Ambessa
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Excellent (9/10)
High Investment Required
Epic Relics
Ambessa is highly regarded as a top-tier Noxus champion with an incredibly fun, aggressive, board-centric playstyle. Her ability to command and duplicate troops makes her a formidable threat, though she requires significant constellation investment to reach her maximum potential.
Turn 1 Decimation
Enables early plunder activation.
Reduces Ambessa's cost when combined with Swain's Raven Army.
Guarantees drawing a Legion Marauder with an Epic item.
Strategy
This optimal setup allows Ambessa to be deployed on the first turn. The plunder effect from Swain's Raven Army and Packed Powder reduces her cost, while Found Fortune guarantees drawing a Legion Marauder equipped with an Epic item. This combination reliably activates her 6-star power immediately, establishing an overwhelming early board presence.
Phalanx Commander
- Ensures consistent access to Legion Marauder.
Synergizes with her 4-star power to grant Barrier and keywords.
Protects fragile units from targeted removal.
Strategy
This build focuses on protecting fragile units and generating keywords. Perfect Hex Core synergizes flawlessly with her 4-star power to grant Barrier, while Black Shield protects low-health Marauders from targeted removal. Found Fortune ensures consistent access to scaling units.
Sacrificial Vanguard
Provides immediate strike removal upon summoning.- Stacks for additional strike removal.
Revives Ambessa to trigger summon effects again.
Strategy
This rare-only build relies on intentionally sacrificing Ambessa in combat. The Guardian Angel revives her, triggering the Stalker's Blade strikes repeatedly. This generates multiple Midnight Raid spells, allowing for rapid scaling and continuous board control.
Other Relic Options
This signature relic is considered highly inefficient. Its effect is too slow for Ambessa's aggressive game plan and suffers from inconsistent activation if she levels up during combat.
Provides essential survivability for Ambessa at lower constellation levels. However, once her 4-star power is unlocked, her innate Barrier generation makes this relic redundant.
Exceptionally powerful in adventures with high starting mana, allowing for duplicated Conscription spells to rapidly flood the board.
Grants Overwhelm to her printed units, ensuring that her massive board presence translates directly into Nexus damage.
Redundant on Ambessa, as her base deck and generated spells already provide ample ways to rally and bypass blockers.
Constellation
Ambessa is a formidable board-centric champion whose power scales significantly with constellation investment. Her 2-star upgrade was crucial for her cohesiveness, transforming her into a premier unit-copying commander.
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
This upgrade represents a massive power spike and is considered essential for her optimal game plan. Granting Barrier on target allows Ambessa to safely execute Midnight Raids and protects her fragile copied units during aggressive attacks.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.
Out of my way!
When you attack with 10+ total Power, kill the strongest backrow enemy.Review
An incredibly powerful board-control tool that instantly eliminates major threats. Players disagree about its interaction with Rictus; some consider the overlapping targeting to be slightly redundant, while others find the sheer removal power invaluable. Note that this execute effect does not work against the Baron Nashor adventure boss due to its inherent immunities.
Gameplay Tips
- Optimize the Deck
Cut Kato the Arm as early as possible to improve consistency. If using the Found Fortune relic, avoid drafting any other 3-cost cards to guarantee drawing Legion Marauder.
- Prioritize Mana Generation
When selecting powers or upgrades, prioritize acquiring an extra mana crystal over reducing the cost of Conscription. A permanent mana advantage benefits her entire aggressive curve.
- Leverage Sorcery
The Sorcery power is a top-tier choice, providing the necessary spell mana to cast Conscription and Midnight Raids without slowing down unit deployment.
- Understand Boss Immunities
Be aware that Ambessa's 6-star execute ability does not function against bosses immune to kill effects, such as Baron Nashor. Plan for direct damage in these specific encounters.
- Exploit Epic Escapades
Ambessa excels in adventures with the Epic Escapades mutator, as her core spells are both Epic rarity and benefit massively from the cost reduction.