TH 13: Mass Hogs Explained

Hello Clashers! This time let's take a closer look at this insane "all-in" attack, Mass Hog Riders!

Army Composition

Main Army

• 39x Hog Riders
• 4x Ice Golems
• Complete with Wizards, Archers or Minions to clean buildings/list

Spells

• 4x Healing Spells
• 1x Rage Spell or 2x Ice Spells
• 1x Poison Spell

Clan Castle

• Siege Machine: Siege Barrack
• 9x Hog Riders
• 1x Rage Spell

Planning Your Attack

Mass Hogs is currently a very popular and powerful Town Hall 13 attack, being used on Pro attacks on ESL and Clan War Leagues.

This time we are attacking a layout with an exposed Town Hall on top, quite popular on Legend League. To protect it, the enemy placed the Heroes, Scattershot, Clan Castle, and traps around.

While planning this attack, it's very important to remember that Hog Riders have a preferred target of defenses, so they will not attack Heroes and Clan Castle troops until there have destroyed all defenses, so you always must take kill them before the main attack. Town Hall 12 and 13 are considered defenses AFTER the Giga Tesla or Giga Inferno has been activated.

On this particular attack, we will go all-in for 100%, so we will sacrifice all Heroes to destroy the Town Hall, Heroes, and Clan Castle troops, and later on we will use the Hog Riders to take the entire village down.

Step 1: Taking the Town Hall

The first step when using Hog Riders or Ballons is to kill the Heroes and Clan Castle troops.

On this layout, it's a good strategy to use two Ice Golems, one on each side and the Barbarian King and Archer Queen in the middle. Royal Champion and Grand Warden right behind.

Ice Golems are a great distraction and the Freeze Spell they release upon death make a huge difference here, as we want to save the Spells to the main attack.

On this particular attack the Grand Warden was used on this step. With both Scattershot guarding the Town Hall, it's a tuff call to go all-in on this side, so the Eternal Tome ability must be used to protect your Heroes.

Since you are releasing the Ice Golems as well, wait for them to be killed and their Freeze Spell to expire before using the Eternal Tome ability, so don't waste your Grand Warden ability while the Freeze Spells are activated.

Failing on this step will probably ruin your entire attack. The Heroes and Clan Castle troops must be killed. Taking the Town Hall is a huge plus and will basically guarantee at least a 2-star attack with a high percentage.

Please note that the Siege Barrack can also be released here, so the "free" P.E.K.K.A and the Wizards will help the Heroes. Later on, when they have all spawned, the Hogs will leave the Siege and join the main attack.

Step 2: Hog Riders

With the Town Hall destroyed the village will turn into a "V shape". This is great as it will create a clear path for the Hogs that always follow defenses.

When releasing the Hogs is a great idea to split them into 2 or 3 groups. This will make the attack faster, leaving less time for the enemy defenses, and also prevening 2 Giant Bombs from killing all your Hogs instantly.

Step 3: Healing Spells

With a clear path on the "V" shape village, it's quite easy to predict the path and where you must place the Healing Spells to support your Hog Riders.

Hog Riders are not quite strong and work great in groups, so you must be careful with the defenses that make splash damage: Bomb Tower, Wizard Tower and multi Inferno Tower. Giang Bombs are also very effective against Hogs and two of them together can be an insta-kill.

However, we have 4 Healing Spells to protect your Hogs and keep them alive. Look for these defenses and place the Spells on the path they are taking.

Step 4: 100%

With the Hog Riders moving forward destroying the defenses, many buildings will be left behind. Wizards, Minions, or even Archers should be used to destroy them. Without their support to destroy the defenseless buildings, you might run out of time.

Pros

This is a great strategy that can be used on Clan Wars and on many layouts that can create a clear path for the Hog Riders.

Being able to kill the enemy Heroes and Clan Troops is a huge deal and will help you with 100%.

Cons

This is a powerful attack, however, there are some cons.

To use mass Hog Riders you must kill the Heroes and Clan Castle troops. Failing at this will not only prevent your 100%, but also ruin your entire attack.

Giga Teslas and Giga Infernos deal a lot of damage on many targets at the same time, so you must plan your attack accordingly. If possible, take it down with the Heroes before the main attack.

Inferno Tower configuration is also important. Watch out for multi Inferno Towers.

Be very careful with double Giant Bombs. Sometimes you can predict their placement with 4x2 open gaps in the village.

Verdict

This is a great attack but might not be suitable for all players and all layouts.

You can easily get a high percentage even on failed attacks, which is important in wars. However, if you don't take the Town Hall down with the help of your heroes it might end up being a 1-star attack with a high percentage of destruction.

On this particular attack, you must practice quite a lot. It's important to understand how powerful your Heroes are and how long they will survive without the help of Healers, so you don't sacrifice them for nothing.