Baishu: The Lunar Rat That Steals Your Buffs (And Your Patience)

Overview

Baishu is a 5-star Holy (Yellow) hero from the Lunar New Year event. He’s a Fast Monk who operates on a high-risk, high-reward mechanic that feels a bit like gambling at a casino run by rodents. Released during the Year of the Rat (or simply celebrating it), Baishu brings a unique "balancing" act to the board: he either steals buffs and cleanses ailments, or he gets frustrated and smacks everyone for damage.

While he’s technically a modern hero, his reliance on specific board states makes him a "conditional" superstar. He’s the guy who shines brightly when the stars align (specifically in War Equalizer), but might just stand there looking cute when they don't.

max

lb2

Hero Art & Visuals

Baishu is depicted as an agile, white rat performing an acrobatic act, possibly walking a tightrope or balancing on a beam. He’s decked out in traditional festive attire with gold coins—a symbol of prosperity that hopefully translates to your raid chest. The art style is vibrant and energetic, capturing the nimble nature of the character. It’s a refreshing change from the usual "angry guy with a big sword" aesthetic, though you might find his expression a bit too focused, like he’s trying to figure out where he left his cheese.

General Info

Hero Stats

Stat Analysis: Let's be real: Baishu's stats are starting to look a bit dusty. With a max power of 1152 (LB2 1392), he is significantly behind the current cutting-edge heroes who are pushing 1260+ base power and 1500+ LB2 power.

• Attack (1176): Decent, but not earth-shattering for an attacker.
• Defense (1120) & Health (2160): These durability stats are acceptable but leave him vulnerable to the massive hits from modern snipers and AoE monsters.

He isn't "paper thin," but he definitely relies on his Monk class (resistance to ailments) and his speed to survive, rather than raw bulk.

Special Skill: Masterful Balance

Analysis: "Masterful Balance" is one of the most complex "if/then" skills in the game. It works in two distinct stages:

1. The Buff Steal Check:
   • He tries to steal the latest dispellable buff from all enemies.
   • Success: He distributes it to your team. (Great!)
   • Failure: If he can't steal anything (because there are no buffs, or they are undispellable), he deals 200% damage to ALL enemies.
2. The Ailment Cleanse Check:
   • He tries to lift the latest cleansable ailment from your team.
   • Success: He throws it onto the enemies. (Hilarious!)
   • Failure: If he can't move anything (no ailments, or enemies are immune), he deals another 200% damage to ALL enemies.

The Ideal Scenario (The "Nuke"): If you fire Baishu when there are no buffs on the enemy and no ailments on your team, he deals 200% + 200% = 400% damage to all enemies at Fast speed. That is a devastating hit, comparable to slow heroes.

The Worst Case (The "Whiff"): If enemies have undispellable buffs (e.g., from newer heroes or passives) or your team has undispellable ailments, he might fail to steal/transfer but also fail to trigger the damage condition depending on how the game codes "successfully stolen." (Note: The skill says "If no buffs were successfully stolen," implies if he tries and fails due to immunity, he damages. But if he succeeds, no damage. If there's nothing to steal, he damages.)

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Fast (7 tiles). With a lvl 23 Mana troop or lvl 11 Magic troop (plus Monk talent/costume bonus/bard), he can fire in 6 tiles.
• Damage Potential:
  • Base: 200% to all.
  • Max: 400% to all.
  • Attack Stat: ~1450 (LB2). 400% of that is a ~5800 raw damage output spread across 5 enemies. That hurts.
• Healing/Support: Strictly utility. He doesn't heal HP, but shifting buffs/ailments is a huge swing in momentum.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

Family Bonus

The Zodiac family bonus (often shared with Lunar heroes) typically gives a boost based on the specific animal year. For the Rat, it is often a +15% Special Skill Power boost. This is excellent for Baishu, pushing his potential 400% hit even higher.

Passives

• Disable Minion Abilities: This is Baishu's secret weapon. It completely neuters heroes like Waterpipe, M&M, or the Christmas family. Their minions become useless meat shields that can't attack or use special effects (like mana cut). This alone makes him a viable counter-pick even if his stats are aging.

Aether Power

• Counterattack: A standard defensive LB2 power. It’s okay, helping him punish AoE hitters, but it doesn't synergize directly with his skill like "Special Boost" or "Mana Boost" would.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Baishu was seen as a "big brain" hero. High potential, but confusing to use effectively. He wasn't a meta-defining tank, but a beloved toy for manual play.
• Power Creep Analysis: His stats have fallen off. Hitting for 200% (the most common scenario) is barely a tickle against modern 3000+ HP heroes. The 400% dream hit is rare outside of specific wars.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Niche / Situational. He is not a "put on defense and forget" hero. He is a surgical tool for War Equalizer (where buffs/ailments are wiped, maximizing his damage chance) or as a hard counter to minion-heavy teams.

Emblem Path Analysis

Baishu is a Monk. He needs to survive to fire, but his main value ceiling comes from that massive 400% hit.

The Acrobat (Attack/Defense)

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Maximizes the damage when the stars align. If he hits for 400%, you want it to kill.
• Cons: Squishier.
• Why: Even with full defense, he's not a tank. Lean into his offensive potential.

Final Recommendation

Go Attack/Defense. You bring him to change the game state or nuke the board; make the nuke count.

Strengths

• Massive Damage Potential: 400% to all at Fast speed is unmatched if conditions are met.
• Minion Hard Counter: Passive disables minion attacks/effects.
• Swingy Utility: Stealing a Taunt or reflecting a Defense Down can instantly win a raid.
• War Equalizer King: The Equalizer rule naturally sets up his "no buff/no ailment" damage condition.

Weaknesses

• Inconsistent: Sometimes he does 0 damage and steals a useless buff.
• Stats: Lagging behind the current meta significantly.
• Requires Timing: You can't just spam him; you have to read the board.
• Vulnerable to Undispellable: Undispellable buffs/ailments can block his utility and sometimes his damage logic if not careful.

Best Game Modes

• War Equalizer: His absolute best mode. The war rule cleans the board, letting him fire his full 400% damage nuke.
• Bloody Battle: Fast damage is king, and disabling minion meat shields is valuable.
• Raids (Offense): Use him manually to counter specific Minion tanks or when you can control the timing.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Baishu loves a clean board. He pairs well with heroes who don't spam passive buffs, or heroes who can force a reset.

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Clean Slate" Team: Baishu - C.Guardian Gazelle - ...
  • Why: Gazelle removes all buffs/ailments from your team (except her own). If you fire Gazelle first, Baishu's "Ailment Cleanse" check fails (triggering 200% damage). You just need the enemy to have no buffs.
• The Equalizer Specialists: Rayne - Baishu - Topaz
  • Why: A fast/minion-killing team designed to wipe the enemy before buffs stack up.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Buffers/Ailment Spammers: Paradoxically, enemies who spam undispellable buffs (like some Constructs or Cartoons) are bad for him because he can't steal them, and it might block his damage trigger if the game counts "attempted steal" as a failure to "successfully steal" but still recognizes the buff exists.
• Ailment Immunity (Monks/Clerics): If he tries to transfer an ailment but the enemy resists, it counts as "not successfully distributed," triggering damage. Wait... that's actually good! He deals damage if he fails to distribute. So immunity helps him deal damage!

Advice for New Players

If you pulled him, congratulations! He is a fun, fast hero. Level him up, but learn to read his skill. Don't be disappointed if he doesn't kill everyone instantly—use him to counter minions and steal key buffs like Counterattack or Regeneration.

Advice for Veterans

He’s a luxury toy. If you play high-level War Equalizer, he’s a top-tier pick for an attack team. Otherwise, he’s likely riding the bench behind newer, more consistent Holy heroes like Shaal or Costume Odile. Don't Alpha Aether him unless you really love the rat theme.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

• "The utility of this hero is severely lacking in value... I think a more interesting mechanic would have been to make this hero essentially Bizarro Snow White." – A forum user lamenting the RNG nature.
• "His best use is equalizer war. He hit very hard after equalization." – A veteran player spotting his true niche immediately.
• "You seriously LB2 heroes before reading the text on them? It does exactly what it says… And yes it´s garbage." – A savage response to a player disappointed with their impulsive LB2 choice.

Final Thoughts

Baishu is the epitome of "it depends." On a good day, he’s a Fast speed nuclear bomb that shuts down minions. On a bad day, he’s a fragile acrobat who steals a minor mana buff and dies. He balances on the fine line between "trash" and "god tier," making him one of the most interesting—albeit frustrating—heroes in Empires & Puzzles.

Verdict: Level for War Equalizer and Minion counter-play. Bench for general defense.