What are Pets?

Pets are available at Town Hall 14 once the Pet House has been constructed and can be assigned to your heroes to assist them in battle. Each pet has different characteristics, so it’s important to consider your pet/hero pairings depending on the attack strategy you plan on using.

Town Hall 15 adds an additional 4 pets, so you can pick which 4 pets you wish to attack with, offering more variety when planning your attacks.

Town Hall 16 adds 2 additional pets, bringing the total to 10 to choose from.

Similar to heroes, pets can be upgraded to improve their attributes and are upgraded at the Pet House. Each upgrade requires Dark Elixir and the pet cannot be used while upgrading. The Pet House works in a similar manner to the Laboratory where a single pet can be upgraded at a time. A Book of Heroes or Hammer of Heroes can be used to complete a pet upgrade and at this time, there are no potions that will speed up pet research.

The Pets

The Pet House can be upgraded to level 9 at TH16 (level 4 at TH14 and level 8 at TH15) with a new pet being unlocked as each level is complete.

L.A.S.S.I

The first pet to be unlocked once construction of the Pet House is complete is L.A.S.S.I. L.A.S.S.I is a ground based unit with a preferred target within 2.5 tiles of the Hero. She has a very high movement speed of 32, which makes one of the fastest units in the game, as quick as a Head Hunter or Goblin. Her special ability enables her to jump over walls, similar to a Hog Rider. This enables her to attack targets that the hero may be unable to, such as if the Barbarian King is behind a wall.

L.A.S.S.I has moderate hit points so can handle some incoming damage, however her fast movement speed and wall jumping ability means she can often end up pushing deeper into a village than the hero/nearby troops, resulting in her becoming targeted by a number of defenses. She has the highest DPS of all the pets, meaning she can provide a decent boost to the hero’s damage output.

If L.A.S.S.I is still active when your hero is knocked out, she will attack the nearest building to her.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Royal Champion

Electro Owl

The Electro Owl is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 2. He attacks with Chain lightning, which is similar to an Electro Dragon, however it only chains to 1 additional target, doing 80% damage to the second target.

The range of the Electro Owl’s attack varies based on which Hero he is paired with, ranging from 1 tile with the Barbarian King , 5 tiles with the Archer Queen and 7 tiles with the Grand Warden.

The Electro Owl attacks the same target as the Hero he is paired with. Keep in mind that when pairing with a ground based hero, this can bring the Electro Owl into range of an Air Defence and due to having the lowest Hit Points of the offensive pets, he will be knocked out quite quickly unless it is dealt with.

If the Electro Owl is still active when your hero is knocked out, he will attack the nearest target to him.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Grand Warden

Mighty Yak

The Mighty Yak is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 3. The Mighty Yak has the highest HP of the pets (similar to a low level Golem) but the lowest DPS. The 20x damage multiplier makes him very effective at destroying walls, doing more damage to walls per hit than a maxed Wall Breaker even at level 1.

The wall breaking role means he is well matched with the Barbarian King or Archer Queen to help them break through walls which can often slow them down. When initially released, the Mighty Yak dealt splash damage and was effective at clearing groups of weak troops, such as ground Skeletons. This was changed in the September 2021 update so that it is now single target damage.

If the Mighty Yak is still active when your hero is knocked out, he will attack the nearest target but will also become enraged for 8 seconds, with increased movement speed and damage.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King or Archer Queen

Unicorn

The Unicorn is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 4 and is a ground based healer for your hero. Unlike Healers which can only heal ground units, the Unicorn is able to heal both ground and air based heroes. As the Unicorn only heals the hero it is assigned to, you don’t need to worry about it switching to other units which can occur when using Healers.

Similar to L.A.S.S.I, the Unicorn has the ability to jump over walls when following a hero, so it is able to continue to heal the Grand Warden or Royal Champion. The Unicorn has the least HP of all the pets, so can quickly be knocked out if not adequately protected. The range of the Unicorn is 2.5 tiles, meaning it stays closer to the hero than Healers, putting it at risk from Scattershots and multi target Inferno Towers.

The slow movement speed can also be an issue when paired with quick moving heroes, such as the Archer Queen or Royal Champion, taking a small amount of time to catch up with the hero again, resulting in a break in healing.

If the Unicorn is still active when your hero is knocked out, it will target other troops to heal them.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King or Archer Queen

Frosty

Frosty is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 5 and is a ground based support pet for your hero. He prefers to attack targets within 4.5 tiles of the hero he is assigned to and slows down the defense he is attacking. If the hero is attacking a non defensive structure, Frosty will still attack that structure, however the Frostmites spawned will prioritise the nearest defense.

Frosty has a fairly fast movement speed of 24, making him as fast as the Archer Queen or Royal Champion. He has a ranged attack, so if paired with the Barbarian King, it is likely that the King will be targeted by nearby defenses rather than Frosty.

Frosty’s attack is similar to an Ice Golem, where the defense will be slowed down. This can reduce the damage output of the defense, but in the case of a single target Inferno Tower, it won’t break the targeting of the beam like a Freeze Spell would.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King or Grand Warden

Diggy

Diggy is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 6 and is a (under)ground based attacker for your hero. He attacks the same target as the hero and stuns his target for a few seconds on the first hit.

Similar to L.A.S.S.I, he has a very high movement speed of 32, which makes him one of the fastest units in the game. He can move under walls, similar to a Miner. This enables him to attack targets that the hero may be unable to, such as if the Barbarian King is behind a wall.

Diggy has high hitpoints, almost as much as the Mighty Yak although when returning underground, it will break the targeting of any defenses attacking him, potentially making him a less effective tank than L.A.S.S.I or the Mighty Yak.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Royal Champion

Poison Lizard

The Poison Lizard is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 7 and is similar to having a Headhunter following your hero. It will poison defending heroes and troops near the hero, slowing down their movement and attack speed and inflicting damage, similar to a poison spell.

It has a very high movement speed of 36, making it faster than any other unit in the game. This is a blessing and a curse, as it means it will quickly move into range to attack nearby defending heroes or troops, however that could take it into range of other defenses without the hero tanking for it. Due to having fairly low hitpoints, this could result in it quickly being knocked out.

This is a very situational pet, powerful in the correct circumstances but maybe not one you would look to use for every attack.

Recommended Hero Pairing: No specific recommendations

Phoenix

The Phoenix is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 8 and follows her hero as an egg. Once the hero is knocked out, she hatches and revives the hero for a few seconds.

During the hero’s revival, it is invulnerable. Once the time expires, the hero will be immediately knocked out again, regardless of taking any damage or not. If you have turned off auto hero abilities and haven’t made use of the hero’s ability before they are revived, the ability can be used during this time of invulnerability. Any troops spawned by the hero ability during this time will remain on the battlefield after the hero has expired.

Once the hero’s period of invulnerability has ended, the Phoenix will remain on the field attacking nearby targets.

This is a powerful pet, so it may be one you wish to keep in your selection of pets you take into battle.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King, Archer Queen or Royal Champion

Spirit Fox

The Spirit Fox is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 9. Every 6 seconds, the Spirit Fox turns itself and its hero invisible.

When both are invisible, it will make defenses or defending troops/heroes retarget. This can be particularly effective at protecting the hero against skeletons as they will quickly move away from the hero once they have retargeted.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King or Royal Champion

Angry Jelly

The Angry Jelly is unlocked once the Pet House has been upgraded to level 10. For a short time after deployment (determined by the Pet level), the assigned Hero will target defenses and the Angry Jelly cannot be targeted or damaged.

Once the ability has ended or if the hero is knocked out, the Angry Jelly becomes a normal troop and can be targeted/trigger traps.

Recommended Hero Pairing: Barbarian King or Grand Warden

Which pet should you use with your heroes?

Choosing how to pair your pets with heroes will primarily depend on your attack strategy.

The following suggestions are guidelines to help with your decision and may not be the best option for your army composition or your attack style.

Barbarian King

Due to L.A.S.S.I being a fast moving pet, when paired with the Barbarian King she can often race ahead of the King resulting in her being targeted by defenses. This results in her being quickly taken out and not providing the best value.

When paired with the Barbarian King, the Electro Owl has a short attack range which can put it within range of nearby Air Defenses (or other air targeting defenses). There are better pairings for both the Electro Owl and Barbarian king, so this match up isn’t recommended.

The Mighty Yak works well with the Barbarian King due to it being able to quickly open up compartments when the King is attacking a wall. This minimises the amount of time the King is vulnerable and can help the King take out more of the village. Due to it having a large number of hitpoints, if it does stray away from the King and get attacked, it can survive long enough to have some impact on the attack.

This may seem like a strange recommendation, however when assigning the other 3 pets to their most suitable heroes, this can often be the last remaining pairing. The slow movement of the Unicorn isn’t an issue when following the Barbarian King which results in less “healing downtime” and can result in the king having a few thousand HP healed.

Frosty can be a good match with the Barbarian King as he will follow behind while the King tanks and the Frostmites will target the nearest defense, reducing the incoming damage.

There is potential for this to be a solid pairing, especially if the King is diving deep into a compartment containing a number of defences for Diggy to stun, however most of the time there might be more suitable pets to assign.

As mentioned above in the description of the Poison Lizard, its usage will depend on your attack strategy, so it could be a viable pairing for certain attacks.

This can be a strong pairing, reviving the Barbarian King to help him take out a few more targets before he finally goes down.

Due to the Barbarian King not having a ranged attack, the Spirit Fox will remain behind the King which can help avoid it being targeted. There is potential for this to be a good pairing, however if you intend to use your King to tank for your other troops, having him become invisible so they get targeted could be undesirable.

If you are deploying the Barbarian King with defence targeting troops, pairing him with the Angry Jelly can be effective for keeping him with the main army troops and destroying more defenses initially.

Archer Queen

L.A.S.S.I can work well with the Archer Queen by moving ahead of her, tanking some of the incoming damage and helping take down the Queen’s targets faster. Although not a bad pairing, I think that L.A.S.S.I can be more effective with the Royal Champion.

The Electro Owl has a 5 tile attack range when paired with the Queen which can help keep him out of danger to an extent when compared to some of the other heroes, however this can often still lead to flying in range defenses that are a danger to him. I think there are more effective pairings for the Electro Owl than the Archer Queen.

The Mighty Yak and Archer Queen can be a powerful combination. Funneling the Queen can help force the Mighty Yak to attack a wall in front of the Queen while she is attacking targets on the other side of the wall, enabling her to push deeping into the village.

There can be situations when using a Queen Charge/Queen Walk where the Mighty Yak can draw the healers to itself from the Queen. This can be particularly dangerous when attacking the Town Hall, as it will bring the Healers into range of the Giga Inferno and cause them to take heavy damage. Having a Freeze Spell ready in case this happens can help mitigate it.

Pairing the Unicorn with the Archer Queen can be an effective combination with the Unicorn healing the Queen and not being drawn away by other troops. If you are using Healers with the Queen, it can provide some additional healing capacity or even enable you to bring less Healers. One thing to keep in mind is the Unicorn will stay closer to the Queen than Healers, which puts it in range of the splash damage from Scattershots and multi target Inferno Towers which can make light work of taking out the Unicorn.

If you are planning on taking the Archer Queen into an area of a village that is defence heavy, Frosty could be effective at helping reduce the incoming damage, although he would likely end up under attack himself. Although not a terrible pairing, there are likely better options.

Diggy can work well with the Archer Queen, especially if she is going to be sent into a defense heavy compartment as stunning the defenses will help reduce some of the incoming damage.

As mentioned above in the description of the Poison Lizard, its usage will depend on your attack strategy, so it could be a viable pairing for certain attacks.

As the Archer Queen is a high damage unit, reviving her for a few additional seconds could be helpful in taking down some additional high value targets.

The range of the Archer Queen’s attack exceeds the 4.5 tiles range of the Spirit Fox, resulting in it potentially moving ahead of the Queen and being targeted.

If you are planning on using the Archer Queen to clear some high value defenses after deployment, the Angry Jelly will force her to focus on those and not be distracted by other nearby buildings. Due to the limited time that the effect is active, this requires planning to get the most value.

Grand Warden

Due to the Grand Warden being a ranged support hero and L.A.S.S.I being a close range pet, this combination is not ideal. There are more suitable pairings for both.

When using the Electro Owl with the Grand Warden, the attack range of the Electro Owl is 7 tiles, which can help keep him behind the troops the Warden is following, making this a good pairing.

Similar to L.A.S.S.I, pairing a ranged support hero and close range pet isn’t ideal, there are better options.

There is potential for this to work if you are planning a Warden walk, however this would be very situational.

Frosty can work well with the Grand Warden. Frosty has a shorter range than the Grand Warden, so if you plan on doing a Warden Walk, it could result in Frosty being taken out early on, however if deploying the Warden as a support unit behind your other troops, Frosty can be protected by the troops and can offer a great value slowing down the nearby defenses.

Due to Diggy being a close range pet and the Grand Warden being a long range hero, it can result in Diggy being in range of a number of defenses and being taken out quickly. In certain scenarios, it could be an effective pairing.

As mentioned above in the description of the Poison Lizard, its usage will depend on your attack strategy, so it could be a viable pairing for certain attacks.

As the Grand Warden is primarily a support hero, he will often be used behind other troops and won’t be in the line of fire, so it may be better to use the Phoenix with one of the other heroes.

The range of the Grand Warden’s attack exceeds the 4.5 tiles range of the Spirit Fox, resulting in it potentially moving ahead of the Warden and being targeted.

If you are planning on using a Warden Walk and/or the Fireball equipment, pairing with the Angry Jelly can be a strong pairing to destroy defenses early on.

Royal Champion

Pairing up L.A.S.S.I and the Royal Champion is a strong combination. The Royal Champion is a fast moving hero, however L.A.S.S.I is faster and able to stay ahead of the RC attacking the targets nearby. This results in less incoming damage to the Royal Champion as well as the defenses she targets getting taken down quicker. Once L.A.S.S.I is upgraded to level 10, she has over 80% of the HP of a level 30 Royal Champion, which is a substantial boost to their combined tanking ability.

Strategic use of Freeze/Invisibility Spells can help reduce incoming damage, enabling them to survive longer. Unless your attack strategy will directly benefit from one of the other pets, this is a powerful combination to choose.

Similar to when paired with the Barbarian King, the Electro Owl has a short attack range when used with the Royal Champion. Due to the Royal Champion targeting defenses, it can result in her diving deep into a village, which can lead the Electro Owl to its demise. The Electro Owl is more effective when kept at range, so there are better pairings than with the Royal Champion.

Unlike L.A.S.S.I and the Unicorn, the Mighty Yak is unable to jump over walls in order to follow the Royal Champion. This means as the Royal Champion is pushing deeper into a village, the Yak will need to destroy any walls in its way in order to follow her, resulting in the Mighty Yak getting left behind and not assisting her. This could be used to your advantage, as it means the compartments behind the Royal Champion will get opened up for other ground troops to enter, although it will depend on your attack strategy if this is beneficial for you.

This is another combination that could work in certain scenarios. Having the Unicorn heal the Royal Champion can allow her to stay up longer, however the Royal Champion’s fast movement speed means she will often outrun the Unicorn, requiring it to catch up. During this time, the Unicorn will be out of range to heal her, so there will be some “healing downtime”.

If you plan on having the Royal Champion take out some tightly grouped defenses where she won’t need to move large distances between them, the Unicorn will be more effective at healing her.

Frosty could work with the Royal Champion, but due to the lower movement speed than L.A.S.S.I or Diggy, they might be more suitable.

Due to the Royal Champion being a defense targeting hero, this will result in Diggy attacking defenses and stunning them with his attack. This could make it a very strong pairing, helping reduce the incoming damage on the Royal Champion.

As mentioned above in the description of the Poison Lizard, its usage will depend on your attack strategy, so it could be a viable pairing for certain attacks.

As the Royal Champion is a high damage unit, reviving her for a few additional seconds could be helpful in taking down some additional high value targets.

Assigning the Spirit Fox to the Royal Champion is a strong pairing. The RC often finds herself in the line of fire due to moving from defense to defense and the Spirit Fox results in her being untargeted. Skeleton Traps often slow the RC down and when she becomes invisible, the skeletons will move towards other troops, allowing her to continue attacking her primary target.

As the Royal Champion already targets defenses, this pairing would have no impact other than preventing using a different, more useful pet and isn’t recommended.

Summary

Pets provide an offensive boost for your heroes at Town Hall 14+ and it is important to pair them correctly for your attack strategy to get the best value from them. The pairings in this guide are just suggestions to help give you some insight into combinations that can be effective. Be sure to try out your own combinations with your different attack strategies to find out what works best for you.