Best TH16 Bases 2026 — War, Trophy, Farming and CWL Guide

Town Hall 16 introduced two defenses that changed base design more than any single unlock since the Eagle Artillery: the Multi-Archer Tower, which fires on multiple targets at once, and the Ricochet Cannon, whose bouncing projectile punishes clustered troops across multiple compartments. Every TH16 base type — war, CWL, trophy, or farming — has to account for how these defenses fit into the overall layout.

TH16 War and CWL Bases

War and CWL bases share the same objective — deny 3 stars — but CWL demands a stricter version of it. In regular war, holding 2 stars is a win. In CWL, every individual star affects your clan's weekly medal count, so the design philosophy is more aggressive: tighter core, more layered trap stacking, Town Hall buried behind at least three wall sections. The dominant threats to defend against are Root Rider armies (burrowing ground attacks), RC Walks (Royal Champion stripping perimeter defenses), and Dragon Rider combos for air.

TH16 Trophy Bases

Trophy bases protect your cup count rather than focusing on war stars. The Town Hall sits inside the core — usually the most protected position — because attackers who grab it earn a star without touching your other buildings. A well-designed TH16 trophy base forces attackers to commit their full army just to reach the Town Hall, which means most trophy farmers who want a quick 1-star and move on will look for an easier target instead. Air defenses and the Multi-Archer Tower should cover the Town Hall approach corridors specifically.

TH16 Farming Bases

Farming bases do the opposite: the Town Hall is exposed near the edge so attackers grab the 1-star quickly and leave your storages alone. Gold, Elixir, and Dark Elixir storages are buried deep in the core. Most farming attackers aren't willing to spend full armies on resource raids — they take the cheap 1-star and move on, leaving your storages intact. This is especially relevant if you're running overnight and want to wake up with resources intact.

All four base types for TH16 are in the full TH16 collection. For war-specific layouts, TH16 war bases and TH16 CWL bases are filtered separately to make the distinction clear.

Which Base to Use Right Now

Most active players should have at least two saved layouts: a war/CWL base active during clan war and a farming base overnight. Clash of Clans lets you save multiple layouts and switch between them instantly, so there's no reason to compromise between the two goals. Download both, test the war base in a few regular wars before using it in CWL, and update after major balance patches.