How to beat Azir

Common role: Mid

The best counter to Azir in Mid is Kog'Maw: 68.8% win rate over 43 ranked games on patch 26.17.

The emperor of sand soldiers — a lategame DPS army with a wall ultimate.

What makes Azir dangerous

Azir commands sand soldiers that attack for him from range, repositions them with Q slashes, dashes to a soldier (E, with a shield) enabling the famous insec, and his ultimate is a soldier wall that knocks enemies away — or scoops your whole team into his.

How to play against Azir

• 1Kill lane pressure: he's weak levels 1-5 with slow soldier cooldowns.
• 2Stand away from soldier range — they do the damage, not Azir.
• 3Respect the E-Q-R insec when you dive him.
• 4Force fights before three items — his lategame DPS is oppressive.

Weaknesses to exploit

• ✓Weak early laning and heavy mana costs.
• ✓Soldiers can't attack what's on top of Azir himself in melee gaps.
• ✓High skill floor — punishes his own misplays.
• ✓Scaling-dependent: behind Azir is a minion.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Azir's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  Shurima's Legacy

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

  Strong: he raises a sun-disc turret from destroyed towers. Weak: situational — matters only in siege stalemates.

• Q
  Conquering 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.

  Strong: repositions all soldiers with a slowing sweep. Weak: soldier micro costs him time — jump him during the shuffle.

• W
  Arise!

  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.

  Strong: soldiers attack for him at range — he never touches you. Weak: soldiers are stationary — step out of their poke bubble.

• E
  Shifting 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.

  Strong: a shielded dash to a soldier — engages and escapes both. Weak: needs a soldier placed — his mobility is prep-work.

• R
  Emperor's Divide

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

  Strong: a soldier wall that knocks away or scoops teams (the insec). Weak: fixed width — flank around its edges in fights.

Itemization

Punish early, end mid-game. Dive with the insec in mind — bait his E-shield first, then commit.

This guide covers Azir's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.