Cardinal Richelieu "Duplicitous Duke" Guide: 5 Star 5 Fire Sorcerer

Special Skill

Web of Spies

Mana Speed

Average

Deals 330% damage to all enemies.
Summon a Spy Fiend for all enemies. The Fiend damages the enemy with 45% attack every turn.
The Spy Fiend absorbs healing and disappears when it has absorbed health equal to 30% of its target's max health.
At the end of each turn, the Spy Fiend steals one of its target's dispellable buffs and gives it to one character on the opposite team.

⚡ Tile Breakpoints Guide

10Base Tiles

12% Bonus

9Tiles

Family Bonus

Alliance - Musketeers

Bonus for 1/2/3 Heroes:
50%/75%/100% chance to give Cover to a random ally for 3 turns when this character casts their Special Skill.
While in Cover, the ally takes no damage from Special Skill attacks or normal attacks. This character takes 60% / 50% / 40% of the damage that would be received by the character in Cover.
This effect can’t be dispelled, but ends when this character is defeated. Characters can only give cover to one ally at a time.
The members of this family have additional perks in The Brave & The Beautiful event.

Passives

Inherent Abilities

Passive Skills

Damage on Special Skill and Cover Damage
When this character receives damage from Special Skills or in place of a character in Cover, there's a 60% chance to deal 20% of the received damage on all enemies.

Aether Power

Fiend Resist

At the start of each battle, this Hero is immune to new Fiends for 6 turns.

In battles with multiple waves, the effect is refreshed at the beginning of each wave.

Talents

Class Talent

Master Delay

If this character dealt any damage by the end of its turn, 15% chance to activate the following effects:

Drop the mana generation of the target by 50% for 2 turns.
The target gets -20% attack for 2 turns.

Hero Coach Info

Ascension Support

Hero Coach Date

Available Since

Sep 20th, 2025

How it works

By utilizing the Hero Coach, you can reach the Maximum Ascension of a Legendary hero instantly. This bypasses the requirement for rare 4★ Materials (like Alpha Aethers and Damaskus Blades) and ignores the traditional leveling time.

Explore Full Coach Roster

Visiting Outfitter Info

Get this costume

Visiting Outfitter Date

🎭

No Costumes Available

This hero does not currently have any costumes in the game. As a result, they do not appear in the Visiting Outfitter events.

Matching Legendary Troops

special_damage_reduction_legendary_troop

Royal Sorcerer

status_effect_defense_reduction_legendary_troop

Hunter Mage

Mighty Monk

Arcane Hunter

These troops provide full Class Synergy bonuses when equipped on Sorcerer heroes of the Red element.

Click here to view the full guide on how to obtain and best utilize these powerful troops!

Mana Optimization Strategy

How it works

By default, Cardinal Richelieu has Average mana speed, requiring 10 tiles to charge. Equipping troops with a Mana Bonus can reach specific Breakpoints — the exact percentages where your tile count drops — allowing your hero to fire their special skill faster, with less tiles. Additionally, as a Sorcerer, this hero can unlock a +4% Mana Bonus through Emblems (Talent Tree). These bonuses can significantly lower the troop level required to reach these breakpoints.

Standard10Tiles

Optimized9Tiles

status_effect_attack_addition_legendary_troop

5★ Mana Troop Set

18 Variants Matching

Default10 Tiles

Optimized

9Tiles

Required Level

LVL N/A

With +4% Emblem Bonus:

LVL 19

Need Bonus:12%

Combined bonuses:+13%

Breakpoint Achieved!

5★ Mana Troop Set

2 Variants Matching

Default10 Tiles

Optimized

9Tiles

Required Level

LVL N/A

With +4% Emblem Bonus:

LVL 20

Need Bonus:12%

Combined bonuses:+13%

Breakpoint Achieved!

Merciless Wizards

Magic Troop

Default10 Tiles

Optimized

9Tiles

Required Level

LVL 17

With +4% Emblem Bonus:

LVL 5

Need Bonus:12%

Combined bonuses:+12%

Breakpoint Achieved!

Barbaric Assassins

Mana Troop

Default10 Tiles

Optimized

9Tiles

Required Level

LVL 23

With +4% Emblem Bonus:

LVL 11

Need Bonus:12%

Combined bonuses:+13%

Breakpoint Achieved!

General Information

Hero Name

Cardinal Richelieu "Duplicitous Duke"

Rarity
ElementFire
ClassSorcerer
Mana SpeedAverage
Skill Types
AoE Attackers (Hit-5)Buff Stealers Fiends Summoners DoT Attackers
SourceAlliance - The Brave & The Beautiful
FamilyMusketeer Family
Aether PowerFiend Resist
CostumeBase
Release DateSep 20, 2023
Availability
Coach:Sep 20, 2025
HA10:Sep 20, 2025

Ascension Requirements

Tier

Food

Materials

Tier 2Ascension Cost

273K

★★★

★★★

★★

Tier 3Ascension Cost

442K

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

Tier 4Ascension Cost

708K

★★★★

★★★★

★★★★

★★★

Limit Break Requirements

Tier

Materials

Limit Break 1Unlock Cost

★★★★★

★★★★

★★★

LB 1 LevelsTotal Cost

★★★

★★★

Limit Break 2Unlock Cost

★★★★★

★★★★

★★★

LB 2 LevelsTotal Cost

★★★★

★★★★★

★★★★

★★★

Stats & Emblems

Simulation: 0 Emblems

Level				💪
4/80	881	869	1796	928
4/85lb1	950	936	1935	990
4/90lb2	1087	1071	2214	1115

Strategy

Mana Node

Talent Level

Calculated Bonuses

Attack

+225 & +3%

Defense

+72

Health

+172 & +3%

Mana

+4%

Crit

+2%

Resource Costs

Emblems

1,740

Master

Food

6,041,800

Iron

6,041,800

+36

+15

+18

+15

+2%

+15

+3%

+18

+15

+36

+18

+3%

+4%

+50

Community Feedback

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Overall Grade

Overall performance in the current meta

0v0%

Strong

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Average

0v0%

Weak

0v0%

Terrible

0v0%

Summon Value

Is this hero worth your gems and tokens?

Yes, Absolutely

0v0%

Only if you’re Pay-to-Win

0v0%

Yes, but only when featured

0v0%

Not Really

0v0%

Not at all

0v0%

Copies to Keep

How many copies are worth keeping and leveling?

None

0v0%

1 Copy

0v0%

2 Copies

0v0%

3+ Copies

0v0%

Limit Break Priority

Priority for applying Limit Breaks

LB2 (Alpha)

0v0%

LB1

0v0%

None

0v0%

Emblem Path

General emblem path preference

Sword path (Attack when possible)

0v0%

Shield path (HP and Def when possible)

0v0%

Node Strategy

Specific node priority strategy

Atk > Def > HP

0v0%

Atk > HP > Def

0v0%

Def > Atk > HP

0v0%

Def > HP > Atk

0v0%

HP > Atk > Def

0v0%

HP > Def > Atk

0v0%

Best Def Position

Best placement in a defense formation

Tank

0v0%

Flank

0v0%

Wing

0v0%

None

0v0%

Primary Use (Max 3)

Top scenarios where this hero excels

Raids/War

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Defense

0v0%

Titans

0v0%

Tournaments

0v0%

Events

0v0%

Farming

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Visual Design

What do you think of the visual design?

Amazing

0v0%

Refreshingly new

0v0%

It’s ok

0v0%

It could be better

0v0%

Very bad

0v0%

Discussion

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Cardinal Richelieu

What element and rarity is Cardinal Richelieu in Empires & Puzzles? +

Cardinal Richelieu is a 5 star Fire hero (Red) with legendary rarity.

What is Cardinal Richelieu's special skill? +

Cardinal Richelieu's special skill is called "Web of Spies". Deals 330% damage to all enemies. Summon a Spy Fiend for all enemies. The Fiend damages the enemy with 45% attack every turn. The Spy Fiend absorbs healing and disappears when it has absorbed health equal to 30% of its target's max health. At the end of each turn, the Spy Fiend steals one of its target's dispellable buffs and gives it to one character on the opposite team.

When was Cardinal Richelieu released? +

Cardinal Richelieu was released on Sep 20, 2023.

Which family does Cardinal Richelieu belong to? +

Cardinal Richelieu belongs to the Musketeer Family. Bonus for 1/2/3 Heroes:. 50%/75%/100% chance to give Cover to a random ally for 3 turns when this character casts their Special Skill.. While in Cover, the ally takes no damage from Special Skill attacks or normal attacks. This character takes 60% / 50% / 40% of the damage that would be received by the character in Cover.. This effect can’t be dispelled, but ends when this character is defeated. Characters can only give cover to one ally at a time.. The members of this family have additional perks in The Brave & The Beautiful event.

What are Cardinal Richelieu's passive skills? +

Damage on Special Skill and Cover Damage: When this character receives damage from Special Skills or in place of a character in Cover, there's a 60% chance to deal 20% of the received damage on all enemies.

What is the mana speed of Cardinal Richelieu? +

Cardinal Richelieu has Average mana speed.

Special Skill

Web of Spies

Family Bonus

Alliance - Musketeers

Passives

Passive Skills

Aether Power

Fiend Resist

Talents

Master Delay

Hero Coach Info

Hero Coach Date

How it works

Visiting Outfitter Info

Visiting Outfitter Date

No Costumes Available

Matching Legendary Troops

Mana Optimization Strategy

How it works

5★ Mana Troop Set

5★ Mana Troop Set

Merciless Wizards

Barbaric Assassins

General Information

Cardinal Richelieu "Duplicitous Duke"

Ascension Requirements

Limit Break Requirements

Stats & Emblems

Simulation: 0 Emblems

Community Feedback

Overall Grade

Summon Value

Copies to Keep

Limit Break Priority

Emblem Path

Node Strategy

Best Def Position

Primary Use (Max 3)

Visual Design

Discussion

Join the Hero Discussion

Council Login Required

❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Cardinal Richelieu