Finley Vs. Costumed Finley (Empires and Puzzles) Review
Finley… Empires and Puzzles… Can somebody please explain what just happened with this new Costume? -56% Defense at Fast? Is he claiming Natural?
Costumed Finley is totally absurd, and a sign of things to come; an OP ++Deity attached to every new portal.
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This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Costumed Finley‘s Old Cynic Review
This guy is completely jacked.
You’d expect him to be on a little something, given his age, but this… man.
…is it even a legit prescription? We sure he’s taking the right amount, tho?
Cuz, these Hero cards look like a Before and After promo for juice.
Costume Finley came out the locker room this morning giving Zero f#*ks about hiding his Gains. -All he wants is his 10 small meals per day, his Creatine, and his special bag…
I’m gonna stop before a lifter takes offence.
And yes, I love moving weight, too. Always have.
I’m here writing caveats like I’m Chris Rock waiting on Will Smith…
Anyway, Costumed Finley is gonna be a star on Defense, because he can work in both main systems:
▪ An impenetrable barrier which smothers the opposition into submission ✔
▪ A force which completely obliterates them with sheer violence ✔
Similarly, Costume Finley’s a wracking ball on Offence, because he’s perfect for teeing up any rag-tag bunch of slackers, who lack meaningful cohesion.
Finley Vs Costumed Finley (Empires and Puzzles)
Let’s compare the original Finley with his Costumed counterpart:
| Hero | Mana Speed | Strike | Detail | Defense Ailment | Class |
| Finley | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 385% damage to the target | If hit target has buffs, targets another enemy with buffs. If none, targets a random enemy. Damage reduced with each hit. Enemy can only be hit once. | All hit targets get -34% defense for 3 turns | Ranger |
| Costumed Finley | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 420% damage to the target | If hit target has buffs, targets another enemy with buffs. If none, targets a random enemy. Damage reduced with each hit. Enemy can only be hit once. | All hit targets get -56% defense for 3 turns | Fighter |
This morning, I had to read and re-read this card a few times, because it looked like the same Special, only with significantly better numbers.
…and, that’s exactly what it is.
Is a rose still a rose?
In truth, I’m torn; Why not just buff the original card?
There’s no doubt in my mind that Costumed Finley is a grade-A, top-notch, fantastically strong, Hero.
However, it would’ve been really nice to get that alternate use out of him.
A great example would be, Gormek, who without his Costume hits hard and inflicts -34% defense for 6 turns.
Whereas, with his Costume, he destroys ALL minions from ALL enemies, hits, and also Recovers health for each minion he destroys.
And as a result, both versions are useful. However, with Finley, it just feels like a wasted opportunity…
-Especially since the graphic looks so cool.
Of course, if you pull him, you’ll be over the moon, and rightly so.
So, which version is better? Well, there’s really no competition aside from Class:
Ranger (Original): A 25% chance to bypass defensive buffs, or
Fighter (Costume): A 30% chance to revive with 1 HP
(Oh, it’s Costume btw.)
Finley Vs. his Costume (Empires and Puzzles)
Look, I don’t wanna beat on this rug all day, but the other problem with basically buffing a Hero via a new Costume is, that you trample on the original’s self-esteem.
Imagine all the Finleys out there in the world, just woke up this morning to see this guy flexing and jostling in their faces.
Yesterday, their only concern was trying to prove themselves worthy of a spot on the team…
… Sure, the game-Meta has changed somewhat, and better Heroes have come along, but they’re still valuable, right? Someone still cares, right?
Now, this Costume turns up and it’s not even subtle anymore.
I mean, where do they go from here? 😢
Costumed Finley Vs. Empires and Puzzles!
Now that we’ve established it’s all about the Costume, let’s see how he measures up with the best in the game:
| Hero | Mana Speed | Damage | Secondary |
| Finley | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 385% damage to the target + hits additional enemies if buffed | All hit targets get -34% defense for 3 turns |
| Costumed Finley | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 420% damage to the target + hits additional enemies if buffed | All hit targets get -56% defense for 3 turns |
| Morel | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 180% damage to all | All enemies get -34% defense for 3 turns |
| Frigg | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 100% damage to all (up to 244% based on number of Nature tiles on board) | All enemies get -8% defense for 3 turns (and further 3% per Nature tile on board -up to -44%) |
| Costumed Alasie | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 412% damage to the target & minor to NB | Reduces mana of target & NB by 20%, and inflicts -24% mana generation for 3 turns |
| Quenell | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 320% damage to the target & NB | Gains a +40% power boost for her next Special, with a possible top-end hit of 520% damage to 3 targets (1,560% total) |
| Mr. Pengi | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 450% damage to the target | Will potentially hit another 15 times -up to 1,498% damage |
| Costumed Master Lepus | Fast (8 tiles) | Deals 280% damage to all | Caster gets -24% mana generation for 4 turns |
| Guan Yu | Average (10 tiles) | Deals 390% damage to the target & NB | Target and nearby get between -25% and -70% defense based on minions |
| Saoirse | Slow (12 tiles) | Deals 315% damage to the target & NB | Target and nearby get -54% defense |
There are a lot of Ice options at the moment, and this buff sees Costume Finley try to re-establish himself as a serious contender.
For me, I keep coming back to that -56% defense… at Fast.
Surely, that’s gonna tear through a normal F2P, C2P, squad in a hurry?
He also hits so hard and so Fast, that he could come back ’round and finish the job himself.
But I guess, the Sword Can’t Cut, What The Eyes Can’t See… Dodge him, Taunt him, and make him Miss.
Costumed/ Finley’s Hero Grade (Empires and Puzzles)
My final thoughts:
Finley can be managed, and it’s important to have a game plan moving forward, because -56% on Fast will destroy your team in a flash.
Dodgers, Taunters, and Cleansers will all help.
Make him miss with Heroes like Motega, Bai Yeong, and Joon.
Or maybe, stop his Defense-Down with Malosi, or protect your team against Status Effects with Garnet.
Thankfully, this hitter has qualifying criteria for playing Slapsies. And that means, there’s a chance Finley won’t get around to everyone.
And thinking about it, maybe that’s why he got such an incredible buff; to make up for the fact, that he might not always reach his full potential.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments below.
Thanks for visiting.
Hero Grade for Costumed Finley (Empires and Puzzles)
So for my grading, the question is:
Is this Hero’s Special capable of/likely to change the outcome of a battle? Yes.
If not, do they still bring enough to the party to help defeat the deities? N/a.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Deity ⭐★★
As for the original? I would’ve called him a Deity last year, but with this clear upgrade and where I think we’re headed, I’m gonna call him an Archangel.
What are your thoughts? Did I get it wrong, or miss something? Let me know in the comments below.
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Images used by way of review/tutorial – Copyright owned by Empires & Puzzles: Small Giant Games
You actually forgot to mention the old Finley counter, before SG decided that ranger’s pierce talent CAN bypass Ice reflect.. Re-Introducing: Mitsuko, and new since today: C guardian Kong! Since C finley is no longer ranger class, he’ll go byebyeboom without high level ninja troops when Ice reflect is active!
Thanks for the tip, Zyairie!
I also had to read his description over and over again. I don’t get why they just make costume hero better in everything. He seems totally OP. Compared to Frigg (now one of the best hero in game), he downs def a lot more, guaranteed and his potential damage is also huge if you time the attack. I hope they nerf him in some future patch…
Haha, hey zdendadix, I can’t see them nerfing him… surely not after the other recent nerfings? Plus, at this point it’s getting hard to keep this blog up to date!
SG MEETING.
BOSS: We need new ideas for costume finley!!!
Employee: We make it with the exact same skills, but higher damage & def down.
EVERYONE: ALL IN AWE
Hahaha… That’s good stuff!
That must have been a funny meeting to be in. I won’t surmise tho…
Thanks for the great reviews. I have been very lucky and got C Finley and M Lepus? Who do I rank first? (Hoping they don’t get nerfed).
Congrats Max, hell of a spot you got yourself into… Both are fantastic!
C.Finley will be unreliable in spots, and that depends on who you’re playing… Because against the right teams, he’s gonna destroy them.
Is it Costumed ML or standard? (If standard, I’d go Finley deffo)
C.ML will issue slaps guaranteed so will be more versatile (quest, maps, defense, offense). So, it really depends on what you need and your play style.
I suspect Finley will seem real OP under the right circs, so I might go with him, just for the fireworks.
Anyway, please get other views, and I’m sorry I can’t tell you, but both are top 10-15 heroes. Ones a sniper++, while ones a mass hitter… what you need?
Thanks for reply, I like snipers but I know you dont 😀
Max, I had the same decision to make. Pulled C.Finley & C.ML plus C.Killhare (yes, it was ridiculous luck I admit). I decided to prioritize ML over Finley because of the +10% attack when paired w/ Killhare (Springvale family bonus). Plan to max Finley too as I get the resources.
Love your website. Thank you for sharing your reviews. Who do you like the best C. Finley, Sobek or C Alisie? I have Morel, Cobalt, C. Lepus leveled and full emblems. No archer emblems right now as I have Lewena leveled up.
Hey giper54, looking at your roster, C. Finley is similar to Morel, so not a huge leg up. Same with C. Lepus Vs. Sobek. Not a huge leg up. Whereas Alisie offers a lot of mana control, which you don’t currently have.
PS. All of those heroes are top-end so congrats. Both Finley and Sobek are capable of replacing Morel and C.L. All fantastic.
Please get other opinions as well, and thanks for reading!
I will keep asking around. I have LOTL LB, with costume and all emblems and Ferant with 19 emblems and I am ready to LB him. Adding Alasie would make a nice defensive team.
I’m actually currently in a conundrum deciding to ascend Sobek or C Finley. Thoughts? I already have so many great Blue heroes but I really don’t have a Bypasser. Nor do I have any other season 5 legendaries. I’m torn😭
Tough choice. For me at this stage, I’d go for the guaranteed damage of Sobek. Hitting 3 for near 300 on a bypass is a lot of guaranteed damage. But as always, please get other opinions and thanks for reading!
Ive found NOT using And a correction, one must NEVER protect against status effects with Garnet ninja before Finley fires. That puts a protected effect buff up, which creates whole team vulnerability! Unless the whole team already had buffs up, I always hold Garnet vs Finley so he hits just 1, then heal that one right after and IF you’re lucky, you can do something about him before his next shot.
Something like say what Ruby does. 🙂
I’ve not met this Finley yet, and I hope not to, or that I can get him outa there fast.
I remember the good ol bad days, when Finley was a nightmare on that left wing!
Thanks for visiting!
I would go with Sobek. He AOE while C Finley only attacks heroes with a buff and the attack goes down with each hero. I would only ascend C Finley if you do not have a blue who does defense down. You will need Defense down for the titans.
What’s your thoughts on him being available now in Soul Exchange? My current blue raid team is Loki, Bennu, Adalinda, Sobek and Chrysalis. I C Finley an upgrade over any of them? I’m thinking about picking him just because I have always wanted him and I have lots of ranger emblems.
Hey there, Sobek is pretty awesome… Adalinda is ridiculous. Check out my Hero Ranking Page, it’s all there. No, C. Finley is not an upgrade to them in my view, especially not Adalida.