Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Headhunter is a fast Dark Elixir troop built to kill defending heroes: she hops over walls, ignores everything else while an enemy hero is alive, and deals four times her normal damage to heroes with a poison that slows them. She unlocks at Town Hall 12 with a level 9 Dark Barracks, takes 6 housing space, and got her first new level in six years on April 27, 2026, for a max of level 4 at Town Hall 18.
How the Headhunter works
While any enemy hero is still standing, the Headhunter heads for the heroes and nothing else. She walks past buildings, Clan Castle troops and trap Skeletons even while they hit her, and she jumps walls on the way. Guardians, the Town Hall 18 defenders, don’t count as heroes for this.
She fights at range (3 tiles), hitting a single target every 0.6 seconds, and moves at speed 32, as fast as a Goblin or Minion. Against heroes, her damage is multiplied by four. Each hit also applies a poison that slows the victim’s movement and attack rate and deals a small amount of damage over time; one Headhunter’s poison fades quickly, but several stacking on the same target add up. The poison only affects units, not buildings.
Once every enemy hero is down, she behaves like a normal troop with no favorite target: she hits the nearest building and turns on enemy units that engage her. She doesn’t go looking for Clan Castle troops specifically, despite what many guides say.
Her weak spot is health. With 500 hitpoints at max level, a few shots from almost anything will drop her.
Headhunter levels and stats
Research is done in the Laboratory using Dark Elixir. There’s a long gap: level 3 arrives at Town Hall 13 and level 4 only at Town Hall 18.
| Level | Damage per second | Damage per second vs heroes | Poison damage per second (max) | Slow (speed / attack rate) | Hitpoints | Research cost (Dark Elixir) | Research time | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 105 | 420 | 220 | 40% / 55% | 360 | – | – | 12 |
| 2 | 115 | 460 | 260 | 42% / 60% | 400 | 57,500 | 5d | 12 |
| 3 | 125 | 500 | 280 | 44% / 65% | 440 | 90,000 | 7d | 13 |
| 4 | 135 | 540 | 300 | 46% / 68% | 500 | 370,000 | 15d 12h | 18 |
The poison figure is the most it can reach when stacked; a single hit’s poison never gets close to it. Costs and times are before Gold Pass discounts.
How to attack with Headhunters
- Use them where a defending hero would wreck your plan. Because they jump walls, they don’t need a Jump or Earthquake Spell, so one or two can ride along with a hybrid army and deal with the Barbarian King or Archer Queen before your main troops meet them.
- Slip one in during a Queen Charge or hero dive. If your Queen is about to run into the enemy King, a Headhunter can kill or cripple him and save her ability for later, and you may not need the Freeze or Poison you set aside for him.
- Escort them with the Grand Warden‘s Eternal Tome. A pack of Headhunters inside the Tome’s radius can’t be damaged on the way to a hero, which makes them reliable hero killers. Watch for Spring Traps, and keep them inside the radius.
- They can pull the enemy Clan Castle by running at a hero standing near it, though you’ll usually need more than one, or a Giant as a shield, because they die fast.
- They’re poor trap testers. A trap only fires when she walks into its range, and she walks straight to the hero.
How to defend against Headhunters
- Keep your heroes near the core. Headhunters then have to cross more of your base alone, away from the attacker’s tanks.
- Multi-target Inferno Towers, Scattershots and Ricochet Cannons shred these low-HP troops before they arrive.
- Spring Traps on the path to your heroes can throw them off the map, one Headhunter per trap. If something bigger triggers the trap with her, the trap takes the bigger unit.
- Against Headhunters under an Eternal Tome, stall them instead: a Tornado Trap or a Poison Spell Tower holds them until the Tome runs out.
Headhunters in your Clan Castle
Defensive Headhunters are among the best answers to a Queen Charge. Their damage and poison force the Queen’s ability again and again, and without a quick Freeze or Lightning Spell from the attacker, they can kill her outright. They target every attacking hero, including a Grand Warden in air mode, and their poison also slows Siege Machines (except the Siege Barracks). The attacker’s easy reply is a Poison or Lightning Spell, since they are fragile.
Recent changes
- June 27, 2022: training cost removed.
- November 25, 2024: Dark Elixir troop costs halved.
- March 2025: training time removed (Clash Anytime).
- November 17, 2025: Town Hall 18 adds Guardians, which Headhunters do not treat as heroes.
- April 27, 2026: level 4 added for Town Hall 18.
Other Dark Elixir troops by Town Hall
| Town Hall | Dark troops unlocked |
|---|---|
| 7 | Minion, Hog Rider |
| 8 | Valkyrie, Golem |
| 9 | Witch, Lava Hound |
| 10 | Bowler |
| 11 | Ice Golem |
| 12 | Headhunter |
| 13 to 16 | Apprentice Warden, Druid, Furnace, Ruin Witch (one per Town Hall) |
Headhunter FAQ
What Town Hall unlocks the Headhunter?
Town Hall 12, with a level 9 Dark Barracks.
What is the Headhunter’s max level?
Level 4, added on April 27, 2026. It needs a level 16 Laboratory, so Town Hall 18.
Do Headhunters target Clan Castle troops after the heroes die?
No. After the last hero falls they attack whatever is closest, building or unit.
Do Headhunters attack Guardians?
Guardians aren’t heroes, so they get no priority or bonus damage from a Headhunter.
Sources: in-game troop and Laboratory data; Supercell release notes: Sound of Clash update (Headhunter level 4), Town Hall 18 update (Guardians), Town Hall 17 update, Clash Anytime update.
