Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Troop Launcher is a Siege Machine that unlocks with the level 8 Workshop at Town Hall 16. It never moves: it stays where you drop it and lobs barrels of Barbarians, Archers, a Giant and Wall Breakers to wherever your biggest group of attackers is, adding one Clan Castle troop to each barrel. It arrived in February 2025, and level 4 at Town Hall 17 is the max.
How the Troop Launcher works
After you place it, the Launcher waits for a target. It only starts firing once you have a unit worth at least 2 housing space on the field, or two 1-space troops standing close together. Heroes count. Skeletons and Bats from spells don’t, and neither do Furnaces or their Firemites.
Each barrel flies toward the group of your troops with the highest total housing space. It rechecks that before every shot, but it tends to keep supporting whichever group it started on. There is no range limit, so a Launcher in one corner can feed an attack on the far side of the base; the barrel just takes longer to land. Inside each barrel is a fixed set of starter troops plus one of your Clan Castle troops, if any are left. The Giant always lands first so defenses shoot at it.
Barrel troop levels come from the Launcher’s level, not from your own Laboratory research. The Launcher also loses health over time. It ends when it has thrown its last barrel, when defenses destroy it, or when you release it. Any Clan Castle troops still inside then drop at the Launcher’s spot, and any unthrown barrels are lost.
Clan Castle troops leave in a fixed order: lowest housing space first, then by an internal order for troops of the same size (for example Barbarian before Archer before Goblin). You control which troops end up in barrels and which come out at the end by choosing what goes in the Clan Castle.
Unlock, donations and levels
The level 8 Workshop needs Town Hall 16 and costs 13,000,000 Elixir with a 7 day upgrade. Building the Launcher is free and instant; research uses Elixir.
You need a level 10 Clan Castle (Town Hall 14) to receive one. Donated Launchers arrive at level 2 in a CC10, level 3 in a CC11 and level 4 from CC12 up.
| Level | Hitpoints | Lifetime | Barrels | Troops per barrel | Barrel troop level | Research cost (Elixir) | Research time | Lab level | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000 | 80 s | 5 | 2 Barbarians, 3 Archers, 1 Giant, 1 Wall Breaker | 9 | None | None | None | 16 |
| 2 | 2,200 | 88 s | 5 | 2 Barbarians, 3 Archers, 1 Giant, 2 Wall Breakers | 10 | 8,500,000 | 6d | 14 | 16 |
| 3 | 2,400 | 96 s | 6 | 2 Barbarians, 4 Archers, 1 Giant, 2 Wall Breakers | 11 | 10,000,000 | 8d | 14 | 16 |
| 4 | 2,600 | 104 s | 7 | 2 Barbarians, 4 Archers, 1 Giant, 2 Wall Breakers | 12 | 17,000,000 | 9d | 15 | 17 |
Town Hall 18 has no new level, so Town Halls 17 and 18 both cap at level 4. Each barrel also carries one Clan Castle troop, so a level 4 Launcher can deliver up to 7 of them before it breaks. Costs and times are before any Gold Pass discount.
How to use the Troop Launcher
The Launcher suits long ground attacks where you want a steady trickle of support rather than one big drop. The Giants soak a few shots, the Wall Breakers open the Walls in front of your troops, and the Barbarians and Archers clean up small buildings that would otherwise pull your army sideways.
- Place it somewhere defenses can’t reach early. It can’t move away from danger, and its health is low.
- Deploy your main group before or right after it so the first barrel goes where you want. A stray Balloon on the other side can grab its attention first.
- Use cheap 1-space troops in the Clan Castle as “filler”. Since smaller troops leave first, a few Archers or Barbarians ride out in the early barrels and your big Clan Castle troops, such as Valkyries, come out at the end to clean up one side.
- It can support an attack from across the map, which makes it handy for a second wave on the far side after your first push stalls.
The air-army version of this idea is the Sky Wagon, which flies and picks its own targets. Supercell trimmed the Sky Wagon on May 26, 2026 (one fewer barrel, one fewer Minion per barrel and one level lower on all its troops) after it showed up in too many attacks, while the Troop Launcher was left as it was. For armies that use either one, see the Town Hall 16 and Town Hall 17 attack guides.
Defending against the Troop Launcher
Because it stays in one place with low health, it is easy to punish if you can guess where it will land. Long-range defenses such as Archer Towers, Mortars and X-Bows covering the outer ring can kill it before it empties its barrels. A Giant Bomb or two on the outside of the base also deal a big chunk of its health if it is dropped on top of them.
Troop Launcher changes
- February 10, 2025: added with the level 8 Workshop and four levels.
- March 2025, Clash Anytime update: building Siege Machines takes no time.
- November 17, 2025: level 4 research cut from 19,000,000 to 17,000,000 Elixir and from 13d 12h to 9d.
- April 27, 2026, Sound of Clash update: all Siege Machines became immune to the Town Hall 14-16 poison, Life Gem effects and the Apprentice Warden‘s aura, and now take damage from Firemite fires.
- May 26, 2026: Sky Wagon nerfed; Troop Launcher unchanged.
Troop Launcher FAQ
What Town Hall unlocks the Troop Launcher?
Town Hall 16, with the level 8 Workshop. You can receive one by donation from Town Hall 14 with a level 10 Clan Castle.
Why won’t my Troop Launcher fire?
It needs a target: a deployed troop with 2 or more housing space, or two 1-space troops close together. Spell-summoned Skeletons and Bats don’t count.
Do barrel troops use my Laboratory levels?
No. Their level depends on the Launcher’s level, from 9 at level 1 to 12 at level 4.
What is the Troop Launcher’s max level?
Level 4, from Town Hall 17. Compare it with the other eight on the Siege Machines page or check every cap on the max levels page.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Sound of Clash update, April 2026, Clash Anytime update, State of Gameplay part 2), in-game data.
