Kahlii: The Aspect of Vengence

Build and Guide Kahlii: The Aspect of Vengence


Cheat Sheet
Skill build

Incorporeal > Grievance > Eternal Blame

Talents

Flicker, Heal, Sprint

Items

Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks, Boomstick, Hecate’s Diadem, Staff of Nuul, Ancestral Glory

Arcana

Hex, Violate, Devour

Introduction
Kahlii’s hunger for vengeance is endless. She is so insatiable, that even after killing her devotees and devouring their memories, she torture’s their spirits with the eternal torment of reliving their gruesome deaths again and again.

In game, Kahlii is a powerful zoner and harasser who’s ability to win prolonged battles thanks to her high sustained damage differentiates her from her magical peers. She is a great wave clearer, but really shines late game, when the full power of her kit is unleashed.

Skill Build
Damnation (Passive) - Kahlii’s normal attacks pierce through their initial target, doing magic damage to enemies directly behind them.

This is an incredibly good way to hit lane opponents who are hiding from your abilities behind waves of minions. This is also just one of your wave clearing tools at your disposal.

Eternal Blame - Kahlii marks and desecrates a target area, doing 160/180/200/220/240/260 magic damage every .5 seconds that an enemy is in the zone. The target is also slowed by 15% for 2 seconds, an effect that stacks up to 5 times.

The damage is decent, but it’s the slow that makes this ability shine. Not only would a well-placed EB put some hits on an enemy, it makes them easy fodder for follow ups by either you or your teammates. It has a decent range, but the area of effect itself is rather small, so you will really have to lead the enemy a little. EB makes a very good wave clearing/farming tool, as well. Take it first, but level it last.

Incorporeal - Kahlii surrounds herself with an absorption shield. She also gains 20/25/30/35/40/45% ability power and 10/12/15/17/20/22% movement speed for 60 seconds.

This is subtly Kahlii’s greatest ability. The shield itself is useful for shrugging off pokes and can be a lifesaver in some of the more dicey trades. Combined the speed boost, Incorporeal can be the difference between getting ganked and getting away. But it’s that magic damage boost that’s the real killer. When fully upgraded, the damage even just your Damnation will do will be enough to scare people. Level this first.

Grievance - 55 vengeful wraiths fire like bullets in a straight line in front of Kahlii over 5 seconds doing 110/140/170 magic damage each hit. While channeling this attack, Kahlii can’t change facing, and will strafe in different directions instead.

As her main damage dealing attack, you can imagine how deadly 55 attacks can be while she's under the influence of Incorporeal. Eternal Blame becomes a useful setup for this ability, because the persistent slow makes enemies easier to hit.

Flicker is a solid call for Kahlii, who will need the extra mobility to avoid assassination attempts. She does her best work in team fights though, so Heal wouldn’t be a bad secondary option. If you find yourself playing Kahlii more aggressively, Sprint will help you chase down fleeing opponents.

Items
As with most mages, Orb of the Magi is the go-to first item, thanks to its power, cooldown speed, and Bide, which provides scaling ability power, and HP. Getting it early is the key to making the most out of Bide, though. From there, another set of mage standbys in Boomstick and Enchanted Kicks. Boomstick’s heavy Ability Power upgrade really kicks Kahlii into another gear once she’s buffed by Incorporeal. Add to it the magic penetration from the Kicks, and Kahlii is a floating nuke by mid game.

From there, Staff of Nuul and Hecate’s Diadem are good steps. The staff doubles up on AP, cooldown speed, and magic pierce, while Diadem supercharges your AP like a second Boomstick thanks to its passive, Warlock.

For the last item, I like Ancestral Glory. It’s big HP bonus gives you more to work with while poking, and the Resurrect passive gives you a second chance when caught out (like when you’re ulting). Another strong choice would be Holy of Holies, which gives you a big HP boost, but also supercharges your AP by 400. If you think you really need the power, HH is a good alternative.

Arcana
Magic damage and ways to make it hurt more is what Kahlii needs from her Arcana. Ability power, cooldown speed, and magic pierce will reside in Hex, Violate and Devour.

Early Game
Kahlii does her best zoning early game. Drop your Eternal Blames to corral enemies to either side of the lane; if you want them to go to the right, place it on the left. Don’t over extend, and get comfortable trading jabs under your tower. You’ll be able to burn through enemy waves comparatively quickly, and can poke through minions to hit enemy champs, thanks to your passive.

Mid Game
As you transition out of the laning phase, you’ll find some trouble getting acclimated to roaming, as Kahlii isn’t really built for quick and efficient lane rotation. Pushing lanes forward is where you’ll do your best work, but be very wary of doing it alone. Kahlii is incredibly vulnerable to ganks, even with her speed boost from Incorporeal, so stay try to convince the team to form up around you.

Late Game
Team fighting is where Kahlii works best during the final pushes to the enemy base. Her Grievance is incredibly potent by now, and all she’ll need is opportunity to use it. In big, full team bouts, let your front liners pull, dive, and isolate, and you drop your zones and spray your wraiths into the pile. All 55 don’t need to hit the same target to be effective, but make sure they all hit something.

FAQ/Tips
Don’t waste Grievance on minions, if you can avoid it. They have significant HP and will absorb damage pretty reliably for your intended targets.

You can be stunned and knocked out of Grievance prematurely, so know that once you cast it, you are at your most vulnerable.

Incorporeal’s bonuses are so useful that it’s not a terrible idea to use it every time it comes up.

Matchups
Kahlii does her best work when she can hit as much of Grievance on a single target as possible. Tanky heroes with good CC like Gildur will be how you consistently get the most out of her abilities.

In lane, you’re in luck if your opponent is someone like Aleister, who is a better zoner but has no real poke to speak of. You can boss around more patient mages like Illumia, as well, thanks to your superior zoning and damage early going.

Quick dodging heroes like Butterfly or Violet will give you a headache, as they will be incredibly tough to keep in one spot long enough to do your thing. A good Graak will pull you away from your Blames, out of your Grievance channel, and into harm’s way consistently. Rogue Valheins can flank you and stun you hard in the back line, leaving you vulnerable just long enough for him to burst you into oblivion.