Best Builder Base Troops for Defensive Strategies

What if your best defensive upgrade isn’t a building at all—but the enemy’s troops? In Builder Base, understanding how attackers use their armies is the fastest way to turn your layout into a trap. When you know which troop combinations are most likely to hit your base, you can position defenses, traps, and guard elements to make those armies underperform. This guide breaks down the Builder Base troops that shape the defensive meta and shows you how to leverage their strengths against them.

Why Troop Knowledge Wins Defenses

Attackers don’t pick a base; they pick a troop plan. Your job is to recognize those plans and deny their win conditions. In Builder Base 2.0’s two-stage system, attackers must:

• Secure a strong first stage without blowing their entire army.
• Finish quickly in Stage 2 before time or value runs out.

The best defensive layouts force awkward deployments, waste time, and break synergy between tanks, support, and damage dealers. Below are the attacking troops that most commonly define those plans—and exactly how to counter each.

Ground Core: Boxer Giants, Cannon Carts, and Bombers

Boxer Giant

• Why attackers love them: They’re the default tank for ground pushes, soaking high point damage so fragile backline units can fire safely.
• What they want: Clean pathing into Crushers and core defenses while Bombers open walls and Carts deal damage behind them.
• Defensive counters:
  • Layered Crushers with staggered coverage. One early Crusher to punish the first approach, another deeper in the core to catch reroutes.
  • Spring traps placed at 90-degree path changes or one tile off main wall gaps to flip multiple Giants as they path around corners.
  • Double Cannon and Hidden Tesla focus-fire. Concentrated single-target DPS melts Giants once their ability to absorb Crusher hits is limited.

Bomber

• Why attackers love them: They remove wall friction so the push doesn’t stall.
• What they want: Predictable wall targets and time to cycle shots.
• Defensive counters:
  • Offset wall segments and small 1-tile protrusions. Irregular walls cause Bomber AI to pick inefficient targets, wasting shots and time.
  • Guard distractions. Fast melee defenders (from Guard Post) can pull Bombers out of safe range.
  • Push traps directing Bombers into kill zones or away from opened gaps so the main army splits.

Cannon Cart

• Why attackers love them: High DPS, safe range, and the Last Stand mode that lets them keep firing even after the wheels break. They shred cores once tanks do their job.
• What they want: Uninterrupted line of fire into your core while Giants keep point fire occupied.
• Defensive counters:
  • Staggered line-of-sight blockers (Storages, high-HP buildings) to force repositioning.
  • Hidden Teslas and Archer Tower fast mode to break Last Stand quickly before Carts settle on high-value defenses.
  • Pathing breaks. Open tiles or narrow alleys that encourage split pushes; stray Carts are easy pickoffs for core defenses.

Defensive takeaway: Ground pushes fail if tanks die early or Carts stall. You win by forcing turns, splitting support away from Giants, and denying clean Bomber value.

Air Staples: Baby Dragons, Beta Minions, and Night Witches

Baby Dragon

• Why attackers love them: Their enraged state when not near other air units gives strong, efficient snipes and cleanup.
• What they want: Isolated buildings and safe funnels on the perimeter, plus weak, centralized air coverage.
• Defensive counters:
  • Spread air coverage. Firecrackers and Archer Towers that overlap edges deny free rage snipes.
  • Air Bombs guarding long edge lines; the splash punishes greedy chain snipes.
  • Time traps. Place high-HP exterior buildings (Storages) to stall single Baby Dragons while Teslas and Firecrackers work.

Beta Minion

• Why attackers love them: The initial long-range bursts let them pick buildings over walls or around defenses.
• What they want: Predictable snipes on exposed structures and weak anti-air handoffs near corners.
• Defensive counters:
  • Tesla pockets near high-value snipe targets. Surprise DPS deletes early waves.
  • Archer Towers on fast mode near corners to punish the first volley timing.
  • Avoid “free” edge camps: tuck key buildings one tile further in so Minions step into coverage for their second shot.

Night Witch

• Why attackers love them: Bat waves overwhelm point defenses and force your air coverage to multi-task.
• What they want: Wide edges to stack bats safely and a short route to Roaster or Air Bombs to neutralize them quickly.
• Defensive counters:
  • Roaster central with short travel time to edges; its stream melts bat waves on approach.
  • Air Bombs not adjacent to Roaster; splitting them avoids both going down to the same spell-like pressure or concentrated push.
  • Multi Mortar angled to catch Witches and their Skeletons if the push turns into ground cleanup.

Defensive takeaway: Don’t cluster your air defenses. Create overlapping but not redundant coverage to keep air pushes from snowballing.

Utility and Burst: Hog Glider, Electrofire Wizard, and Super P.E.K.K.A

Hog Glider

• Why attackers love it: Stuns key defenses on impact, often opening windows for Cannon Carts or Heroes to break through. When it drops, the Hog on the ground keeps pressure.
• What they want: Exposed priority defenses on the entry angle (Roaster, Multi Mortar, Giant Cannon) with minimal stun overlap.
• Defensive counters:
  • Redundant coverage: ensure a stunned defense is still covered by at least two others of a different type.
  • Offset key defenses so a single straight-line Glider cannot chain stuns into a decisive core opening.
  • High-HP decoys in front of priority defenses to soak the first stun.

Electrofire Wizard

• Why attackers love it: Flexibility. Chain lightning for clumped defenses and single-target beam for high-HP threats.
• What they want: Clustered buildings to chain or isolated core targets where the beam can ramp safely.
• Defensive counters:
  • Scatter your damage anchors. Avoid lining up defenses that allow efficient chains.
  • Encourage target swaps by staggering HP across front buildings; make the Wizard reposition to finish kills.
  • Use low-value “chain sinks” (Builder Huts, Decorations don’t chain, but low-priority buildings do) to break chain potential before it reaches key defenses.

Super P.E.K.K.A

• Why attackers love it: Massive single-target damage and a lethal death explosion that softens cores.
• What they want: Straight lanes where they won’t path away or stall on walls too long.
• Defensive counters:
  • Giant Cannon lines to knock back and separate P.E.K.K.A from support.
  • Crusher placement that large units have to step into to progress.
  • Staggered mines to punish both the approach and the post-death cleanup wave.

Defensive takeaway: These utility powerhouses reward tight, predictable bases. Your defense wins by denying single-target payoff and forcing constant repositioning.

Sneaky Archer and Raged Barbarian: The Pick-and-Pressure Duo

Sneaky Archer

• Why attackers love them: Invisibility windows enable safe snipes, funneling, and key early picks.
• What they want: Predictable targets that won’t move them deeper into danger when invisibility ends.
• Defensive counters:
  • One-tile pullbacks on key structures so the Archer steps into coverage to finish the shot.
  • Tesla and Mine traps near must-snipe buildings (Firecrackers, defenses guarding Stage transitions).
  • HP buffers: put Storages near value targets to force extra volleys, consuming the invis window.

Raged Barbarian

• Why attackers love them: Cheap, fast, and great for cleaning pathing mistakes or chewing exposed defenses.
• What they want: Exposed structures and linear pathing near Crushers they can dodge.
• Defensive counters:
  • Crushers covering edges, not just the core. Barbs die fast when they rush into a Crusher splash at the perimeter.
  • Cone-shaped traps: push traps that throw Barbs into splash zones or along edges covered by Archer Towers.
  • Guard distractions to pull them across kill lines instead of into value.

Defensive takeaway: The best anti-snipe setups make small troops walk an extra tile into danger and waste their short-duration abilities.

Building to Counter the Meta: Practical Setups

1. Anti–Cannon Cart Core

• Inside: Giant Cannon centered behind Storages; Tesla farm off-center.
• Traps: Springs on corner turns of wall gaps; push traps to split Carts away from Giants.
• Goal: Split the tank line, make Carts reposition, and force Last Stand in low-value zones.

2. Anti–Night Witch Edges

• Air defense: Roaster central; Air Bombs offset; Firecrackers covering long edges.
• Structure: Minimal exterior clutter so bats can’t chain free buildings; use HP buildings to anchor bats under splash.
• Goal: Collapse bat waves before they touch high-value defenses.

3. Anti–Baby Dragon Pickoffs

• Air coverage: Archer Towers on fast mode near corners; Firecrackers staggered.
• HP placement: Storages on edges where Baby Dragons commonly start; Teslas guarding likely snipe spots.
• Goal: Deny enraged value and burn attacker time.

4. Anti–Hog Glider Entry

• Layer key defenses with non-priority structures in front.
• Stagger stun bait: place a medium-value defense first (Archer Tower), then the real priority (Roaster) behind and covered.
• Goal: Waste the first stun and keep the core online during the push.

5. Anti–Electrofire Chains

• Avoid linear clusters of defenses.
• Put low-priority structures between high-value defenses to break chain bounces.
• Goal: Force mode swaps and walking, burning time.

Choosing Defending Units and Guard Elements

Your defensive “troops” include whatever your Guard Post and related defensive spawns provide at your Builder Hall level. While specifics vary by level and upgrades, the principles remain:

• Mixed speed profiles work best. A fast melee element (to tag Bombers, Night Witches, or Sneaky Archers) plus a ranged unit (to chip Cannon Carts or Baby Dragon openings) creates persistent annoyance.
• Fast melee is high value. Anything that quickly engages support troops forces attackers to drop extra units to protect their backline.
• Ranged air-targeting is premium. If your defensive unit options include any that can hit air, they increase the punishment for Baby Dragon and Beta Minion snipes.

Recommended defending unit qualities to prioritize when you have options:

• Anti-air damage or distraction to tax Night Witch and Baby Dragon armies.
• Quick engage times so they trigger early, disrupting first-wave picks.
• Survivability to buy time, not just damage; even minimal DPS is valuable if it forces spell timing or troops to retarget.

Practical placements:

• Guard Post near a turn in the attacker’s path pulls tanks sideways, exposing backline troops.
• Don’t stack Guard Post directly on Crushers; place it one or two tiles away to bait troops into splash rather than tank it for free.

Builder Hall Level Focus

• Early BH (BH4–BH5): Baby Dragon and Raged Barbarian pressure is common. Emphasize overlapped air coverage, exterior HP buffers, and anti-snipe Teslas.
• Mid BH (BH6–BH7): Night Witches and Cannon Cart pushes dominate. Central Roaster, offset Air Bombs, and Crusher pathing are priority; design split paths to peel off Carts.
• Late BH (BH8+): Hog Glider tools and flexible damage like Electrofire Wizard become more relevant. Layer defenses to resist stuns, avoid chain-friendly clusters, and ensure at least two defenses remain active on core approaches at all times.

Time Is a Defense: Forcing Inefficiency

Attackers at Builder Base win on clean executions. Your defense should:

• Force walking: extra tiles before every key target.
• Create decision points: multiple viable entries that conceal the real traps.
• Protect Stage 2: keep at least one high-DPS defense tucked behind O.T.T.O Outpost or equivalent stage anchor so cleanup is never free.

Micro time-wasters that add up:

• Offset storages that require retargeting.
• Buildings with staggered HP so ranged units can’t two-shot everything in rhythm.
• Avoid straight-line gaps; bend pathing around corners covered by point DPS.

Example Counter Plans by Attacking Army

• Giants + Carts + Bomber: Springs at corner re-entries, Tesla pockets for Carts, and a late Crusher. Your aim is to split tanks and backline and then pick Carts during Last Stand.
• Night Witch Spam: Roaster central, Air Bombs offset, minimal exterior clutter, and Archer Towers watching long edges. If bats can’t settle, the army collapses.
• Baby Dragon Control: Overlapped air coverage, hidden Tesla on key snipe points, and high-HP edge buffers. Deny enraged snipes and drain the clock.
• Hog Glider Pinpoint: Decoy defenses first, priority defenses second, and cross-coverage to punish stunned windows.
• Electrofire Value Plays: Break chains with building scatter, force reroutes with staggered HP, and avoid lining up multiple defenses behind the same wall segment.

Upgrades That Multiply Defensive Value vs Top Troops

• Roaster: Your best multi-wave answer to bats and Baby Dragons at mid-to-high BH.
• Air Bombs: Splash vs stacked air; position to cover long approaches.
• Giant Cannon: Controls big bodies (Giants, Super P.E.K.K.A) and disrupts push integrity.
• Double Cannon: Shreds tanks when they pause at corners.
• Archer Tower (fast mode): Crucial for swatting Minions and finishing Carts during Last Stand.
• Hidden Tesla: Tactical burst to punish snipe attempts and anchor high-value zones.

Prioritize upgrades that address the meta you see most—if Night Witch armies are common at your BH, Roaster and Air Bombs top the list. If ground pushes dominate, Crushers, Double Cannons, and Giant Cannon upgrades pay off immediately.

Conclusion

The best “defensive troops” in Builder Base are the ones your opponent brings—because when you understand their behavior, you can make them lose. Design for the pushes you expect: split Giants from Carts, burn bats before they stack, deny Baby Dragon rage, waste Hog Glider stuns, and break Electrofire chains. Layer your defenses, scatter your high-value targets, and use traps to turn clean plans into messy recoveries.

Master these troop matchups, and you won’t just defend—you’ll dictate the attack. Next steps: review your three most recent defenses, identify the troop that did the most work against you, and apply the targeted counters above to steal those stars back.