Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
Town Hall 9 adds the first X-Bows, a fourth Air Defense, the Witch, Lava Hound and Baby Dragon, four new spells, and a third hero, the Minion Prince. It is also the level where the Hero Hall gets a second slot, so you finally take two heroes into every attack. Below are the TH9 max levels, an upgrade order, the armies that work in 2026 and how to build a TH9 base.
What Town Hall 9 unlocks
| Category | New at TH9 |
|---|---|
| New defenses | 2 X-Bows |
| More of what you have | +1 Archer Tower (6), +1 Air Defense (4), +1 Wizard Tower (4), +1 Air Sweeper (2), +1 Hidden Tesla (4), 25 more Walls (250) |
| Traps | +1 Giant Bomb (4), +2 Seeking Air Mines (4) |
| Resource buildings | A 7th Gold Mine and Elixir Collector, a 4th Gold and Elixir Storage, a 3rd Dark Elixir Drill |
| Other buildings | Helper Hut, with the Lab Assistant |
| Troops | Baby Dragon, Witch, Lava Hound |
| Spells | Jump, Freeze, Haste, Skeleton |
| Heroes and equipment | Minion Prince (Hero Hall level 3), a 2nd hero slot and Hero Banner, Giant Arrow for the Queen (Blacksmith level 2) |
The Minion Prince arrived with the TH17 update in November 2024 and is open to every player at TH9 and up. He is a flying hero built to deal damage from above and weaken defenses, and he starts with the Henchmen Puppet and Dark Orb. The Helper Hut is not optional: you have to build it before moving on. Its Lab Assistant is free at TH9 and can work on your current research for an hour each work day, cutting time off it.
Max levels at Town Hall 9
Defenses and traps
| Building | Count | Max level |
|---|---|---|
| Cannon | 5 | 11 |
| Archer Tower | 6 | 11 |
| Mortar | 4 | 7 |
| Air Defense | 4 | 7 |
| Wizard Tower | 4 | 7 |
| Hidden Tesla | 4 | 7 |
| Air Sweeper | 2 | 5 |
| Bomb Tower | 1 | 3 |
| X-Bow | 2 | 3 |
| Walls | 250 | 10 |
| Bomb | 6 | 6 |
| Spring Trap | 6 | 4 |
| Air Bomb | 4 | 4 |
| Giant Bomb | 4 | 3 |
| Seeking Air Mine | 4 | 2 |
| Skeleton Trap | 2 | 3 |
Army, resource buildings and heroes
| Building or hero | Max level | What the cap means |
|---|---|---|
| Army Camp (4) | 7 | 220 housing space |
| Barracks | 11 | Baby Dragon |
| Dark Barracks | 6 | Witch, Lava Hound |
| Spell Factory / Dark Spell Factory | 4 / 4 | 9 spell slots in total |
| Laboratory | 7 | Research cap for the army table below |
| Clan Castle | 5 | 30 troops and 1 spell |
| Hero Hall | 3 | 2 hero slots |
| Blacksmith | 2 | Common equipment to 9, Epic to 12 |
| Gold Mine and Elixir Collector (7 each) | 12 | |
| Gold and Elixir Storage (4 each) | 11 | |
| Dark Elixir Drill (3) / Storage | 6 / 6 | |
| Barbarian King / Archer Queen | 30 / 30 | |
| Minion Prince | 10 |
Troops and spells
| Unit | Max level at TH9 |
|---|---|
| Barbarian, Archer, Giant, Goblin, Balloon, Wizard | 6 |
| Wall Breaker, Minion, Hog Rider | 5 |
| Healer, Dragon, P.E.K.K.A, Valkyrie, Golem | 4 |
| Baby Dragon, Witch, Lava Hound | 2 |
| Lightning, Healing Spells | 6 |
| Rage Spell | 5 |
| Poison, Earthquake Spells | 3 |
| Jump, Freeze, Haste Spells | 2 |
| Skeleton Spell | 1 |
Town Hall 9 upgrade priority
- Place the X-Bows, Helper Hut and new resource buildings. The extra storages let you hold enough for the bigger TH9 upgrades.
- Upgrade the Hero Hall to level 3. It brings the Minion Prince and the second hero slot, and TH10 requires it.
- Take the Laboratory to 7 and put the Lab Assistant to work every day.
- Upgrade the Spell Factory to 4 for Jump, Freeze and two more slots, then the Dark Barracks to 6 if you want Witches or Lava Hounds.
- Raise the Army Camps to 7 for 20 more housing space.
- Upgrade the Blacksmith to 2 for the Giant Arrow. Her ability then fires a huge arrow that pierces everything in a line, a common way to knock out an Air Defense before air troops arrive.
- Upgrade heroes whenever you take a break from attacking. The King and Queen both go to 30 now, a long track, so keep a builder on them.
- Then the X-Bows and Air Defenses, the rest of the defenses, and Walls.
Armies that work at Town Hall 9 in 2026
Zap Dragons
The most reliable TH9 attack this year. Lightning plus an Earthquake takes out Air Defenses before the Dragons go in, with Baby Dragons and Balloons for the outside and the Minion Prince flying with the main push. The Queen’s Giant Arrow can help bring down another one.
Golem Witch
Golems tank, Witches flood the core with skeletons, and Jump Spells let them skip wall layers. It forgives mistakes and needs little planning.
Queen Charge LavaLoon
Lava Hounds fly at Air Defenses while Balloons follow and hit the rest. The Queen opens one side of the base before the air wave goes in, with Wizards and Wall Breakers in support. It takes practice, and it teaches skills you will use at higher Town Halls.
Golem-Wizard-P.E.K.K.A pushes and mass Hog Riders also work if your base matches are mostly TH9.
How to build a Town Hall 9 base
The strongest TH9 attacks are air armies, so a TH9 base is mostly about keeping the four Air Defenses alive.
- Spread the Air Defenses so no Lightning-and-Earthquake drop reaches two of them, and keep them inside the walls where Lava Hounds have to fly through other fire to reach them.
- Place the four Seeking Air Mines near the Air Defenses. They hit air units of 5 housing space or more, so they go off on Dragons, Lava Hounds and Balloons.
- Pick a mode for each X-Bow. Ground mode reaches 14 tiles; Air and Ground mode covers both but only reaches 11.5. If air attacks hit you most, set at least one to Air and Ground.
- Point the two Air Sweepers at the sides air attacks are likely to come from, and keep Wizard Towers where Witch skeletons will gather.
- Pair Giant Bombs on Hog paths and set Skeleton Traps to air if you mostly face LavaLoon.
- Center the Town Hall for Ranked. In war, some players pull it off-center and use its hitpoints to shield the core, trading an easier two stars for a harder three.
- Use both Hero Banners near the core, where the heroes can reach attackers on most sides.
Base layouts change after every balance update, so treat these as rules for judging a layout rather than a single design to copy.
Before you upgrade to Town Hall 10
- Everything TH9 allows is placed, including the Helper Hut, and the Hero Hall is at level 3.
- King and Queen are near 30 and the Minion Prince near 10.
- Your main army is maxed for Lab 7.
- You have 3,500,000 Gold for the upgrade, which takes 3 days.
- Upgrading during a Ranked tournament promotes you to the TH10 league floor (Barbarian League 4) when it ends.
TH10 brings Inferno Towers and a third X-Bow, so plan for strong air armies to get harder to land.
Town Hall 9 FAQ
What is the best Town Hall 9 base?
One that spreads its four Air Defenses, keeps Seeking Air Mines beside them and covers the core with the X-Bows. Use a centered Town Hall for Ranked and consider an anti-three-star layout for war.
What is the TH9 upgrade order?
New buildings, Hero Hall to 3, Laboratory, then the Spell Factory and Dark Barracks for your attack. Keep one builder on the heroes.
What are the max levels at Town Hall 9?
Cannon and Archer Tower 11, Walls 10, X-Bow 3, Air Defense 7, King and Queen 30, Minion Prince 10. The tables above have the rest.
When do you unlock the Minion Prince?
At Town Hall 9, with Hero Hall level 3.
Next: Town Hall 10 guide. Previous: Town Hall 8 guide. See also the Town Hall overview, Hero Equipment and max levels for every Town Hall.
Sources: in-game data; Supercell release notes for the Town Hall 17 update (November 2024), Clash Anytime (March 2025) and Battle and Ranked modes (October 2025).
