Funnelling: Steering an Army Into the Core
Mechanics
Updated: 18 September 2026 · By the Goblins Farm team
Funnelling is the practice of destroying specific outside buildings before the main army goes in, so that the path of least resistance runs through the middle of the base rather than around its edge. It is not an advanced trick. It is the basic requirement for any ground attack, and skipping it is why most attacks stall.
Why armies drift
Ground troops go to the nearest reachable target. On a typical base, the nearest reachable targets from any deployment point are the outside buildings: army camps, huts, collectors, a spare barracks. So the army eats the outside of the base, working its way around the ring, while the timer runs and the core sits untouched.
You have seen the result: 51 per cent, two stars, every defence in the middle still standing. The army did not fail. It did exactly what it was told, which was nothing, because nobody told it anything.
Building the funnel
A funnel is a cleared corridor. You destroy the outside buildings on either side of your intended entry point, so that when the main army lands, the closest remaining targets are inward, and the pathing carries the whole force into the core together.
- Pick your side.Choose the approach with the fewest outside buildings to clear and, ideally, the most valuable defences on the way in. Look at the base for five seconds before you deploy anything, every time.
- Clear the shoulders.Use a small, cheap portion of the army, or a hero, to destroy the outside buildings to the left and right of the entry point. Not the whole side, just the shoulders of the corridor.
- Check the gap.Before committing, confirm there is nothing left outside on those two flanks that could pull troops sideways. A single surviving hut ruins a funnel.
- Send the main army into the gap.Deploy in a controlled line at the mouth of the corridor, tank first, damage behind, and it will go inward because inward is now nearest.
- Support with spells.Once the force is engaged in the core, spells go down. Not before.
What to funnel with
Whatever you can afford to lose. The classic tools:
- Heroes. The Barbarian King and Archer Queen are excellent funnellers because they are durable, hit hard, and you get them back after the attack. Sending a hero down each shoulder is the standard opening for a great many attacks.
- A handful of cheap troops. A few Barbarians or Archers per side, dropped on the outside buildings, does the job for almost nothing.
- One or two heavy units. A Baby Dragon or similar on each flank clears the shoulders quickly and keeps up with the main push afterwards.
What you should not funnel with is your main damage. If you send the whole army in to clear the outside, you have not funnelled, you have just attacked the outside.
When funnelling matters less
Two cases. Pure air attacks care much less, because air troops fly straight over the buildings that would have distracted a ground army; they still drift toward the nearest target, but the geometry is far more predictable. And farming attacks on inactive bases often do not need a funnel at all, because you are not trying to reach the core, you are trying to strip the collectors on the outside, which is where the army wants to go anyway.
That second case is worth stating plainly, because it is a real distinction between farming and war. In farming, the army drifting to the outside is frequently exactly what you want. In war, it is the thing that costs you the star.
What this page talks about
Frequently asked
What does funnelling mean in Clash of Clans?
Destroying selected buildings on the outside of a base before committing your main army, so that the nearest remaining targets lead inward and the army paths into the core instead of wandering around the perimeter.
Do I need to funnel for every attack?
For essentially every ground attack in war, yes. For farming attacks aimed at collectors on the outside of an inactive base, usually not, because the outside is where you want the troops to go anyway.
What should I use to funnel?
Heroes first, because they are durable and you get them back, then a small number of cheap troops. Never use your main damage dealers to clear the outside; the point of the funnel is to preserve the main army for the core.
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