Laohu, The Lunar Brawler: Earn Your Stripes by Silencing Minions

Overview

Laohu burst onto the scene in early 2023 as part of the Lunar New Year event, representing the Year of the Tiger. At the time, he was a direct answer to the overwhelming dominance of minion summoners like Waterpipe and Miriam & Midnight. As a Fast Holy Monk, his primary role is that of a durable sniper who shuts down minion utility simply by existing. While he lacks a costume to update his wardrobe and stats, his unique passive keeps him relevant in niche scenarios, even if he feels a bit like a martial arts movie star coming out of retirement for one last fight.

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Hero Art & Visuals

Laohu is a visually striking anthropomorphic tiger, clearly drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese martial arts. He strikes a dynamic "Fu Jow Pai" (Tiger Claw style) pose, complete with traditional garb and a fierce expression. The art style is vibrant, with warm orange and gold tones that fit his Holy element perfectly. It is a bold, "furry" design that stands out distinctively from the usual knights and wizards, leaning heavily into the zodiac theme without looking too cartoonish.

General Info

Hero Stats

When we look at Laohu's stats in the context of the current game landscape, the age of the card becomes apparent. With a base power of 861 and attack around 844, he sits significantly behind modern heroes who often push 1000+ base power and 1100+ attack before emblems or limit breaks. His defense of 805 and health of 1538 were tank-worthy in 2023 but are now considered "squishy" for a frontline hero. He relies heavily on limit breaks and emblems to survive the initial volley of special skills from modern defenses.

Special Skill: Fierce Fu Jow Pai

Analysis: Fierce Fu Jow Pai is a straightforward, no-nonsense sniping skill. Dealing 605% damage at Fast speed is theoretically excellent. In a vacuum, this percentage is high enough to delete enemies. However, because damage is calculated based on the attack stat versus the enemy's defense, Laohu's lower base attack means this 605% hits softer than a 450% hit from a modern hero with 1300 attack.

The secondary effect is a self-sustain mechanic: boosting health by 50% of the damage dealt. This is "boosted" health, meaning it can exceed his max HP. This makes him a selfish survivor. If he hits a defense-downed target, he can recover a massive chunk of health, effectively resetting his durability. The downside is that it offers zero support to his teammates.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed Analysis: Laohu is Fast (8 tiles).
  • With a level 23 Mana Troop (11-13%), he charges in 7 tiles.
  • With his Lunar family bonus (if paired with another Lunar hero like Xiaotu), he gets +10% attack, but the other hero gives him +5% mana generation. If you manage to stack enough mana bonuses (troops + bard + family), he can theoretically hit the 6-tile break point, but it requires specific team building.
• Damage Calculation:
  • 605% of 844 Attack = ~5106 damage value (raw).
  • For comparison, a modern sniper might have 1200 Attack x 500% = 6000 damage value.
  • While the percentage is elite, the base stat holds him back.
• Healing:
  • If he deals 800 actual damage to an enemy, he recovers 400 HP. This is a significant self-heal that can keep him in the fight longer than most snipers.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

Family Bonus

The Lunar New Year family bonus is unique in that each animal grants a specific buff to the family members. Laohu provides Attack (+10%), while others provide Mana or Healing. You need two distinct Lunar heroes to activate this. In today's meta, it is rare to field two older heroes just for this small bonus, making it largely negligible unless you are running a themed team.

Passives

Disable Minion Abilities: This is Laohu's crown jewel. As long as Laohu is alive, enemy minions are silenced. They cannot attack, and they cannot use special abilities (like mana reduction from Waterpipe or healing from others). They become nothing more than meat shields. This is a hard counter to minion-heavy teams and requires zero mana to activate. Note: This does NOT work on Mega Minions, which limits his utility against the newer goblin or construct metas.

Aether Power

Heal Increase: This passive increases the health recovered from healing. Since Laohu heals himself based on damage dealt, this synergy helps him top up his health bar even faster. It is a decent survival tool but lacks the game-changing impact of "Ailment Immunity" or "Revive."

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Laohu was a top-tier offensive weapon. The "minion meta" was in full swing, and Laohu was the answer players had been begging for. He could turn a terrifying Waterpipe tank into a harmless mana battery.
• Power Creep Analysis: Power creep has been unkind to the tiger. His stats are now akin to a strong 4-star or a very old 5-star. While 605% damage sounds impressive, it often fails to one-shot modern heroes with massive HP pools and defense stats.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Laohu has transitioned from a meta staple to a niche counter-pick. He is no longer viable on defense in top-tier play. However, in War Attack or Raids, he is still a valuable tool to keep on the bench for those specific battles against teams relying on classic minion summoners (like Lady of the Lake, Bera, or Waterpipe). He is a "silver bullet" hero: useless in some fights, indispensable in others.

Costume & Costume Bonus

Note: As of this review, Laohu does not have a costume.

Emblem Path Analysis

Because Laohu's utility is tied strictly to his passive (which requires him to be alive) and his damage (which dictates his healing), you have a difficult choice.

The Survivor (Recommended for Support)

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Keeps him alive longer to maintain the minion-silence passive. Given his outdated stats, he needs every point of defense to avoid being one-shot.
• Cons: His special skill hits like a wet noodle, and his self-heal becomes negligible.

The Striker (Classic Sniper)

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Maximizes the 605% damage multiplier and increases the self-healing amount.
• Cons: He remains very fragile and might die before he can fire or sustain the passive.

Final Recommendation

For most players today, the Defense/Health path is safer. If you are bringing Laohu, you are likely bringing him for the passive. If he dies, the enemy minions wake up, and you likely lose. His damage is secondary to his presence.

Strengths

• Minion Shutdown: completely neuters classic minions without casting a single tile.
• Fast Speed: Can snipe and heal quickly.
• Self-Sustain: Converts damage into boosted health, making him deceptively tanky if he gets rolling.
• Class: Monk class allows him to resist ailments, ensuring he can fire when ready.

Weaknesses

• Outdated Stats: Low base stats make him vulnerable and reduce his damage output significantly.
• Selfish: Offers no support to the team other than the passive. No cleanse, no dispel, no team buff.
• Passive Limitation: Does not work on Mega Minions, which are becoming more common.
• Dependence on Survival: The moment he dies, the passive ends.

Best Game Modes

• War Attack: Specifically against minion-heavy teams.
• Bloody Battle Tournaments: His passive is excellent here to stop minion meat shields, and while healing is blocked, the damage component is still solid (though the self-heal is lost).
• PvE: Good for stages with bosses that summon annoying minions.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Sample Team Ideas

1. The Anti-Minion Task Force:
   • Grimble - Ludwig - Laohu - Ogima - Healer
   • Use Grimble or Ogima to clear existing minions for mana/damage, while Laohu keeps the new ones from doing anything nasty in the meantime.
2. The Yellow Stack:
   • Rhys - Laohu - Joon (Costume) - ...
   • Rhys provides the attack buff and tile enhancement to help Laohu charge and hit harder. Laohu acts as the finisher.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters: Heavy hitters who can one-shot him (e.g., Khufu, Quintin) remove his passive immediately.
• Anti-Synergy: Do not pair him with minion removal heroes if you rely on the minions being there for something else (like Grimble's mana gain), though generally, removing them is better. The main anti-synergy is expecting him to be your primary damage dealer against modern tanks; he will disappoint you.

Advice for New Players

If you pull Laohu early, he is a fantastic asset. His self-heal allows him to carry you through difficult map stages where your healers might die. Prioritize leveling him as your main sniper, but be aware he will struggle against top-tier raid teams as you progress.

Advice for Veterans

Laohu is a luxury tool. Do not prioritize him for Alpha Aethers (LB2) unless you face Waterpipe wars every week and struggle with them. He does his job reasonably well at 4/80 or 4/85. There are better recipients for your precious resources who offer more universal utility.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Laohu was mixed but intense.

• One user noted, "Isn’t this just a 5-star Greymane that overheals?" highlighting the simplicity of his skill.
• However, the passive was the real talking point. Many agreed with the sentiment: "I want him for his passive. His special can be normal."
• There was real concern about power creep: "We’re really trying our luck to get 0.5% heroes, just to counter Waterpipe huh?"
• A common joke regarding his art: "He’s a furry. Twenty furries."

Final Thoughts

Laohu is a relic of a specific time in Empires & Puzzles history—the Great Minion War. While the war has evolved into a Mega Minion skirmish, this tiger still has claws. He is an excellent specialist to have in your roster depth, ready to pounce whenever a pesky summoner shows their face. He might not be the king of the jungle anymore, but he is certainly not a kitty cat you want to ignore.

Costume Thought: If Laohu ever receives a costume that updates his stats to 2026 levels and perhaps allows his passive to affect Mega Minions, he would instantly vault back to S-tier status. Until then, handle with care.

Verdict: A solid B-tier specialist. Keep him fed, but don't bet the farm on him.