AI Overview: Earthquake is a 3-elixir rare spell in Clash Royale, unlocked in Arena 12. It deals damage over time to troops and Crown Towers, hits buildings for huge damage, and cannot touch flying units. Most players run it in Hog Rider cycle decks to break the Cannon, Tesla or Inferno Tower that stops their Hog. RoyaleTracker listed its best Earthquake deck at about 64% win rate in October 2026.
Last Updated: October 2026
Key Points:
- Earthquake costs 3 elixir, is a rare spell, and unlocks in Arena 12.
- It hits buildings very hard, hurts troops a little, slows them, and does not affect flying units.
- RoyaleTracker tracked 12 decks with Earthquake in October 2026, mostly Hog Rider lists.
- The best deck, with Evo Valkyrie and Evo Firecracker, won about 64% over about 2,000 battles.
- Skeletons, Hog Rider and The Log were the most common partners.
Table of Contents
What Earthquake Does
The short version: Earthquake is a 3-elixir rare spell that wrecks buildings. The game text says it deals damage every second to troops and Crown Towers, huge damage to buildings, and nothing to flying units. Ground troops caught in it also slow down.
It is a building-breaker. Anything else it touches is a bonus.
| Stat | Value |
| Elixir cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Spell |
| Unlocks | Arena 12 (Spooky Town) |
| Buildings | Huge damage |
| Ground troops and towers | Small damage every second, plus a slow on troops |
| Flying troops | Not affected |
The trade: a Cannon costs 3, a Tombstone 3, a Tesla 4, a Furnace 4, a Bomb Tower 4 and an Inferno Tower 5. Earthquake costs 3. Against anything that costs 4 or more, you come out ahead on elixir.
Earthquake has stayed a niche card, and one balance note could change that overnight. A small buff to its building damage would pull more Hog players toward it. The negative effect: a card that hard-counters buildings also makes every defensive building a worse pick, and some deck styles can lose their best answer.
Best Earthquake Decks in October 2026
What the data says: RoyaleTracker listed 12 decks with Earthquake in October 2026, nearly all Hog Rider decks. That is why the card is tied to the Hog Earthquake archetype. The most common partners were Skeletons (1), Hog Rider (4), Firecracker (3), The Log (2), Tesla (4), Ice Spirit (1), Mighty Miner (4), Cannon (3), Electro Spirit (1) and Barbarian Barrel (2).
| Build | Cards | Avg elixir | Win rate (sample) |
| Top win rate | 2.8 | 63.8% (1,999 battles) | |
| Hero Knight build | 2.6 | 62.7% (1,840 battles) | |
| Most battles | 2.6 | 61.4% (3,530 battles) |
Why two numbers: the card page shows 63.9% for the top deck and the archetype page shows 63.8%. They describe the same list, and trackers round a little differently. Deckshop lists the card on its own at 52.7%. That is a card-level number across every deck that uses it, so it reads lower than a best-deck number.
The facts: every tracked list is Hog Rider plus cheap cards. What it means: Earthquake is a Hog Rider helper, not a card you drop into any deck.
For the full deck breakdown, read our Hog Earthquake deck guide. Royal Hogs players use the spell the same way in the Royal Hogs deck guide.
Try it yourself: open the Clash Royale Deck Builder with the Hero Knight build above, 62.7% in the tracker sample, already loaded. Swap Evo Firecracker or Evo Tesla in and out to see how the average cost moves.
How to Use Earthquake
- Wait for a building. If the opponent has not played a Cannon, Tesla, Inferno Tower or Furnace, keep the spell.
- Cast it when your Hog is ready. Play Hog Rider and Earthquake together so the building falls as the Hog arrives.
- Cover the whole building. The spell works over time, so place it where the building and any troops next to it all stand.
- Count the elixir. Earthquake costs 3. If the building cost 4 or more, you are ahead.
- Do not chase flying troops. It does nothing to them.
- Use it on a tower late. It hurts Crown Towers a little, which helps when the tower is nearly down.
The move: next game, hold Earthquake until the opponent plays a building. Then play Hog and Earthquake on the same side.
Pair it with the Hog Rider card and the Skeletons card, and plan the rest of the cycle with the Log. For a longer list of defensive buildings you can break, see our buildings guide.
Evolutions keep reshaping which cheap cards sit beside Hog Rider, and Earthquake lists will follow. The negative effect: each new upgrade raises the cost of building a full list, and players without the right shards play a step behind.
What Beats Earthquake
- Decks with no buildings: the spell has no main target, so it turns into a weak 3-elixir spell.
- Flying troops: they take no damage from it, so air-heavy defenses ignore it.
- Fast answers to Hog Rider: if the Hog dies, the building never needed breaking.
- Cheap spread buildings: a 3-elixir Cannon traded for a 3-elixir spell is an even swap, not a loss.
Here’s the problem: a 3-elixir spell that does nothing against an empty arena is a dead card in your hand. Keep it for the right moment.
Do You Need Evolutions?
Here’s the gap in the data: all three best Hog EQ lists in the tracker used at least two Evolutions, and none of the lists shown was a base-card build. So the data cannot tell us how Earthquake performs without them. The card works the same in any deck, though, so a base-card Hog list is a fair place to start. Our deck slots guide covers which upgrade to buy first.
What to remember: Earthquake does not need an Evolution to do its job. The cheap cards around it are where the upgrades go.
If one of the upgraded cards in the best list gets nerfed, players will test the base list again. The negative effect: when a single balance patch decides which version of a deck wins, newer players with fewer upgrades can be the first to get caught out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Earthquake do in Clash Royale?
It deals damage over time to troops and Crown Towers, deals huge damage to buildings, and slows ground troops. It does not hit flying units.
How much does Earthquake cost?
3 elixir.
When do you unlock Earthquake?
In Arena 12 (Spooky Town). It is a rare card.
Does Earthquake hit air units?
No. Flying troops are not affected.
What is the best Earthquake deck?
In October 2026, RoyaleTracker listed Hog EQ with Evo Valkyrie and Evo Firecracker at about 64% over about 2,000 battles.
Is Earthquake good against towers?
It hurts Crown Towers a little every second, but its job is breaking buildings, not racing a tower.
The Bottom Line
The takeaway: Earthquake is a cheap building-breaker for Hog Rider decks. Load a top Hog Earthquake list in the Clash Royale Deck Builder and test it before you spend shards.
Mighty Miner shows up in the third-best list above too. Read the Mighty Miner guide for that card.
Building around this card? Our guide on how to use the Clash Royale Deck Builder shows how to load a deck, check patch risk and copy it into the game.
Sources
Researched from the following (no links, listed for transparency):
- RoyaleTracker, Earthquake card page (October 2026 tracker data)
- Deckshop, Earthquake card page (role tags and card-level win rate)
- Sportskeeda, how to unlock the Earthquake card (Arena 12, building damage, troop slow)
- Clash Royale card data used by the Deck Builder (elixir costs and card types)
- RoyaleTracker, Hog Earthquake archetype page (October 2026 tracker data)