This guide covers the full flow: which captains and artifacts to bring, how to read your Strength and Health bonuses, and how to enter them in the PAW Citadel calculator so you get the right stack.

Before you open the calculator

Pick the three captains you will actually send. A typical setup when the First Striker is flying (Corax / Griffin):

  • Wu Zetian or Brunhild: Strength and Health of flying troops (this affects almost the whole plan).
  • Aydae if the First Striker is a guardsman (Corax, Griffin), or Logos if it is a specialist (Royal Lion, Vulture).
  • Ramses II or Sofia (army Health) or Beowulf (army Strength and Health).

Use Cleopatra (army Strength) only when you are short on damage, not on health. Ingrid belongs in compact monster plans (Kraken, Trickster, Phoenix, Wyvern). Alexander and Leonidas are for mounted or melee armies; Elven citadel guards usually punish those compositions. Wu Zetian is the usual pick for this kind of hit.

On artifacts, gear and enchantments, put Health first: Flying Health, Guardsmen or Specialists Health (whichever matches your First Striker), and Army Health. Each extra +100% Health on Corax cuts the same share of first-hit losses. Then Flying Strength: it lowers every group’s count and helps keep small groups under the Centaur’s health so the trait still targets it. Engineer Strength (Brann, siege artifacts) reduces catapults and ballistae. Monster Strength/Health only matters if your plan is monster-based.

Turn on VIP and any Strength/Health boosts you will use on the real hit. 

If you attack with your hero, the level 10 test must include that hero with the same gear. If you attack with captains only, the test goes without the hero.

What to set in the calculator

  1. Whether you have M8/M9 troops.
  2. Citadel level (Elven 25 or 30).
  3. Troops: Wall Killer, First Striker, Second Striker, Third Striker, and at least one or two Cleanup squads.

In this example: Catapult V, Corax I, Manticore, Griffin VII and Griffin VI.

How to get your bonuses (the important part)

Attack an Elven 10 citadel with 10 of each troop type you selected, using the same captains, artifacts, hero (or no hero) and boosts as the 25 or 30 hit.

In the report, tap each of your troops and scroll to the bottom. Copy Strength and Health into the calculator.

Calculate and read the result

Enter each bonus and press Calculate. The list on the right is the army to send.

  • The First Striker count may be higher than the number shown (that group absorbs).
  • Every other group must be exact. If a bonus changes, calculate again.

Assault simulation is collapsed under the list. It shows both 50/50 cases (you strike first or the citadel does). Treat it as an estimate; live order can differ slightly.

Examples

Elven 25 hit:

Switch the level to 30, press Calculate again, and you get the new counts:

You can save the setup (Presets) or copy the troop list.

When to do this again

Re-run a level 10 report whenever captains or artifacts go up, a boost expires (VIP, clan, personal...), or you change hero or captains. An old stack with new bonuses is the usual way to send too many troops — or too few.