Mortar

"The Mortar can mow down hordes of enemies by the splash damage from its shell. Don't let enemies get too close to it!"

Summary
Mortars are the player's heavy defenses. Whenever an enemy comes into range, it blasts out an explosive shell with a low frequency "ping".

Mortars have high damage per attack and deal splash damage, but lack in attack speed. Their splash damage combined with their long range makes them deadly weapons against large amounts of weaker enemies, such as archers or goblins. One of its major disadvantages is its inability to attack enemies at close range (4 tile radius restriction).

Defensive
Usually placed towards the centre of your base. This should be prefereably done behind walls. the large range allows the mortar to attack behind other structures. Since mortars deal heavy splash damage, they can quite rapidly eliminate attacking troops. Multiple mortars ensure more destruction and damage. Take care when upgrading, as many players use this as a chance to attack.

Offensive
The mortar's blind spot, low rate of fire, and inability to target air troops makes them vulnerable to a wide variety of different attacks. Fast melee troops such as barbarians or goblins (after all resource structures are destroyed) can rush to the mortar and quickly enter its blind spot. Archers can also be effective if they are positioned in a circle around the mortar. The mortar's relatively low hitpoints makes it very vulnerable to giants as well. Finally, their inability to target air troops makes mortars easy pickings for balloons and dragons if they are not covered by air defences.

Trivia

 * A level 6 mortar acquires a major graphic change, as the bomb shot out is a fiery ball.And it is all golden.
 * A level 7 mortar acquires a major graphic change, as there are now bone fragments and its all black.
 * A level 4 mortar acquires a major graphic change, as the bomb shot out is a black ball opposed to a stone ball from level 3.
 * There is an Achievement, called Mortar Mauler, when you destroy certain number of mortars.