Chires, The Pastry Protector: Croissants, Growth, and Boosted Health

Overview

Chires is a Rare (3-star) Nature hero hailing from the Astral Dwarfs family, released in June 2025. As a support hero, she brings a combination of modern mechanics—specifically Boosted Health and Growth—to the often simpler world of 3-star combat. While many heroes at this rarity are straightforward hitters or healers, Chires offers a more tactical approach, functioning as a "tanky" support that bolsters her allies' stats permanently. She fits comfortably into the modern era of Empires & Puzzles, where simple stat buffs are often replaced by more complex interactions like Growth and Wither. Don't let the pastry fool you; she is a serious contender in the Rare arena.

Hero Art & Visuals

The artwork for Chires is undeniably charming and perhaps a bit deceptive. She is depicted as a young, possibly toddler-aged Astral Dwarf with purple skin, white braided hair, and glowing astral markings. The focal point, however, is the large, sparkle-dusted croissant she is enthusiastically devouring. It is a refreshing departure from the grimacing warriors and terrifying beasts usually inhabiting the roster. The vibrant colors and the "Sweet Tooth" moniker perfectly encapsulate her deceptive nature—she looks innocent, but her passives will chew through your minions just as easily as she chews through that pastry.

General Info

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Hero Stats

Chires boasts stats that are well above the classic Season 1 baseline and competitive with other modern event heroes. With 509 Power, an Attack of 505, Defense of 540, and Health of 830, she is built sturdily. However, when we look at the bleeding edge of power creep, such as the recently released Ali (November 2025, Temple Summon), who sits at 536 Power with 914 Health, Chires is slightly behind the absolute peak. That said, her stat distribution leans towards Defense and Health, which is ideal for her role as a healer and support buffer. She can take a hit, which is exactly what you need her to do while she prepares to serve up her astral snacks.

Special Skill: Astral Pastries

Astral Pastries is a potent skill with a significant limitation: it affects only the caster and nearby allies.

Boosted Health: The 350 boosted health is a massive amount for a 3-star hero. In the Rare tier, HP pools are smaller, so 350 HP represents a huge chunk of a hero's total vitality, often exceeding 30% or 40% of their max health. The ability to exceed max HP is crucial in long drawn-out battles or Rush tournaments.
Growth: Providing +50 Attack and +50 Defense via Growth is excellent. Unlike standard buffs, Growth is permanent (unless countered by Wither) and cannot be dispelled by normal means. This makes her buffs "sticky" and reliable.

The downside, of course, is the "nearby" target limitation. In a 5-hero formation, she ideally needs to be the Tank (center) to hit 3 targets, or a Flank to hit 2-3 depending on team survival. If placed on the Wing, she loses half her effectiveness, healing only herself and one neighbor.

By the Numbers

Mana Speed Analysis: At Average speed, she requires 10 tiles to charge. With the Astral Dwarfs family bonus (if you bring a unique family member) and potential mana troops (though 3-star troops are limited), she doesn't break into "Fast" breakpoints easily without Rush Attack rules.
Healing Calculation: 350 Boosted Health x 3 targets = 1050 Total Healing Potential. This is very high for a 3-star skill. For comparison, many "Hit All" healers at this level heal for around 25-30% or a flat ~200-250.
Growth Value: +50 Defense is roughly equivalent to a 10-15% defense buff on a 3-star hero (assuming ~450-500 base defense). Stacking this twice makes the affected heroes incredibly tanky.
Effective Health: With 830 base HP + 20 emblems (approx +100) + LB1 (approx +100) + Troop bonus, she can easily sit over 1100 HP. Add her boosted health, and she becomes a damage sponge.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Astral Dwarfs family brings a lot of utility that is usually reserved for 5-star heroes.

Family Bonus

The family bonus offers a chance to dispel buffs from enemies and a resistance to mana reduction. While the dispel chance (25% for 1 hero) is RNG-dependent, the mana resistance is excellent against common 3-star mana controllers like Bauchan or Gan Ju. If she resists, she gains mana, which can turn a defensive situation into an offensive advantage.

Passives

This is where Chires truly shines.

Superior Bypass Minions: She ignores minions completely. While she isn't a sniper, her tile damage will punch right through meat shields.
Superior Resist Negative Minion Effects: She is immune to the nasty effects of minion hitters or special minions (like Kvasir's bees preventing minions).
Destroy Fiends: A 3-star hero that destroys Fiends on cast is incredibly rare. This makes her a hard counter to any future 3-star Fiend summoners or event effects that apply Fiends.

Aether Power

Boosted Regen fits her kit perfectly. Since her goal is to keep herself and her team alive to stack Growth, passive healing ensures she stays in the fight longer. It complements her high defense and health pool.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

Historical Context: Upon release, Chires was seen as a "modern" alternative to classic healers like Belith or Friar Tuck. She introduced mechanics (Growth, Fiend destruction) that were previously absent from the 3-star rarity.
Power Creep Analysis: Compared to older 3-stars, she is statistically superior. Heroes like Isshtak or even Grevle feel the pressure of her higher stats and permanent buffs. However, she faces stiff competition from "Hit All" healers like Faiez or Goldie, who offer team-wide protection.
Modern Viability Verdict: Chires remains highly viable, particularly in Rush Tournaments and Buff Booster Tournaments. She hasn't been crept out of relevance because her niche—permanent stats and boosted health tanking—is still unique at this level. She serves as a "Mini-Hathor" or "Mini-Arco" for the 3-star arena.

Emblem Path Analysis

Chires is a Rogue. The Rogue talent (Evade) is arguably the best defensive talent in the game, giving her a chance to dodge direct damage from special skills.

The Iron Stomach (Defensive Build)

Path: Defense > Health > Attack
Pros: Maximizes her role as a tank or flank. She needs to survive to fire her skill multiple times to stack Growth. The Rogue dodge combined with high defense makes her very frustrating to kill.
Cons: Her tile damage will be negligible.

Final Recommendation

For most players, the Iron Stomach (Defense/Health) path is the only logical choice. Chires is not a damage dealer; she is a sustainability engine. Keeping her alive is the priority.

Strengths

Boosted Health: One of the few 3-star sources of overhealing, vital for survivability.
Permanent Buffs: Growth (+Atk/Def) cannot be dispelled, making her team stronger as the fight goes on.
Anti-Minion/Fiend Tech: Excellent passives that ignore minions and cleanse fiends.
Rogue Class: Dodge capability adds a layer of survival RNG that can win matches.

Weaknesses

Positional Requirement: "Nearby" effects limit her placement. She effectively must be Tank or Flank.
Passive Playstyle: She doesn't help win quickly; she helps you not lose.
Average Speed: Without Rush rules, she might be too slow to save a dying teammate compared to a Fast healer.

Best Game Modes

Rush Attack Tournaments: Her Average speed becomes Very Fast. Firing repeatedly allows her to stack Defense Growth to absurd levels while constantly overhealing.
Buff Booster Tournaments: Her Growth counts as a buff (stat modification), and because it's permanent, it provides a stable damage boost for the tournament rule.
Rare Events: Useful for tough boss stages where you need the extra HP buffer to survive big hits.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Sample Team Ideas

The Green Wall (Rush Defense):
- Faiez - Chires - Grevle
- Explanation: A Triple Green center for Rush. Faiez protects status, Chires adds Growth and Overheal, Grevle adds more Overheal and Attack up. It creates a team with double or triple their max HP.
The Growth & Wither Combo:
- Boots - Chires - Buster
- Explanation: Boots applies Wither (lowering enemy stats), while Chires applies Growth (raising ally stats). This widens the stat gap between your team and the enemy significantly. Buster increases damage taken, ensuring that once your team is buffed, they hit incredibly hard.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

Counters: Treevil is the bane of everything in 3-star Rush. While Chires can dodge, Treevil's massive debuffs can cripple her team before she gets the Growth train rolling.
Wither Heroes: Heroes that apply Wither (like the Goblin family) directly counter her Growth, stripping away the permanent stat boosts she worked to build.
Anti-Synergy: Don't place her on the Wing. She loses 50% of her utility if she only heals one ally.

Advice for New Players

If you are lucky enough to pull Chires early, she is a fantastic asset. She acts as a sturdy tank for your 3-star team and will help you clear map stages by overhealing your team before boss waves. Level her immediately, as decent healers are hard to find early on.

Advice for Veterans

Chires is a "luxury" 3-star. You don't need her if you have Faiez, Goldie, and Treevil, but she offers a fun and effective alternative for tournament diversity. She is worth leveling if you want to experiment with Growth mechanics in the lower rarity or need a specific counter to minion-heavy 3-star defenses. She is likely not worth a second Limit Break (Alpha Aether) unless you are extremely competitive in 3-star tournaments.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Chires was generally positive but measured.

One player noted she is essentially a "sexier Isshtak," referencing the visual upgrade and modernization of the kit.
Comparisons to Boots were frequent, with players debating the value of Growth (Chires) versus Wither (Boots). The consensus often landed on Boots being more aggressive, while Chires is the defensive counterpart.
Some were disappointed she wasn't a "Hit All" healer like Goldie, feeling the "Nearby" restriction felt dated for a 2025 hero.
"I DO like croissants so I get hungry looking at the card," remarked one forum user, highlighting the most important aspect of her design.

Final Thoughts

Chires is a delightful addition to the 3-star roster. She brings the sophistication of 5-star mechanics—Growth, Overhealing, and Superior Passives—down to the Rare level. While she may not have the raw, game-ending impact of a Treevil, she is a reliable, sturdy anchor that makes her teammates better. In a world of grimdark warriors, sometimes you just need a toddler with a pastry to keep your team healthy and growing.

Verdict: A solid B+ hero. Excellent in Rush and Buff Booster, but limited by her target scope. A must-have for tournament enthusiasts, but skippable for casual players who already have Faiez.