Clan War League: Rosters, Medals and Bonuses Explained

The monthly CWL arguments

A co-leader on r/ClashOfClans vented about members who join the clan after Clan War League has started and then demand a spot, blaming leadership when told it is too late. The replies were sympathetic, and a little resigned: many players have never seen the sign-up screen and do not know how it works. Other players joked about the monthly cycle of posts about unfair matchmaking, then the clan drama after bonuses are handed out.

Here is how CWL works, according to the Clash of Clans Wiki, and the habits clans use to avoid each argument.

Sign-up and the roster

Each season starts with a two-day sign-up period. The Leader or a Co-leader who signs the clan up picks a roster of at least 5 players, up to everyone in the clan who is eligible for war. Only rostered players can take part. Anyone who joins later cannot be added for that season, which is exactly what the co-leader in that thread was trying to explain. Players can only be in one clan's roster per season.

The war size is chosen at sign-up: 15v15 or 30v30 in Master League I and below, and 15v15 only in the higher leagues. A clan signing up for the first time is placed by the strength of the top 5, 15 or 30 players on its roster; after that, the clan's current league is the only thing matchmaking uses. Town Hall levels do not affect it.

The common advice from experienced members: add everyone eligible to the roster, since rostered players can donate defensive troops and earn medals, then choose the lineup for each war day from the people you know will attack. Every preparation day, the leader picks 15 or 30 players from the roster for that war.

How the week runs

Groups have eight clans, and each clan fights the other seven once over eight days. Every day after the first has a battle day for one war and a preparation day for the next. Each player gets one attack per battle day, unlike two in regular Clan Wars, and war loot from a CWL attack is double the regular war amount. Clans are ranked by stars, with 10 bonus stars for each war won, and total destruction breaks ties.

Since November 2025, temporary event troops cannot be used in Clan War League. In the top leagues, from Titan III upward, attacks also carry difficulty modifiers like those in Legend League Ranked Battles. Below that, triples are the norm. One Master League I player reported 101 three-star attacks and 4 two-stars from their clan in a week and still finished second, and replies pointed out that rushed bases fall quickly whatever the layout. At the other end, some clans run a separate low-pressure CWL where members accept cheap two-stars so they can keep Heroes upgrading through the week.

Promotion rules change. In September 2026 Supercell announced on X, as reposted on the subreddit, that from the October season the number of clans promoting from Master League I, the Champion Leagues and the Titan Leagues returns to the standard of one per group, with two demotions in some of those leagues. Players in Champion League I reacted that promotion now effectively needs a perfect week.

How many stars you need for full medals

Every rostered player receives League Medals based on the clan's final position and on their own stars. The wiki's table pays 20% of your clan's medal reward with zero stars, rising by 10% per star, to 100% at 8 stars or more. With seven attacks and a maximum of three stars each, 8 stars over the week is enough to receive the full amount. You keep those medals even if you leave or are removed from the clan afterwards.

Bonus medals and how clans hand them out

After CWL, the Leader or Co-leaders can give bonus medals to rostered players. The clan gets a base number of bonuses depending on its league and war size, plus one more for each war won. They have 21 days to assign them and must give them all out at once; the game then posts a message in clan chat naming the recipients. Bonuses can go to anyone who was on the roster, even if they have left.

Bonus distribution is where most CWL fights start. One widely shared post showed a leader's spreadsheet scoring every member's stars and attacks across the week; commenters joked about it, but several said it ends arguments because the rules are visible. Other leaders described simpler rules: rank by attacks used, then stars; skip people who ignored the war plan; give one bonus per person even if they have several accounts; use extra bonuses for players who kept war Clan Castles filled. Whatever the rule, the advice was the same: post it before the war starts, not after.

What to buy with League Medals

You can hold up to 2,500 League Medals. Anything above that is converted to gems at one gem per ten medals, which the wiki calls a poor trade. The League Shop sells, among other things, Hammers of Building, Fighting and Spells for 120 medals each and the Hammer of Heroes for 165, each with a seven-day cooldown per hammer type. It also has Builder Potions for 30, Research Potions for 20, 10 Wall Rings for 30, two epic Hero Equipment pieces for 750 each, and decorations and Hero skins.

In a thread on medal spending, the most common strategies were:

• Buy a Hammer of Building and use it on the building with the longest upgrade time you have.
• Save medals for Builder Potions during events that already cut upgrade times, such as Hammer Jam, so each potion removes more real time.
• Keep a buffer of around 2,000 medals for big moments like a new Town Hall release, and spend a little whenever you get close to the cap.
• Save for League skins once your progression is nearly finished.

Attack order

A popular diagram argued that mirror attacks, where each player hits the opponent at their own position, waste attacks because evenly matched bases often fail and need a second hit. Most replies favoured working from the bottom up: lower players take the bases they can reliably triple and scout Clan Castle troops and traps, leaving the top players a better shot at the hardest bases. In CWL, with one attack each per day, that order matters even more.