Asketel, The Tentacled Scholar: Reading Between the Lines of Insanity

Overview

Asketel arrived in Empires & Puzzles in May 2025 as part of the mysterious and slightly disturbing Shadow Summon. As a 5-star Dark (Purple) Wizard from the Cultist family, he fits the archetype of the "forbidden knowledge" seeker who perhaps read a few too many pages of the wrong book. He brings the chaotic "Insanity" mechanic to the table, dealing damage and confusion to enemies while struggling to maintain his own grip on reality. Unlike the standard "hit-and-forget" snipers, Asketel requires a bit of tactical gambling, making him a unique, albeit risky, addition to any roster.

Hero Art & Visuals

Asketel's design is a striking mix of gentlemanly sophistication and Eldritch horror. He sports a dapper purple suit and bow tie, looking like he is about to attend a high-society gala, except for the fact that he is casually holding a book (the Necronomicon, presumably) spewing spectral purple tentacles. The glowing pinkish-purple energy contrasts sharply with his grey hair and beard, giving him the look of a professor who tenured in the dark arts. It is certainly a memorable look, even if one wonders where he finds a tailor who specializes in "tentacle-resistant" fabrics.

General Info

Hero Stats

Looking at Asketel's stats in the context of late 2025, he sits in a respectable but slightly declining position. With an attack stat of 1219 and a total power of 1190, he was quite strong upon release in May. However, compared to the absolute latest heroes like Adelitza (1312 Attack, 1264 Power) or Ginger C1 (1317 Attack), Asketel is starting to show the first signs of age. He is by no means weak his stats are well-balanced with a solid health pool over 2100 but he doesn't quite hit the stratospheric stat peaks of the December 2025 releases. He is an attack-leaning hero who relies on killing things before his own insanity gets the better of him.

Special Skill: Necronomicon Page 13

Asketel's special skill, Necronomicon Page 13, is a double-edged sword wrapped in a tentacle.

1. Damage: Dealing 410% damage to the target and nearby enemies is a heavy hit. For an Average speed hero, this is a substantial amount of burst damage that can cripple a flank.
2. Insanity Infliction: He puts 40 Insanity on the three enemies hit. This means they have a 40% chance to cast their special skill on their own allies (reversing the effect) or do nothing useful when their mana is full.
3. Uncleansable Ailments: This is his most tactical asset. He makes all active status ailments on the targets uncleansable. Note that he does not apply any ailments himself other than Insanity (which isn't technically a cleansable ailment in the traditional sense). You must pair him with other ailment givers for this to matter.
4. Self-Sabotage: He inflicts 55 Insanity on himself. This means the next time he charges up, he has a better-than-even chance (55%) of casting his skill on your own team or faltering.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Average (10 tiles). To drop this to 9 tiles, you need a level 23 Mana Troop (or 17/11 with costume/emblems). To hit 8 tiles is difficult without heavy mana generation buffs from allies.
• Damage Potential: With a base attack of roughly 1219, a 410% hit deals approx 4997 raw damage value before defense reduction. This is a very hard hit for a "hit-3" hero. Compare this to older hit-3 heroes like Drake Fong or Morel who do significantly less percentage damage.
• Insanity Risk: 55% Self-Insanity is high. If he misfires on his second cast, he hits your own team for 410% damage. That is a potential team-wipe of your own making.
• Ailment Lock: If you pair him with a hero dealing 1000 damage over time, that 1000 damage becomes guaranteed if Asketel fires immediately after.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

Asketel belongs to the Cultist Family, which is surprisingly defensive for such an offensive character.

Family Bonus

The Cultist family bonus provides a static boost to Defense and Health.

• 1 Hero: +20% Defense / +20% Health
• 2 Heroes: +30% Defense / +30% Health
• 3 Heroes: +40% Defense / +40% Health

This is a massive stat stick. Just bringing him alone gives him 20% more bulk, which helps him survive long enough to fire (or misfire).

Passives

None. This is Asketel's biggest glaring weakness. Most modern heroes (including his contemporaries in the Shadow Summon) have passives that reduce damage from Insanity or give mana on buffs. Asketel has zero passives. This feels like an oversight or a severe balancing restriction, leaving him "naked" compared to newer heroes with 2-3 paragraphs of passive text.

Aether Power

Fiend Resist allows Asketel to resist status ailments that summon Fiends for the first 6 turns. This is incredibly niche. While it helps against heroes like Ulius or Elizabeth, in the vast majority of raids, this will be a dead talent. It offers no offensive benefit and very limited defensive utility compared to "Defense Up" or "Ailment Immunity".

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Asketel was viewed as a high-risk, high-reward nuker. Players loved the damage but hated the self-insanity without the passive damage reduction that older Insanity heroes had. He never quite reached "meta-defining tank" status due to his Average speed and reliability issues.
• Power Creep Analysis: His damage percentage (410%) is still very competitive. However, the lack of passives and the clunky nature of Insanity (which has become easier to counter or ignore with newer mechanics) holds him back.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Asketel is a niche attacker. He is viable in Wars where you can craft a specific team around his "uncleansable" mechanic (e.g., with heavy bleed/burn heroes). He is dangerous on defense because the AI doesn't care about Insanity risks, but he is too unreliable for top-tier competitive play where consistency is key.

Costume & Costume Bonus

Currently, Asketel does not have a costume. Given his release date in mid-2025, he is likely a candidate for one in the future, which would hopefully address his lack of passives.

Emblem Path Analysis

As a Wizard, Asketel can deal extra damage per buff on the enemy (Jinx). Since his primary role is dealing massive damage, you want to lean into that.

The Annihilator

• Path: Attack > Health > Defense
• Pros: Maximizes the 410% hit. If he connects, he kills.
• Cons: He becomes squishier, though the Family Bonus helps offset this.

The Survivor

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Keeps him alive longer to utilize the Family Bonus stats.
• Cons: Reduces his threat level. An Asketel that hits like a wet noodle isn't scary, even with Insanity.

Final Recommendation

For most players, the Attack path is recommended. You bring Asketel to hurt people. If he backfires, he backfires, but when he hits, you want it to count.

Strengths

• High Burst Damage: 410% to three targets is excellent for Average speed.
• Ailment Lock: Making DOTs or defense downs uncleansable is a unique utility that can secure kills against cleansers.
• Disruption: 40 Insanity on three enemies can completely ruin the opponent's rhythm if RNG is on your side.
• Stat Boost: The innate +20% Defense/Health from the family bonus makes him surprisingly durable.

Weaknesses

• Self-Insanity: A 55% chance to hit your own team on the second fire makes him a ticking time bomb.
• No Passives: Lacks the modern bells and whistles (mana on start, damage reduction, etc.) that define top-tier heroes.
• Average Speed: In a Fast/Very Fast meta, Average speed heroes need to do a lot to justify their spot.
• Dependent: His "uncleansable" secondary effect requires other heroes to set it up. Alone, it does nothing.
• Weak Aether Power: Fiend Resist is rarely impactful.

Best Game Modes

• Rush Attack Wars/Tournaments: With speed set to Very Fast, he charges before the self-insanity becomes a huge issue (or at least he fires once quickly). The ailment lock is devastating here.
• Undead Horde War: His "uncleansable" trait prevents the war support from cleansing your ailments.
• PvE / Map Stages: You can use antidotes or mana potions to manage his Insanity, making him a safe heavy hitter for boss waves.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

The key to using Asketel is to mitigate his downside or maximize his "Ailment Lock."

The "Lock & Rot" Team

Pair him with heavy DOT dealers.

• Composition: Kalliopi (or any heavy bleeder) + Asketel + Healer.
• Strategy: Fire the DOT hero first. Fire Asketel second. The enemy now has massive DOT that they cannot cleanse.

The Insanity Mitigation

Use heroes that prevent status ailments or grant "Soft Skin" (Gargoyles) to block the self-insanity.

• Composition: Gargoyle Hero (stoneskin) + Asketel.
• Strategy: Fire the Gargoyle first to get Stoneskin. Fire Asketel. The Stoneskin should block the self-inflicted Insanity (check current mechanics as this interaction can vary by version, but generally immunity prevents the debuff). Alternatively, use Goldie or Araphel to reflect ailments.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters: Toon Costume Heroes (Passive immunity often resists Insanity), Gargoyles (Soft skin), and Healers (Healing reduces Insanity stacks).
• Anti-Synergy: Do not pair him with other unstable heroes unless you like gambling. Avoid bringing him against teams that don't rely on special skills (Slash attack heavy teams), as Insanity only affects Specials.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Asketel early, he is a great "carry" hero. His raw stats and damage will obliterate map stages and lower-level raids. Just be careful using him in Guild Wars where a self-hit could cost you the match. Don't worry too much about the Insanity mechanic early on; just enjoy the damage.

Advice for Veterans

Asketel is a luxury toy. He isn't consistent enough for your main War Defense or Attack team. However, he is excellent for depth in Rush Wars or for busting specific "turtle" defenses that rely on cleansing. Do not spend Alpha Aethers on him unless you absolutely love his design or lack other Dark hitters. He is likely to be power-crept further very soon.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Asketel was... mixed, to put it politely. He earned the nickname "Ass Kettle" almost immediately, for obvious phonetic reasons.

• One user noted: "They removed the strongest skill in his card. He moved from woah to umm ok then." referencing a beta version where he apparently blocked healing entirely.
• Another player lamented the lack of passives: "I wonder why did they remove the passive skill? Older heroes have it."
• On his visuals: "Why does it have a Star of David on the book?" (It was actually a generic magical hexagram, but it sparked debate).
• The general consensus: "He is a bipolar review for a bipolar hero."

Final Thoughts

Asketel is the definition of "Chaotic Neutral." He hits hard, he looks cool, and he might just kill your entire team if you let him read too much from his book. While he lacks the polish and passives of the absolute top-tier gods of Empires & Puzzles, he remains a potent weapon in the hands of a player who understands timing and synergy. If you like living on the edge and watching purple tentacles slap your enemies (and sometimes your friends), level him up.

Verdict: A strong, specialized hammer who sadly forgot to bring his passive skills to the fight. Great for Rush, risky for everything else.

Note: This review is based on the hero's state as of December 2025. Game balance changes may affect these details.