they 're not that great. helpful when doing a balloon and minion raid if you can get everything there quick enough. theyre just a meatshield that attracts fire. they do virtually no damage so if the attacking troops dont get there quick enough its a waste. below level 2 are rubbish anyway, and you need at least two of them to be effective and at a housing cost of 30 each i'd rather take more balloons to be honest!