This article is about the Winter Update release on December 10th of 2018. Until we have any information about the next one, I will keep all information from this update here. :)
Let's start with a short comparison to his big brother, the Golem.
The Ice Golem stats are about 50% of the regular Golem. HP, speed, damage and most important, housing space. Using only 15 housing spaces, you can take 2 Ice Golems on the space of 1 regular Golem.
What makes the Ice Golem very special are his super abilities. Last year we had the Ice Wizard as a seasonal troop and he was quite popular, with many Clashers asking to make him a regular troop.
The Ice Golem has similar powers: he can slow the enemy defenses he is currently attacking. Upon death, he completely freezes all nearby defenses for a few seconds, making him very, very useful.
This Sneak Peek also revealed a new "Quality of Life" change, a new in game troop bar.
• Cannon Cart: DPS reduced by 15%
• Cannon Cart: 3rd Cannon Cart unlocked at level 10
• Baby Dragon: HP increased by 7.5%
• Super P.E.K.K.A: HP reduced by 5%
• Star Laboratory: Upgrade times of Builder Base troops reduced
• Gem Mine: can be upgraded to level 3 at Builder Hall level 3
This heavy-duty flying mountain is filled to the brim with Bowler's boulders where they are used to visit devastation on your opponent. Unlike its other Siege Machine siblings, the Stone Slammer does not fly directly towards the enemy Town Hall.
The Stone Slammer targets enemy defenses, and will proceed to drop massive stones causing massive damage to structures and will create subsequent earthquakes that do splash damage to surrounding targets.
Not targeting the Town Hall is a major change from other Siege Machines. This makes this Siege Machine kind of "Balloon" hero, making precision attacks much better and air attacks stronger than ever.
Like all other Siege Machines, the Stone Slammer is only available at Town Hall 12 when you upgrade your Siege Workshop to level 3. The Stone Slammer can be upgraded to a max Level 3.
After over two years, here is a brand new spell: The Bat Spell!
The bats make Splash Damage and target ground defenses. They have very low life and can be easily killed, so they must be used along with other aerial troops. Another good use is to distract single Inferno Tower, this might be very useful as you can release the bats right on the top of the Inferno Tower.
When the Bat Spell is dropped, it will summon a cloud (up to 27 at level 5) of angry Bats that will target your enemy's defenses. The duration os the spell is not confirmed yet, but a maxed out spell takes around 15 seconds to spawn all bats.
The Bat Spell is available at Town Hall level 10.
The Bat Spell can be upgraded to Level 5, depending on your Town Hall level.
To unlock the Bat Spell you must upgrade your Spell Factory first. The update cost and time might change on the release.
Removing it will cost 25,000 Gold but you will receive 75,000 Gold after clearing it.
This will of course come with the traditional Winter theme, complete with snow effects in your village.
With the Shovel of Obstacles you will be able to move ALL obstacles of your village, including special ones on the borders. It costs 500 gems, but hopefully we will get them on Clan Games.
The Hero Potion adds up to 5 new levels to your Heroes for one hour.
The level increase is limited by the hero cap (60/60/30) and by the Town Hall level
Today you can stack Magic Items from events beyond the Clan Castle capacity. You can have 6/5 Training Potions for example, as long as the 6th was acquired from an Event. This will change and the limit cap will always be the enforced.
If you do not have enough free space to store a particular Magic Item, first you'll have to free up some space, and then tap the "Claim" button from the event tracker. Those Magic Items will then be transferred to your Magic Item inventory, as well as the XP won from completing that challenge.
On a Community Q&A in 09/2018, Darian (Community Manager) said a solution to the clouds might finally be on its way. They are studying different solutions as this might change the shield system and probably create a new type of matchmaking to Legendary players. On November 2018, Darian said on Reddit the update is being called "Operation Blue Sky" and it is scheduled to the first half of 2019 and it will be a "major overhaul of how the trophy system will work once you hit Legend League".
On a Community Q&A in 09/2018, Darian (Community Manager) said more Town Halls and Builder Hall are planned and will keep coming and probably faster than it used to be. More "end game" content is always being planned. As for the newer players, Magic Items and reduced upgrading time is constantly being added to make it easier to catch up with older players and reach to "end game". Builder Hall 9 is scheduled to the first half of 2019.
Contact me on Twitter @HouseofClashers and I will update this page!