every other defense in the village, see the defensive buildings hub.
Sources: Supercell release notes and posts (Town Hall 18 update, Sound of Clash season, April 2026, State of Gameplay part 2, July 2026 balance update), in-game data.
