AnswerDeep diveClash of Clans

What is the best Minion Prince equipment in Clash of Clans?

Updated Patch October 2026 changes included
  • iOS
  • Android

Short answer

Meteor Staff with Metal Pants or Henchmen Puppet. Across 5,400 simulated TH18 attacks per pair, Metal Pants + Meteor Staff averages 54.3% three stars and Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff 53.7%, a tie. Dark Orb, every guide's pick, is his fifth-best item. Portal Pendant isn't tested yet.

Best pairs

Pair All armies (fresh bases) Air armies Ground armies All armies, every attack
Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff 53.9% 50.7% 60.9% 53.7%
Metal Pants + Dark Crown 53.1% 48.6% 62.8% 53.3%
Henchmen Puppet + Metal Pants 53.1% 49.3% 61.2% 52.9%
Metal Pants + Meteor Staff 52.9% 48.6% 62.2% 54.3%
Henchmen Puppet + Dark Crown 52.9% 49.5% 60.1% 53.0%

The first three columns are the fresh-base check: 240 new bases per army, 3,600 attacks per pair. The last column adds the 1,800 attacks of the main sweep, where Metal Pants + Meteor Staff led by 3.4 points. The two runs disagree on the order, and every pair here is within about a point and a half of the others over all 5,400 attacks: a tie. Pick by what you have leveled; Meteor Staff is the item to have.

Every item ranked

Item Tier All armies Air armies Ground armies Prince’s damage Rest of army Time alive
Metal Pants B +6.3 +5.7 +7.6 +2.2% 0.0% +11 s
Meteor Staff B +6.1 +6.1 +6.1 +3.9% −1.5% +2 s
Henchmen Puppet C +5.1 +5.5 +4.3 +2.2% −0.3% +2 s
Dark Crown C +4.8 +4.3 +6.0 +2.4% −0.5% +3 s
Dark Orb C +4.2 +4.3 +4.0 +1.5% +0.3% +4 s
Noble Iron D +2.4 +2.3 +2.6 +3.1% −2.5% +1 s

Each number compares the item with leaving that slot empty: three-star points with each kind of army, the share of the base’s building HP destroyed by the Prince and by everything else, and the seconds he lasts. With both slots empty the army 3-stars 42% of the time, and the Prince destroys 6% of the base and lasts 50 s.

No Prince item reaches tier A, and the spread from best to fifth is only 2 points, which is why his pairs tie. Henchmen Puppet is clearly better with air armies (+5.5 against +4.3); Dark Crown and Metal Pants are better with ground armies.

Every pair

Metal Pants + Meteor Staff tops the Prince's 15 pairs in the sweepEvery pair of Prince items with 15 test armies on the same 120 generated max TH18 bases, 1,800 attacks per pair; the Prince in the Duke's place, the other heroes on their usual kits. On fresh bases the top five tie within a point.
Metal Pants + Meteor Staff: 57.0Metal Pants + Dark Crown: 53.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Crown: 53.2Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff: 53.2Henchmen Puppet + Metal Pants: 52.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Orb: 52.5Dark Orb + Meteor Staff: 52.4Dark Orb + Metal Pants: 52.1Dark Crown + Meteor Staff: 52.1Dark Orb + Dark Crown: 51.5Noble Iron + Meteor Staff: 50.9Metal Pants + Noble Iron: 50.6Henchmen Puppet + Noble Iron: 49.9Noble Iron + Dark Crown: 49.8Dark Orb + Noble Iron: 48.7Metal Pants + Meteor Staff57.0Metal Pants + Dark Crown53.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Crown53.2Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff53.2Henchmen Puppet + Metal Pants52.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Orb52.5Dark Orb + Meteor Staff52.4Dark Orb + Metal Pants52.1Dark Crown + Meteor Staff52.1Dark Orb + Dark Crown51.5Noble Iron + Meteor Staff50.9Metal Pants + Noble Iron50.6Henchmen Puppet + Noble Iron49.9Noble Iron + Dark Crown49.8Dark Orb + Noble Iron48.702040Three-star rate (%)Metal Pants + Meteor Staff: 57.0Metal Pants + Dark Crown: 53.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Crown: 53.2Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff: 53.2Henchmen Puppet + Metal Pants: 52.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Orb: 52.5Dark Orb + Meteor Staff: 52.4Dark Orb + Metal Pants: 52.1Dark Crown + Meteor Staff: 52.1Dark Orb + Dark Crown: 51.5Noble Iron + Meteor Staff: 50.9Metal Pants + Noble Iron: 50.6Henchmen Puppet + Noble Iron: 49.9Noble Iron + Dark Crown: 49.8Dark Orb + Noble Iron: 48.7Metal Pants + Meteor Staff57.0Metal Pants + Dark Crown53.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Crown53.2Henchmen Puppet + Meteor Staff53.2Henchmen Puppet + Metal Pants52.6Henchmen Puppet + Dark Orb52.5Dark Orb + Meteor Staff52.4Dark Orb + Metal Pants52.1Dark Crown + Meteor Staff52.1Dark Orb + Dark Crown51.5Noble Iron + Meteor Staff50.9Metal Pants + Noble Iron50.6Henchmen Puppet + Noble Iron49.9Noble Iron + Dark Crown49.8Dark Orb + Noble Iron48.701020304050Three-star rate (%)

The ten best pairs in the sweep are within 5.5 points, and on fresh bases the leaders tie. The five Noble Iron pairs are the bottom five.

What the guides pick

All six tier lists published from August to early October 2026 (AllClash, ClashOS, Webhat, GamsGo, SkyCoach and TrophyCoach) name Dark Orb as the Prince’s anchor, split evenly on the partner: Meteor Staff (ClashOS, GamsGo, AllClash) or Dark Crown (Webhat, SkyCoach, TrophyCoach). The measurement agrees on Meteor Staff and Dark Crown but not on Dark Orb, which ranks fifth of six. Its value is a wide slow that the simulated Prince casts by simple rules, so a skilled player can get more from it than this test does.

Version and platform notes

Max TH18 levels (Meteor Staff and Dark Crown are Epic items at 27; the rest are Common items at 18), with Supercell’s October 2026 changes in (live since the 20 October maintenance break; none of them touched a Prince item). Portal Pendant, the Prince item from the October 2026 event, isn’t in this test. Everything here applies the same on iOS and Android.

How we counted

  • The armies: the 13 army families used most in ranked (TrophyCoach tracker, 30 days to 5 October 2026), weighted by use, plus the best ground and air armies. The line-up is King, Queen, Warden and Prince; the other three keep the kits top players run.
  • The sweep: every pair of Prince items, and every item next to an empty slot, on the same 120 generated max TH18 bases with the same dice, 1,800 attacks per pair. Item values are fitted across every pair they appear in.
  • The check: the leading pairs played again on 240 fresh bases per army, 3,600 attacks per pair: the Best pairs table.
  • The guides: six tier lists in Sources, read on 6 October 2026.
  • The full method and every hero’s list: best hero equipment at TH18.

Limits

  • Portal Pendant isn’t tested. It may beat everything here.
  • Simple ability timing. He uses his ability once, by simple rules; a player who times Dark Orb or Henchmen Puppet well gets more from them than these numbers show.
  • One line-up. The Prince is tested in the Duke’s place; in an army built around him the order could shift.
  • Max level and generated bases only, with the other three heroes fixed on one kit each.

Related questions

Is Dark Orb the best Minion Prince item?

Not at max level in this test. It adds about 4 three-star points over an empty slot, fifth of the Prince's six items, behind Metal Pants (6.3) and Meteor Staff (6.1). Its slow is an ability, so a player who times it well gets more than that.

Is Meteor Staff or Dark Crown better?

Meteor Staff, slightly. It adds about 6 three-star points over an empty slot against 5 for Dark Crown, and it is in the two best pairs over all 5,400 attacks. With ground armies Metal Pants + Dark Crown is just as good.

Is Portal Pendant good on the Minion Prince?

It isn't tested here yet. Portal Pendant came with the October 2026 event, and at level 27 it gives the Prince 1,200 extra HP according to the wiki.

Why does Metal Pants rank so high?

It keeps the Prince alive 11 s longer than an empty slot, more than any other Prince item, so he keeps firing from behind the army. With ground armies it adds about 8 three-star points.

Sources

  1. Balance Changes Incoming: October 2026 Supercell. Accessed Oct 18, 2026.
  2. January Balance Changes Supercell. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  3. State of Gameplay, Part 2 Supercell. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  4. Army meta, Town Hall 18 (30-day window) TrophyCoach. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  5. The best hero abilities and equipment for each hero AllClash. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  6. Hero equipment tier list ClashOS. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  7. The ultimate guide to critical hero upgrades Webhat. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  8. Best hero equipment in Clash of Clans GamsGo. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  9. Hero equipment tier list SkyCoach. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  10. Hero equipment guide TrophyCoach. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
  11. Static game data (heroes, equipment) ClashKing. Accessed Sep 27, 2026.
  12. Decoded client tables 18.400.21 and wiki snapshot web-coc (GitHub). Accessed Sep 27, 2026.
  13. Fire Heart Clash of Clans Wiki (Fandom). Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
  14. Frozen Arrow Clash of Clans Wiki (Fandom). Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
  15. Portal Pendant Clash of Clans Wiki (Fandom). Accessed Oct 23, 2026.

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