Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Apprentice Warden is a Dark Elixir support troop: a junior version of the Grand Warden who raises the hitpoints of troops around him with a Life Aura and plinks at targets with a slingshot. He unlocks at Town Hall 13 with the level 10 Dark Barracks, takes 20 housing space, and has been a permanent troop since June 2023. His max level is 4, reached at Town Hall 15; Town Halls 16 to 18 added no new levels.
How the Apprentice Warden works
The Life Aura
Troops and heroes within 7 tiles of him get a percentage boost to their hitpoints, from 20% at level 1 to 26% at level 4. The percentage is lower than the Grand Warden’s Life Gem, but the Apprentice’s bonus has no cap. That makes the aura weak on small troops and strong on big ones: 26% of a high-hitpoint tank or hero is a lot of extra health.
Auras don’t stack. If he stands next to the Grand Warden’s Life Gem aura or another Apprentice Warden, each unit only gets the strongest single aura. For low-hitpoint troops that’s usually the Life Gem; for the heaviest units it’s usually the Apprentice.
A few things the aura doesn’t touch. He can’t buff himself, though two Apprentice Wardens close together buff each other. Since April 2026, Siege Machines are immune to it, so the old trick of parking him beside a slow siege no longer works. Totems from the Totem Spell are also excluded.
Movement and attack
He has no preferred target. Like the Grand Warden, he tends to follow nearby groups of troops and shoot whatever they’re attacking, and he hops over Walls on his own. Unlike the hero, he can’t fly. His slingshot hits one ground or air target from 5 tiles, which is respectable for chip damage but not enough to carry an attack.
Apprentice Warden stats by level
Housing space 20, movement speed 20, attack every 0.9 seconds, range 5 tiles, aura radius 7 tiles. Research uses Dark Elixir in the Laboratory.
| Level | Aura HP boost | Damage per second | Hitpoints | Research cost (Dark Elixir) | Research time | Lab level | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20% | 170 | 1,500 | None | None | None | 13 |
| 2 | 22% | 185 | 1,650 | 90,000 | 6d | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | 24% | 200 | 1,800 | 135,000 | 7d 12h | 12 | 14 |
| 4 | 26% | 215 | 1,950 | 160,000 | 8d | 13 | 15 |
Costs and times are standard values before Gold Pass discounts.
How to attack with the Apprentice Warden
Give the aura to your tanks and heroes
He earns his housing space next to units with big health pools: Root Riders, Golems, Yetis and your heroes. Small troops get almost nothing from him, so don’t bring him for an Archer or Wizard push.
Use him where the Grand Warden isn’t
Because the two auras don’t combine, putting both in the same spot wastes one of them. A common split is to send the Apprentice with the funnel or a side kill squad while the Grand Warden goes into the core with the main army. He can also stand in for the Life Gem, which frees an equipment slot on the Grand Warden for something else.
Pair him with the Archer Queen
He and the Archer Queen both shoot from 5 tiles, so they move and stop at about the same distance from defenses, which keeps her inside his aura during a Queen walk.
Low Town Hall wars
Donated into a Clan Castle at Town Hall 6 or 7, an Apprentice Warden with a few Healers works as a mini walk, since those players don’t have the Archer Queen yet. Lead him with a few troops, because his pathing follows the crowd.
Keep him alive
His hitpoints are low for 20 housing space. If he wanders ahead of the army or paths into a Wizard Tower on his own, the aura goes with him. Deploy him behind the front line, not in front of it.
How to defend against the Apprentice Warden
- Splash defenses and Giant Bombs catch him because he follows the main group closely.
- Wizard Towers and Builder’s Huts outrange him, so they can pick him off if he walks toward them alone.
- Taking him out early removes the extra health from every tank around him, so defenses that can reach behind the front line pay off.
As a defending Clan Castle troop he’s best next to a tanky defender, since his aura works on troops but not on buildings. Two Apprentices in the same Clan Castle don’t add up, because the auras don’t stack.
Apprentice Warden changes
- June 12, 2023: added at Town Hall 13 with 4 levels.
- December 12, 2023: fixed Apprentice Wardens’ auras not working on each other.
- March 26, 2024: aura boost cut by 4 points at every level (24-30% down to 20-26%).
- March 2025, Clash Anytime: training time removed.
- February 23, 2026: his aura no longer affects Totems.
- April 27, 2026, Sound of Clash: Siege Machines became immune to his aura.
Apprentice Warden FAQ
Is the Apprentice Warden an Elixir or Dark Elixir troop?
Dark Elixir, even though the Grand Warden is an Elixir hero. He trains in the Dark Barracks and is researched with Dark Elixir.
What Town Hall unlocks the Apprentice Warden?
Town Hall 13, with Dark Barracks level 10.
Does the Apprentice Warden stack with the Grand Warden?
No. Each unit gets only the strongest aura it’s standing in. See the hero equipment page for the Life Gem.
What is the Apprentice Warden’s max level?
Level 4, available from Town Hall 15 onward. Full troop caps are on the max levels page.
Sources: Supercell release notes and posts (June 2023 update, March 2024 balance changes, February 2026 update, Sound of Clash update), in-game data.
