— Top Armies —

1. #1DD Jetpack (Dragon Duke + Rocket Backpack)34% usage68% win
2. #2Master Dragon Rider Smash24% usage63% win
3. #3Warden Charge Root Rider21% usage71% win
4. #4Queen Charge Hybrid (TH18 variant)14% usage73% win

— Trends —

Dragon Duke (TH18 hero) is shaping every CWL push — Jetpack equipment lets DD funnel + tank simultaneously. Smasher Guardians and Revenge Tower defenses force attackers to commit two spells to the core. April patch added Logger Guardian, Sky Wagon, Army Camp lvl 14 (340 → 352 housing).

TH18 May 2026 — Patch v18.201

TH18 went live in March 2026 (v18.104.2) and has been stable enough by May for a real META to form. Two attacks dominate the upper meta, with two more in heavy rotation.

DD Jetpack

Dragon Duke + the Rocket Backpack equipment lets the new hero leap across compartments AND tank front-line splash simultaneously. Pair with Master Dragon Riders for cleanup. Highest pick rate at 34% of CWL attacks tracked.

Master Dragon Rider Smash

The TH17 carryover. Still works on most bases that don't have the Smasher Guardian triangle. Declining usage as more TH18 bases adopt the anti-smash compartment shapes.

Warden Charge Root Rider

A TH18-tuned variant of the late-TH17 Hydra strategy. Root Riders + Warden walking with Eternal Tome through the strong-side core. Demands a clean funnel — bad funnels send the Warden around the perimeter and waste the Tome.

Queen Charge Hybrid (TH18)

Highest win rate (73%) but lowest pick rate (14%) — the skill ceiling is brutal. Queens chained with Healers + Earthquake Boots equipment, Hogs + Miners for hybrid cleanup. The TH18 variant uses the new Stick Horse equipment for movement bursts.

Base trend

The Smasher Guardian + Longshot Guardian pair on opposite corners with a centralized Revenge Tower has become the standard. Super Wizard Towers crank up splash radius enough that tight ground-spam pushes get shredded. Expect to see Logger Guardian (April release) start appearing more once players sort out the placement geometry.

Featured bases this snapshot:

• th18 anti dd jetpack v1
• th18 trophy champion v1