Idea for an Azir Rework (with Pictures!)
Passive: Blessing of Shurima Azir can sense the stirrings of Shurima beneath Runeterra. In a medium-sized area around him, Azir can see hidden Sand Dunes that always spawn in a fixed location near him, but cannot be revealed unless he is close to them. When converted into a Sand Soldier by Be Reborn, a Sand Dune cannot spawn in the same spot for some time. https://s30.postimg.org/v18ia24fl/azir_q1.png
Q: Be Reborn Active: Rise for the Emperor Casting Be Reborn on top of or near a Sand Dune immediately converts them into a Sand Soldier, now visible to everyone. The reticle for Be Reborn is medium-sized, meaning you can summon multiple Sand Soldiers if you position it over Sand Dunes correctly. If an enemy unit is in the range of Be Reborn, all Sand Soldiers summoned rush to the enemy and attack them relentlessly. https://s30.postimg.org/rgrfge89d/azir_q2.png https://s30.postimg.org/4i6kfnolt/azir_q3.png
Passive: Shuriman Defense Azir gains a stack of Sand Guardian based on how many Sand Soldiers are close to him, increasing his defenses with each stack
W: Sand Dowsing Active: Live for Me Azir can immediately spawn an invisible Sand Dune at the target location. Streams of sand issue to the location, but opponents cannot see where the actual dune is placed. https://s23.postimg.org/93uytk6sb/azir_w1.png Passive: The Royal's Privilege Every point in this ability increases the rate at which Sand Dunes spawn and also the area in which Azir can detect them.
E: Desert Vigor Active 1: Valor for Shurima Active 2: Surge Forward This ability has a 2-stack system that can be immediately cast back-to-back. Upon first activation, all Sand Soldiers in play gain a percentage of extra attack speed and damage. Upon second activation, they rush to the target area, bringing Azir with them and granting him a shield based on his maximum health and the amount of Sand Guardian stacks he has. https://s23.postimg.org/j1lp28tqj/azir_e1.png
R: Shuriman Phalanx Upon activation, Azir summons five Sand Sentinels that surround him in a circular formation. They move with him and damage all who approach Azir, but die in battle very easily and deal reduced damage than Sand Soldiers. These Sentinels can be moved and boosted with Desert Vigor, but due to their heavy armor can only move half the distance Sand Soldiers can, bringing Azir with them.
Inspiration: Azir is a mechanically complex champion and when I was thinking of a possible rework, I thought of other complex champions (namely Taliyah and Zyra) that could lend mechanics to Azir and give him a unified theme. Right now, Azir is a combination Sieger/Defender/Assassin/ADC thing, with lots of cluttered abilities and no real sense of direction.
The first step is to change his Passive. His current Passive, Will of the Emperor, is very cool and ties into his lore and reveal video, but does not mesh with his gameplay at all, really. Changing his passive (and by extension, his Sand Soldiers) to a set-spawn system like Zyra made a lot of sense to me. Remember, these dunes spawn in predictable, consistent locations, not the random mess Zyra grows. And this makes sense: Zyra is creating a crazy killer garden, but Azir is creating a structured Shuriman Army. Same concept, very different execution. Also, Sand Dune don't really spawn. They are generated when the game begins and are revealed when Azir gets close to them. When he uses one to create a Soldier, that dune will respawn in the same place over time. So think of this ability like a combination of Zyra's Garden of Thorns and Taliyah's Worked Earth.
For his Q, Be Reborn, I was thinking of a way to combine his current Q, Conquering Sands, and his current W, Arise! into a single consistent ability. By taking yet another page from Zyra's book and allowing Be Reborn to be cast in an AoE instead of summoning a single Soldier created a really cool possible way of playing Azir. Capitalizing on an opponent's misstep and summoning one or two Soldiers and marking them with Be Reborn to be attacked by them all in one swift motion rewards good Azirs by giving them a decent amount of damage and bad ones by removing some of their dunes from play if miscast.
His W was inspired by water dowsing, a technique used to find water by waving a rod over the ground. As you can see, there's a bit of reverse roleplay going on here. This ability allows the player to quickly combo with an extra Soldier if they have the timing, or to bolster their defenses with the abilities passive. Similar to Taliyah's Worked Earth, the player is incentivized to put lots of points in this ability to reduce the long respawn time of Sand Dunes.
His E was devised as way to combine his old Q and E while retaining a level of forgiveness if the player messed it up. Since the soldiers dash forward and drag Azir along for the ride, he can wind up in a very unpleasant situation. Thus, he gains a shield based on his max health and the amount of Sand Guardian stacks he has, which is itself dependent on the amount of Sand Soldiers on the field near Azir. This means that if the Azir players take the time to bolster their defenses before going in, they get a bigger shield and thus a better chance of surviving.
His R was to add something brand-spanking new to his kit, the Sand Sentinel. What Emperor just has offense soldiers, no defense? Bad ones. Therefor, Azir can summon this special unit with his ultimate and hunker down for the long count or move forward as unit with the Sentinels and the Soldiers acting as a full-fledged army!
Let me know what you think!
