Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Grand Warden is the support hero: weak on his own, but he follows your army and boosts every troop inside his aura, and his best-known equipment, the Eternal Tome, makes everything around him invincible for a few seconds. He unlocks at Town Hall 11 with a level 5 Hero Hall, is the only Home Village hero upgraded with Elixir, and maxes at level 85 at Town Hall 18.
How the Grand Warden works
He has the longest attack range of any Home Village troop or hero, 7 tiles, which outranges a Wizard Tower, Bomb Tower or Hidden Tesla. He shoots one target every 1.8 seconds and moves at speed 16. Before each attack you pick a mode: in Air Mode he flies with an air army, in Ground Mode he walks with a ground army. Either way he crosses walls.
His targeting is unusual. When only a few troops are near him, he hits the closest building. Once enough troops gather around him, he switches to supporting them and fires at whatever building most of the group is attacking. In practice he trails the biggest unit or the biggest crowd, so you steer him with your army rather than funneling him directly.
As with every hero, his ability can be used once per attack. It restores some of his health and fires his active equipment. By default it also triggers on its own if he is about to be knocked out, even from a one-shot like a Seeking Air Mine; he survives that hit with 1 hitpoint. You can turn this off in settings.
On defense he guards a Hero Banner, always in Ground Mode, and uses no equipment. He has the slowest attack speed of any hero and modest stats, but his range lets him fire over walls at troops that can’t easily reach him. Since November 2024 he defends as a hero rather than as a building, which changed how defense-targeting attackers like the Royal Champion treat him.
Older guides are out of date on three points: he no longer has an altar (the Hero Hall replaced it in November 2024), he doesn’t regenerate (removed in March 2025), and his Life Aura and Eternal Tome are now separate pieces of equipment.
Grand Warden max level by Town Hall
Upgrades cost Elixir and need a free Builder. The Hero Hall level sets his cap; stats are base values before equipment.
| Town Hall | Hero Hall level | Max Warden level | Damage per second | Hitpoints | Health recovery from ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5 | 20 | 94 | 1,275 | 135 |
| 12 | 6 | 40 | 215 | 1,904 | 202 |
| 13 | 7 | 50 | 254 | 2,074 | 220 |
| 14 | 8 | 60 | 284 | 2,244 | 238 |
| 15 | 9 | 65 | 297 | 2,329 | 247 |
| 16 | 10 | 70 | 309 | 2,414 | 256 |
| 17 | 11 | 75 | 324 | 2,499 | 265 |
| 18 | 12 | 85 | 354 | 2,669 | 285 |
Level 1 starts at 43 damage per second and 850 hitpoints. Costs climb from 1,000,000 Elixir for level 2 to 30,500,000 Elixir and 8 days for level 85, before Gold Pass discounts.
Grand Warden equipment
On December 12, 2023, Hero Equipment replaced his old abilities: the passive Life Aura became the Life Gem and the Eternal Tome became a piece of equipment. He takes two pieces into each attack. Equipment comes from the Blacksmith (Town Hall 8) and is upgraded with Ore; Common pieces reach level 18 and Epic pieces level 27.
| Equipment | Rarity | How you get it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eternal Tome | Common | Comes with the Warden | Ability makes him and every unit in his aura immune to direct damage for a few seconds (slows, pushback and knockback still apply); no passive stats |
| Life Gem | Common | Comes with the Warden | Passive aura adds a percentage of max hitpoints, up to a cap, to units near him; adds damage and hitpoints to the Warden |
| Rage Gem | Common | Blacksmith level 4 (Town Hall 11) | Passive aura raises damage of units near him (halved on other heroes, doesn’t stack with Rage Spells); adds damage and attack speed |
| Healing Tome | Common | Blacksmith level 6 (Town Hall 13) | Ability lays a healing field that moves with him and heals heroes at the full rate; adds hitpoints and a much bigger self-heal |
| Fireball | Epic | Super Dragon Spotlight event (Mar 2024), then the Trader for 1,500 Gems | Ability throws a fireball at the nearest defense for heavy splash damage to ground and air; adds damage |
| Lavaloon Puppet | Epic | Mashup Mania event (Oct 2024), then the Trader | Ability summons one to three weaker Lavaloons that go for Air Defenses and drop Lava Pups; adds damage and hitpoints |
| Heroic Torch | Epic | Splash Bash event (Aug 2025), then the Trader | Ability gives units in his aura extra speed, damage reduction and the power to walk through walls; adds damage, hitpoints and health recovery |
Epic Equipment also drops from the Hero Journey track in the Hero Hall since June 2026. Common pairings: Eternal Tome with the Healing Tome (“Double Tome”) for most armies, including Root Rider smash and Super Hog Riders; Eternal Tome with the Rage Gem for a damage push into the core; Eternal Tome with the Fireball for Super Archer Blimps; and the Rage Gem with the Fireball when you go all in on damage. The Life Gem works best on mid-health troops like Balloons, Hog Riders and Miners; for big-HP troops, the Apprentice Warden’s uncapped aura does that job better and frees an equipment slot.
How to use the Grand Warden
- Match his mode to your army. Air Mode with air troops, Ground Mode with ground troops. An Air Warden with nothing around him gets picked off by Air Defenses and Seeking Air Mines; drop a Balloon nearby to absorb a mine if you have to send him alone.
- Time the Eternal Tome. Save it for the core, where the damage is heaviest, or for a known blast like the Giga Bomb at Town Hall 17 and up. Use it early if the strongest defenses sit on the outside or your army is about to split.
- Keep your army together, but not packed tight. He only helps troops inside his aura, and a tight clump invites splash damage and Eagle Artillery shots.
- Warden Walk: with Healers or Druids, a high-level Warden can funnel like a Queen Walk. His range makes it safer; his lower damage makes it slower. The Rage Gem speeds it up.
- With good positioning his range lets him kill an enemy Barbarian King without taking a hit. The Archer Queen is much harder to outrange this way.
Best pets for the Grand Warden
Pets come from the Pet House at Town Hall 14 and up.
- The Electro Owl (Town Hall 14) is the usual pick, especially in Air Mode. It nearly doubles his damage and is the only flying pet that stays with him in the air.
- The Poison Lizard (Town Hall 15) adds focused single-target damage and helps him fight enemy troops.
- Frosty (Town Hall 15) slows defenses and survives longer in the Warden’s back-line position than with other heroes.
- The Unicorn (Town Hall 14) keeps up with him on a Warden Walk if your Queen doesn’t need it.
- The Angry Jelly (Town Hall 16) makes him attack defenses, which only suits a “Warden Charge” built around the Fireball.
Defending against the Grand Warden
He usually hides behind the army, so set Inferno Towers to multi-target and lean on defenses that hit units behind the front line, such as the Scattershot and Firespitter. An Air Warden is exposed to Air Defenses and Seeking Air Mines when the rest of his army is on the ground.
All Home Village heroes
| Hero | Unlocks at | Hero Hall level | Max level at Town Hall 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbarian King | Town Hall 4 | 1 | 110 |
| Archer Queen | Town Hall 8 | 2 | 110 |
| Minion Prince | Town Hall 9 | 3 | 95 |
| Grand Warden | Town Hall 11 | 5 | 85 |
| Royal Champion | Town Hall 13 | 7 | 55 |
| Dragon Duke | Town Hall 15 | 9 | 25 |
Recent changes
- December 12, 2023: Hero Equipment replaced his abilities; Rage Gem and Healing Tome added; levels 66 to 70 added; defensive Life Aura removed.
- March 2024: Fireball released.
- October 2024: Lavaloon Puppet released.
- November 25, 2024: Hero Hall replaced the Grand Warden Altar; levels 71 to 75 added; he now defends as a hero.
- March 2025: hero regeneration removed (Clash Anytime).
- August 2025: Heroic Torch released.
- October 6, 2025: levels 56 to 60 moved down to Hero Hall 8 (Town Hall 14); many upgrade times cut.
- November 17, 2025: levels 76 to 80 added.
- June 15, 2026: levels 81 to 85 added; levels 76 to 80 made cheaper.
Grand Warden FAQ
What Town Hall unlocks the Grand Warden?
Town Hall 11, when the Hero Hall reaches level 5.
What is the Grand Warden’s max level?
Level 85 at Town Hall 18, added on June 15, 2026.
Does the Grand Warden use Elixir or Dark Elixir?
Elixir. He’s the only Home Village hero upgraded with it.
Should the Grand Warden be on air or ground?
Match your army: air for air attacks, ground for ground attacks. On defense he is always on the ground.
Sources: in-game hero, Hero Hall and Blacksmith data; Supercell release notes: Town Hall 16 update (Hero Equipment), Town Hall 17 update (Hero Hall), Clash Anytime update, Anime Fury update (levels 81-85, Hero Journey).
