Ambessa
View on Wiki
Excellent (9/10)
High Investment Required
Epic Relics
Ambessa is a high-tier aggressive champion who excels at board control through unit duplication and removal. While functional at lower star levels, she scales tremendously with investment, transforming from a solid unit spawner into an unstoppable force capable of turn-one victories at maximum potential. Her gameplay fulfills the fantasy of a general commanding an army, though her signature relic is notably suboptimal.
Noxian Blitzkrieg
Reduces Ambessa's cost to enable an immediate deployment, facilitating a Turn 1 offensive.
Provides further cost reduction and a stat boost upon summoning, ensuring she can be played immediately to trigger her star powers.
Upon summoning Ambessa, this draws a card (reliably Legion Marauder due to deck composition) and grants it an Epic item. Playing the drawn unit immediately triggers Ambessa's 6-star power on the very first turn.
Strategy
This build focuses on maximum aggression and tempo. By stacking cost-reduction relics, you can play Ambessa on Turn 1. Found Fortune guarantees a powerful unit draw (usually Legion Marauder), allowing you to flood the board instantly. This sequence activates her 6-star power immediately, establishing overwhelming board control before the opponent can react.
Legion Protector
Provides Spellshield to protect Ambessa from immediate removal, addressing her vulnerability on the turn she is played.- Ensures consistent access to Legion Marauders or Rictus with enhanced stats, fueling the unit-printing strategy.
Grants Overwhelm to the entire board. While Legion Marauders have native Overwhelm, this ensures Rictus and Ambessa herself can push damage through blockers.
Strategy
A more balanced approach that prioritizes consistency and protection over pure speed. Black Shield ensures Ambessa survives removal spells upon entry, which is critical for her engine to start. The Beast Within ensures that the wide board you generate translates directly into Nexus damage.
Resourceful Commander
Refills spell mana each round, ensuring you can always cast Conscription or other generated spells without sacrificing unit development.
Triggers a strike upon summon, allowing Ambessa to immediately remove a threat or activate on-strike effects.
Grants Overwhelm, allowing Ambessa to contribute to Nexus damage alongside her army.
Strategy
This build utilizes common and rare relics to maintain board control and resource generation. Archangel's Staff is particularly valuable for fueling the constant stream of Conscription spells needed to duplicate your strongest followers.
Other Relic Options
Synergizes exceptionally well with her 4-star power, granting additional keywords and creating 'burst-speed' barriers when cards are played.
Useful for the 'printer' strategy, creating 1/1 copies of support units like Rictus to scale the board rapidly.
Her signature relic. Generally considered suboptimal compared to generic options due to inconsistent triggers and low impact.
While Twin Drakehounds is her signature relic, expert analysis suggests avoiding it in favor of relics that offer protection, cost reduction, or board-wide buffs. Perfect Hex Core is a strong alternative for players focusing on keyword generation.
Constellation
Ambessa is functional at 3 stars, but her kit feels significantly more cohesive with higher investment. Her 2-star power change was critical for her identity, allowing for unit duplication. She scales exceptionally well into high-difficulty content with her 4 and 6-star upgrades.
Military Training
When an ally attacks, grant allies with the same name everywhere +1|+0.
Reinforce the Formation
+1 Starting Mana. Round Start: Create a Conscription, or if you already have one, reduce its cost by 1.
Military Training II
When an ally attacks, grant allies with the same name everywhere +1|+1.
Phalanx
When you target an ally, give it Barrier this round.Review
Phalanx: This upgrade is a massive survivability spike. By granting Barrier to the target and newly conscripted units, it allows Ambessa to attack into larger threats safely. It effectively unlocks her ability to trade aggressively without losing board presence.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.
Out of my way!
When you attack with 10+ total Power, kill the strongest backrow enemy.Review
This power transforms Ambessa into a removal powerhouse. It allows her to instantly kill the strongest backrow enemy when attacking with sufficient power. While this can technically have anti-synergy with Rictus's stun (as they may target the same unit), the instant kill is universally superior to a stun. It enables Turn 1 wins against end-game bosses like Aurelion Sol.
Gameplay Tips
Rictus is the Win Condition
While Ambessa is the champion, her follower Rictus is often the engine of the deck. Focus on using Conscription to print copies of Rictus, as his ability to scale and disrupt the enemy board often surpasses Ambessa's own direct impact. In many runs, Rictus with items will be your primary carry.
Deck Optimization
To maximize consistency, especially when using the Found Fortune relic, you should aggressively cut weaker cards from the starting deck. 'Kato The Arm' is widely considered the first cut due to his high cost and low comparative impact. Keeping the 3-cost slot clear ensures Found Fortune always draws Legion Marauder.
Manage the Attack Token
Ambessa excels at utilizing the attack token multiple times per turn. Use generated spells and rallies on your off-turn to maintain offensive pressure. However, be mindful that Ambessa herself needs to survive these attacks; leverage the Barrier from her 4-star power to keep her healthy during repeated swings.
Avoid the Signature Relic
Twin Drakehounds is broadly assessed as a weak option for Ambessa. Its effect is inconsistent and offers far less utility than standard options like Black Shield or Stalker's Blade. Do not prioritize purchasing or equipping this relic over the recommended builds.
Prioritize Mana Gems
When given the choice between a general +1 Mana Gem and reducing the cost of her champion spell 'Conscription', prioritize the Mana Gem. The flexibility of having more mana for all cards generally outweighs the specific discount, preventing dead hands in the early game.