Siege Machines: Getting Your Army Into the Core
Mechanics
Updated: 18 September 2026 · By the Goblins Farm team
A siege machine is not really a troop. It is a delivery system: it carries your Clan Castle troops toward the middle of the base and releases them there, solving the oldest problem in attacking, which is that the good troops arrive at the core already dead. Choosing one is choosing how you want to get in.
The problem they solve
Before siege machines existed, Clan Castle troops walked in with everything else, which meant they spent the first half of the attack on the outside of the base fighting huts, and arrived at the core with a fraction of their health. Your best donated troops did their least useful work.
A siege machine changes that. It moves toward the centre under its own power, absorbing damage on the way, and releases the Castle troops when it arrives or when it dies. In effect you are teleporting your reinforcements past the boring part of the base.
The secondary benefit is just as valuable: while the siege machine is rolling in, it is destroying buildings and eating defence fire, which does a great deal of funnelling work for free.
The two shapes of siege
Every siege machine is one of two things, and the choice is really about what your army needs.
- Ground siege that breaks through. Rolls toward the core, smashing walls and buildings in a straight line. Creates a physical corridor that the rest of your ground army follows. Vulnerable to being destroyed early by concentrated defence fire, in which case the Castle troops pop out wherever it fell.
- Flying siege that goes over. Ignores walls entirely and drops the Castle troops in the middle. Cannot be stopped by layout, only by anti-air. Delivers reinforcements precisely but does not open a path for your ground army.
There are also siege options that behave more like static support, sitting where deployed and providing continuous value rather than travelling. Each machine's own page covers the specifics; the strategic choice is nearly always corridor versus delivery.
Choosing one
Work from the base you are looking at, not from habit:
- Heavily compartmented base, ground army. Take the breaker. You need a corridor, and walking your army around three wall layers is how attacks time out.
- Open base, or an air army. Take the flier. There is nothing to break through; you want the Castle troops in the middle immediately.
- Strong anti-air, ground army. Take the breaker. A flier that dies over the outer ring has delivered nothing.
- Anti-ground core with heavy splash. Take the flier. A ground siege parked in front of a Scattershot is a very expensive firework.
Common mistakes
- Deploying it last. The siege should usually go early, so it is soaking damage and clearing a route while the army follows, not arriving after the army has already died.
- Deploying it into the strongest side. It is durable, not invincible. Send it in where the defences are thinnest, and let the corridor it opens dictate where the rest of the army goes.
- Forgetting what is inside it. The siege machine is only as good as the Castle troops it is carrying. An empty Castle in a siege machine is a very slow wall breaker.
- Not requesting one. Siege machines are donatable. If you have not unlocked the Workshop yet, ask.
What this page talks about
Frequently asked
What happens if my siege machine is destroyed before it reaches the core?
The Clan Castle troops it was carrying deploy immediately at the point where it was destroyed. You do not lose them, but you lose the delivery, so they arrive wherever the machine happened to die rather than where you wanted them.
Do I need a siege machine for every attack?
For war attacks, almost always, because getting Castle troops into the core at full health is worth far more than anything else you could put in that slot. For cheap farming attacks on collectors, usually not.
Can siege machines be donated?
Yes. Clanmates can donate siege machines the same way they donate troops, which means you can use one before you have built the Workshop yourself.
Keep reading
Goblins Farm is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or specifically approved by Supercell. Clash of Clans is a trademark of Supercell Oy. This material is unofficial fan content produced under Supercell's Fan Content Policy. Game values change with every update; always verify in-game before committing an upgrade.