Rashan, The Hulu-Metal User: Very Fast Speed, Very Fast Insanity

Overview

Rashan is a 5-star Fire (Red) hero from the Cultist family, originally released as a "Secret Hero" obtainable from various summons like the Covenant or Elemental portals. As a Rogue operating at Very Fast speed, he fits into the archetype of a high-risk, high-reward attacker. His gimmick revolves around "Insanity," a status effect that causes characters to cast their special skills on their own team or the enemy, depending on luck (or lack thereof). Released in mid-2024, he is now facing the harsh reality of late-2025 power creep, where his once-impressive stats are starting to look merely "decent."

Hero Art & Visuals

Rashan sports a martial arts-inspired look, complete with dynamic posing and extensive tattoos, likely channeling some eldritch energy given his "Cultist" family ties. The art is distinct, though some eagle-eyed players might recognize him as a glow-up version of a 3-star hero from Puzzle Combat, another Small Giant game. It seems the Old Ones grant not just madness, but also a promotion to 5-star status and a new coat of paint. The "Hulu-Metal User" title is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek reference, dancing around the "Cthulhu" name without quite saying it, or perhaps suggesting he streams his combat forms online.

General Info

Hero Stats

Rashan's stats reflect the meta of mid-2024. With a Power of approximately 1141 and base stats hovering around 1205 Attack and 1128 Defense, he falls behind the late-2025 heavyweights who are pushing 1300+ in base stats and 1260+ in Power. While not completely "paper" thin, he is noticeably squishier than the modern juggernauts like the Titan Hunters or the latest Astral entities. His Attack stat is still respectable for a sniper-esque role, but he relies heavily on his Very Fast speed to make an impact before the stat disparity becomes fatal.

Special Skill: Cuts of Hulu

Rashan's special skill is a mix of tactical precision and chaotic gambling. He targets the edges of the enemy formation (wings), dealing 330% damage and inflicting 25 Insanity. If only one enemy is left, damage and Insanity double. Crucially, he places a "healing tax" on those edge heroes: they resist healing and take damage instead.

The caveat is the 45 Insanity inflicted on himself. For a Very Fast hero, this is a massive drawback. You want to fire him often, but every time you do, you push him closer to a psychotic break where he might nuke your own team. It turns him into a "fire once, maybe twice, then pray" kind of hero.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Very Fast. He charges in 6.5 tiles. With a level 29 mana troop or bard/family bonuses, he can charge in 6 tiles, making him one of the quickest openers in the game.
• Damage Potential: 330% of 1205 Attack is roughly 3976 raw damage points before defense calculation. This is a solid hit, especially since it targets two specific heroes (wings). If it's down to one enemy, 660% is a finisher.
• Insanity Math:
  • Enemy: 25 Insanity means a 25% chance for them to cast on their allies (good for you) or cast mindlessly.
  • Self: 45 Insanity means a 45% chance Rashan will sabotage you on his next cast. Two casts put him at 90 Insanity (or less if healed), making a third cast almost guaranteed suicide.
• Healing Block: 250 damage per resisted heal. If the enemy brings a HoT (Heal over Time) healer, this can rack up 250 damage every turn they try to tick a heal.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Cultist family and his passives are designed to mitigate the risks he imposes on himself, but only slightly.

Family Bonus

The Cultist family bonus provides Defense and Health bonuses if you have multiple family members. Since Secret Heroes are rare, fielding a full team is unlikely for most, but even a single partner gives a nice durability bump.

Passives

Marked by the Old Ones: This is his safety net. He takes reduced damage based on how much Insanity he has (5% reduction per 10 Insanity, max 50%). So, after he casts once (45 Insanity), he gains roughly 20-25% damage reduction. If he casts twice, he's nearly at the cap. This makes him surprisingly tanky after he starts going crazy, but it doesn't stop him from hitting his own team.

Aether Power

Special Boost: Increases special skill damage. Simple and effective for a damage dealer. It helps him secure kills on those edge heroes, which is his primary job.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Rashan was met with mixed reviews. Players loved the speed and the unique "hit edges" mechanic, which is great for bypassing tanks and hitting pesky revivers like Mother North. However, the high self-insanity was immediately identified as a major flaw.
• Power Creep Analysis: In late 2025, speed is still king, but reliability is queen. Modern heroes offer similar damage or better control without the 45% chance to implode your own team. His stats have aged, meaning he might struggle to one-shot modern wings who have massive HP pools.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Rashan is now a niche offensive tool. He is not a defense team staple (too unreliable AI) and not a general-purpose raider. He is a specific counter to wing-heavy strategies (e.g., taunters or revivers hidden in corners) in wars or tournaments where Very Fast speed allows him to disrupt before the enemy sets up.

Emblem Path Analysis

Rashan is a Rogue, which gives him a chance to dodge direct damage. This pairs nicely with his passive damage reduction to keep him alive.

The Glass Cannon (Recommended)

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Maximizes the punch of his 330% hit. You need him to kill or severely maim the wings immediately.
• Cons: He remains fragile until he fires and gains his passive mitigation.

The Insane Survivor

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Keeps him alive longer to utilize the healing block and passive damage reduction.
• Cons: His damage output might not be enough to threaten modern 5-star heroes.

Final Recommendation

For most players, the Attack path is recommended. Rashan is there to do a job quickly: kill the wings or block their healing. If the fight drags on, his Insanity liability outweighs his survival.

Strengths

• Speed: Very Fast mana allows him to fire usually before the enemy tank.
• Anti-Healer: Punishes passive teams or wing healers (Mother North, Alberich) effectively.
• Targeting: Bypasses taunt if the taunter is not on the edge? No, actually, he hits edges, so he ignores the tank position naturally, but Taunt will still attract his hit if active. However, he is great for sniping corners that are usually hard to reach.
• Passive Durability: becomes very tanky once insane.

Weaknesses

• Self-Sabotage: 45 Insanity on self is massive. He becomes a liability after the first cast.
• Fixed Targeting: You cannot choose who he hits. If the wings are nearly dead minions or fighters who will revive, you can't redirect him to a dangerous tank.
• Stat Creep: His damage is starting to feel "soft" against 2025 defenses.

Best Game Modes

• War Attack: specifically against teams with annoying wing heroes (Revivers).
• Rush Attack Tournaments: Although he is already Very Fast, the Rush format makes everyone fast, but his healing block can be devastating against healer-heavy rush defenses.
• Bloody Battle: The healing block is redundant here, but the damage is good. Actually, wait—Bloody Battle disables healing anyway, so his secondary effect is useless there. Avoid.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Cleanse" Team: Pair Rashan with a healer who can cleanse ailments or reduce Insanity duration? Actually, Insanity is special; it can usually only be reduced by healing. Bring a strong Burst Healer (like Hathor or Adelitza's contemporaries) to heal him immediately after he fires to drop his Insanity levels.
• The Wingman Strategy: Pair him with another "Hit 2" or Sniper to focus fire one side of the board. If you can take out one side (wing + flank) quickly, you create a "ghosting" lane for tiles.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Taunt Heroes: While he targets edges, a Taunt hero in the center will still redirect his hits, potentially wasting his "edge" mechanic.
• Insanity Immune Enemies: Some newer families or passives resist Insanity, nullifying half his kit.
• Your Own Luck: Don't bring him to a fight you can't afford to lose on a coin flip.

Advice for New Players

If you were lucky enough to pull this "Secret Hero," he is a fun toy but dangerous. Use him in Raids where you can control the board. Don't rely on him as your primary damage dealer because he might stun himself (or hit you) when you need him most. He is worth leveling to 3/70 to test, but save final ascension materials for more reliable heroes unless you lack Red firepower.

Advice for Veterans

Rashan is a luxury hero. In the current era of heavy power creep, he doesn't justify Alpha Aethers or a permanent spot on your A-team. He is a "fun" hero for war depth or specific counter-picking. If you have newer 2025 Red heroes like Adelitza, Rashan should likely stay on the bench.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Rashan was... perplexed.

• "I spend mats on him and I'm sorry. Insanity is too high for him and too low for enemies. Garbage hero, not secret." - A frustrated player.
• Others pointed out his origin: "Hero is Puzzle Combat origin - it is third hero stolen from this game... lazy copy/paste."
• However, some saw the potential: "I play with him very often... blocking the heals very quickly is very useful."
• The consensus generally settled on him being "underpowered" for a Secret Hero due to the high self-risk compared to the reward.

Final Thoughts

Rashan is the embodiment of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes." Sometimes the prize is a spectacular win where he shuts down a Mother North before she can ruin your day. Other times, the prize is him fire-balling your own team into oblivion. He is a relic of a specific design experiment by the developers—porting Puzzle Combat mechanics into Empires & Puzzles. While visually cool and mechanically unique, his stats and reliability issues make him a risky investment in 2025.

Verdict: A fun, chaotic wildcard for your roster depth, but not a cornerstone for competitive play. Keep him for the "Hulu" jokes, use him for the wing-sniping.