4 Elixir
Overview
Mother Witch is the premier anti-swarm punish card in the February 2026 meta, surging +2.48% usage this week to reach 7.18% usage rate. At 4 elixir, this Legendary ranged troop curses every enemy she hits for 5 seconds - when cursed troops die, they transform into Cursed Hogs that sprint toward the opponent's buildings. She is the hardest counter to Skeleton King Bait archetypes dominating ladder at 57.9% win rate, turning their swarm floods into a counter-push nightmare. Mother Witch also anchors Giant Skeleton Bridge Spam (deck #8, 60.4% win rate), where her curse converts defensive swarms into bridge pressure that compounds with your own aggression.
Strategy
When to Play
Mother Witch is a reactive defensive card - never lead with her at the bridge. Deploy her when your opponent commits swarm troops: Skeleton Army, Graveyard spawns, Skeleton King's soul summons, Witch's skeletons, or Goblin Gang. Her value scales with how many small troops she curses before they die. In double elixir, she becomes devastating because swarm-heavy opponents cycle faster, giving her more targets to convert. Against beatdown pushes backed by Witch or Night Witch, Mother Witch behind your own tank killer turns their support troops' spawns against them.
Placement
Place Mother Witch behind your Princess Tower on defense so she has maximum time to curse incoming swarms before they die to tower damage. Never place her at the bridge or in front of your tower - her 770 HP at max level means she dies instantly to most threats. Against Graveyard, place her directly on top of the Graveyard spawn zone so she curses skeletons the moment they appear. This creates a chain reaction: Graveyard skeletons die cursed, spawn Cursed Hogs, and your opponent's Graveyard attack becomes your counter-push. Against Skeleton King, place her in the center to curse the soul-summoned skeletons from both lanes.
Synergies
Mother Witch + Tornado is the strongest combo: Tornado pulls scattered swarms into a tight cluster, letting Mother Witch curse all of them simultaneously. When they die, you get a swarm of Cursed Hogs rushing the opponent's tower. In Giant Skeleton Bridge Spam, Mother Witch converts any defensive skeletons or Goblins your opponent plays into additional bridge pressure alongside your Giant Skeleton and Bandit. Pair with splash damage like Baby Dragon or Valkyrie to kill cursed troops quickly, accelerating the Hog conversion. She also synergizes with Skeleton King ironically - while she hard-counters enemy Skeleton Kings, your own Skeleton King's soul harvesting can be cursed-troop-aware, and the two together create a cycle where your swarm generation feeds your pushes while her curse punishes theirs.
Matchups
Strong Against
- Skeleton King Bait: The defining matchup of February 2026. Skeleton King summons 6-14 souls that Mother Witch curses and converts into Cursed Hogs. The entire archetype collapses against her.
- Graveyard: Curses Graveyard skeletons as they spawn, turning a 5-elixir attack into a counter-push of Cursed Hogs. One of the cleanest Graveyard counters in the game.
- Witch/Night Witch: Their spawned skeletons and Bats feed Mother Witch's curse mechanic endlessly, generating free Cursed Hogs throughout the match.
- Skeleton Army/Goblin Gang: Swarm cards become liabilities. Cursing even 3-4 troops before they die creates enough Hogs to threaten a tower.
Countered By
- Fireball: One-shots Mother Witch for equal 4-elixir trade, eliminating her before she can curse anything. The most reliable answer.
- Poison: Kills her over time and denies area control. Poison placement on Mother Witch behind tower forces a reposition or death.
- Lightning: Overkill at 6 elixir but guaranteed removal. Punishing if it also clips tower or another support troop.
- Mini P.E.K.K.A/Bandit: Fast single-target troops reach and kill Mother Witch before she generates meaningful curse value, especially if she is out of position.
- Miner: Cheap assassination tool that dives behind the tower to kill Mother Witch directly. Hard to react to when she is placed deep.
Tips
Curse duration matters: The curse lasts 5 seconds from each hit. If a troop survives longer than 5 seconds after being hit, it dies uncursed and spawns no Hog. Against tanky troops, keep Mother Witch alive to reapply the curse.
Cursed Hogs target buildings only: Each Cursed Hog has 915 HP at max level and Very Fast speed, sprinting straight to the nearest building. They cannot be distracted by troops, making them reliable chip damage generators.
Anti-Graveyard placement: Place Mother Witch directly on the Graveyard spawn area. She curses skeletons as they appear, and tower fire kills them immediately - creating a stream of Cursed Hogs from a single defensive play.
Tornado combo: Pull scattered swarms with Tornado into Mother Witch's range. She curses the entire cluster, and when they die simultaneously you get a full pack of Cursed Hogs on a counter-push.
Protect from spells: Keep Mother Witch away from other support troops to avoid giving Fireball or Lightning multi-target value. She is worth more alive than any single curse conversion.
Double elixir scaling: Mother Witch's value increases exponentially in double elixir as opponents cycle swarm cards faster. Save her for the second half of the match when possible.
Watch for her in Giant Skeleton Bridge Spam: In deck #8 (60.4% WR), Mother Witch converts any defensive skeletons into additional bridge threats. If you face this deck, avoid using swarm cards to defend.
Common Mistakes
Playing her at the bridge: Mother Witch has 770 HP and 110 DPS at tournament standard - she is not a bridge spam threat. She dies before cursing anything meaningful when played aggressively without a tank.
Using her against non-swarm decks: Against decks running Hog Rider cycle, X-Bow, or other low-swarm archetypes, Mother Witch generates almost no value. She becomes a 4-elixir troop with worse stats than Musketeer. Recognize the matchup early.
Ignoring spell vulnerability: Leaving Mother Witch at the same HP as your tower lets Fireball kill her and chip tower simultaneously. Spread your placements to deny multi-target spell value.
Panic placement against Skeleton King: Dropping Mother Witch after Skeleton King already activated his ability wastes curse time. Place her preemptively when you see Skeleton King crossing the bridge so she curses souls the moment they spawn.
Forgetting Cursed Hog pathing: Cursed Hogs target buildings, not the tower directly if a building is closer. Your own defensive buildings can pull your own Cursed Hogs away from the enemy tower, reducing counter-push damage.