AnswerDeep diveClash of Clans
What is the best TH18 army when a hero is upgrading in Clash of Clans?
Short answer
Swap in the Minion Prince if you play the Thrower army and the Royal Champion if you play the air army. With the King or Queen out, the Thrower army still 3-stars 87 to 88% of simulated TH18 bases, against 91% with all four. The Warden hurts most: 12 to 16 points even with the best stand-in.
Who to bring
Each line-up below ran on the same simulated bases, so the two armies can be compared directly. The stand-in is the better of the two benched heroes for that army.
| Hero upgrading | Thrower army | Air army |
|---|---|---|
| None | 90.6% | 98.1% |
| Barbarian King | 87.2% with the Minion Prince | 94.3% with the Royal Champion |
| Archer Queen | 87.9% with the Minion Prince | 98.1% (the army doesn’t use her) |
| Grand Warden | 74.5% with the Minion Prince | 86.3% with the Royal Champion |
| Dragon Duke | 82.5% with the Minion Prince | 92.9% with the Royal Champion |
| Minion Prince | 90.6% (the army doesn’t use him) | 95.0% with the Royal Champion |
With any single hero out, the air army and its stand-in still beat the full Thrower army, except when the Warden is upgrading.
Thrower army: bring the Prince
The Minion Prince is the better stand-in for every hero of the best TH18 army, 5.3 to 7.3 points ahead of the Royal Champion. Give him Metal Pants + Meteor Staff and Greedy Raven, his best pair with ground armies in the Minion Prince equipment test. The rest of the army stays as it is.
A King or Queen upgrade costs about 3 points with the Prince in, a Duke upgrade about 8.
Air army: bring the Champion
In the best TH18 air army the Royal Champion is the better stand-in for every hero, 1.0 to 3.3 points ahead of the Queen. Give her Rocket Spear + Electro Boots and Spirit Fox, her best pair in the Royal Champion equipment test.
A Prince or King upgrade costs 3 to 4 points, a Duke upgrade about 5.
When the Warden is upgrading
No stand-in covers for the Grand Warden. His Life Gem is the most valuable item any hero carries, about 19 three-star points over an empty slot in the Warden equipment test, and it is gone with him. The Thrower army loses 16.1 points with the Prince in his place and 22.4 with the Champion. The air army loses 11.8 with the Champion.
If your air troops are leveled, that week is the time to fly: the air army without its Warden (86.3%) is within about 4 points of the full Thrower army (90.6%), while the Thrower army without its Warden drops to 74.5%.
Version and platform notes
Simulated with the October 2026 balance changes, live since the 20 Oct maintenance break, and with the Life Gem bonus ending one second after a troop leaves the Warden’s ring, as in the game. Everything here applies the same on iOS and Android.
How we counted
Both armies are the ones on their flagship pages, with every hero and the rest of the army at max TH18 level. For each hero, the army ran once with that hero out and each benched hero in, on the same 600 fresh TH18 bases the air army’s final test used, two dice rolls each (1,200 attacks per line-up).
Every line-up is compared with its full army attack by attack on the same bases and dice, so the gaps are measured to about plus or minus 1 point. The stand-ins use their best pairs from the equipment tests, and the rest of each army is left unchanged. On these bases the full Thrower army scores 90.6% and the full air army 98.1%, the figures their flagship pages report.
Limits
- Simulated, not played. The simulator ranks real armies in nearly the same order as the ranked ladder (rank correlation 0.74) but misses single armies by about 9 points on average, so read the gaps, not the exact percentages.
- One hero at a time. Two heroes upgrading at once isn’t tested.
- The army isn’t rebuilt around the stand-in. A swapped spell or troop might win back a point or two.
- Everything maxed. Lower hero or equipment levels shift the numbers.
Related questions
Who replaces the Barbarian King in a TH18 Thrower army?
The Minion Prince on Metal Pants + Meteor Staff with Greedy Raven. The army then 3-stars 87.2% of simulated bases, 3.3 points below the full army; with the Royal Champion it scores 80.2%.
What should you do when the Grand Warden is upgrading?
Expect a big drop whatever you bring. The Thrower army falls from 90.6% to 74.5% with the Minion Prince in his place, and the air army from 98.1% to 86.3% with the Royal Champion. If your air troops are leveled, the air army is the better choice for that week.
Is the Royal Champion a good stand-in at TH18?
In the air army, yes: she is the best stand-in for every hero, ahead of the Queen by 1.0 to 3.3 points. In the Thrower army the Minion Prince beats her for every hero, by 5.3 to 7.3 points.
Which army should you use while a hero upgrades?
The air army, if your air troops are leveled. With its best stand-in it 3-stars 86% to 95% of the same simulated bases for any hero out, above the full Thrower army's 90.6% in every case except the Warden.
Does the air army need the Archer Queen?
No. The air army runs the King, Warden, Minion Prince and Dragon Duke, so a Queen upgrade costs it nothing: it stays at 98.1% on the simulated bases.
Sources
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