Basics of the Blue Build

Editor's note: this is a guest editorial but if you want to see the official Team Dignitas Blue Ezreal guide by Imaqtpie then have a look here.

 

The most popular build to arise in recent weeks, and arguably the reason for Ezreal’s rapid jump from never played to a common pick in competitive play, the blue build aims to maximize poke and mana sustain.

Spirit of the Lizard Elder

The big innovation of this build is the addition of this jungle-oriented item. While not the strongest trading item per se, it does offer incredible poke, and on Ezreal, that’s all that’s required. The item does NOT offer a huge power spike like a B.F. Sword would for example, but it does offer strong laning due to it’s damage over time and regenerative properties.

Muramana

The core of this build is almost certainly Muramana as it provides the vast majority of it’s damage. In more recent competitive iterations, the tear is sometimes the first item bought, largely in order to get a faster Muramana, thusly a faster power spike. The whole idea of the build is to make up for the weak laning and lack of stats provided by Tear of the Goddess with the addition of Spirit of the Lizard Elder, and make use of the Mana > AD bonus with Iceborn Gauntlet. It also possesses a fantastic synergy with Last Whisper after the change of the toggle to physical damage.

Iceborn Gauntlet

Also known colloquially as “Frozen Fist,” this item offers fantastic kiting and defensive stats to the already strong poke of Ezreal. Combined with Lucidity boots and the passive of Ezreal’s Mystic Shot, it effectively allows an AoE slow with a thousand range on a one-second cooldown. It allows Ezreal to stay at range with Mystic Shots, and thusly bypass auto attacks entirely if the situation demands it. It allows safety and cotnrol to a champion already rich in the former, but somewhat lacking in the latter.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

Frequently upgraded with the Distortion enchantment, these boots serve again to maximize and focus on poke at the cost of auto-attacks. The idea is simple: the more Mystic Shots Ezreal can fire, the greater his poke, damage, and mobility. This aids Iceborn Gauntlet in adding to both poke and safety, as well as flexibility in teamfights. The ability to use Arcane Shift aggressively and have a reasonably reliable way to reduce the cooldown opens up new avenues of play to the Ezreal player. The Distortion enchantment also increases Ezreal’s mobility, allowing more last minute saves with Flash than before. Other possible enchantments include Furor or Homeguard, dependent largely on situation.

Last Whisper

The final item to any AD Carry build, Last Whisper, allows Ezreal to more easily deal with enemy frontlines, and shred through enemies with the Muramana toggle. Last Whisper is critical to being able to adequately deal with enemy tanks, so getting it early is often better than you might think.

Honorable Mention: Bloodthirster, Blade of the Ruined King

One of these two Lifesteal items will likely fill your sixth item slot so they deserve mentioning. While Blade of the Ruined King fits the color palette more, Bloodthirster is likely the stronger item in general. It also bears noting that Doublelift trades in the Spirit of the Lizard Elder for Bloodthirster to instead gain a stronger midgame power spike, and more damage overall. By doing this, they delay their Muramana, but, since the build is designed to use while ahead, the (hopefully) slight delay is acceptable.

Closing Thoughts

The build excels by making up for the weak early game of Tear of the Goddess with the addition of Spirit of the Lizard Elder, making it easier to reach the power of Muramana-Last Whisper. The build, minus Iceborn Gauntlet, is so strong as to see play on other champions like Jayce. The two item combo of Last Whisper-Muramana has also seen much play, being rushed on AD casters Jayce and Kha’Zix. The build is not without it’s weaknesses, but is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Expect to see it frequently in your games, and learn how to play with it because it seems likely to stay.