Introduction to the Clash of Clans Hog Rider Puppet Guide

The Hog Rider Puppet is a piece of Common Hero Equipment designed for the Royal Champion in Clash of Clans. It becomes available once the Blacksmith reaches level 7, which requires a Town Hall level 14. This equipment enhances the Royal Champion’s abilities by summoning Hog Riders and providing useful stat boosts.

Key Features and Functionality

Summons Hog Riders

When the Royal Champion activates her Seeking Shield ability, the Hog Rider Puppet summons a group of Hog Riders. These summoned units immediately charge at enemy defenses, dealing damage and jumping over walls, just like regular Hog Riders.

Temporary Invisibility

Upon activation, the Royal Champion gains temporary invisibility. This allows her to avoid enemy defenses for a short duration, making it easier for her to reach critical targets or survive longer in battle.

Hog Rider Level

The level of the summoned Hog Riders is determined by the level of the Hog Rider Puppet itself. This means that upgrading the Puppet increases the strength of the summoned troops, independent of the player’s Laboratory upgrades. This differs from the Barbarian and Archer Puppets, which rely on Laboratory levels.

Stat Boosts

In addition to summoning Hog Riders, the Hog Rider Puppet enhances the Royal Champion’s survivability. It increases her maximum hitpoints and boosts the amount of health she recovers when using her ability. These improvements allow her to stay in battle longer and deal more damage before being defeated.

The Hog Rider Puppet adds a strategic layer to the Royal Champion’s role, making her even more effective in high-level attacks. Upgrading this equipment ensures stronger summoned Hog Riders and greater durability for the Royal Champion, making it a valuable addition for players looking to maximize her impact in battle.

Offensive Strategies for the Hog Rider Puppet

Solo Royal Champion Support

The summoned Hog Riders can help clear compartments, tank damage for the Royal Champion, and distract defenses. Since they exclusively target defensive buildings, they can assist in eliminating key threats while the Royal Champion moves through the base.

Hybrid Attacks

Early Deployment: Activating the ability at the start of the attack generates additional Hog Riders, reducing the number needed in Army Camps. However, this comes at the cost of sacrificing the Royal Champion’s initial health regeneration.

Core or Key Compartment Targeting: Using the ability when the Royal Champion has already taken damage allows her to summon more Hogs, mitigating incoming damage and reinforcing the attack in critical areas.

Caution with Late Activation: Using the Puppet’s ability too late (beyond 50% base destruction or after the Town Hall is activated) can cause the Hog Riders to be drawn toward the Town Hall. This may lead them into its defensive attack, making them ineffective.

Tactical Invisibility

The temporary invisibility granted to the Royal Champion can be a crucial advantage, especially against single-target Inferno Towers. By preventing them from locking onto the Royal Champion, the summoned Hogs can quickly eliminate these high-damage defenses before they become a threat.

Weaknesses of the Hog Rider Puppet

Splash Defenses

Defenses such as Bomb Towers and Multi-Target Inferno Towers pose a major threat to the summoned Hog Riders. Since Hog Riders typically group together when attacking, these splash-damage defenses can quickly eliminate them before they contribute significantly to the attack.

Traps

Deploying the Royal Champion’s ability in areas with many traps can lead to devastating losses. Giant Bombs can wipe out entire groups of Hog Riders instantly, while Spring Traps can remove them from battle entirely. Proper scouting and planning are necessary to avoid these hazards.

Low-Level Puppet

A lower-level Hog Rider Puppet produces weaker Hog Riders, reducing their effectiveness in battle. Without sufficient upgrades, they may struggle to deal meaningful damage or survive long enough to make an impact. Upgrading the Puppet is essential to maximize its offensive potential.

Town Hall Activation

Using the ability late in an attack can cause the Hog Riders to be drawn toward the activated Town Hall. This puts them at risk of taking heavy damage from the Town Hall’s Giga Inferno or Poison effect, severely limiting their effectiveness. Strategic timing is crucial to prevent unnecessary losses.

Bypassing Invisibility

Although the Royal Champion gains temporary invisibility when using the ability, certain defenses and troops can still target her. Super Minions and Headhunters fire projectiles that do not lose their target after invisibility is triggered, allowing them to continue dealing damage. This makes it important to account for such threats when using the Hog Rider Puppet in battle.

Understanding these weaknesses helps in both offensive planning and defensive counterplay. Careful deployment and strategic use of the Royal Champion’s ability can minimize risks and maximize the effectiveness of the summoned Hog Riders.

Defensive Strategies Against the Hog Rider Puppet

Standard Hog Rider Counters

Defenses that are effective against regular Hog Riders also work well against the summoned ones. Placing Giant Bombs in areas where Hog Riders are likely to travel can wipe out groups instantly. Bomb Towers deal splash damage upon destruction, making them especially useful for countering clustered Hog Riders. Spring Traps can remove them from battle entirely, reducing their overall impact. Proper trap placement along the path Hog Riders typically follow can significantly weaken their effectiveness.

Poison Spell Towers

A Poison Spell Tower can be highly effective against the Hog Rider Puppet. When triggered, it slows down and weakens both the Royal Champion and her summoned Hog Riders, making them more vulnerable to defensive fire. Since Poison Spells reduce attack speed and movement, they can stall the Hog Riders long enough for splash defenses to finish them off. If the Royal Champion is caught in the spell’s radius, her ability to sustain damage and deal destruction is also significantly reduced.

By utilizing these defensive measures, base layouts can be optimized to counter attacks that rely on the Hog Rider Puppet, ensuring that the Royal Champion and her reinforcements do not overwhelm defenses.

Comparisons with Other Puppets

The Hog Rider Puppet is one of several Puppet hero equipment pieces available for the Royal Champion, each offering unique benefits. Compared to the Barbarian Puppet and Archer Puppet, the Hog Rider Puppet provides both offensive and tactical advantages.

Hog Rider Puppet vs. Barbarian Puppet

The Hog Rider Puppet and Barbarian Puppet both enhance the Royal Champion’s ability by summoning extra troops, but they serve different strategic roles.

The Barbarian Puppet spawns a group of Barbarians when the Royal Champion uses her ability. These Barbarians provide additional damage and can act as a shield by soaking up damage from defenses. However, they have significant limitations. Unlike Hog Riders, Barbarians cannot jump over walls, meaning they may get stuck outside compartments while the Royal Champion pushes forward. Additionally, they lack the speed and mobility of Hog Riders, making them slower in reaching and engaging targets.

In contrast, the Hog Rider Puppet summons Hog Riders that automatically target defenses and can jump over walls, allowing them to bypass obstacles and quickly eliminate threats. This makes them particularly valuable in strategies where clearing defensive structures is a priority. Their ability to tank for the Royal Champion while dealing focused damage to defenses often makes them a more reliable choice in higher-level attacks.

While the Barbarian Puppet may be useful for overwhelming enemies with numbers, its inability to prioritize defenses directly makes it less effective in precision-based attacks. The Hog Rider Puppet offers greater mobility and targeting efficiency, making it a stronger choice for players looking to maximize the Royal Champion’s offensive potential.

Hog Rider Puppet vs. Archer Puppet

The Archer Puppet and Hog Rider Puppet both summon additional troops when the Royal Champion activates her ability, but they fulfill different roles in battle.

The Archer Puppet spawns Archers that attack from a distance, making them useful for clearing out structures while remaining behind the Royal Champion. Their ranged attacks allow them to stay safer compared to Barbarians or Hog Riders. However, their biggest drawback is that they do not prioritize defensive buildings, meaning they may waste time attacking resource storages or other non-threatening structures instead of key defenses. This can make them less effective in high-pressure situations where removing defenses quickly is necessary.

In contrast, the Hog Rider Puppet provides a more offense-focused approach. The summoned Hog Riders exclusively target defenses, ensuring that key threats are taken down faster. Additionally, their ability to jump over walls allows them to navigate bases more effectively, avoiding the delays that ground troops like Barbarians and Archers face. The Hog Riders also act as distractions, drawing fire away from the Royal Champion and allowing her to survive longer.

While the Archer Puppet can be useful for clearing outer buildings, it lacks the defensive-targeting precision that the Hog Rider Puppet provides. Players looking for a more aggressive, defense-focused approach will benefit more from using the Hog Rider Puppet, as it offers both direct damage and tactical advantages in pathing and survivability.

The key advantage of the Hog Rider Puppet is its ability to summon troops that jump over walls and directly target defenses. This makes it particularly useful in hybrid attack strategies, where the Royal Champion can reinforce existing Hog Rider or Hybrid armies with additional summoned units. Players who rely on direct defensive targeting will find the Hog Rider Puppet more useful than the other two options.

Pro Player Insights and Use Cases

At higher levels of play, the Hog Rider Puppet is frequently used in Legend League and competitive Clan War attacks, particularly in hybrid attack strategies. Pro players often pair it with Hog Rider and Miner (Hybrid) attacks, or even Lalo, where the Royal Champion plays a crucial cleanup role.

Timing and Positioning for the Hog Rider Puppet

Proper timing and positioning of the Royal Champion’s ability can significantly impact the effectiveness of the Hog Rider Puppet. Skilled players avoid activating the ability too early, ensuring that the Royal Champion gets the maximum value from both her Seeking Shield and the summoned Hog Riders.

The ideal timing depends on the battle situation. If used too soon, the Hog Riders may spawn in a less impactful area and get eliminated before dealing significant damage. However, waiting too long can also be risky—if the Royal Champion is heavily damaged or near defeat, she may not survive long enough to benefit from the ability.

A well-timed activation can allow the Hog Riders to take out critical defenses while also absorbing incoming damage meant for the Royal Champion. Additionally, proper positioning ensures they spawn in areas where they can quickly reach and eliminate high-value targets without getting caught in Giant Bombs, Multi-Target Inferno Towers, or Poison Spell Towers.

Strategic awareness of trap locations and defensive targeting mechanics is essential. Avoiding splash-damage-heavy zones and ensuring the Hog Riders have a clear path to important defenses will maximize their impact, increasing the effectiveness of both the Hog Rider Puppet and the Royal Champion’s overall contribution to the attack.

Strategic Ability Activation for Maximum Impact

Top players delay activating the Royal Champion’s ability until she is positioned deep inside the base, ensuring the Hog Rider Puppet spawns in the most effective location. This strategic timing allows the summoned Hog Riders to directly engage key defenses, maximizing their impact on the attack.

If the ability is used too early, the Hog Riders may appear in an area with less valuable targets, such as collectors or army camps, reducing their overall effectiveness. Additionally, early activation can expose them to splash damage defenses, like Multi-Target Inferno Towers, Bomb Towers, or Wizard Towers, before they can reach their intended targets.

By waiting until the Royal Champion is near high-value defenses, players can ensure that the Hog Riders take down crucial threats such as Scattershots, Inferno Towers, or Eagle Artillery. This approach also helps in distracting enemy defenses, allowing the Royal Champion to survive longer and continue dealing damage.

A well-timed activation is key to maximizing the potential of the Hog Rider Puppet, ensuring the summoned units are deployed where they will have the greatest effect on the battle.

Pairing the Hog Rider Puppet with High-HP Troops

Pairing the Royal Champion with high-health troops can significantly improve her survivability and the effectiveness of the Hog Rider Puppet. Troops like the Barbarian King or Electro Titans serve as frontline tanks, absorbing damage from defenses while the Royal Champion and her summoned Hog Riders focus on clearing out key compartments.

The Barbarian King is an excellent tank due to his high hitpoints and regeneration ability, allowing him to soak up damage while distracting defenses. When paired with the Royal Champion, he can shield her from attacks, giving her more time to reach high-value targets. This pairing works well when funneling into core compartments where splash defenses and single-target threats could otherwise eliminate her quickly.

Electro Titans also make a strong pairing, as their chain lightning aura clears surrounding enemy troops and buildings while tanking incoming damage. This is especially useful when pushing through defensive-heavy sections of a base, as the Hog Riders can take advantage of the distraction and focus on eliminating defensive structures.

By using high-HP troops as a shield, players can ensure that the Royal Champion and her summoned Hog Riders survive longer, dealing maximum damage while avoiding direct fire from dangerous defenses. This strategy is particularly effective in hybrid and high-level war attacks, where every second of survivability counts.

Effectiveness in War vs. Legends

In Legend League, where attacks are one-shot and require immediate impact, the Hog Rider Puppet provides extra troops without affecting Army Camp space, giving it an edge over other hero equipment options.

In Clan Wars, players may use the Archer Puppet instead if they want more precision cleanup rather than direct defensive targeting. However, when breaking into compact bases with tightly grouped defenses, the Hog Rider Puppet is often preferred.

These insights highlight how the Hog Rider Puppet is a valuable tool in high-level gameplay, especially for hybrid compositions and direct-targeting strategies.

Synergies with Other Troops and Spells

To maximize the effectiveness of the Hog Rider Puppet, it should be paired with troops and spells that enhance its strengths or compensate for its weaknesses.

Best Troop Combinations

Hog Rider Puppet in Hybrid Attacks (Hog Riders & Miners)

The Hog Rider Puppet integrates seamlessly into Hybrid Attack strategies that use Hog Riders and Miners. Since the summoned Hog Riders prioritize defenses, they blend naturally into the existing Hog Rider pathing, creating a more efficient and structured attack flow.

In a Hybrid Attack, Hog Riders work alongside Miners, with each troop type serving a specific purpose. The Hog Riders focus on defenses, swiftly clearing threats like Archer Towers, Cannons, and X-Bows, while Miners handle non-defensive buildings, ensuring a balanced attack that clears all structures efficiently.

The Hog Rider Puppet enhances this synergy by adding extra Hog Riders without using additional Army Camp space. This means players can bring more Miners or spells while still benefiting from additional defense-targeting troops when the Royal Champion’s ability is activated.

To maximize its effectiveness, players should time the ability carefully, ensuring the summoned Hog Riders spawn deep inside the base rather than in low-value areas. Healers or Healing Spells also play a crucial role in keeping both Miners and Hog Riders alive, allowing for a sustained push through the base.

Hog Rider Puppet in LavaLoon (Royal Champion Cleanup Role)

In LavaLoon attacks, the Royal Champion typically plays a cleanup role, stepping in after Balloons have cleared most air-targeting defenses. Since LavaLoon armies focus exclusively on air units, ground defenses like Cannons, Bomb Towers, and Hidden Teslas often remain intact. This is where the Hog Rider Puppet provides significant value.

When the Royal Champion’s ability is activated, the summoned Hog Riders immediately target defenses, helping to clear out remaining ground-based threats. This prevents defenses from interfering with cleanup troops like Minions, Lava Pups, or even Heroes, ensuring a smoother endgame phase.

For maximum effectiveness, players should deploy the Royal Champion strategically, ensuring that she engages high-value ground defenses while staying out of range of remaining splash damage. Activating her ability at the right time allows the Hog Riders to take down key defenses, making it easier to secure a full base clear.

Electro Titans or Ice Golems as Tank Support for the Hog Rider Puppet

When deploying the Royal Champion early in an attack, pairing her with Electro Titans or Ice Golems can significantly enhance her survivability and effectiveness. These high-health troops serve as tanks, absorbing damage from defenses and allowing the Royal Champion to deal more damage before her ability needs to be activated.

Electro Titans are particularly useful because their chain lightning aura clears nearby defensive and non-defensive structures, reducing the number of threats to the Royal Champion. This makes them an excellent choice when pushing through high-density compartments, as they help create a clear path for the Royal Champion and her summoned Hog Riders.

Ice Golems, on the other hand, provide additional utility by freezing defenses upon death. When deployed alongside the Royal Champion, Ice Golem deaths can stall key defenses, such as Scattershots, Inferno Towers, or Eagle Artillery, giving her more time to take them down. This also ensures that when her ability is finally activated, the Hog Riders spawn in a safe environment, where they can target defenses without getting instantly eliminated.

Using high-HP tanks like Electro Titans or Ice Golems allows players to delay ability activation, ensuring the Hog Rider Puppet summons at the optimal moment for maximum impact. This pairing is particularly effective in high-pressure attacks, where keeping the Royal Champion alive as long as possible is key to securing a strong finish.

Best Spell Combinations

Healing Spell

Since Hog Riders tend to travel in groups and take splash damage, a Healing Spell can extend their lifespan, making them more effective in taking out clustered defenses. If the Royal Champion is deep inside the base, dropping a Heal Spell on her and the Hog Riders can be game-changing.

Invisibility Spell

While the Royal Champion already gains temporary invisibility when using the Hog Rider Puppet, casting an extra Invisibility Spell at the right time can extend her survivability and allow the summoned Hog Riders to take out defenses without distractions.

Freeze Spell

Freezing high-threat defenses like Multi-Target Infernos, Bomb Towers, or Scattershots can prevent the instant destruction of the summoned Hog Riders, giving them enough time to deal maximum damage before they fall.

Rage Spell

Suppose the Royal Champion is targeting a high-hitpoint compartment. In that case, a Rage Spell can boost her damage along with the summoned Hog Riders, allowing for a much faster takedown of key defenses.

By pairing the Hog Rider Puppet with the right troops and spells, players can maximize its effectiveness and ensure that the Royal Champion contributes more to an attack than just her Seeking Shield ability.