Hi fellow clahers. My name is Skip Scipio I am with the clan Build dem walls. I am here to discuss the earthquake spell which many have dismissed as useless and inferior to the jump spell. I disagree. This post will discuss why the earthquake spell is extremely powerful under certain circumstances and also show a video with some successful attacks using the earthquake spell (both clan war attack and two raiding attacks). If your not a fan of reading then scroll to the end for the video!
What is the earthquake spell and how does it work?
4 earthquake spells take down any way. It doesn’t matter if the wall is level 2 or level 10. It also doesn’t matter if the earthquake spell is leveled up or not. This means that the earthquake spell becomes more powerful as the walls on a base level up. Even been scared off of a base because the walls look insurmountable? Well with earthquake spells that is much less of an issue. The stronger the walls and the more compact the base the more powerful earthquake spells become. Earthquake spells hit in a 3.5 tile radius. If dropped properly they can take out 8 tiles of wall (see: http://clashofclans.wikia.com/wiki/Earthquake_Spell).
1.) Earthquake spells remove the issue of timing. WBs if released at the wrong time get done in by mortors. Jump spells don’t last and straggling troops can get left behind to hit at a wall uselessly. Furthermore a jump spell may bridge many walls and heroes and especially pekkas can get detoured. WBs are also notorious for targeting walls you don’t intend to hit. With earthquake spells the walls are gone permanently. Straggling troops can catch up, no need to worry about jump spells disappearing, and this is all at level 1 earthquake so no need to upgrade. This allows for more complex attack strategies with fewer risks of error. Dropping multiple types of troops, multiple spells, your heroes, your cc troops, and activating hero spells at the right time can be quite tricky. Removing jump spells from the equation can give you more time to focus on your attack. More time = fewer mistakes = more loot more stars.
2.) Poison spell has become mandatory for any army composition. It is overpowered when dealing with most cc troops (wiz, arch, barb). So most of us lure cc troops drop the poison spell and wait…and wait…and wait. While we wait the seconds on our attack are ticking away and we are not doing anything productive. Enter the earthquake spells! While poison is going to work we can use earthquake spells. Not only that but you have time to place them properly. Once the poison has done its work you now have a gaping hole in the defense that your troops can enter. No more wasted seconds.
3.) Earthquake damages buildings in the radius. This means that when your troops go through they tear through buildings quicker. Given the added HPs in the recent update this is increasingly important. Those few seconds can mean the difference between a successful attack and a failed on. The stronger your earthquakes spell the more damage it does to these buildings. When dealing with xbows and inferno towers these few seconds are precious and clearing out the buildings used to protect these defences is vital.
4.) Earthquake spells can help overcome multiple compact walls. These are often used to scare attackers away from attacking a certain side. However with earthquake spells, compact bases can be cut open like sardine cans. Looking through a lot of the popular base layouts for th8, th9, and th10 a well place set of earthquake spells can open a path directly to the center of the base where the TH and DE storage are located. This is important for raiding and for war. It also makes it harder for those building bases as clustering traps on one side may no longer be a good strategy.
5.) If earthquake spells are placed just right you can steer your troop AI to the center of the base more easily. Leaving in place walls on the left and right for example but creating a hole to the center can get rid of rogue pekkas and heroes which have ruined many an attack.
6.) Perfect spell for raiding. If you like to use barch or another cheap and quick attack strategy (like Bam) then earthquake can allow you to hit the center of a base. Barch and Bam have often been ideal for taking out inactive bases but with the earthquake spell these attacks (accompanied by heroes) can get to the center of many bases as the video will show (see attack 3 in the accompanying video).
So when is it a good idea to use earthquake? There a few rules to follow.
1.) The walls of the base should be high. Very high. High enough to scare you away otherwise, or at least give you pause that your troops may get stuck. If your troops can get through the walls easy then you don’t really gain much from using earthquake spells.
2.) Compact bases are prime targets. If you can open a hole to the center of the base, or take down 3 layers of walls (or 2 depending on the setup) then the earthquake spell may be a good choice.
3.) Are there buildings in between the wall layers, or defenses? Then the earthquake spell may be best. If it is just walls then maybe jump is a better option.
4.) Is your army moving together or are you releasing different troops at different times? If your not releasing everything at once then earthquake may be a better choice and give you more time to focus on more complex attack patterns.
5.) Running low on troop space? Earthquake spells may allow you to carry another 4-8 troops which would have been WBs.
6.) Want to save elixir? Rather than using elixir spells, the de spells may help you farm more effectively especially when saving up for research or elixir upgrades.
What are the downsides and when not to use?
1.) Cost 2 spells slots. That means 2 less heal, rage, jump, freeze, or lightning spells. But it also means your troops don’t get stuck . The tradeoff is a tough one to make but look at the base to help you decide.
2.) DE aint cheap! 4 level 1 earthquake spells costs 500 de. Add some de troops to that and it can get expensive!
3.) Spread out bases often makes earthquake spells not effective. If they cannot clear a hole to the center (or at least one where you only need 2 WBs on the outside to get to) then you may be better off not using either earthquake or jump. Earthquake spells work best on compact bases.
I’m not saying earthquake spells work perfect for every base. But there are enough bases where it works (and especially popular builds) that this strategy should be used much more often than is has been.
My guess for why we see so few earthquake attacks? It is new and not readily apparent when this spell is a good choice. Hopefully this guide will help and the video as well.
Also note in the video I mention the argovawipe strategy (first attack) for a guide on how to use this strategy and some video examples see: argovawipe (an article on this forum I wrote).
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I'm an very early TH9 and was also thinking about to use EQ to reach the central placed loot as long as my troops aren't upgraded at TH9. My Spell factory needs two more days, so I took 1 Poisen and 4 EQ with me, waited for a right base to raid and got 2,5K dark. Spending 'bout 700 DE on spells, i still got a decent revenue, considering the fact that I can't use spells and attacking with barch only won't let me raid even low bases. 
Originally Posted by KingBeatdown
