Originally Posted by
Constant
The wiki link does not answer the question and in my opinion is spam.
In regards to the trophies, they are generated by new players with zero trophies losing. In regards to the large volatility of trophies gained/lost the system is based on some mathematical formula (possibly similar to an ELO rating criteria) In effect the larger the gap between the victor/defeated the less or more the change in trophies will be. Hence if you win a defence against a very low trophy base (could be a revenge who has subsequently dropped trophies) the gain will be very small. If you were to lose the drop in trophies would be very high.