Blue Ezreal is the New Ezreal

"You belong in a museum!"

With Ezreal making his appearances as flavor of the month as well as his comeback to the competitive scene, one can't help but wonder why the prodigal explorer has been overshadowed by the likes of Lucian and Tristana for almost the entirety of Season 4. Not only is he regaining his dominance as an AD Carry, but has also brought along his assets to conquer the mid lane. Now back as a flexible pick, enemies can no longer assume an Ezreal will be playing in the bot lane and consider adjusting their picks in anticipation of him appearing in the mid lane. The advantage of being a flexible pick not only causes confusion, but does not require immediate commitment to a lane once selected. This allows for opportunities to adjust Blue Build Ezreal in various ways to deal with different situations.

What is Blue Build Ezreal?

"They don't know what they're up against."

The origin of the build's name comes from color that most of the core items in the build consists of which is blue! Blue Build Ezreal capitalizes on Ezreal's already short cooldowns by building items that could have a combined cooldown reduction of up to 40% so that he can utilize his abilities more often. To sustain his damage output, mana items are also incorporated into the build so that he can abuse his poke with Mystic Shot and his escape with Arcane Shift. Because of this, Ezreal transitions his strength into becoming an AD Caster that is reliant on hitting skillshots rather than an autoattack reliant AD Carry.

What are my choices?

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(in no particular order)

The constants of the Blue Ezreal build are usually the Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Muramana, and Last Whisper.

You may have to consider choosing between building either a Trinity Force or an Iceborn Gauntlet depending on the circumstances and then complementing it with either a Bloodthirster, Blade of the Ruined King, or Essence Reaver to round out the build. The sixth item, which will not be discussed in depth, is usually a defensive item but can occasionally be an offensive item as well.

Trinity Force vs. Iceborn Gaunlets

Although Trinity Force is more commonly built in the mid lane, building an Iceborn Gauntlet could still be a better option in some cases. For example, when facing off against an AD mid such as Zed or an all AD composition, having the armor could be the difference between life or death. However, if you are looking to trade some AOE poke and cooldown reduction for a big burst in damage instead, building a Trinity force would offer bonus damage equal to 200% of your AD on hit from the Spellblade passive compared to the 125% from the Iceborn Gauntlet.

Bloodthirster vs. Blade of the Ruined King vs. Essence Reaver

Having the most life steal in addition to a shield, the Bloodthirster also offers reliable damage on top of its survivability and sustainability.

Although its low damage makes the Blade of the Ruined King seem deceptively weak, its strength lies in its attack speed paired with its passive dealing 8% current health in bonus damage and offers great dueling potential with its active.

Rivaling the Bloodthirster's damage, Essence Reaver not only offers CDR which could sometimes adequately add up to a perfect 40% CDR cap, but can also restore % mana which ensures that poking can occur 24/7 without the fear of having mana depleted.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Itemizations

Trinity Force + Bloodthrister

Excels in dealing high individual poke and burst damage but is somewhat reliant on autoattacking because it lacks CDR.

Trinity Force + Blade of the Ruined King

Great dueling potential but requires you to capitalize on movement and attack speed while maintaining autoattack range since it lacks poke damage.

Iceborn Gauntlet + Bloodthirster

Effective in dealing high AOE poke dmage while mitigating AD damage with armor and shields but lacks attack speed and is reliant on landing skillshots.

Iceborn Gauntlet + Blade of the Ruined King

Fantastic self-peeling and crowd control slows but lacks overall damage in comparison to others.

Iceborn Gauntlet + Essence Reaver

Provides maximum cooldown reduction and mana restoration to poke and escape frequenty but also lacks attack speed and relies on landing skillshots.

 

Ezreal is unique because he follows a different itemization path from traditional AD Carries and has the advantage of not only being played in the bot lane, but also in the mid lane. Experiment with different  itemizations to find out for yourself which works best and is the most enjoyable to you.

It's time to get our hands dirty.