Combos · Mid

Azir combos

the Emperor of the Sands

3 Azir combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is W › AA › Q. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Azir combos

Harassment

W › AA AA › Q

When: An enemy is within range.

Arise! summons a soldier that attacks in your place; Conquering Sands sends all the soldiers over an area: they damage and slow for 1 second.

The engage

W › E › Q › R

When: A carry is within range.

Shifting Sands gives you a shield and dashes you to a soldier; if it hits a champion, a new soldier is prepared and the dash stops; Emperor's Divide pushes back.

Defense

R › E

When: An enemy dives.

Emperor's Divide summons a wall of soldiers that charge forward, pushing back and damaging the enemies.

Common mistakes

• Not placing soldiers before attacking.
• Casting Shifting Sands with no soldier nearby.
• Using the ultimate with no direction.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Conquering Sands	14/12/10/8/6	70/80/90/100/110 Mana	740
W · Arise!	1.5	40/35/30/25/20 Mana	525
E · Shifting Sands	22/20.5/19/17.5/16	60 Mana	1100
R · Emperor's Divide	120/105/90	100 Mana	250

Official ability descriptions

PassiveShurima's Legacy

Azir can summon the Disc of the Sun from the ruins of allied or enemy turrets.

QConquering Sands

Azir sends all Sand Soldiers towards a location. Sand Soldiers deal magic damage to enemies they pass through and apply a slow for 1 second.

WArise!

Azir summons a Sand Soldier to attack nearby targets for him, replacing his basic attack against targets within the soldier's range. Their attacks deal magic damage to enemies in a line.

EShifting Sands

Azir shields himself briefly and dashes to one of his Sand Soldiers, damaging enemies. If he hits an enemy champion, he instantly readies a new Sand Soldier for deployment and halts his dash.

REmperor's Divide

Azir summons a wall of soldiers which charge forward, knocking back and damaging enemies.

Skill order

Max order: W > Q > E57.5% · 40 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q		●						●		●		●	●
W	●			●	●		●		●
E			●											●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 45 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Azir

• Be careful about putting down both of the soldiers stored by Arise! Unless you're going all-in, always have a soldier in your back pocket if you need to escape over a wall or if you misposition your other soldier and need damage now.
• In the lane, try to position your soldiers between the enemy's minions and the enemy champion. This way you can use them both to last hit and to project threat onto your lane opponent.
• Think of Emperor's Divide as a defensive ability first and foremost. Use it when the enemy engages on you or your allies. Remember that your team can walk through the soldiers summoned by Emperor's Divide and use this to your advantage when enemy melee champions engage on you.
• Be a bird!

How to play around Azir's combos

• Azir relies on his soldiers to deal damage and can only move them so often. Try to capitalize on windows of time when his soldiers are stationary.
• Azir has immense damage over a prolonged amount of time but lacks the upfront burst of other mages. Try to burst him out before he can turn a confrontation around.
• Try to think of Sand Soldiers as fire. Don't stand in the fire.

Frequently asked questions

Build, runes and counters: full Azir guide · every champion's combos · tier list