Post by Esdeath on May 23, 2017 0:36:35 GMT
Hello, Ishtaria! It's once again time to delve into the heart of the cards and learn about a gal named Empusa, the Midnight Demon in Greek mythology. We touched on this in our study on Upier, so some of this may seem familiar to you.
Mythological Information
Empusa's mythology indicates that there is an original Empusa, but at some point, her traits seemed to be exhibited by other beings, making Empusa a vampiric race rather than a singular demigoddess. The original Empusa was the daughter of the witchcraft goddess Hectate and Mormo the boogeyman. She was very ugly and had blotched skin and fiery red hair. Both of her legs were abnormal, one being that of a donkey and the other being a brass false leg. She makes up for her negative traits by shapeshifting into beautiful women.
While her bloodlust isn't as obsessive as Upier's, it's still impossible to satisfy it. She also likes to indulge in the stereotypical activities of vampires by seducing her victims before ending them. The difference is that she inflicts a form of sleep paralysis on them. When she's done the deed, she feasts on his blood, then consumes his body.
The original Empusa met her end at the hands of Zeus, who disguised himself as a normal man. She tried to do her thing to him, and he killed her for it. In later tales, Hectate sent out creatures essentially the same as her deceased daughter to haunt roadsides.
To defend yourself against an Empusa attack, you have to hurl insults at them. Better not combat one of these ladies at work or you'll get a friendly call from Human Resources. A successful defense will result in the Empusa running away screaming... All in all, you won't be able to tell if you've warded off an Empusa or just been cruel to a normal lady. At least you'll be alive but probably with a marred reputation.
In-Game Description
Looks like I was wrong... I never thought anyone or anything could compare to that other bloodsucker. I wanted to believe so. Good... At least she hasn't seen me yet... I only have this once chance... I'm ready! - A vampire hunter's quest notes
Like Upier's, Empusa's description is a journal entry by a vampire hunter, likely Helsing. The notes refer to Upier as "that other bloodsucker", claiming that Empusa is in the same tier or higher with Upier on the "dangerous, bloodthirsty vixens" metric system. Given that the writer is still alive and refers to Upier in the past tense, her efforts were either successful or she escaped with her life intact somehow.
Images
Empusa's images are progressive, so we'll be covering all 3 forms. Her base is a youthful brunette with black demon horns subtly sticking out through her hair. To distract you from her demonic features, she's wearing a honeymoon nightgown, but we aren't fooled; we see them because we're expert analysts at this point. Take a look at her left leg. It's definitely not brass, but it's definitely made of metal. It also looks pretty deadly. Her other leg is normal, so she's only slightly out of the ordinary, right? Now let's move on to her hands. We can't see her right hand, but we can assume that it's identical to the left based on her evolutions. Her hands look normal, but she's wearing wristlets on each arm that seem to be made of the same metal as her left leg.
She's not feasting yet, so she has a thoroughly bored look on her face as she rests on a giant pumpkin. She's so bored, in fact, that she's grown careless and allowed one of her demon wings to poke out in the open.
The Empusa +1 must already have her victim paralyzed, or he's into dying a slow and painful death at the hands of a seductive demon. She's not hiding her demonship at all, allowing her true form to seep through her disguise. You can see that her hands have taken a full metal form, and lines are forming on her arms and leg where the metal is spreading. Her horns are getting bigger, and her demon tail is out just like her wing. It's getting hot in here, because she's holding a flame on her metal fingers. Notice that all the pumpkins from her base are now jack-o-lanterns.
Empusa +2 is the final appearance change for this murderous maiden of the night, but the lines on her body (on her face, and thighs/hips) indicate that she's still transforming. This is just the last "cute" phase before she turns into a 100% textbook Empusa. Considering that this unit is one people get for looks, they would keep it at this version if a further evolution showed her true form (nobody wants to see that).
The differences from +1 to +2 are noteworthy. Instead of just having metal hands, her right hand has become a massive claw for big cuts while the right has grown sharp nails for precision surgery. The better to eat you with, dearie. Her right leg is no longer bare. She's wearing a stocking over it instead of letting it be a donkey leg. Can't blame her, really. She's let her horns show fully, and she looks drunk on blood and murder like vampires are wont to be. All of the jack-o-lanterns are sad now, probably because she just murdered someone in front of them and didn't share any of the meat. Also, it's noteworthy that she has orange and black striped ribbons on her arms, legs, and in her hair. This is reminiscent of Upier's Halloween costume, which used similar ribbons as well as used the same fabric for most of the outfit. Other Halloween units used this fabric as well, but Upier is the one that stands out due to the homepage quote: "Don't worry... I'm not a picky eater... Plus Upier told me I just had to have a taste...". These vixens are friends. I can just see them catching up over coffee, telling one another where to get the best blood.
Skills
Multi Skill: Midnight Mantis- We referred to Empusa as the Midnight Demon earlier because that's one of the nicknames for the Empusae. A female praying mantis bites the head off of her mate after they actually mate. Similarly, Empusa eats her dinner after she mates with it.
Passive Skill: Destruction and Restoration - Typically, Destruction and Restoration is a term referring to the destruction and rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. In the case of Empusa, it's more of a reference to her wild destruction of the lives of others being her source of nourishment.
Power Plays
Little Blood Suckers: This attack buff is the only power play for Empusa and is activated when Platinum Upier and Empusa are together. Maybe together they can survive the attacks of Helsing.
#VampLivesMatter
That's all for this edition of Know Your Units! I hope you feel like you know Empusa as well as she wants to know you!
Mythological Information
Empusa's mythology indicates that there is an original Empusa, but at some point, her traits seemed to be exhibited by other beings, making Empusa a vampiric race rather than a singular demigoddess. The original Empusa was the daughter of the witchcraft goddess Hectate and Mormo the boogeyman. She was very ugly and had blotched skin and fiery red hair. Both of her legs were abnormal, one being that of a donkey and the other being a brass false leg. She makes up for her negative traits by shapeshifting into beautiful women.
While her bloodlust isn't as obsessive as Upier's, it's still impossible to satisfy it. She also likes to indulge in the stereotypical activities of vampires by seducing her victims before ending them. The difference is that she inflicts a form of sleep paralysis on them. When she's done the deed, she feasts on his blood, then consumes his body.
The original Empusa met her end at the hands of Zeus, who disguised himself as a normal man. She tried to do her thing to him, and he killed her for it. In later tales, Hectate sent out creatures essentially the same as her deceased daughter to haunt roadsides.
To defend yourself against an Empusa attack, you have to hurl insults at them. Better not combat one of these ladies at work or you'll get a friendly call from Human Resources. A successful defense will result in the Empusa running away screaming... All in all, you won't be able to tell if you've warded off an Empusa or just been cruel to a normal lady. At least you'll be alive but probably with a marred reputation.
In-Game Description
Looks like I was wrong... I never thought anyone or anything could compare to that other bloodsucker. I wanted to believe so. Good... At least she hasn't seen me yet... I only have this once chance... I'm ready! - A vampire hunter's quest notes
Like Upier's, Empusa's description is a journal entry by a vampire hunter, likely Helsing. The notes refer to Upier as "that other bloodsucker", claiming that Empusa is in the same tier or higher with Upier on the "dangerous, bloodthirsty vixens" metric system. Given that the writer is still alive and refers to Upier in the past tense, her efforts were either successful or she escaped with her life intact somehow.
Images
Empusa's images are progressive, so we'll be covering all 3 forms. Her base is a youthful brunette with black demon horns subtly sticking out through her hair. To distract you from her demonic features, she's wearing a honeymoon nightgown, but we aren't fooled; we see them because we're expert analysts at this point. Take a look at her left leg. It's definitely not brass, but it's definitely made of metal. It also looks pretty deadly. Her other leg is normal, so she's only slightly out of the ordinary, right? Now let's move on to her hands. We can't see her right hand, but we can assume that it's identical to the left based on her evolutions. Her hands look normal, but she's wearing wristlets on each arm that seem to be made of the same metal as her left leg.
She's not feasting yet, so she has a thoroughly bored look on her face as she rests on a giant pumpkin. She's so bored, in fact, that she's grown careless and allowed one of her demon wings to poke out in the open.
The Empusa +1 must already have her victim paralyzed, or he's into dying a slow and painful death at the hands of a seductive demon. She's not hiding her demonship at all, allowing her true form to seep through her disguise. You can see that her hands have taken a full metal form, and lines are forming on her arms and leg where the metal is spreading. Her horns are getting bigger, and her demon tail is out just like her wing. It's getting hot in here, because she's holding a flame on her metal fingers. Notice that all the pumpkins from her base are now jack-o-lanterns.
Empusa +2 is the final appearance change for this murderous maiden of the night, but the lines on her body (on her face, and thighs/hips) indicate that she's still transforming. This is just the last "cute" phase before she turns into a 100% textbook Empusa. Considering that this unit is one people get for looks, they would keep it at this version if a further evolution showed her true form (nobody wants to see that).
The differences from +1 to +2 are noteworthy. Instead of just having metal hands, her right hand has become a massive claw for big cuts while the right has grown sharp nails for precision surgery. The better to eat you with, dearie. Her right leg is no longer bare. She's wearing a stocking over it instead of letting it be a donkey leg. Can't blame her, really. She's let her horns show fully, and she looks drunk on blood and murder like vampires are wont to be. All of the jack-o-lanterns are sad now, probably because she just murdered someone in front of them and didn't share any of the meat. Also, it's noteworthy that she has orange and black striped ribbons on her arms, legs, and in her hair. This is reminiscent of Upier's Halloween costume, which used similar ribbons as well as used the same fabric for most of the outfit. Other Halloween units used this fabric as well, but Upier is the one that stands out due to the homepage quote: "Don't worry... I'm not a picky eater... Plus Upier told me I just had to have a taste...". These vixens are friends. I can just see them catching up over coffee, telling one another where to get the best blood.
Skills
Multi Skill: Midnight Mantis- We referred to Empusa as the Midnight Demon earlier because that's one of the nicknames for the Empusae. A female praying mantis bites the head off of her mate after they actually mate. Similarly, Empusa eats her dinner after she mates with it.
Passive Skill: Destruction and Restoration - Typically, Destruction and Restoration is a term referring to the destruction and rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. In the case of Empusa, it's more of a reference to her wild destruction of the lives of others being her source of nourishment.
Power Plays
Little Blood Suckers: This attack buff is the only power play for Empusa and is activated when Platinum Upier and Empusa are together. Maybe together they can survive the attacks of Helsing.
#VampLivesMatter
That's all for this edition of Know Your Units! I hope you feel like you know Empusa as well as she wants to know you!