Bast

"You have advanced to the Classical Age under the Protection of Bast."
Age up text

Bast is a Classical Age Egyptian minor goddess in Age of Mythology. She is available to Isis and Ra.

Attributes

God Power

Name	Description
Eclipse	+20% attack, -20% hack/pierce/crush vulnerabilities, -40% ability cooldown for myth units. +50% Monument favor generation.

Technology

Name	Description
Sacred Cats	Farm gather rate +5% and +10% gather rate from other food sources.
Adze of Wepwawet	Laborers can chop down trees in one hit; wood gather rate +10%
Criosphinx	Sphinx +20% hit points, and +20% Hack Attack hack / +50% crush damage
Hieracosphinx	Sphinx +15% speed, a further +20% Hack Attack hack / +50% crush damage

Myth Unit

Name	Description
Sphinx	Fast-moving melee unit effective at raiding and destroying buildings.

Gameplay

Bast's bonuses are economic; two of her technologies increase resource gather rates. Wood is usually not important to the Egyptians until the Heroic Age, when Chariot Archers and siege weapons (such as the Siege Tower and Catapult) appear, but in water maps, the Adze of Wepwawet is extremely important, as Laborers can gather extra wood for Fishing Ships or Kebenit and War Barge rushes. Similarly, Adze of Wepwawet is useful for followers of Nephthys and Osiris, as their Scorpion Man and Mummy myth units, respectively, cost wood. Furthermore, Bast's economic technologies synergize nicely with Thoth's Book of Thoth technology, allowing Laborers to gather resources even better than before.

Her myth unit, the Sphinx, is a powerful Classical Age unit, especially when fully upgraded to a Hieracosphinx. These are fast and have excellent crush attack, meaning they can take out units and buildings alike in rushes. They get stronger in later ages and so are worth massing when the player has the resources.

Bast's god power, Eclipse, can be used to increase her myth unit's attack further and make them move rapidly (7.2 speed), increasing their rushing potential and making them alarmingly dangerous. This god power also allows the player's own Monuments to generate favor more quickly, especially under Isis, as her Monuments generate favor even faster when empowered. Eclipse can be saved for or used again in later ages to boost the attack of stronger myth units granted in later ages, such as Sekhmet's Scarabs, Horus' Avengers, or especially the Titan that the Egyptians otherwise cannot improve in any way.

Mythology

"A daughter of Ra, Bast was the goddess of the cat, considered a sacred animal in ancient Egypt. She was usually associated with the moon, perhaps because cat eyes can shine in moonlight. A special necropolis at her cult center in Bubastis held huge numbers of mummified cats. Together, Bast and the lioness-headed Sekhmet killed the great serpent Apep that tried to swallow Ra and turn the world into darkness."
In-game compendium

Trivia

Originally, Bast had access to a technology called "Fertility" which decreased the time it took for Egyptian Villagers to train. Fertility was most likely removed due to being too much of a bonus, making the other Classical Age minor gods irrelevant and making Ra and Isis too powerful.
She holds a sistrum in her hand, which originated as a sacred percussion instrument in Ancient Egypt.
For her beta Retold portrait, the face was based on an African Wild Cat.