Once you reach level 7 in Clash of Clans, you’ll notice that you have the dark barracks unlocked. This may seem new and exciting, but you may be wondering “What do all of these dark units do, and how can I use them well if they cost so much?”
In this unit list, just like the normal unit list we’ve put together, we’ll briefly describe what the unit does, and then go into detail about how you can use that unit for the maximum effectiveness. It’s no fun to unlock new units and have absolutely nothing to do with them, so after reading this article you’ll be able to utilize your new dark barracks units like never before! Now let’s delve into the six dark barracks units in the game.
Minions
The minion is the most popular dark unit, and for a good reason. Right when you unlock the dark barracks, you’ll be able to purchase minions. For some army strategies, the minion can be quite useful. It only takes 45 seconds to train, and costs significantly less dark elixir to make than all of the other dark units. For this reason alone, minions can be worth using, as dark elixir is incredibly hard to get.
Minions fly through the air at a very quick pace. Although they are quick, they don’t have a whole lot of health, so make sure you take note of this before sending a singular minion in to take something out. Unlike Dragons or Healers though, you don’t need to worry about air defenses taking out your minions. If you send a few in, the air defense won’t be able to take them all out, as an air defense can only target one unit at a time.
The best way to use minions in our opinion is to combine them with balloons once you’re a town hall level 9. Send in the balloons to take out enemy air defenses and other structures, and then send in the minions to finish up the job. It works wonders; once you’re level 9, be sure to try out this strategy.
Hog Riders
Hog Riders are essentially another form of giants, except they deal a ton more damage and can jump straight over walls. Hog Riders are best when you can group a few of them together, but sometimes this can be a huge problem due to the fact that dark elixir is very hard to produce. If you’re trying to trophy hunt though, and have the dark elixir, it’s definitely not a bad idea to train a few hog riders and healers, and just head into battle with a huge, destructive army that is also supported by a healing spell.
It’s very common to see players during clan wars using Hog Riders, since they’re able to completely decimate enemy forces quickly. Although the trade off between the dark elixir spent and the dark elixir earned isn’t really worth it, sometimes the trophies can be.
Valkyries
Valkyries are essentially a hugely upgraded version of barbarians that take up eight spaces in an army camp. Like the other dark barracks units we’ve covered so far, the valkyrie is incredibly powerful, but costs a lot. With most dark units, you never wonder how effective the unit will be, it’s moreso if it’s worth the cost of the dark elixir.
Valkyries are incredibly good for taking out enemy bases in a quick amount of time, but most of the time you want to use other supporting troops along with the valkyrie. Try dropping down a few valkyries near a barbarian king to take out the enemy’s hero early in the attack. This will speed up the rest of the attack and make it so you end up using a lot less other units to finish up the job.
This is one of the only really effective things you can use a valkyrie for. Yes, they have a ton of health and deal lots of damage, but the dark elixir trade off isn’t really worth it unless you’re trophy hunting.
Golems
Golems are pretty much, without going into too much detail, an upgraded giant. They can sustain tons of damage and keep going on. The best part about golems is that when they die, they’ll split into two “golemites” that will keep going around destroying enemy forces for you. Like giants, balloons, and hog riders, golems will only target attacking enemy forces.
They will not gather resources for you. Like giants, however, golems do not deal a whole lot of damage. You’ll want to send in a few witches, archers, or wizards along with the golems to make sure they go to full use. There isn’t really an exclusive golem strategy, but use them similar to the way you’d use giants, and you’ll learn to love golems in no time.
Witches
The witch is one of the neatest units in the game. It’s a shame that it costs so much, as it’s just so incredibly fun to use. With the witch you’ll be able to summon units that have already died in battle as skeletons. If you can learn how to use witches properly (it takes some getting used to), they’ll easily become your favorite unit. The damage you can do with witches and dead units alone is absolutely insane.
When using a witch, position it behind your other troops, as it can’t sustain much damage. Protect it like you’d protect a healer, for example. A good way to use witches is to send in a few giants and wall breakers at first to deal some initial damage, then throw down a few witches and have them start summoning up some skeletons for you.
The skeletons will aid the giants in destroying the enemy forces, and all you have to do is sit back and watch. One thing we’d recommend watching out for is upgrading your witch. Right now (as of the date of this publication), there’s no actual upgrade for witches. There is no difference between level one and two.
Lava Hounds
Lava hounds aren’t as fun as witches, but they’re still pretty cool. Their only focus is to take out air defenses, but they do an amazing job at taking them down. As soon as all the air defenses are gone, they’ll focus on other defenses. Like the golem, when a lava hound dies, it’ll split into two different units called “lava pups”. If there was one way to describe lava hounds, it’d be like an air defense meat shield. The lava hound will soak up a ton of damage, and when it’s killed it deals splash damage then splits into two more units.
If you’re going to use lava hounds, try sending two at a time, so air defenses have to choose between one or the other, allowing them to survive for longer periods of time as the air defenses can’t focus on just one. All in all, the dark barracks are more for fun and trophy hunting than actually gathering resources. If you have spare dark elixir, you’re going to spend it on some dark units because they’re just so much fun to play with.
Every time you get dark elixir you’re going to look forward to using witches to destroy an enemy’s base. Be sure to play around with each of these units once you unlock them, as they can be great for clan wars in the future, as well as completely decimating enemy bases if you want trophies. Hopefully this unit list provided you with adequate information on the six dark units!