Nidalee
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Excellent (9/10)
Low Investment
Rare Relics OK
Nidalee is a highly effective champion who dominates high-difficulty content at 3 stars. Players disagree about her long-term appeal. Some consider her highly champion-reliant playstyle to be linear and repetitive over time, while others appreciate her consistent burst damage and first-turn kill potential.
Transmogulator One-Turn Kill
Transforms the ephemeral copy generated by her 3-star power into a follower, enabling the Spectral Scissors duplication.
Duplicates the newly transformed follower to create a massive attacking board.
Refills spell mana upon playing Nidalee as a bush, ensuring you can immediately cast her transformation spell.
Strategy
This is Nidalee's most explosive build, capable of ending games on the first turn. The order of relics is strictly mandatory: Transmogulator must be equipped in a slot above Spectral Scissors. Play Nidalee as a bush and use her spell to transform her.
Lost Chapter refills your spell mana. Her 3-star power summons an ephemeral copy of the champion. Because Transmogulator resolves first, it transforms that ephemeral champion copy into a follower.
Spectral Scissors then resolves, duplicating that follower to create a massive attacking board.
Stun and Rally
Stuns the entire enemy board upon Nidalee's level-up, neutralizing blockers and threats.- Ensures the mana required to execute the transformation spell on the turn Nidalee is played.
Provides a Rally upon level-up, allowing for an immediate attack against the stunned board.
Strategy
A highly consistent alternative that focuses on absolute board control. By playing Nidalee as a bush and transforming her, you trigger her level-up.
Tempest Blade stuns the entire enemy board, while Crownguard Inheritance provides a Rally. This allows you to attack for massive, uncontested damage. Lost Chapter is essential to ensure you have the spell mana required to execute the transformation immediately.
Portal Pals Control
Reduces the cost of generated units, synergizing perfectly with Nidalee's transformation mechanics.- Provides crucial board control by stunning enemies upon level-up.
- Refills spell mana to guarantee the transformation sequence.
Strategy
Portal Pals synergizes exceptionally well with Nidalee's transformation mechanics, reducing the cost of generated units to 0. This build is particularly effective in adventures with modifiers that discount created cards.
This allows you to flood the board with high-value units while maintaining control through Tempest Blade stuns. Lost Chapter ensures you have the mana to initiate the transformation sequence.
Consume and Conquer
Consumes the ephemeral copy generated by her 3-star power, granting Nidalee massive permanent stats.- Provides a Rally upon level-up to immediately utilize Nidalee's newly acquired stats.
- Refills spell mana to guarantee the Turn 1 transformation.
Strategy
A powerful build utilizing only Rare and Common relics. Play Nidalee as a bush and transform her, triggering her 3-star power to create an ephemeral copy.
When attacking, position Nidalee to the left of the ephemeral copy. Corrupted Star Fragment will consume the copy before it strikes, granting Nidalee massive stats and preventing the ephemeral unit from simply dying to the strike. Crownguard Inheritance provides a Rally for an immediate second attack.
Other Relic Options
This relic is ineffective. Playing Nidalee as a bush counts as playing a follower, not a champion, so the mana refill effect will not trigger.
This relic is ineffective. Its effect does not apply to 'Shadow in the Bush', which is not classified as a champion unit.
This relic is detrimental. It duplicates the bush spell rather than the champion, leading to useless board clutter and disrupting her core strategy.
This relic is detrimental. The summoned units take up valuable board space, and Nidalee's level-down mechanic makes it less ideal for sustained board presence.
Provides Overwhelm, though it is often considered unnecessary if you are using Tempest Blade to stun blockers.
Synergizes well with Corrupted Star Fragment for additional stats and keyword generation.
Provides massive stats. Because Nidalee's bush form cost is capped at 2, the cost increase penalty from this relic is entirely bypassed.
Helps ensure you draw Nidalee in your opening hand, which is critical since her deck is highly champion-reliant.
Constellation
Nidalee is widely regarded as one of the most powerful champions in the game at exactly 3 stars. She frequently outperforms champions with 4 or 5 stars and is considered the premier Shurima option. Because her base kit is so dominant, she does not require high investment to clear the hardest content.
Survival of the Fittest
When an ally transforms, grant it +1|+1 and Impact.
Most Dangerous Game
+1 Starting Mana. When you gain the attack token, create a Clever Camouflage in hand.
Survival of the Fittest II
When an ally transforms, grant it +1|+1 and Impact. If it's the first time this round, summon an exact Ephemeral copy of it.Review
The 3-star power summons an ephemeral copy of the first unit that transforms each round. This is fundamental for her primary duplication strategies and provides a massive early power spike.
Gameplay Tips
- The Bush Mechanic
Playing Nidalee as a bush costs exactly 2 mana. Items that increase her base cost (such as Radiant Plate Armor or Voidborne Carapace) will not increase the cost of the bush, allowing you to stack massive stats without a mana penalty. Conversely, cost-reduction powers will reduce the bush's cost below 2.
- Relic Ordering is Crucial
When combining Transmogulator and Spectral Scissors, Transmogulator must be placed in a higher relic slot. This ensures the ephemeral champion copy is transformed into a follower before Spectral Scissors attempts to duplicate it.
- Avoid Converging Timelines
Do not draft the 'Converging Timelines' power. It will transform your bush units into random generic followers, completely breaking Nidalee's core gameplay loop.
- Beware of Enemy Transformations
Enemies with transform or capture effects (like Lulu) can target your bush before you have the chance to transform it, effectively removing Nidalee from the game. Pass priority to bait out enemy mana if you suspect hard removal.
- Champion Reliance
Nidalee's deck is heavily reliant on drawing and playing her. If you do not draw Nidalee, the deck struggles significantly. Prioritize powers and items that help you find her early in the match.