Kalo Review (Empires and Puzzles)

Kalo Empires and Puzzles Hero Card

No sooner had Kalo arrived in Empires and Puzzles, as part of the Sanctuary Of Gargoyles, had the Bookies begun taking bets on his eventual nerf.

While I’m not normally much of a betting man, on this occasion I’m willing to take a small punt. Because as Ferant and Azmia have now taught us, if a solid 4-Star Hero draws too much attention, they’ll get neutered like my childhood dog.

And, I’m telling you, he was never the same after that. The spark was gone, if you know what I mean.

Sometimes, I’d catch him in a thousand-yard stare, but I never knew what to say. It was all redundant.

Still, we did try to cheer him up.

One thing we did was to let the fur grow in that area, you know, pretend he was… you know.

Anyway, Ferant and Azmia are currently licking their own wounds, and I fear the same for Kalo.

And, it’s not just me who’s concerned.

Have you seen Kalo? He’s got that crazy Joker look in his eyes.

He’s been so worried about the nerf hammer coming down, that he’s been running around town in a proper frantic state…

Like how I get, if I take my meds too close together…

But why?

Why all the early speculation [YouTube] that Kalo, is for the KO?

Is he really that good?

Let’s find out…

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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.

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Kalo‘s Stats and Special Skills (Epic Hero)

This Hero was nerfed after this review. Details have been updated, however, the review remains the same

Element: Nature (Green)

Class: Sorcerer

Mana Speed: Average Very Slow

Family Bonus (for 1/2/3 Heroes) Immune to Poison damage / Immune to Poison and Burn damage / Immune to Poison, Burn and Water damage.

Special Skills (Resurrection of the Fallen): 1. Deals 135% 70% damage to all. 2. If no allies have fallen, deals 270% 140% damage to all. 3. Casts the Special Skills of all fallen allies.

Passive: Every time this Gargoyle casts a Special Skill, their Stoneskin hardens. The next 3 5 times (unconfirmed) they receive damage, it is dropped to 1. This effect can’t be dispelled.

Talent: DELAY ~ +15% chance to drop the mana generation of the enemy by -50% for 2 turns after dealing damage. The effect is applied at the end of the turn.

Kalo Empires and Puzzles Hero Card Detail
Wanted! – Kalo Empires and Puzzles

How Good is Kalo? (Empires and Puzzles)

First, let’s qualify just how good Kalo is.

We all like tables, so here’s a damning table comparing Kalo with all the other 4-Star Heroes who carry a similar payload:

HeroMana SpeedDamageSecondary
KaloAverage (10 tiles)Deals 135% damage to all. If no allies have fallen, deals 270% damage to all.Casts the Special Skills of all fallen allies.
OldCynic.com – Kalo compared with similar Heroes

It’s clear from the table that Kalo’s definitely the quickest of the bunch, and also happens to be the most powerful.

To be clear, here’s what Kalo actually does:

Let’s say you have a Defense Team consisting of,

Mother North | Elizabeth | Alfrike | Krampus | Kalo

First, let’s say all of them are alive and living their best lives.

In that case, Kalo would hit all enemies for 135% + 270% damage.

Next, let’s pretend Mother North and Alfrike both died (rip) 🥺.

In that scenario, Kalo would fire off his own lesser Special (135% to all enemies), then Mother North’s Special, and then Alfrike’s Special.

And finally, what if he’s the last Hero standing?

Well, in that case, he’ll fire off his own lesser Special (135%), plus the Special Skills of all his fallen allies.

This guy’s a walking cheat code!

…a cheat code which is more powerful in a P2P lineup, than in a F2P lineup, -because, he’s only as good as the fallen allies next to him.

What if the fallen ally is Congalach, or C.Master Lepus, or Hulda, or Penolite?

Is Kalo in hiding? (Empires and Puzzles)

Life has a way of putting you Front-and-Centre, waging a war you never intended to fight.

It’s all too easy to let circumstances distract you from your chosen path.

Sadly for Kalo, he was always destined to walk that tightrope, between nerf and OP.

And I have to admit, it may be the bitterness of Azima’s demise talking a little, but how can my heavenly Azima be considered OP, while the Shadow Taker himself, Kalo, is Cool?

Just watch this YouTube video [YouTube] that u2371 (E&P forum) sent me.

It boils down to this:

If you can find Kalo, and convince him he’s not going to the Vets, he’ll be an absolute monster for you!

He’ll be the End of Ends, the bringer of peace, and the 4 horsemen, all rolled into 1.

Kalo about to use his Special Empires and Puzzles Screenshot
The 4 horsemen… Kalo

What’s His Actual Special Worth?

Kalo hits all enemies for 135% + 270% (405%) if no allies have fallen, and 135% if someone’s gone.

Of course, when he hits for 135%, he’s also playing dress-up of a dead ally.

So, what does 405% damage to all, on an Average charge, amount to?

C.Tiburtus does 175% damage to all, Frank (Slow) does 200% to all, and Ametrine (Ninja x3) does 300% to all.

For an Averaged-speed 4-Star Hero, Kalo carries a completely ridiculous slap.

Image of Church with words: Sanctuary Of Gargoyles
Click for the Sanctuary Of Gargoyles – Empires and Puzzles

Kalo Review (Empires and Puzzles)

My final thoughts:

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how fantastic Kalo is.

At the end of battle, should any fallen allies linger in the Shadow Realm, waiting for their final resolution, Kalo will dip in and drag their weary souls back to the land of the living.

Where, in a fit of rage and bleaching bellowing screams, he’ll demand their powers for his own.

Some call him a Channeler of unclean Spirits, some say he’s possessed. But the doctrine is irrelevant to the outcome.

Is he OP and will he be nerfed?

I really don’t know.

I hope not, but some of those videos are real shocking!

If you pulled him, Congrats! It’s time to play around with your Defense to see where he fits in.

If I had him and Mother North, I’d play them both on opposite wings.

Or, play him on the wing with a Tank who’d cause utter devastation, but would normally die before going off (Alfrike).

There are loads to try out in hope of discovering the ultimate situation.

Who would you team him with?

Hero Grade for Kalo (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 ⭐⭐⭐

[I’m hurting a little from my Azmia nerf… can you tell?]

This Hero was subsequently Buffed or Nerfed by the developers. Details have been updated to reflect the changes.

Link to the nerf statement: Here. [Forum]

[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]



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Copyright: oldcynic.com
No dogs were harmed in the making of this post
Images used by way of review/tutorial – Copyright owned by Empires & Puzzles: Small Giant/Zynga Games

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37 Comments

  1. Are you sure it’s not 135%, THEN 270% if no fallen allies?

    Also, what if you’ve got two Kalos and one’s gone? Will you cast any other fallen SS twice?

    Thanks for the review, Hope I can use him before the (inevitable) nerf.

    1. Hey Richard, no I believe it’s one or the other. Also, he will not duplicate his own special, so won’t dup another Kalo. All info is based on research from the forum and beta testers.

      Congrats tho, a fantastic hero. He might not be nerfed for all we know, however, I happened to write this the morning I discovered Azmia’s nerf!

  2. I never got Azmi…but I did run Ferant as the 3rd wolf on a war team with ludwig which meant his riposte was often undispellable. If it wasnt…Ludwig let him keep firing on top of itself up to 3x in 5 turns till 1 of em landed undispellable at stupid high pain level and the mana boost…all on a 4 star who was fast and easy to level.

    Then they took it all away. Not all…he’s still good…but before he was unfair.
    Now…I sometimes use him…knowing he will help the other wolves be undispellable. But it’s like sending that old mvp late in a game…who isn’t what he used to be.

    Enjoy kalo…relish…celebrate the horror of alfrike and conglach tanks who had to be eliminated quick…not being dead…only MOSTLY dead…which means slightly alive…which means the enemy is gonna be dead.

    Love it while it lasts. We’ve been here before…and sometimes I remember prenerf ferant…or pre nerf telluria. And I shed tear.

  3. sorry, but you got his special wrong.
    first line: 135% to all (no other conditions)
    2nd line: 270% if no allis have fallen

    So it is indeed 405% Damage if no allis have fallen. Also its troll-potential is very high: SG Forum.

    the nerf-hammer crushing down on him is inevitable.
    (but until then…lets have some fun with the little green devil 😀 )

    1. That 405% to all is insane (for an Ave 4-star?). I trust it’s first hand info, so I’ll update at the next opportunity. Crazy. I’ve been enjoying all the videos going around. Nerffffffff incoming!… (surely)

  4. Any suggestions on emblem path? Just have him maxed and wondering which path to take. WOuld consider Def – Health – Attack to keep him alive but then his hits (both the 135+270 and the copied hits) will be lower.

    I do consider him as ideal to make very slow and slow heroes average… because they tend to die first.

    1. He is a tricky one and there is a reasonable argument to do as you say. I’m so defensively minded, I’d still go my way, but I completely understand your viewpoint.

      Gotta go with your gut!

      Sorry for the late response on this one.

      1. Went for the Defensive route. Also have him LB+20 now.
        * Power: 833
        * Attack: 729
        * Defense: 874
        * Health: 1547
        I do not completely agree with your general page on emblem paths though, but that’s personal. I prefer to send offensive heroes via the sword path so they do more damage. The healer and defensive heroes are protecting them via the shield-heart-sword path.

        Also, after using ànd encountering him in raids, I do not consider him as O.P. He is fun to play with, but generally dead before the others and easy to control by using mana controllers (Ruby and others) or taunt heroes.

  5. Yeah, everyone in my alliance grinding Kalo hard and we can’t wait to next VF war haha!

    And the Nerf is 100% coming, he’s a beast 😁
    Kalo is fun in attack team also, alfrike, Lu Bu, Congalash, Kalo, xnolphod. Amazing to fire off Kalo of any of the damage dealers die. So many interesting combos to try.
    But already decided i won’t get mad when the eventual Nerf drops.
    Just add him to the collection of nerfed 4*

  6. I never understood why SG nerfed Ferrant, Never had a problem taking him out. Now Kelo may get nerfed and another hero to add to the nerf list is Xnolphod can see that happening also. I have alot of good reds so I’m confident I will find a way to beat Kalo, also the boards play a big part. SG should put on the breaks, see what strategies develop with Kelo & take it from there. I’ve heard from people that the circus heros that got a buff are now OP. I can still beat them, I’m not a “strong” player but have been playing over 5 years and learned alot of strategies.

    1. I agree, a lot of the nerfs are not really needed.
      Hard to tell with them flayling trying to figure out who they are catering to when creating new heroes.
      F2P – Gives those players a fighting chance to take on the big boys with great 4* heroes with LB.
      P2P – Everyone in the global top teams got these heroes anyway so everyone are on equal footing. So why nerf at all?

      My tower defence rarely drops below 2700 and more often then not around 2800 with a defence at 5100+

      Still, a team with mono 4-5* heroes (think S1 heroes) and a good board can often beat me down and get away with 47 cups so I´d say, know your heroes and create teams based on your opponents lineup and stop the nerfs.
      Had huge problems eith Hulda, now put in Grimble or Bera = problem solved 😀

      1. Agreed. many players in the game do NOT swap their heroes per battle. They set up their “big guns” and have that as their team of destiny vs all enemies. Ferant was a problem UNLESS you brought a dispeller, or a mana stopper. In wars when I have to face a riposte hero in the 2nd half and have already used up Onyx and Milena in the 1st round, no big deal, Ill swap in Melendor or Caedmon or Sonya even. They have 1 job to do, wait till he shoots, wipe it out, then they can die happily. Ferrant or Azmiatic or Elena whatever riposter will be taken care of because generally you take them out before they can shoot if possible, and if you are a step slow and they are cleansed theyll be dead before they can do it again.
        Bring the right tools for the job, then the job gets done right.
        Bring the wrong tools, you get abused by toothless guys playing banjo music…its just all kinda of wrong…

        Too many people need to learn to adapt to what is in front of them rather than complain it wasnt tailor made for them to win without effort.

  7. “Nerf” already on the way. But a strange one – speed changed to Very Slow, so now he has stoneskin worth 5 not 3 attacks and is much more likely to wait with shooting until his friends are dead.

    1. the problem is that you need a really strong team that needs to die first in order to ulitize his abilities . which of course is not possible since his stats got lowered too so he will definitely die before other OP legendary heroes. iow he’s unique but useless

  8. very slow? (apart from everything else – because they reduced every single thing) idiots… I mean he was a mistake from the beginning, but very slow is just unusable for anything, but the very fast tourneys. SG sucks as always

  9. They didnt just hit him with a nerf hammer, they fired the nerf bazooka!

    While I wanna believe their claims that in a week of rapid testing he was just as effective even at very slow, we all know damn well they are lying!
    He is now VERY SLOW. But unlike say Alfrike, who has heavy defensive stats built in and is a 5 star who is therefore pretty hard to kill, He is a 4 star. He was and is killable, and now the enemy has 3 more turns to do it!
    Unless hes on a team with healing and taunt, the odds of him lasting just leaped off a cliff.

    NOW, SG is predicating the idea on the fact that his true power is casting other peoples specials after they die. And at average, casting for say Alfrike or even Heimdall wasnt always gonna happen because when hes already near death and charged you had to shoot, and they were still alive. Now, the chances of teammates being expired have gone up on paper. Couple that with some mega heroes being on the team, and dead, and this 4 star somehow lasting 8 or 9 turns to charge and you have a doomsday weapon !!

    if only it ever gets to shoot.
    Sigh…they missed the boat on this. They should have changed it to 1 random dead ally special fired, or even made him slow instead of very slow and bumped down his assault level attack numbers and called it a day.

    And here we are.

  10. This post doesn’t age well. Lol. I regret not able to get Kalo despite doing heavy pulls but this nerf somehow made it less painful. But still, with all the beta testing, they still put him out there as it is and when people had him, emblem and lb, SG then go on and nerf him. Same goes to Azmia. That’s a shitty move by SG. Its like Telly, Vela, Costume Krampus all over again.

  11. Kalo is still great even for f2p legendary standards. I got him, leveled him then they nerfed him (of course) and I was so pissed (mostly because of the very slow speed), but he still can be a game changer… especially on offense. I thought he needs to be a defensive hero but after nerf, you need to have bad boards to get him triggered (and other strong hero needs to be dead).

    but on offense if paired with e.g. Brynhild (thanks oldcynic) he can really survive and as long as he’s alive you don’t have to care that much who isn’t… also once he’s triggered that 5 stone skin is much stronger on offense than defense (on def you can take it out with anything)

    he really saved my ass couple of times so still great.

    1. Hey there, I agree he’s still mightily impressive even after the nerf. He’s trouble when I face him and have to make sure I get him outta there. Re. Brynhild, thanks for the thanks Hahaha. I like to think she’s getting a second shot at life! Hahaha.

      1. I just don’t get why they kept him as an attacker. doing 70% or doing nothing is basically the same. that’s just slap in the face of everyone that worked on him (as if ss wasn’t enough nerf)

    1. Hey there. Kalo is a great hero. You can pair him with Gramps if you don’t have anything else, but I don’t rate Gramps at all. You do see him on Defense now and then in Tournaments, but he fails to revive a large portion of the time. So, it would mainly be for the Mana, but I think there are better heroes out there.

      Again tho, it’s all about your roster. If that’s what you have for now, give it a try!

  12. Well… lets find out today if he is as useless after nerf as people say..
    its Tournament:
    4*
    No purple
    -RUSH!.

    My money is riding on that everybody who has him is probably gonna use him… 😉

  13. Who among the following would be the best “protector” for Kalo to keep him alive as long as possible?

    Brynhild
    Jade
    Kiril
    Vivica
    Wang Yuanji

    Thanks!

    1. None of them are great, but Bynhild or Vivica. Bynhild for the quick heal and Mana and Vivica for the powerful heal and Defense. Jade if triggered above her 1st tier.

      It’s all about experimenting to get it right.

  14. Hi, I often get information about empires and puzzles from your site, really great work hihi. You mentioned in Kalo’s table that he has average mana, but mine says very slow. I would like him to average that not haha

  15. I currently have on my defense team; Alessia, Blossom, Sneferu, Ithar and Fortuna, together team strength 4161, are all not yet at max level. I’ve only been playing for 3.5 months, so it’s really still a matter of continuously trying to find the perfect click. In attack I often use Alessia and Brontes, who make a really good couple together. I also replace Dante with blossom, it often goes well together ;). But now that I can add Kalo somewhere, can I replace him with Alessia for the defense?

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