Hey Chief,

Supercell is adding three brand new Crafted Defenses in the August update, and they're unlike anything we've seen before.

Instead of simply dealing more damage, each defense has its own mechanic. One gets weaker over time, another hunts heroes, and the last one drops explosive cakes across the battlefield.

If you're wondering which one fits your base, here's exactly how each new Crafted Defense works.

New Crafted Defenses Are Available From TH11

Unlike previous seasonal defenses, these aren't exclusive to the highest Town Halls.

Every player from Town Hall 11 to Town Hall 18 can unlock and upgrade these new defenses, making this the biggest seasonal defense rollout yet. Supercell is also treating this as a community test to see how players like the system.

Hot Candle Explained

The Hot Candle behaves a lot like a Multi-Archer Tower... at first.

It starts by firing six projectiles at once, splitting them across multiple targets. If only one troop is in range, all six shots hit that single target, making it incredibly dangerous.

But here's the catch.

Instead of getting stronger during the battle, the Hot Candle slowly burns out.

It has three stages:

• Stage 1: Fires 6 shots

• Stage 2: Drops to 4 shots

• Stage 3: Ends with only 3 shots

You'll even see the defense visually change as it weakens, so attackers know which stage it's currently in.

Best against: Dragon spam, early troop deployments, and attacks that enter the base immediately.

Hero Hunter Explained

As the name suggests, this defense exists for one job.

Destroy heroes.

The Hero Hunter prioritizes heroes whenever it has to choose a new target. On top of that, every hit applies a Poison Spell effect, slowing heroes while dealing continuous damage.

That makes Queen Charges and Dragon Duke entries much riskier than before.

There's another interesting interaction too.

Normally, Totems can redirect defenses. But against the Hero Hunter, they don't really help because every time it retargets, it simply locks back onto the hero.

Against normal troops, though?

It's much less threatening. This defense really shines only when heroes are involved.

Cake-a-pult Explained

The Cake-a-pult might remind you of the old Lava Launcher, but there's one massive difference.

It attacks both air and ground troops.

Every shot works in two parts:

• The projectile lands.

• It leaves behind a cake bomb that explodes shortly after, damaging anything nearby.

The defense also has a 3-tile dead zone, much smaller than the Lava Launcher's, so positioning still matters.

Fast troops can sometimes outrun the delayed explosion.

But healers can't.

If Healers drift into those cake explosions, they can disappear in just a couple of hits, making this defense surprisingly effective against healing-based attacks.

How Crafted Defense Upgrades Work

Each Crafted Defense has multiple upgrade modules instead of a single upgrade path.

One module increases Hit Points, while the others improve the defense's damage and effectiveness. Upgrade times also increase sharply after certain levels, so choosing the right upgrade order becomes more important at higher Town Halls.

How Good Are These New Crafted Defenses?

The biggest difference with these new Crafted Defenses is that none of them are just "another cannon."

Each one counters a different style of attack:

• Hot Candle punishes early spam attacks.

• Hero Hunter pressures Queen Charges and hero entries.

• Cake-a-pult threatens both air and ground armies with delayed explosive damage.

That makes base building much more interesting, since you'll choose your Crafted Defense based on the attacks you face most often, not simply whichever has the highest damage.

Want NEW Bases With These New Defenses?

Start defending from day 1 with these crafted defenses. Check out our Best TH18 Base Layouts blog where you can find the latest bases for ALL formats like Legends, Ranked, CWL and Clan wars.