Clash of clans mortar strategy

• Defensive Strategy
  • Mortars should generally be placed towards the center of your base, preferably behind at least one set of Walls. Its long range allows the Mortar to attack from far behind other structures.
  • Since the Mortar deals heavy splash damage, it can quite rapidly eliminate attacking troops.
  • It is smart to form a triangle or square with your Mortars near the center of your base, as this allows multiple Mortars to attack the same area.
  • At each level, the Mortar can kill a same-level Archer in a single shot. i.e. A level 1 mortar can one-shot level 1 Archers, level 2 can one-shot level 2 Archers, etc.
  • Putting a Mortar and Wizard Tower together makes a smart pair, because the Mortar covers a large area while the Wizard Tower helps protect the Mortar from mass air troops and covers the Mortar's blind spot.
    • However, it is not a very good idea to place the two towers right next to each other (or separated by a single wall), because two or three appropriately leveled Lightning Spells can take them out easily. Try to put another building in between them if possible.
  • It is a good idea to place Mortars near each other, without putting them in the same wall pocket (if possible). When more than one Mortars' range overlaps, it creates a kill-zone where almost no ground troops can survive.
  • Take care when upgrading, as many players use this as a chance to attack. For this reason it is a good idea to only upgrade one Mortar at a time. However, upgrading all of them at once is also viable, as it gets the upgrades out of the way quickly, leaving you more time to benefit from all Mortars being online and maxed out at your current Town Hall level.
  • A good strategy placement against all types of attacks is putting your mortar by a Wizard Tower and an Air Defense with a storage. The storage acts as a damage sponge, while the defenses will take out hordes of troops.
• Offensive Strategy
  • The Mortar's blind spot, low rate of fire, and inability to target air troops makes them vulnerable to a wide variety of different attacks. Fast melee troops such as Barbarians or Goblins (after all resource structures are destroyed) can rush to the Mortar and quickly enter its blind spot. Unfortunately, Archers will always stop and begin firing at a Mortar before they enter its blind spot, so pairing them with a meatshield is ideal.
  • The Mortar's relatively low hitpoints makes it very vulnerable to Giants and Lightning Spells. It takes only a pair of appropriately-leveled Lightning Spells to take out any Mortar.
  • Their inability to target air troops makes Mortars easy pickings for Balloons, Dragons and Minions if they are not covered by Air Defenses.
  • When deploying troops, try to avoid deploying low hitpoint ground troops in clumps. The Mortar does great splash damage unless a Healing Spell is in hand.