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Azir Build Guide by

[S5] We Rule Shurima! - Azir The Emperor Of The Sands

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WE RULE SHURIMA
SEASON 5	AZIR	GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Gathering Your Army	Chapter 2. Building Your Empire	Chapter 3. Conquering The Rift

INTRODUCTION

is a mage who's abilities and playstyle revolve around manipulating the position and attacks of untargetable entities called soldiers (similar to pets in a way) which are mainly used for 's damage output. The Shuriman Emperor relies on his auto attacks (right click) more than his abilities for damage since his sustained damage is very high through his soldiers piercing attacks. His range is good and he has strong area of effect crowd control and mobility. He gains free attack speed stats for building cooldown reduction which means he can summon more soldiers with and move his soldiers around more often with his which also helps him burst down and catch up to his victim(s). The attack speed obviously increases the rate of which he can attack which makes his DPS higher. This makes him a very unique champion with a very different playstyle (since he relies on ability power to deal damage but has the same playstyle as a control mage + attack damage carry.)

's late game utility and good scaling magic damage that scales well with items and levels combined with his high range and strong area of effect damage per second and burst allow him to quickly take down both squishies and tanks alike. His unique crowd control through his ultimate terrain creation and his area of effect knockup mobility make him a force to be reckoned with once a good player gets out of hand. He does have his fair share of weaknesses though. I think that his major strengths outweigh his annoying little weaknesses a lot.

Utility
Damage
Zoning

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's early game is weak. He can bully certain mid and top laners earlier on in the game, but it is not advised to do so. This is because his low damage output and high mana consumption in the early levels and phases of the game. He's a weak laner. is a scaling sustained damage mage who needs to buy expensive items to be efficient and effective. He can kite well since his crowd control and mobility give him protection, but he's prone to burst damage because he lacks strong defensive properties. As a result, he is very squishy.

Items
Squishy
Skillcap

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FORTIFICATION

wants to rule Shurima. Only a powerful emperor like himself can do so, but not without the aid of powerful runes and masteries to help him and his soldiers succeed in battle! In order to conquer Summoner's Rift, we must first learn about the optimal runes and masteries which our glorious pigeon emperor utilizes so we can overcome our enemies!

Setup One

VS AP

Magic Penetration Marks
Scaling Health Seals
Scaling Magic Resist Glyphs

Ability Power Quintessences

+ 7.83 Magic Penetration

+ 27 Magic Resist (Level 18)

+ 216 Health (Level 18)

+ 14.85 Ability Power

This runepage is great for when he is against magic damage based champions. Most champions that deal magic damage are mages who have strong late game burst, so having scaling magic resistance in addition to scaling health makes you tankier/harder to kill. You take scaling health seals instead of armor because if you're against an ability power based opponent they deal little physical damage, which means you don't need the armor. Magic penetration and ability power are both considered standard on mages because they're strong at all stages of the game and provide all champions with a boost of damage which makes them stronger.

Setup Two

VS AD

Magic Penetration Marks
Scaling Armor Seals
Scaling Ability Power Glyphs

Ability Power Quintessences

+ 7.83 Magic Penetration

+ 27 Ability Power (Level 18)

+ 27 Armor (Level 18)

+ 14.85 Ability Power

This runepage is great for when he is against physical damage dealers. Most champions in the game predominantly deal physical damage, so armor is easier to itemize than magic resist. Azir doesn't build a lot of armor in his build with the exception of so scaling armor really helps him since he is a scaling mage. In my opinion, scaling is better since they outclass flat armor by level 7 and we build quite a bit of health so the armor late game really compliments that. Magic penetration and ability power are the best choices since they help us deal more damage. We don't need magic resistance against our laner since they deal physical damage so more AP is really great.

Setup Three

VS ??

Magic Penetration Marks
Scaling Armor Seals
Scaling Magic Resist Glyphs

Scaling CDR Quintessences

+ 7.83 Magic Penetration

+ 27 Magic Resistance (Level 18)

+ 27 Armor (Level 18)

+ 15% Cooldown Reduction (Level 18)

This runepage is good to use when you feel confident going against your opponent and you want to just scale really hard into the mid game. With a cooldown reduction item and level 18 and from your masteries you gain 40% cooldown reduction. This means you can buy either or instead of which increases your damage or survivability. The scaling magic resistance and armor means that in the mid game you'll have some defense to survive against both sources of damage. Magic penetration is standard since it allows you to trade with the enemy laner and increases your mid game damage output potential by a huge amount.

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Mastery Explanations

These masteries provide with damage and grant him access to small amounts of utility which are very necessary on him.

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OFFENSE

Tier 1 // and both increase your damage output since it means that you'll be attacking more often with the cooldown reduction and attack speed it gives you.

Tier 2 // grants you ability power per level which increases your damage output with abilities.

Tier 3 // makes your abilities do more damage, meaning it'll be easier to last hit in lane with your soldiers due to the extra damage that the ability power gives you. makes your attacks deal more damage against low health champions.

Tier 4 // makes you have more ability power once you've built some, which increases your late game damage output. The mastery is relatively useless early but once you gain a bit more of ability power the extra damage this provides you makes you hit like a truck. allows you to win duels by surviving from 's or minion damage.

Tier 5 // makes you ignore a small percentage of the targets defenses which really helps you deal extra damage against champions and jungle camps when you decide to take one.

Tier 6 // gives you a huge damage boost in all stages of the game. Dealing 1,000 damage will be turned into 1,030. It might not sound like a lot but 30 health can be the difference between securing an objective, killing a champion or stealing a buff which can give you a massive advantage.

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UTILITY

Tier 1 // makes you recall quicker which helps you to get back to base/lane faster. helps if you buy later on in the game so you can check objectives like without getting too close. is great since the movement speed allows you to kite, chase and roam more efficiently.

Tier 2 // allows you to use more often which leads to more epic outplays and escapes. makes you receive a tiny bit more health from 's. The same with 's. It also increases the duration that an elixir lasts for which is really helpful.

Tier 3 // converts your 's into biscuits which grant you more sustain which in turn leads to more survivability and chances to escape from a gank or win a duel.

Mastery Explanations

These masteries provide with the damage he needs and makes him tankier at all stages of the game.

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OFFENSE

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DEFENSE

Tier 1 // makes you take less damage from champions auto attacks. gives you in-lane sustain so that you regenerate more health over time if you get poked down by your laner.

Tier 2 // makes you take less damage from champions. makes you have more health meaning you can withstand more damage from any source of damage including minions and monsters.

Tier 3 // increases the amount of health you get from and (the item you start with) which makes you very tanky earlier on in the game compared to most other mages.

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Summoner Spells

Reason

is essential on all champions. It's mandatory because there is no other summoner spell like it. It gives you outplay potential, it can be used as a re-position tool. can set up a good too! You can bodyblock projectiles for a low health ally. The possibilities are endless. is also quite immobile so this summoner spell helps him get away when caught out.

+ 'AND' +

is a good offensive summoner spell since it reduces the amount of healing that a champion receives, reveals them as long as they're not stealthed and deals true damage over time which is really good for securing kills or managing to duel someone. The 50% healing reduction is really strong against ADC's with huge amounts of lifesteal or tanks who have little health but a huge amount of resistances.

is both a great offensive and defensive summoner spell, but it can only disable one target. The 30% slow and 40% damage reduction make it easier to kite enemies, lower their burst damage and make it harder for them to get away. It allows you to close the gap from fleeing champions when you're trying to chase them and the heavy slow means you can easily catch out a lone opponent. Lastly, the resistance shred makes that unit take more damage from you, your allies, structures and minions which is invaluable.

is immobile outside of his but it has a low range unless extended with but its high mana cost makes this unideal. Not only that, but it has a long cooldown. When this spell is unavailable, is very vulnerable so this means that if you get caught out you can escape, or if you get CC'd whilst chasing you can continue pursuit. In a duel against someone who has a stun, or you can remove the effects and then turn the fight onto them for a clean kill.

can help you and another ally close or create a gap between enemies so you can run away whilst giving you extra health. This summoner spell is strong if you want more utility and are against a hard matchup where you just need to farm. Because most current junglers are quite immobile such as who are being played, the moment speed is invaluable. So can be used both offensively and defensively.

Taking is a sub-optimal strategy for mid laners except for a cheese level 2 TP bot lane which almost never works. is weak early and wants to farm so he doesn't really need TP for global pressure since he'll just be porting into his own death. It helps you get back to lane quicker and eliminates enemy kill pressure if you know you can safely back and not lose a minion wave, but wants something that offers him damage or utility, not just some global map presence.

INTELLECT

Optimal Skilling Order

> > >

SHURIMA'S LEGACY

Grants Attack Speed based on how much Cooldown Reduction you have. Activate the passive on a fallen tower within 400 range to resurrect it for a short duration. All units killed by the tower grant gold to Azir.

For every 1% of cooldown reduction that you have, you gain 1.25% attack speed. This helps improve your mid/late game DPS and this gives you a huge free powerspike in damage once you buy some cooldown reduction. When a tower falls and is destroyed by the enemy team, you can right click it and it'll summon a sand disc, which is a tower that lasts for 60 seconds that takes increased damage from all sources. All units that it kills will grant the gold to and it reveals invisible units like a normal tower. When destroyed by a champion, it will only grant the one who landed the killing blow. It does not grant global gold.

CONQUERING SANDS

Moves all summoned sand soldiers to a target location. They deal
65 / 85 / 105 / 125 / 145 (+50% AP) magic damage to all units struck and apply a stacking slow of 25% for 1 second. Units can be hit by multiple sand soldiers but take 75% less damage from the spell beyond the first.

This spell allows you to kite, waveclear and chase with ease. The high base damage and scaling with the crowd control (slow) make it difficult for enemies to escape or chase you. The cooldown of the spell is low and helps you reposition your soldiers. The high range and speed your soldiers travel at make it a strong poke tool. It can also be used to steal buffs, dragons and barons from the enemy team or teammates even if you'd like to (but that's just mean). Overall, this spell has a ton of uses and is very strong in any situation. Escape, peeling and scouting.

ARISE!

Summons a soldier for 9 seconds. This soldier deals 50 - 170 (+60% AP)
magic damage (based on level) to all units struck by the spear. Azir can summon the soldier on top of a turret to deal magic damage to it.

SHIFTING SANDS

Makes you dash to the soldier closest to your mouse cursor. The dash stops when you collide when a champion. You then knock them up and other champions near them for half a second and deal 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+40% AP)
magic damage to them. When you collide with a champion, you are also granted a shield which can absorb 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+ 15% bonus health)

This spell allows you to outplay when used in conjunction with . The mobility and shield make you difficult to catch, lockdown and kill. This ability can also set up a good . This spell is also great for escape since you can place a soldier over a wall and then dash to it. This ability can also be used as a peel tool since the knockup affects all champions in a very small AOE so if someone is trying to kill a teammate you can use this in order to help them in their escape along with the knockback from .

EMPEROR'S DIVIDE

Sends an army of sand soldiers towards target location. If they collide with an enemy champion, they are dealt 150 / 225 / 300 (+60% of ability power) magic damage and knocked back. Soldiers cannot be controlled and remain there for
5 / 6 / 7 seconds. Enemies cannot pass through the wall and will be knocked back if they attempt to dash through it. Allies can pass through freely and gain 20% movement speed by doing so.

This spell is great for initiating, making picks and peeling. It has a ton of uses and it can be a game changer. The burst damage and utility on it is what makes such a strong champion. It can also deny an escape path for enemies and stop mobility spells such as 's W.

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Map Vision And Awareness

/ / / /

Warding is an incredibly important part of League of Legends, and correctly using wards means that you can easily create picks, prevent invades or avoid deaths for yourself or your team. It can be used to feed your team information of the location of enemies, and what objectives they may be heading towards or at. But that's not all. Vision also shows you where your enemies aren't at, meaning they are elsewhere. This lets you be able to prepare for fights and use that location to bait enemies since you know they are not aware of that area either unless they had vision with wards of that area before you did. This image may seem complicated, but it's not. Something that is comprehensive and explains/shows every possibility does not automatically make something complicated. This map shows the 'best' places to use your ward to utilise the vision granted to the maximum efficiency possible. Being aware of the enemy/teammate's location is essential to winning the game so you can outplay or distract your enemies, and prevent ambushes.

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Buying & Building Items

/ / / /

requires at least two core items in order to be successful so that he can transition into a mid/late game monster. His high ability power ratios on his abilities combined with his huge range but low base damage and high mana costs make him a strong mage. If played correctly, mana management usually won't become a problem but positioning will no matter want so you really need some tankiness through resistances and health so he can survive initial burst from enemy assassins or mages if he gets caught out or initiated on.

ROD OF AGES
2,800 GOLD
FIRST ITEM

is a good item on since it grants him health, mana and ability power. is a mid/late game scaling mage, and his early game is quite weak. Since he won't be able to bully very hard in lane unless against an unskilled lane opponent or weak early game champion, building this item is ideal. The lane sustain allows you to survive against enemy all-ins and poke so that you don't have to constantly recall. The stats help your damage potential significantly in the mid/late game and make you harder to kill and the item is quite cheap at only 2,800 gold. Since focuses on farming in the early game, he doesn't need damage until the mid game when sieges and teamfights start and by having this item fully stacked it'll make you very hard to deal with. If you're going to power farm, then this item is great as a first item, especially if you're against an assassin that you don't want to duel. This item is a really strong late game item.

MORELLONOMICON
2,300 GOLD
FIRST ITEM

Alternatively, can be a good purchase as a first item. The early powerspike really helps you to have a strong mid game and deal good damage and since the meta is all about early teamfights due to health stacking tanks and mid game adc's with mobility and DPS this build might be more beneficial than . The main drawback is that it makes you significantly weaker late game. You also become a lot squishier. Because the item is so easy to build and it's helpful for laning, it's very ideal for solo queue and if you're new to .

NASHOR'S TOOTH
2,920 GOLD
SECOND/THIRD ITEM

is a good item because it increases your damage potential, burst, poke and farming potential. It also helps you take down enemy towers quicker. It's an expensive item but the statistics it grants you really benefit you in pretty much every way. People say that the passive on hit damage is wasted. This isn't always true, as for when you don't want to waste mana you can use auto attacks to last hit minions easily and regenerate mana back with . This might be something small and not worth mentioning, but having 40 extra mana later on to cast arise can help you secure a kill in a duel. If you build as a first item you'll most likely want to survive early game and go for a late game build. By buying and then you're going to have huge damage per second late game but it means you have to safely farm. I would not recommend building this if you've built . Instead, skip straight to .

BOOT OPTIONS
1,000 GOLD+
SECOND/THIRD ITEM

There are many different viable boot options but they're all situational. Want full cooldown reduction and don't have scaling runes? If you have the mastery and a cooldown reduction item and don't want to build another cooldown reduction item, then buy . If you don't want to get caught and need magic resistance so you can survive more in fights then are a great option. If you want more DPS then you can buy so you can penetrate some of the enemies magic resistance. People recommend beserker's greaves if you want to increase your damage output, but the only reason why I would buy that is if I'm against a team that is really tanky and is easy to kite and I had to keep my distance so I could auto attack more frequently whilst trying to move away from incoming threats. I usually buy a majority of the team, and I also enchant it with for more flash ult plays or so I can recall and get back into fights quickly incase I'm needed as soon as possible.

ZHONYA'S HOURGLASS
3,260 GOLD
FOURTH/FIFTH ITEM

protects you against enemy dives and attack damage carries, assassins or bruisers. By having this item, you gain a lot of damage and defensive properties, and are granted an invulnerability active which can be used to outplay enemies by either blocking enemy target projectiles such as 's or 's . gives you a lot of health so having armor with the HP that both items grant you makes you very tanky and difficult to kill which allows you to deal huge amounts of damage over time. You can buy an early if you're against an attack damage assassin.

RABADON'S DEATHCAP
3,300 GOLD
FOURTH/FIFTH ITEM

increases your damage potential to all units including minions, monsters, towers and structures provided you use on towers and have the mastery. It's an expensive item to buy and it's difficult to farm up enough gold to purchase out a outright even as a solo laner who spends most of their game farming for full build. The percentage ability power increase is really strong with other items such as as for they also grant a lot of ability power which means your damage potential will sky rocket. It's possible to kill a squishy support like or or an ADC without lifesteal in one + 3 auto attacks with once you buy this item.

VOID STAFF
2,295 GOLD
SIXTH ITEM

is a really cheap ability power item which grants you a really high amount of ability power and 35 percent magic penetration which is a huge amount and this really increases your sustained and burst damage to all enemies including monsters and tanks. But a lot of people don't realize that it's a very cost efficient item alone, and an enemy ADC with a flat base magic resistance of 30 will have their magic resistance reduces by 10.5 which increases your damage to them by a significant amount. This value is increased even more depending on how much magic resistance the enemy has.