Booby Yaga - A Guide to the Witch of the Woods

Hello everyone!

I am a casual console player who has mostly played Jungle/Solo and it has stayed that way for a long time. That being said when I heard Baba Yaga (a mage) was going to be added as the next god into the game, it gave me an excuse to take a mage for a spin.

Baba has been quickly judged by the community as a god which lacks in the damage department, as well as labeled a mage with little late-game team fight presence. While much of this criticism of the god is warranted (she definitely needs some tweaking), I believe abusing some of her quirks can make her a mid-late game powerhouse. Her ability to build stacks quickly through her Creeping Cabin, as well as her unpredictable poke with her Wild Witchcraft can cause the enemy team to undermine Baba Yaga's potential by the time the late game hits.

I will admit, most of the games I have played as Baba have been Joust, however I do not see any reason why much of what I outline cannot be translated into Middle lane or Support. Considering this, I will be focusing on only one ways the god can be played (high-damage poke, emphasis on stacking items), when the truth is Baba can be played in many (high-sustain tank, etc).

Pros
- High base damage numbers
- Unpredictable to play against
- Snowballs super fast due to item stacks from her Creeping Cabin
- Can sustain with to her Creeping Cabin if player chooses to void stacking items

Cons:
- Very reliant on skill shots
- Unpredictable to play
- Booty ultimate in need of tweaks

Creeping Cabin
Baba's passive is probably the highlight of her kit. Being able to build stacks fast allows her to get a head start in the early game by finishing blessing earlier than others, while also giving her the ability to heal if she isn't currently building stacks. We will mainly be using the Cabin for the stacking function.


Wild Witchcraft
This ability is Baba's main clear, while also being her main damage/poke tool; so obviously max it first. The various paths which it can leave (in my opinion) are secondary to the massive damage this ability can do when items like Warlock's Staff are fully online.

For the most part, this ability is self explanatory in terms of use, minus the "0" path that the ability can sometimes take. The ability always moves counter-clockwise and knowing this, you can basically treat this as somewhat of a straight line by lining up the right side of the path with what you are trying to hit as it will always travel that way first. I have seen many players complain about this specific path and how terrible it is, and while it is less than ideal, I have been able to actually hit enemy gods twice in one cast with this path which has made for some nutty damage.


Baba's Brew
This ability is capable of putting out stupid damage numbers however I prioritize it second because Wild Witchcraft is more consistent.

You are able to store one brew in a potion slot and be able to use it at any time. Once cooldown is over, you are able to queue a second brew and press the ability key in order to cycle between the two brews which you have. Typically I will do my best to store either a high-damage (mostly red) brew or a movement slow (mostly blue) brew into my potions slot at any given time. Meanwhile having my brew that is not in storage be one I throw without caring what it is.

ALWAYS STORE A BREW BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOUNTAIN TO SAVE MANA AND HAVE THE ABILITY OFF COOLDOWN BY THE TIME YOU GET BACK TO LANE

Having a brew stored while having the ability off cooldown at any given time will allow you to put out more damage than you normally would (effectively having 2 casts). Whenever I engage, I always use Baba's Brew before anything else in order to proc any slows or power reductions before I follow up with Wild Witchcraft. This is Baba's main 'combo'.


Blast Off!
Definitely a fun ability with a couple things to consider. Upon casting your movement speed will accelerate, then diminish to a very slow state before the explosion occurs and propels Baba. Before the explosion, you are knock up immune, but other CCs will yank you out of the cast and will leave you a sitting duck with your one escape ability on cooldown.

With this in mind, Blast Off! can be used as an escape, a safe-ish clear ability, or a high-risk high-reward poke tool. I have been able to dive fountain with this ability and get off some pretty great poke and in some cases secure some kills on mages who think they are safe under tower.


Home Sweet Home
As of the making of this guide. This ability is still bugged, many a time I have cast this ability and have not been able to fire projectiles. When this ability does work however, it is remarkably lackluster in terms of damage, especially when compared to other mage ultimates in the game.

Whenever I use this ability, It is mainly to secure a kill as the range at which fireballs can be thrown is pretty far.

Do not however think that you are safe upon cast. The Achilles' heel to this ultimate is being focused down by the entire enemy team because the shield is stinky and gives you no worthwhile protection. Considering this, I would only cast this ability if you know your team has edge in a teamfight.

I am not necessarily a wiz on items in Smite however my overall philosophy with building Baba is that the earlier you can build stacks with your passive, the faster you can snowball and become a mid-late game threat.

Rushing Warlock's Staff, stacking it up, and having 195 magical power after Shoes of Focus is a good way to help giving Baba a head start in damage.

After that, I tend to build into Book of Thoth for more passive stacking abuse, and Chronos' Pendant for cooldown.

I usually finish with Soul Reaver before selling blessing for an item for something like Rod of Tahuti to help finishing gods with Baba's ultimate.

Like I said though, I am no way informed enough to make viable competitive builds, so I left some suggestions for what I believe are good items for defense (something not within this build's priorities) or further abuse her ability to stack like a madman.

Honestly, I think Baba Yaga is definitely in a state where she needs to be tweaked; mostly to her ultimate. Nonetheless, I think that she is one of the most exciting gods that has been added to the game recently and she is a blast to play.

Many have been quick to throw Baba in the dumpster however I believe her to be not only versatile when it comes to roles (this is in a broader scope than what I have here), but also powerful in the right hands.