Azzen'Ka: King of the Shifting Sands

Build and Guide Azzen'Ka: King of the Shifting Sands

Cheat Sheet
Skill Priority
Ultimate (Sand Wraith)>Spell 2 (Dust Devil)> Spell 1(Sand Punch)

Talents
Sprint for roaming, Flicker for safety

Items
Orb of the Magi >Enchanted Kicks >Hecate’s Diadem > Virtue’s Necklace> Frosty’s Revenge > Staff of Nuul

Super Late Game: Replace Enchanted Kicks with Holy of Holies or Ancestral Glory.

Arcana
Armor Greens, Health Purples, and Ability Power Reds

Introduction
Azzen’ka is the Wrath of Sand Incarnate: Coarse, irritable and covering great areas, the Sand Mage is a powerful hero to use in the Arena if you’re looking for a someone that can change the course of a fight with a single spell, and still have two spells in reserve.

Abilities
Passive: Sand Trap

Hitting an enemy with an ability applies Sand Trap. After three stacks the enemy is petrified and takes magic damage.

Skill 1: Sand Punch

After a delay, Sand erupts at a target location, dealing magic damage and knocking enemies up into the air.

Sand Punch is the odd skill out in Azzen’Ka’s kit, but it is by no means a weak spell. While Sand Trap is Azzen’Ka’s primary tool to inflict CC, Sand Punch is a quicker form of crowd control - provided you can predict enemy movements. Consider Sand Punch a targeted form of Illumia’s Cataclysm - a strong ability... when it lands.

Sand Punch is most effective when you can predict enemy movements - making it a powerful disengage tool to cast on top of The Forgotten when enemies look to start a fight or find a kill. 

Skill 2: Dust Devil

Azzen’Ka sends out a projectile which bounces from enemy to enemy, dealing magic damage on the first hit and 60% on the second hit. The projectile can only strike the same enemy twice and prioritizes enemy heroes.

Dust Devil is Azzen’Ka’s greatest asset - a spell that is effective in the laning phase and beyond. It is a targeted spell that can hit twice - priming the Sand Trap passive and allowing Azzen’Ka’s next ability to momentarily stun the target.  The fact that it can ricochet six times makes this skill provide excellent waveclear for the Sand King.

Skill 3: Sand Wraith

Azzen’Ka sends out a hand that detonates on the first enemy it hits, dealing magic damage and creating a sandstorm that slows enemies and deals magic damage over the course of X seconds.

Azzen’Ka’s ultimate ability, Sand Wraith, is a powerful source of burst and an incredible zoning ability. Along with the initial targeted damage, the sandstorm applies damage 4 times, meaning that with a well placed ultimate hits your opponent 5 times in a row, equating to 5 stacks of Sand Trap. The fact that the SandStorm is an area of effect ability that damages all enemies in its radius makes this ultimate an incredibly powerful teamfighting ability.

Skill Order:

Upgrade Dust Devil to the top level first, leveling up your Ultimate whenever the option becomes available. Dust Devil’s ability to hit multiple enemies multiple times makes it an incredibly reliable tool for poke and clearing waves.

Talents
Top Two:

Flicker: Flicker’s ability to instantly reposition or dodge makes it incredibly valuable for players who value a reliable and instantaneous skill. Always recommend, especially helpful against teams with some heavy engage you want to slip away from (Thane, Mina, Grakk).

Sprint: The first talent you acquire is also one of the better talents for Azzen’ka: with powerful control and stun potential over a large area of effect, Azzen’ka is a potent ganker. Using Sprint helps Azzen’ka roam to other lanes quickly, arriving in time to use his valuable crowd control skills. In the late game, Sprint enables Azzen’ka the ability to kite and run from enemies seeking an engage, though lacking Flicker’s ability to instantly hop past crowd control effects.



Honorable Mentions:

Endure: The teamfighter’s pick - as the enemies rush forward, unleash your spells and enter stasis: this choice of talent is a risky way to enable Azzen’ka to start fights by baiting opponents into the harsh winds of the sandstorm. Emerging from Endure, if your enemies still linger and your team has abandoned you, you’re probably dead - but hopefully not before getting off a spell or two!

Purify: Better to use Flicker, but Purify helps Azzen’ka avoid crowd control that cannot be dodged: Valhein’s Curse of Death or Veera’s Mesmerize

Items
Core:

Orb of the Magi - Orb of the Magi gives great scaling power and offers an incredibly useful sustain passive that helps quench Azzen’Ka’s thirst for mana. Buy first!

Enchanted Kicks - Movement speed is incredibly useful on Azzen’ka, allowing him to kite enemies effectively while he sets up his Sand Trap Passive. Delay at your own peril!

Hecate’s Diadem - A clear necessity on Azzen’ka, with Magic Pierce and the 35% amplified ability power, this item is a reliable power-spike on purchase and on any future ability power purchases.

Virtue’s Necklace - Virtue’s Necklace operates like Orb of Magi, but while the Orb grants scaling damage, Virtue’s necklace is a cheap yet powerful bombshell of 20% cooldown reduction and a powerful mana regeneration boost that comes in handy during mid to late game teamfights.

Situational:

These items you can choose to round out and build around your core build, as well as replace your boots in endgame scenarios. Be sure not to go over the 40% cooldown reduction ceiling!

Rhea’s Blessing - Rhea’s Blessing offers strong sustain to the fragile sand-mage, giving his long ranged magical based attacks a life-steal mechanic to help him heal from skirmishes and deal with intense lane phases into the late game. The ability-power shield is an incredibly helpful ability that gives Azzen’Ka valuable moments to escape or turn on his opponent.

Staff of Nuul  - Staff of Nuul is a powerful item granting 45% magical pierce, but your decision to purchase the item should vary from game to game. If your opponents have built a team of tanks, rush it early to keep your damage. If your opponents have less than two juggernauts, consider building Staff of Nuul later in the game… or not at all!

Frosty’s Revenge - With Azzen’ka’s powerful crowd control, Frosty’s Revenge is an enticing purchase - enabling the Sandman to kite his foes more comfortably while setting up his Sand Trap passive with ease. Combine Frosty with Sand Wraith for an excruciatingly debilitating sandstorm.

Holy of Holies - This item provides a massive amount of health to help Azzen’Ka survive longer against all forms of attack, be it a tank trying to out last him or a mage trying to assassinate him. For it’s massive cost, it is best to wait until you have enough money to buy this item outright.

Arcana
Running Arcana, I value early-impact Arcana to help Azzen’ka through the earlier stages of the game. As a result, flat health arcana, flat AP arcana, and flat armor Arcana are all meant to hold Azzen’ka through the rough-and-tumble early game and deliver him to the teamfight-roaming stage.

Early Game
As a spell-caster, Azzen’ka is a brittle and requires a level-headed player to shield him from the wear and tear of the Antaris Battlefield. At the start of the game, level your Sand Punch (Spell 1) for its long range and powerful crowd control - this spell is your only option disengage and ward off your enemy in the early game, so choosing it first is a must. Run down to your lane (mid preferred) and begin to collect your experience. After safe and farming creeps with your normal attack, you’ll hit level 2, and Azzen’ka will finally have access to his passive.

Use level 2 to acquire Dust Devil: whenever your lane opponent moves near his or her minions, cast the Dust Devil spell and watch closely - if the spell hits your opponent twice, the next ability that lands will stun. Don’t rush! The Sand Trap status effect lingers for more than four seconds, so use the threat of the stun to push your enemies away from their creeps and extra gold. If they can’t help themselves, throw out your Sand Punch and rack up the damage!

Be wary of ganks, however. Azzen’ka is best at a distance - Ormarr, Zanis, and Nakroth are all pesky enemies that will easily threaten the Sand King’s reign with their dashes, so exercise caution if you are dealing with ganking junglers. Against these aggressive, ganking junglers, holding onto your Sand Punch is a wise decision.

Mid Game
Accessing his ultimate spell, Sand Wraith, gives Azzen’ka kill threat on top of his already frustrating laning phase. Instead of throwing out Sand Punch to follow after the Dust Devil, throw out the grasping hand of Sand Wraith instead, instantly stunning your opponent and allowing you to easily time and land your Sand Punch just as they escape from Sand Trap’s petrification.

To add even more to an extremely powerful skill order (Dust Devil > Sand Wraith> Sand Punch), Sand Wraith gives Azzen’ka extremely powerful objective control and ganking ability: roam into an enemy lane and unleash your Sand Wraith, making sure to place the sandstorm between your foes and the safety of their turret. With your allies pushing forward to engage, you can throw out Dust Devil and Sand Punch to apply Sand Trap’s passive and help your team secure the kills. Be careful when roaming through the river, though: remember that Azzen’ka shines as a distant initiator, not a duelist: any heroes that you come across on your travels should be avoided.

Late Game
Reaching the late game, Azzen’ka’s crowd-control abilities and AOE spells reach their full potential as your opponents will group together for teamfights. However, while Azzen’ka’s spells have range, they have delay that puts him at risk - so be sure to use your powerful tools while a tank is engaging and attracting enemy attention. Azzen’ka is shines as the X factor that turns teamfights on their head, like the sand he wields,  he persists, irritates, and wears down his opponents rather than facing them head on.

FAQ/Tips
-Dust Devil has incredible range when bouncing off of enemies, so if you spot a foe in the jungle try and cast Dust devil to ricochet against a jungle creep and apply some Sand Trap stacks! However, be careful when you’re fighting in the jungle, as casting Dust Devil can accidentally send it in the wrong direction.

-Sand Trap is an excellent set-up for Sand Punch or any other skill Azzen’ka has at his disposal. Be sure to experiment all of the ways of getting three stacks!

-Always remember that if Sand Wraith misses enemies completely, it will still detonate and create a sandstorm at maximum range: Use it to siege a turret or dissuade opponents from taking a certain route. This zoning power makes Sand Wraith an excellent skill for securing objectives, or for fabulous and high-octane base-racing scenarios!

-Sand Wraith has a 20 second cooldown at maximum level, not counting cooldown… So don’t be afraid to use it often!

Matchups
Veera - The Soul Harvester is another mage with powerful wave-clear, but Azzen’Ka’s Dust Devil outranges hers. Let her prowl the minion waves for the first couple levels, when her Hell-Bat ability is still too strong to trade with, and then start to wear her down like any other opponent.  Be mindful of her Mesmerise, stack your Sand Trap wisely, and you’ll be able to keep out of range of her ultimate.

Natalya - More aggressive than her mistress, Natalia suffers from a quickly diminishing mana pool. In the early stages of the game, play behind your minions to protect yourself from her spells, and if Natalia steps forward to try and land some Arcane Spirits, using Dust Devil will dissuade her from attempting an Arcane Nova combo. Be careful of Natalia’s ultimate, Lethal Rays: this ultimate gives her a shield and CC immunity, two direct counters Azzen’ka’s kit. Best mindset: beat her to the punch when using ultimates, then disengage for the next encounter.

Raz - As an assassin, Raz threatens Azzen’Ka’s passive playstyle with his Fancy Footwork passive, but this powerful gap-closing ability also gives Azzen’Ka a better read on Raz’s movements, allowing you a better chance at landing your Sand Punch. Stay away from The Fist when he maxes out on Energy, but have confidence to trade blow for blow once Raz falls below half-health.