About Me

I'm Austin or BodyThoseFools. I'm rank 1 Azir world. I have almost 9 Million mastery points total on Azir and have played him since his release in 2014. I'm a Grandmaster mid laner, but I peaked Challenger in Seasons 9 and 10. I solo-killed Faker multiple times since he came to NA.

Azir, the Emperor of the Sands Azir is one of the most fun and interesting champions in the game, albeit incredibly hard to learn and play properly. His damage is insane and his carry/1v9 potential is incredible. He's very unique in the sense that you can't level any of his abilities at level 1, rather W is leveled for you. Azir doesn't have any horrible matchups, which makes him a solid pick for any team comp. Learning him, however, is a different story. With the help of this guide, I will teach you everything you need to know about Azir!

PROS + Insane solo carry potential + Safe/strong/oppressive laning phase + Strong mid and late game + Flexible to Top, Mid, and even ADC + Amazing damage output + Excels in teamfights + Extremely fun + Not many bad matchups + Can make flashy, montage plays Azir is the most fun and fulfilling champ in the game (at least for me). He has so much outplay potential in every single situation. With Azir, there are no limits. There is always a higher level of play you can obtain because of how complicated he is fundamentally.

CONS - Low damage early game - Hard to play to his fullest potential - Susceptible to ganks early game - Hard to last hit with - Even harder to last hit under tower - Requires good positioning - Very squishy - Did I mention hard to play? The biggest issue with Azir is that he is extremely hard to play and master. It will take you many, many games to learn how to play him properly as well as learn all of his mechanics. However, with the help of this guide, you will learn everything you possibly can about Azir!

Shurima's Legacy (P) RANGE: 400 COST: 0 mana COOLDOWN: 180

Azir can resurrect a turret every 180 seconds. The turret deals an additional 15% ability power as physical damage, but disintegrates over 60 seconds. This ability is probably the coolest in the entire game. You get to make your own turret. You can be dead and still get gold/xp from minions/kills. It's apperance changes with each of Azir's different skins, too.

Conquering Sands (Q) RANGE: 740 COST: 55 mana COOLDOWN: 14 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 6

Azir orders all Sand Soldiers to dash toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all enemies they pass through and slowing them by 25% for 1 second. Enemies hit by subsequent soldiers are instead slowed by an additional 25% per soldier. This ability is Azir's main harass tool. The slow is good for setting up ganks. Coupled with Arcane Comet and Scorch, Azir's early game poke can be oppressive.

Arise! (W) RANGE: 500 COST: 40 mana + 1 stack COOLDOWN: 1.5 RECHARGE: 8 / 7.5 / 7 / 6.5 / 6

Passive: Azir gains scaling attack speed. Upon having 3 or more Sand Soldiers, he gains additional scailng attack speed for 5 seconds. Active: Azir summons a Sand Soldier for 10 seconds. When Azir attacks an enemy near a Sand Soldier, he instead orders the soldiers to stab, dealing magic damage in their direction (depending on level). This ability has 2 charges and cannot attack structures, wards, and traps. This ability is Azir's main ability. Just like Shurima's Legacy, I think this ability is one of the coolest in the game. Summoning and ordering a soldier to do stuff for you? Badass! It's a bit hard to get used to at first, but the more you practice, the easier it will become. There's a tether for his soldiers. You must be in range of said tether to use his soldiers or they will do nothing. If you wander off too far, the soldier will disappear. If you use Arise! within the range of an enemy tower, it will only last for 5 seconds instead.

Shifting Sands (E) RANGE: 1100 COST: 60 mana COOLDOWN: 14 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 6

Azir grants himself a shield for 1.5 seconds and dashes to one of his Sand Soldiers, dealing magic damage to enemies he passes through. If Azir hits an enemy champion, he stops and gains a Sand Soldier charge. This ability is Azir's main escape and engage tool. When used with Conquering Sands, Shifting Sands can set up some insane plays in teamfights or be used to reposition, escape ganks, or traverse the map faster. The shield will help with poke as well.

Emperor's Divide (R) RANGE: 400 (front) / -325 (behind) COST: 100 mana COOLDOWN: 120 / 105 / 90

Azir summons a wall of armored soldiers that charges forward, knocking back enemies and dealing magic damage. The soldiers remain, blocking enemy paths for 5 seconds. This ability is what Azir is known for: the Shurima Shuffle, the Revenant Shuffle, etc. This ability does insane damage and can single-handedly win you teamfights if used properly. However, you don't need to make the flashy plays. It is just as good to be used for peeling your team.

Spreadsheet is here.

This spreadsheet has all the advice from the Threats section in this guide. It also includes all viable runes for each matchup, recommended summoner spells, all enemy cooldowns, an example build, and links to all VODs where I've played each matchup.

Azir is very diverse with his rune choices. He is versatile with many keystones. A lot of people have different pages they prefer; I will be sharing which runes I prefer and why. Refer to the example pages at the top of the guide for full example pages.

SORCERY

EXPLANATIONS Arcane Comet is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better for poke and into mages / long range champs. It's good into immobile squishy champs. It feels really good vs Zed and LeBlanc, too. I trade slightly outside their range with Q+AA and back off before they can use their combo. Summon Aery is decent into shorter ranged matchups, but I'd much rather use either Hail of Blades or Lethal Tempo into those matchups. Phase Rush is bad on Azir so never take it.

Manaflow Band is the best 2nd rune in Sorcery for Azir. Azir's mana and mana regen are pretty awful before Lost Chapter, so Manaflow Band helps with that. Azir's ideal trade pattern is W + Q + AA when both Arcane Comet and Manaflow Band are available to maximize efficiency. Nullifying Orb and Nimbus Cloak aren't that good when compared to Manaflow Band, so just take Manaflow Band every game.

Transcendence is the best 3rd rune in Sorcery for Azir. The free ability haste helps Azir a lot. The level 11 part of Transcendence makes Azir's mid game even stronger with the takedown cooldown reduction. Celerity is pretty useless on Azir, as he doesn't benefit from move speed bonuses in any way. Absolute Focus is rarely ever my choice here because the free stats from Transcendence are just too good to give up.

Gathering Storm is the best 4th rune in Sorcery for Azir. Waterwalking is useless, so never take it. Scorch used to be good for early game poke, but since the Durability Update on 12.10, playing for lane isn't relevant anymore; play for scaling. Gathering Storm is the best option by far.

OR

Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.

DOMINATION

EXPLANATIONS Hail of Blades is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better into shorter range champs as well as ADCs and Assassins. It's good into immobile squishy champs, too. I prefer Hail of Blades over Electrocute because it has a shorter cooldown and gives Azir more DPS. Predator is very bad and Dark Harvest doesn't synergize with Azir that well, so never take either.

Cheap Shot is the best 2nd rune in Domination for Azir. Azir can proc Cheap Shot with both his Q and R, but ideally just his Q for poke in lane. I usually take Cheap Shot with either Ingenious Hunter (if I go Luden's Tempest) or Ultimate Hunter (if I go Liandry's Torment). Taste of Blood is okay, but I strongly prefer Cheap Shot to win early trades and poke my laner out of lane. Sudden Impact will rarely be used because of how long Shifting Sands' cooldown is.

Ghost Poro is the best 3rd rune in Domination for Azir. You can start stacking it level 1 with your Stealth Ward. I prefer it over both Zombie Ward and Eyeball Collection because it's independent of killing wards and snowballing (it's guaranteed).

Ingenious Hunter and Ultimate Hunter are the best 4th runes in Domination for Azir. Ingenious Hunter is good when you build Luden's Tempest for your mythic; the more stacks of Ingenious Hunter you have, the shorter cooldown Luden's Tempest will be. I personally prefer Ultimate Hunter because I love making plays with my ult. Both of these runes are viable, but Ultimate Hunter is viable with both Luden's Tempest and Liandry's Torment. Treasure Hunter is very bad and Relentless Hunter isn't really good for Azir because it doesn't synergize with his playstyle.

OR

Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.

PRECISION

EXPLANATIONS Lethal Tempo is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better into melee champs, usually bruisers and tanks OR when you want to play for a max scaling build. I prefer Lethal Tempo over Conqueror because the attack speed and extra range is better than a small amount of damage and healing. Press the Attack and Fleet Footwork should never be taken on Azir; they are very bad.

Presence of Mind is the best 2nd rune in Precision for Azir. Azir can proc Presence of Mind rather easily because he's ranged. The extra mana regen will help him with his horrible early game mana costs and mana regen. The mana you get from takedowns can be insanely helpful in skirmishes and teamfights. Overheal is useless, but Triumph is okay. If I'm ever going Precision, however, I'm almost always going to take Presence of Mind just because of how well it synergizes with Azir's kit.

Legend: Alacrity is the best 3rd rune in Precision for Azir. Attack speed synergizes so well with Azir's kit. More attack speed means more soldier attacks, which means more damage. Legend: Tenacity isn't very good on Azir because if you get CC'd, you're probably already dead. Legend: Bloodline does nothing for Azir, so never take it.

Coup de Grace and Cut Down are the best 4th runes in Precision for Azir. Take Cut Down when the your laner and/or the enemy team has a lot of HP stacking champs / frontline. Otherwise, you should take Coup de Grace. Last Stand doesn't really do much for Azir; he's already very squishy, so being low HP will just mean he's easily susceptible to dying.

OR

Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.

INSPIRATION

EXPLANATIONS First Strike is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better into shorter ranged champs and/or when you want to play for a max scaling build. Glacial Augment and Unsealed Spellbook are bad on Azir, so never use them.

Magical Footwear is good because it allows you to hit your item spikes faster without spending 300G on boots. Perfect Timing is something I'd take if I was playing against champs with point click Ults like Kayn, Rek'Sai, or Zed. Hextech Flashtraption is pointless so never take it.

Both Future's Market and Biscuit Delivery can be considered. I prefer Future's Market when I take First Strike and Magical Footwear. More gold = more items.

Cosmic Insight is the only rune I'd consider in the 4th row for Azir. He doesn't benefit from Approach Velocity and you're always starting Doran's Ring so Time Warp Tonic is pointless.

OR

Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.

Flash is a must-have on Azir in my opinion. You can use it to escape, last hit kills, or set up a shuffle. Take this every game. Teleport is a solid choice to pair with Flash. If you have no kill pressure, or if you just prefer to play safer and with/for your team, Teleport is better. Ignite is my favorite spell to take on Azir. I usually play to win lane, so having Ignite will help me have more kill pressure. Poke enemies down with Arcane Comet, Scorch, and Cheap Shot, then all-in and finish them off with Ignite. Exhaust is very situational. I would only take Exhaust into assassins such as Qiyana, Talon, or Zed OR ADCs such as Akshan, Lucian, or Quinn. However, I am very confident with Azir, so I usually just take Ignite. Cleanse is even more situational than Exhaust. I would really only take Cleanse into matchups like Ahri, Annie, or Lissandra, matchups that rely on CC to kill you OR into comps with champs that have a lot of hard CC such as Fiddlesticks, Leona, or Morgana.

This section will only cover the most viable items on Azir. If it's not here, I don't recommend building it.

Starting Items

Doran's Ring is the best starting item for Azir. Its passive helps with last hitting, which Azir struggles with immensely AND it help with his awful mana regen early game pre- Lost Chapter. Combined with Presence of Mind and/or Manaflow Band, Doran's Ring is the best starting item for Azir. Pick up 2 Health Potion as well.

First Back

Ideally, your first back every game is going to be Lost Chapter. Lost Chapter is Azir's first powerspike. The extra mana and ability haste will help his weak laning phase immensely. If you don't have enough gold for Lost Chapter, build into it with Amplifying Tome first and Sapphire Crystal second.

Dark Seal is good if you have to reset early or if you get first blood. It will help you snowball your games. You can eventually build it into Mejai's Soulstealer to help you snowball even harder.

Refillable Potion is good if you have to reset early, but don't have enough gold for Boots or Dark Seal.

Boots

You can pick up Boots early if you're against a laner with skillshots or if they're higher mobility to match their movement speed.

Sorcerer's Shoes are the best boots on Azir. More damage!! You should get these every game.

Berserker's Greaves feel good, but you will lack damage. Coupled with Lethal Tempo and Nashor's Tooth, Berserker's Greaves will make farming and skirmishes feel a lot better.

Mythics

Liandry's Torment is one of the best mythics on Azir. Build Liandry's Torment when the enemy team has a lot of frontline, champs that stack HP, bruisers, and/or tanks.

Luden's Tempest is one of the best mythics on Azir. Build Luden's Tempest when the enemy team has a lot of squishy champions. If you build Luden's Tempest, consider taking Ingenious Hunter in your runes; it will reduce Luden's Tempest's cooldown.

Crown of the Shattered Queen is one of the viable mythics on Azir. Build Crown of the Shattered Queen when the enemy team has a lot of short-ranged champs and/or champs that try to dive you. Its passive will help prevent you from getting bursted when dove. It goes very well with DPS rune setups like Conqueror, Lethal Tempo, and Hail of Blades for example.

Core Build

If your laner and/or the enemy team stacks a lot of HP with their items such as Iceborn Gauntlet, Sterak's Gage, or Warmog's Armor, then Liandry's Torment is the best mythic for Azir. Liandry's Torment's passive will deal more damage to champions with more bonus health, so it' s a must have into beefy comps.

In my opinion, Nashor's Tooth is the best 2nd item for Azir. It provides an insane 2 item spike; you get 100AP for more soldier damage and 50% attack speed, which synergizes so well with Azir's kit. I have 1v9d a lot of games by going this item 2nd.

Void Staff is the best 3rd item for Azir. Most HP-stacking champions will have some form of resistances with their items such as Spirit Visage, Maw of Malmortius, or Mercury's Treads. If you forgo Void Staff, you will have a very hard time doing any damage to them. If the enemy team is immediately building MR, you can actually build Void Staff 2nd to negate some of the MR, and then build Nashor's Tooth 3rd. But, ideally we're building it 3rd item just because of how strong Nashor's Tooth is as a 2nd item powerspike for Azir.

If your laner and/or the enemy team is mostly squishy, with champions such as Gangplank, Janna, or Aphelios, then Luden's Tempest is the best mythic for Azir. Luden's Tempest's passive will make your abilities hurt more, plus the mana and ability haste are both what Azir needs the most. When building Luden's Tempest, you can take Ingenious Hunter to reduce the cooldown of Luden's Tempest's passive. I prefer Ultimate Hunter in most cases regardless of my mythic, but Ingenious Hunter is good in some situations; just do what is more comfortable for you!

In my opinion, Nashor's Tooth is the best 2nd item for Azir. It provides an insane 2 item spike; you get 100AP for more soldier damage and 50% attack speed, which synergizes so well with Azir's kit. I have 1v9d a lot of games by going this item 2nd.

Void Staff is the best 3rd item for Azir. Most HP-stacking champions will have some form of resistances with their items such as Spirit Visage, Maw of Malmortius, or Mercury's Treads. If you forgo Void Staff, you will have a very hard time doing any damage to them. If the enemy team is immediately building MR, you can actually build Void Staff 2nd to negate some of the MR, and then build Nashor's Tooth 3rd. But, ideally we're building it 3rd item just because of how strong Nashor's Tooth is as a 2nd item powerspike for Azir.

Other items

Banshee's Veil is a very solid defensive item for Azir. If the enemy team has lots of pick potential with champs such as Lux, Blitzcrank, or Morgana Q, Banshee's Veil is your get-out-of-jail-free card. Build Verdant Barrier first and then finish it. You can finish Banshee's Veil earlier in your build if the enemy team has a fed AP threat.

Morellonomicon is a staple item in a lot of games in this season because there's so much healing. If you're against a laner with a lot of built in sustain such as Aatrox, Sylas, or Vladimir, OR if you're against a team comp that has a support such as Soraka or Yuumi, it is very beneficial to purchase an early Oblivion Orb and sit on it until your core items are finished. Azir can apply grevious wounds rather easily because of his range advantage, so this item is always a solid pick if your team needs anti-heal. Morellonomicon can replace your defensive item ( Zhonya's Hourglass or Banshee's Veil) or Nashor's Tooth.

Rabadon's Deathcap is really good on Azir as well as other mages; it provides the biggest possible damage spike, but it is the most expensive mage item in the game. I usually build this item either 4th or last. Late game Azir will always pack a punch, especially after you have this item.

Zhonya's Hourglass is a very solid defensive item for Azir. If the enemy team has lots of dive threats such as Leona, Hecarim, or Renekton, then Zhonya's Hourglass can come in clutch. Build Seeker's Armguard first and then finish it. You can finish Zhonya's Hourglass earlier in your build if the enemy team has a fed AD threat.

Finally, we have Elixir of Sorcery. This item is usually only bought in late game, but it's the best potion for Azir when that time comes. You'll take turrets faster and the bonus AP and mana regen will benefit you as well.

Shadowflame isn't as good anymore on Azir since the Durability Update (12.10). If you need magic penetration, Void Staff is better 99% of situations; the only time I would build Shadowflame is if they had like 5 ranged champs with a lot of shields. If they have more than 60 Magic Resist, just go Void Staff because Shadowflame's magic pen is countered by magic resist items.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter is pretty niche on Azir. I would really only build it into teams with a lot of melee champs where I'd want to self-peel or peel for my team. If there's a lot of melee champs on the enemy team, ESPECIALLY with dive potential, like Ornn, Leona, or Hecarim for example, then Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a good purchase. If Azir is very fed with Rylai's Crystal Scepter, then the enemy team will have a very hard time running away.

Full Build Examples

Coming soon!

This will feature the section from our Season 12 Ultimate Azir Guide video on YouTube! We don't have a release date yet, but we are working hard to get it done ASAP!

Azir has a pretty safe, strong, and oppressive laning phase.

Depending on your matchup, your laning will be a bit different. If you took Arcane Comet, wait for it to be active and use it whenever Manaflow Band is also active for maximum efficency.

The basic trade pattern for Azir is relatively simple: Q + AA. If you took Hail of Blades, then try to use as much of the procs as possible to maximize harass.

If you took Lethal Tempo, just be careful of the enemy's retaliation trades. Lethal Tempo is a bit weaker than Arcane Comet and Hail of Blades because it's a more scaling rune.

Azir's early game damage is rather low compared to other champs in the game, but his oppressive laning sorta makes up for it. Ideally, you'll have priority in most matchups. Not many laners can match your harass besides Xerath or Yone.

Tip: Try not to use Shifting Sands recklessly; it is your only escape ability. Without it, you are incredibly susceptible to ganks.

Tip: Use Arise! wisely; not having a solder for an escape with Shifting Sands will result in more deaths!

In mid-game, Azir's main objective is to side lane and take towers, then group with his team.

While pushing waves into turrets, make sure you have vision so you don't get collapsed on and picked with no vision; your team will lose a lot of pressure if you die.

Tip: While sieging towers, make sure to use Arise! behind you. This is for 2 main reasons: 1, Azir gets attack speed for every consecutive soldier after the 2nd with Arise! and 2, if you do get collapsed on or someone tries to engage on you, you can just use Shifting Sands to escape.

Tip: Be sure to use Shurima's Legacy either before or after sieging enemy side lanes and turrets; it will be a last line of defense for you.

Late Game

Late game is pretty much the same as mid-game, except there's a higher priority over grouping with your team because of objectives.

Ideally, you'll have Azir's core items built. Continue to side lane and push waves.

If you have Teleport, make sure you're in the side lane opposite of the next big objective. If Baron Nashor is the only objective on the map, your side lane will be Bot Lane. If Dragon is the only objective on the map, your side lane will be Top Lane. If you took Ignite, Exhaust, or Cleanse, make sure you're in the side lane closest to the next big objective: Baron Nashor? Top Lane. Dragon? Bot Lane.

Late game can be very stressful. Never go into any unwarded areas or you can cost your team the objective, an inhibitor, or even the game.

Utilize the same tips as discussed in the Mid Game section.

If there's any mistakes or feedback, please do not hesitate to comment on the discussion page! I will try to resolve any issues as quickly as possible :)

If you want more content, I stream daily on my Twitch channel and I upload daily to my YouTube channel!

If my guide helps you, make sure you hit the upvote button and comment! Thank you for reading and for your time!

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02/15/23 - Added embed for Azir video
07/10/22 - Added descriptions for Kalista and Kog'Maw.
07/09/22 - Matchup spreadsheet is available.
07/06/22 - Updated all matchups. Added Kalista, Kog'Maw, Olaf, and Rengar. Spreadsheet will be available soon.
06/20/22 - Small changes to the runes descriptions (Inspiration is viable); added Lucian matchup since it was forgotten, updated Akali matchup advice
06/19/22 - Fixed Camille's description (it was actually Brand's description)
06/18/22 - Added all mid lane matchups' descriptions; updated the difficulty/tier levels; top lane matchups will be updated after we finish the Top Lane tier List video on YouTube!
06/17/22 - Added Rylai's to items sections
06/16/22 - Added Crown to recommended mythics after further testing
06/14/22 - Small corrections to grammar/spelling/etc.; changed the default summoner spells to Flash, TP since it's more beginner friendly; added new rune page (Comet with Inspiration secondary)
06/13/22 - Added First Strike to Rune section. Updated Spreadsheet, Combos, and Conclusion sections.
06/12/22 - Guide finished; will add Matchup explanations at a later date