Limeboire: The Sleepy Bartender Serving Knockout Punches

Overview

Limeboire, the Moth family's resident mixologist, stumbled into Empires & Puzzles in June 2025. As a 5-star Legendary Nature hero, she brings a unique flavor to the table—specifically, a flavor that tastes like chloroform and victory. Belonging to the Paladin class, she is built like a tank (literally and figuratively) but moves at a glacial "Very Slow" speed. While she might not be the first to act in a battle, when she finally does serve her special brew, it's usually last call for the enemy team.

Hero Art & Visuals

Visually, Limeboire is a delight. She captures that "friendly tavern keeper who could also break you in half" aesthetic perfectly. With her antennae perked and a pitcher of glowing green goo (presumably the "Dozy Mead"), she looks like she's having a great time while everyone else is passing out. The color palette is a vibrant mix of nocturnal purples and toxic greens, fitting perfectly within the Night of Moths theme. It is refreshing to see a hero who kills you with a smile and a drink rather than a giant sword.

General Info

Hero Stats

As of late 2025, Limeboire's stats are solid, though they are starting to see the rearview mirror of the absolute latest power creep (like the Titan Hunters or Three Kingdoms heroes hitting 1600+ attack). With a base power hovering around 1206 and Limit Broken stats pushing well into the 1500s for attack and defense, she is by no means weak. Her health pool is massive, which is essential for a Very Slow hero who needs to survive long enough to fire. She sits comfortably in the "modern standard" tier—bulky enough to do her job, but not stat-checking the newest releases purely on numbers.

Special Skill: Dozy Mead

Limeboire's special skill, Dozy Mead, is a chaotic cocktail of effects. Let's break down the ingredients:

1. 300% Damage to All: This was buffed post-release (up from 260%). For a Very Slow hero, hitting everyone for 300% is decent, though not earth-shattering compared to pure nukers.
2. Deep Sleep: This is the garnish. All enemies fall asleep, stopping mana generation and attacks. They take +80% increased damage while sleeping. They wake up after taking 750 damage.
3. Buff Steal: She steals all dispellable buffs from enemies and distributes them to allies.
4. Mana Boost: She gains mana for every stolen buff.

The synergy here is interesting. You put them to sleep, making them vulnerable, and then you (hopefully) hit them with something else to capitalize on that massive +80% damage increase. The "wake up threshold" of 750 damage is high enough that a single tile match might not wake them immediately if your troops aren't maxed, but a special skill certainly will.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Very Slow. She requires 13.5 tiles to charge (12 with a level 29 Magic troop or sufficient mana bonuses). This is her biggest hurdle.
• Damage Potential: With ~1518 Attack (LB2), a 300% hit deals roughly 4554 raw damage output distributed across 5 enemies (before defense reduction). It's a heavy slap.
• The Sleep Multiplier: The +80% damage is nearly double damage. If you follow her up with a fast sniper, you are essentially deleting any hero from the board.
• Wake Up Call: 750 Damage is a specific threshold. In modern meta, a single slash attack from a strong hero or a critical tile match can break this. However, 750 is significant enough that DoT (Damage over Time) won't instantly wake them up on the first tick, allowing the sleep to potentially skip a turn for the enemy.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Moth family brings some interesting mechanics to the table, primarily focused on survivability and disruption.

Family Bonus

The Moth family bonus generally revolves around mana generation or summoning minions depending on the number of heroes. For Limeboire, who is Very Slow, any mana generation help is welcome.

Passives

Dodge Special Damage: A 15% chance to dodge damage from special skills. It is a low percentage, but when it triggers on a sniper shot that would have killed her, it feels like winning the lottery. It adds just enough RNG frustration for the attacker to make her an annoying tank.

Aether Power

Defense Up: This fits her role perfectly. As a slow hero, her primary job is to live long enough to cast. Boosting her defense passively helps ensure she isn't swept off the board by a fast rush before she can serve her drinks.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Released in mid-2025, Limeboire was immediately compared to her Moth sister, Bearnadette. The community consensus was that while Limeboire is strong, Bearnadette's priority dispel made her more universally useful. Limeboire was seen as the "Rush War specialist" rather than an everyday hero.
• Power Creep Analysis: Her stats are holding up well, but her speed is a liability in a game that is getting faster every month. Heroes like Lin Chong (Very Fast) or the new Costumed Winter heroes act circles around her.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Limeboire is Niche Meta. She is a terror in Rush Attack tournaments and wars. Outside of Very Fast modes, she is difficult to use effectively on offense because the match is often decided before she charges. On defense, she can be a formidable tank in standard formations if flanked by fast support, but she really shines when the game rules change her speed to Very Fast.

Emblem Path Analysis

Limeboire is a Paladin, which offers great defensive stats.

The Bartender's Apron (Defense/Health)

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Maximizes her bulk. She needs to survive tile dumps and sniper hits to charge her Very Slow mana. The Paladin talent (defense boost on damage) synergizes with high base defense.
• Cons: Her 300% hit will sting a bit less.

The Angry Drunk (Attack/Defense)

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Makes her Dozy Mead hit like a truck. If she fires, you want it to be a game-ender.
• Cons: She might die with 95% mana, which is the saddest thing in this game.

Final Recommendation

Go with The Bartender's Apron (Defense/Health). A dead hero casts no spells. Her primary utility is the Sleep and Buff Steal; the damage is just a nice bonus. Keep her alive.

Strengths

• Deep Sleep mechanic: +80% damage received is a massive debuff. It forces the opponent to play carefully or risk getting one-shot.
• Buff Stealing: Stealing buffs from all enemies (as confirmed by players) turns the enemy's momentum against them. Facing a team full of taunts, dodges, and defense ups? Now they are yours.
• Rush War Dominance: At Very Fast speed, she is devastating. The combination of damage, disable, and buff steal is oppressive when it happens on turn 3.

Weaknesses

• Snail's Pace: Very Slow mana is painful in standard play. You often need a perfect board to get her going.
• Sleep Fragility: The sleep breaks on damage. A stray cascade or a minion hit can wake an enemy up immediately, wasting the crowd control aspect (though they still take that one big hit).
• Cleanse Vulnerability: While the Sleep is uncleansable until damage is taken, the timing is tricky. If she fires and you don't have a follow-up ready, the enemy might just wake up from tile damage and proceed as normal.

Best Game Modes

• Rush Attack (War & Tournaments): This is her home. She is S-Tier here.
• PvE / Map Stages: Great for boss waves where you can mana pot her up to sleep the bosses and nuke them.
• Standard Defense (Tank): Viable, but risky. If the attacker gets a bad board, she punishes them. If they get a good board, she's a statue.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Limeboire needs friends who can either speed her up or capitalize on her sleep status.

Sample Team Ideas

1. The Snooze & Bruise (Rush Defense):
   • Team: - - Limeboire - <Reviver/Healer> -
   • Strategy: Limeboire sits in the middle. If she fires, the entire enemy team is asleep and vulnerable. The snipers on the wings can then pick off key targets with the +80% damage boost.
2. The Mana Battery:
   • Team: Ludwig/Xnolphod - Limeboire -
   • Strategy: Use neighbors who grant mana to force Limeboire to charge in standard speed modes. Ludwig is a classic partner here.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters:
  • Fauns & Monks: Heroes that resist mana ailments or status effects can resist the Sleep.
  • Reflectors: Since she hits all, firing into a Reflector (like newer hero Bulklug or classic Boril) can result in her instantly killing herself.
  • Taunt: If the buff steal logic targets "the target" and taunt is active, she might only steal from the Taunter (though usually, hit-all steals try to strip everyone, Taunt blocks the targeting of others).
• Anti-Synergy:
  • DoT Heroes: Don't pair her with heavy burn/poison heroes if you want the sleep to last. The tick damage counts towards the wakeup threshold.
  • Minion Spammers: Uncontrolled minion hits can wake up sleeping enemies prematurely.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Limeboire early, congratulations! She will carry you through hard map stages easily. Bosses won't stand a chance against Deep Sleep. However, don't rely on her for raids until you have the troops to support her mana speed or until a Rush tournament rolls around.

Advice for Veterans

She is a luxury tool. You likely have faster heroes for offense. Level her for your Rush War defense depth and for the fun factor. Do not prioritize her over versatile meta heroes like the latest Goblins or Construct heroes unless you are desperate for a Green tank. She is not worth Alpha Aethers unless you really love the art or want to annoy people in Rush wars specifically.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Limeboire was... sleepy.

• "Bearnadette 2.0, here we come…" - Many players initially feared she would be another broken Moth, but quickly realized she lacked the priority dispel that made Bearnadette a nightmare.
• "80% increased damage seems a bit excessive, should expect to see it nerfed." - Interestingly, it wasn't nerfed, likely because the Very Slow speed balances it out.
• "She does not summon a moth her self..." - A valid complaint. Unlike some family members, she relies on the family bonus or passives for minions, making her less self-sufficient.
• "I don't think you'll be using her outside rush wars a lot." - The general consensus, which has held true.

Final Thoughts

Limeboire is a hero who lives for the "Rush". She is like that friend who is late to every party but brings the best drinks when she finally arrives. In standard play, she is often too slow to impact the outcome, but in the right niche, she is a devastating force of nature. If you like playing with your food—putting them to sleep before eating them—she is the moth for you.

Verdict: A queen of Rush Attack, a jester in standard play. Keep her for the tournaments.