Clan War Leagues (CWL) Explained: When It Starts, How It Works, Medals

Clan War Leagues (CWL) is a week of wars that Clash of Clans runs once a month. Your clan is put in a group of eight clans from the same league, fights each of the other seven on consecutive days, and earns League Medals based on where it finishes in the group. League Medals are how you buy hammers, ores and other items from the League Shop, and CWL is the main way to earn them.

When Is CWL?

CWL happens every month, starting on the 1st. The season opens with a two-day sign-up period, then the seven wars run back to back, which is why a CWL season usually covers roughly the 1st to the 11th of the month.

Here is how the season breaks down:

• Sign-up (2 days). Your clan leader enters matchmaking with at least 15 players selected. If your clan never signs up, it skips CWL for that month.
• First Preparation Day (23 hours). It starts the moment your clan is matched.
• Seven Battle Days (24 hours each). One war per day, against a different clan in your group each time. The next war's preparation runs alongside the current Battle Day, so the wars follow on without a gap.

Groups of six clans instead of eight have fewer Battle Days, so their season finishes sooner.

How Does CWL Work?

One attack per war

In a regular Clan War you get two attacks. In CWL you get one attack per Battle Day. The clan with more total stars wins that day's war. If stars are tied, destruction percentage decides it, and if both are tied the war is a draw.

The roster and the line-up

These are two different things, and mixing them up causes a lot of confusion:

• The roster is everyone eligible for CWL that season. By default every clan member is on it, and being on it is what makes you eligible for medals.
• The line-up is the 15 or 30 players placed on the war map for a particular day.

The line-up can only be changed during Preparation Day, using the "Change members" button. Once Battle Day starts, that day's line-up is locked. If you've tried to swap someone in and couldn't, that's why.

15v15 or 30v30

Clans pick a war size at the start of each season. It does not affect your league, and switching sizes between seasons keeps whatever league you had reached. Champion league is 15v15 only.

Things that trip people up

• Temporary troops cannot be used in CWL. If a seasonal troop is in your army, it won't be available for league attacks.
• Matchmaking ignores Town Hall levels. Clans are matched purely on league. Heroes, troop levels and defences play no part, so you can face bases well above or below your own.
• Your clan can't run a regular war during CWL. A clan takes part in one war type at a time. If you want both, you would need to war in one clan while being on another clan's CWL roster.
• Don't cancel and restart matchmaking. Clans that sign up first get matched first. Cancelling sends your clan to the back of the queue, and near the end of sign-up it can mean missing the season entirely.

CWL Leagues, Promotion and Demotion

There are eight leagues, lowest to highest:

1. Bronze
2. Silver
3. Gold
4. Crystal
5. Master
6. Champion
7. Titan
8. Legend

Most of these are split into tiers (Crystal III, Crystal II, Crystal I and so on). A clan that has never played CWL is placed into a league based on the offensive and defensive strength of the strongest 15 or 30 players on its roster.

At the end of the week, placement in the group decides what happens next. In Crystal III, for example, the top two clans promote, the bottom two are demoted, and the four in the middle stay. In a group of six, nobody can finish in the bottom two places, so no one is demoted.

Higher leagues pay more medals, which is why serious clans care so much about climbing.

CWL Medals: How Rewards Work

Placement medals

Every player on the roster earns League Medals based on two things: the clan's league and where it finished in the group. First place pays the most, and each place below pays a little less.

How much of that payout you get depends on your stars:

• 8 or more war stars across the season earns the full payout for your clan's placement.
• Zero stars earns only 20% of it.
• Anything in between scales between the two.
• Players on the roster who were never placed on the war map also get 20%.

The practical takeaway: if you are in the line-up, you need an average of just over one star per attack across the week to get your full share.

Bonus medals

On top of the placement payout, leaders can hand out bonus League Medals to selected members. The size of each bonus depends on the clan's league, and every war the clan wins adds one more bonus that can be given out. Bonuses have to be distributed within 21 days of the war week ending.

How a clan decides who gets bonuses tells you a lot about it. Good clans publish the rule in advance, usually based on stars, attacks used or hit rate. Clans that hand them out to friends tend to lose their best attackers.

If you leave or get kicked

If you were on the roster and then leave the clan (or are removed), you still receive between 20% and 100% of the placement medals depending on your stars, plus any bonus the leaders choose to give you.

CWL FAQ

Is CWL every month?

Yes. A CWL season runs at the start of every month.

How do I start CWL?

Your clan leader starts it from the Clan War Leagues button, which replaces the normal Clan Wars button while sign-up is open. They have two days to enter matchmaking with at least 15 players selected. Individual members can't sign up on their own.

What does CWL mean?

CWL stands for Clan War Leagues, the monthly league competition for clans in Clash of Clans.

Can I do CWL and a regular war at the same time?

Not in the same clan. You can be in a regular war in one clan and on another clan's CWL roster.

Why can't I change my CWL line-up?

Line-up changes are only allowed during Preparation Day. Once a Battle Day begins, that day's line-up is fixed.

What Good CWL Clans Do Differently

If you've had bad CWL experiences, the clan probably got one of these wrong:

• No attack requirement. Every missed attack is up to three stars your clan never gets, and in a close group that decides promotion.
• Line-ups picked by favouritism instead of by who actually uses their attacks.
• No bonus medal rule written down before the week starts.
• The wrong war size. 15v15 and 30v30 change who gets war experience and who sits out.

Ask about all four before you join.

How to Find a CWL Clan on ClashScout

1. Check the war log. Every clan page on ClashScout shows the clan's recent wars. A public war log with a steady win rate is the best predictor of a competent CWL week.
2. Filter by war frequency. On Browse Clans, clans that war "Always" almost always run full CWL too.
3. Look at war streaks. The war win streak rankings show clans that win war after war, which usually means organised attacks.
4. Search by your Town Hall. Since CWL matchmaking ignores Town Hall levels, you want a clan whose line-up is close to your level. Start with clans recruiting at your Town Hall, such as TH15 or TH17.
5. Check activity. A clan's Activity Score shows how many members actually play day to day, which matters more for CWL than a high league held by a few strong accounts.

Joining a clan that takes CWL seriously is the easiest way to earn more League Medals every month.