Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Totem Spell is a 1-space Elixir spell that drops a heavy stone Totem onto the battlefield. The landing briefly stuns everything nearby, and then ground and air defenses can shoot at the Totem, so it soaks up fire your real troops would otherwise take. It came out with Town Hall 18 in November 2025 but unlocks at Town Hall 16 with a level 9 Spell Factory, and it has 4 levels.
How the Totem Spell works
When you cast it, the Totem crashes down and stuns buildings and troops in a 5-tile radius for a moment. That stun makes nearby defenses pick a new target. They don’t have to pick the Totem: a defense will still go for one of your troops if that troop is closer to it than the Totem is.
The Totem counts as both a ground and an air unit when defenses choose targets, so Air Defenses, Cannons and everything in between can all be pulled onto it. It loses 334 hitpoints every second on its own, and faster when it’s being hit, so it never sticks around for long. If nothing touches it, that works out to roughly 30 seconds at level 1 and about 39 seconds at level 4.
What the Totem can’t do, or isn’t affected by:
- It doesn’t trigger traps, Clan Castle troops or Spell Towers. Traps that your troops trigger can still hit it.
- It deals no damage (its landing damage was removed in February 2026).
- Clone, Recall and Ice Block Spells ignore it, and so do the Life Gem and Apprentice Warden auras and the Heroic Torch’s effect.
- Healers and Druids won’t heal it, though a Healing Spell will.
- Knockback effects such as the Tornado Trap can’t move it.
For the Eagle Artillery, a Totem Spell counts as 5 housing space toward waking it up, the same as any other 1-space spell. Since August 30, 2026 it also counts as 1 space, not 20, for the Dark Crown and the Archer Queen’s Monolith Arrow.
Totem Spell levels and research cost
Each level adds 1,000 hitpoints to the Totem. Research uses Elixir in the Laboratory; costs and times are base values before Gold Pass discounts.
| Level | Totem hitpoints | Research cost (Elixir) | Research time | Laboratory level | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 | None | None | None | 16 |
| 2 | 11,000 | 21,000,000 | 12d | 14 | 16 |
| 3 | 12,000 | 22,000,000 | 14d | 15 | 17 |
| 4 | 13,000 | 23,000,000 | 16d | 16 | 18 |
The radius (5 tiles) and the 334 hitpoints per second decay are the same at every level.
How to use the Totem Spell
Protect the unit carrying your funnel
Totems shine when one unit has to survive a few seconds longer: a Grand Warden on a Fireball charge, or a Flame Flinger burning out a side. Drop the Totem a little away from that unit, on the opposite side from where the fire is coming. The defenses that get stunned and retarget onto the Totem stop hitting your Warden.
Soak the defenses that kill tanks
For 1 housing space you get 10,000 to 13,000 hitpoints that every defense type can target. That makes it a cheap way to absorb a round of fire from Air Defenses during an air attack, or from Cannons and Archer Towers during a ground push, while your main troops get into position.
Pull defending troops away
Clan Castle troops and spawned units like Ice Golems or Witch skeletons will also go after a Totem. Late in an air attack, a Totem dropped near a pack of defending ground units keeps them busy while your air troops finish the last buildings.
When the Totem is the wrong spell
- Against splash defenses such as Mortars and Scattershots, or multi-target defenses like the Multi-Archer Tower, the Totem doesn’t save small troops. Those defenses still hit everything near the target.
- If a defense is closer to your troops than to the Totem, it stays on your troops. A Freeze Spell is more reliable when you need one defense to stop completely.
- Single-target killers melt it. A Monolith, a single-mode Inferno Tower or a fully charged Revenge Tower can delete a Totem in moments.
How to defend against Totem Spells
Single-target damage is the answer. The Monolith is especially good because its bonus damage scales with the target’s max hitpoints, and the Totem has a lot of them. Ricocheting defenses like the Ricochet Cannon and Revenge Tower can bounce from the Totem to troops around it, and a defending Archer Queen can take one down in a few seconds. Since Totems never set off traps, put your traps where the attacking army will walk, not where a Totem is likely to land.
Recent changes to the Totem Spell
- November 17, 2025: added in the Town Hall 18 update with 4 levels, unlocking at Town Hall 16.
- December 3, 2025: fixed Air Sweepers pushing back ground troops while aiming at a Totem.
- January 12, 2026: Totems now lose 334 hitpoints per second.
- February 23, 2026: radius cut from 6 tiles to 5, landing damage removed, and Life Gem and Apprentice Warden auras no longer affect Totems.
- April 27, 2026: Totems made immune to the Heroic Torch.
- July 9, 2026: Supercell’s balance post left the Totem unchanged but said it was still high on its watch list.
- August 30, 2026: fixed Totems counting as 20 housing space for the Dark Crown and Monolith Arrow.
Totem Spell FAQ
What Town Hall is the Totem Spell?
Town Hall 16, with a level 9 Spell Factory. It arrived in the Town Hall 18 update, and its last level needs Town Hall 18.
Is the Totem Spell an Elixir or Dark spell?
Elixir. It’s brewed in the regular Spell Factory and researched with Elixir.
How long does a Totem last?
Until its hitpoints run out. It drains 334 per second by itself, so about 30 to 39 seconds untouched, and much less under fire.
Does the Totem do damage?
Not anymore. The landing stuns nearby buildings and troops but has dealt no damage since February 23, 2026.
For full army lists that use Totems at the top level, see the Town Hall 18 attack strategies.
Sources: in-game data; Supercell, Town Hall 18 update notes, January 2026 balance changes, February 2026 update notes, Sound of Clash update notes, July 2026 balance update, August 2026 update notes.
