Griffex: The Wizard Who Arrived Late to the Party

Overview

Griffex is a 5-star Legendary Dark hero from the Super Elemental family, originally released in May 2023. He was designed as a "Mana Manipulator," a support hero intended to control the flow of battle by draining enemy mana and boosting his allies. In a game dominated by speed and damage, Griffex took a different approach—a very slow approach. While his beard game is S-tier, his impact on the battlefield has been a topic of hot debate since day one.

This review focuses on the base version of Griffex. (Yes, he has a costume now, which basically injects him with super-soldier serum, but we'll get to that later).

Hero Art & Visuals

Griffex looks like he's about to drop the hottest mixtape of the wizarding world. With a magnificent, gravity-defying purple beard that seemingly flows into the very fabric of reality (or maybe just some magical scrolls), he certainly looks the part of a powerful sage. The runes and floating papers give him an "ancient knowledge" vibe. It's a classic high-fantasy design that says, "I have read many books, and I am very disappointed in your life choices."

General Info

Hero Stats

Let's be brutally honest: by today's standards (late 2025), Griffex's base stats are ancient history.

• Attack (859): This is significantly lower than modern hitters who push 1300+. He hits like a wet noodle.
• Defense (875) & Health (1697): While decent in 2023, these defensive stats are now "squishy" territory compared to modern tanks boasting 1300+ Defense and 2400+ Health.

Without his costume or heavy Limit Breaking, base Griffex is extremely fragile and likely to vanish before he can even cast his slow special.

Special Skill: Mana Manipulation

Analysis: Griffex's skill, Mana Manipulation, is a double-edged sword wrapped in a slow mana speed package.

1. The Nuclear Option (vs Holy): Reducing Holy enemies' mana by 100% is devastating. If you are fighting a mono-yellow team, Griffex is their worst nightmare—if he fires.
2. The "Meh" Option (vs Others): A 50% cut for everyone else is decent, but at Slow speed, it often feels like "too little, too late." By the time he fires, the enemy has likely already used their specials.
3. The Boost: Giving 30% mana to Dark allies is his redeeming quality. It allows him to act as a battery for other slow, devastating purple heroes (like Alfrike or Mortewitch). However, he does not boost himself, which prevents him from looping his own skill.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Slow (12 tiles).
  • With a Level 29 Magic/Styx troop (+20%) and his Druid talent (+4%), he can technically reach 9 tiles in Rush Attack, but in normal play, he's a 12-tile hero.
• Damage: Zero. He deals absolutely no direct damage.
• Net Mana Swing:
  • Vs Holy: -100% (Enemy) / +30% (Dark Allies). This is a massive 130% swing in resource advantage.
  • Vs Others: -50% (Enemy) / +15% (Non-Dark Allies). A much smaller swing.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Super Elemental family is weird but fun.

Family Bonus

Analysis: The Power Gems are a nice passive damage source, especially in mono teams. Dealing 20 damage per turn doesn't sound like much, but if you have 5 gems on the board, that's 100 unavoidable damage per turn. It adds up in long attrition fights.

Passives

Analysis:

• Troop Mastery: This is fantastic for tile damage. Dealing +100% extra elemental damage against Holy enemies means his tiles hit like trucks against yellow tanks. This is arguably his best feature on offense.
• Damage Reduction: Receiving -10% damage from Holy is... okay. It helps him survive a sniper shot, but don't count on it to save him from a modern yellow nuker.

Aether Power

Analysis: Regen gives him some sustain at the start of the battle. For a Slow hero, any survival tool is welcome to help him live long enough to fire.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Griffex was widely considered "underwhelming" or even "trash" by the community. He was a Slow hero who did no damage in a meta that was rapidly speeding up. He found a small niche in Rush Attack wars and tournaments, but was never a mainstream meta hero.
• Power Creep Analysis: The game has left base Griffex in the dust. Modern heroes do what he does but faster, with damage, and with better stats. Heroes like Bubbles or Persa offer mana control at Fast/Average speed while also killing things.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Bench / Niche. Base Griffex is virtually unplayable in standard Diamond Arena raids or Wars. He is strictly a Rush Attack specialist or a tile-damage booster for Titans/Mythic Titans.

Costume & Costume Bonus

"I'm you, but stronger and with a cooler hat."

The arrival of his costume (Griffex C1) was a lifesaver.

• Stats: The costume brings him to modern 2025 standards (1230 Power vs 908).
• Skill Upgrade: The mana cut against non-Holy enemies increased to 55% (up from 50%).
• Class Change: Monk (Costume) is generally better than Druid for a slow hero, as resisting ailments (like mana stop or silence) is crucial to ensuring he fires.
• Recommendation: If you have the costume, use the costume. There is almost no scenario where the base version is superior, except maybe if you desperately need the Druid minion meat shield, but even then, the stat difference is too massive to ignore.

Emblem Path Analysis

Griffex is a support hero. He needs to survive.

The Survivor (Recommended)

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Maximizes his bulk. Since he does no damage with his special, Attack stats only help his tiles (which are already boosted by his passive). Keeping him alive to fire his skill is the #1 priority.
• Cons: Lower tile damage.

The Tile Master (Titan/Offense)

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Maximizes the "+100% elemental damage" passive. Great for Mythic Titans or heavy stack offense.
• Cons: He dies if a stiff breeze hits him.

Final Recommendation

For general play, go Defense/Health. For Titan specialists, go Attack.

Strengths

• Holy Destroyer: absolutely shuts down yellow heroes. -100% mana is a hard reset.
• Tile Damage: The passive makes his tile damage against Holy huge.
• Dark Mana Battery: +30% mana to Dark allies can instantly charge average/slow teammates.
• Rush Attack: In Very Fast modes, his skill becomes devastatingly powerful.

Weaknesses

• Slow Speed: His biggest Achilles' heel. In normal mana speed, he is often dead before he does anything.
• No Damage: He relies entirely on his teammates to actually kill the enemy.
• Passive Playstyle: If the board is bad, he contributes nothing.
• Outdated Stats: Base version is incredibly squishy by modern standards.

Best Game Modes

• Rush Attack (Tournaments/War): This is his home. At Very Fast speed, he can fire quickly, draining the enemy and charging your heavy hitters.
• Mythic Titan / Titans: His passive (+100% weak element damage) makes him a solid choice for high tile damage scores against Yellow Titans.
• PvE (Map Stages): Mana control is always strong against bosses.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Purple Rain" (Rush Attack):
  • Composition: Griffex - Alfrike - Ludwig - Mortewitch - Darkfeather
  • Why: Griffex fires, draining the enemy and giving +30% mana to Alfrike and Mortewitch, who then proceed to delete the enemy team.
• The Anti-Yellow Stack:
  • Composition: Griffex - Panther (or C. Panther) - <Any 3 Fast Purple Hitters>
  • Why: Use Griffex for the tile damage passive to break a yellow tank, then rely on the faster heroes to clean up.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters:
  • Monks/Clerics: Can resist his mana cut.
  • Taunt Heroes: If a Taunt hero fires before him, he only drains the Taunter (though he still drains all Holy enemies if the Taunter is Holy).
  • Passive Mana Gainers: Heroes like Toon Vivica or others who resist ailments or gain mana passively can mitigate his drain.
• Anti-Synergy:
  • Other Griffexes: Note that his skill explicitly says it increases mana of allies except the caster. While previously you could chain multiple Griffexes, newer updates often limit infinite loops.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Griffex early on, congrats! He is a great tool for controlling difficult map bosses. Don't worry about his slow speed in PvE; bring mana potions. In raids, try to avoid using him against non-yellow tanks until you have better troops.

Advice for Veterans

Unless you have the costume, Base Griffex is a bench warmer. He is strictly a niche pick for Rush Attack wars if you lack better purple options. Do not Limit Break the base version unless you have the costume to go with it.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

• "Trash Tier": Upon release, the community was harsh. One player noted, "Seems like a 3rd rate version of Fergus, in a meta where there are a million Fergus counters."
• The Defender: However, some saw his potential: "Flanking Ludwig in rush... forces you to bring anti-mana cut heroes."
• The Reality Check: "Don't level him. Seriously, don't. He's a total waste of mats and aether." - A forum user who clearly had a bad experience.

Final Thoughts

Griffex is a hero with a god-tier beard and a peasant-tier kit (in his base form). He excels at one specific thing—ruining the day of Holy heroes in Rush Attack—and is mediocre at everything else. Without his costume, he is a relic of the past. With his costume, he becomes a formidable mana controller.

Verdict: Keep him for the costume or the eventual Soul Exchange, but don't expect him to carry your team in 2025 without his fancy new robes.

Value of Costume: The costume is mandatory for modern play. It transforms him from a "D-Grade" hero to an "A-Grade" Rush hero.