Introduced as a Dark Star – Mage unit costing 5 gold, Xerath is an extremely powerful piece in the late game with immense damage and crowd control. However, many Teamfight Tactics players only focus on the champion’s traits and use Xerath incorrectly, leading to the wasted potential of this expensive unit and unfortunate losses.
Special Item Build
Let’s explore Xerath’s ability – Dark Star Barrage: Xerath transforms, summoning meteors to fall onto the battlefield instead of basic attacks for 6/8/45 seconds. The meteors deal 300/400/2500 magic damage, and if they eliminate a target, surrounding enemies receive 150/200/1250 magic damage and are stunned for 1.5 seconds. In summary, when using this ability, Xerath will transform and basic attacks will deal magic damage.
With the mindset of a typical player, a primary Mage unit would need items for mana regeneration and AP to cast spells as early as possible. However, Xerath is the opposite; his ability does not deal a fixed amount of damage but is proportional to the number of basic attacks he performs during that transformation period.
This means that attack speed items like Guinsoo’s Rageblade are the most suitable, rather than using mana or AP items like Archangel’s Staff or Rabadon’s Deathcap. Another mistake players make is overlooking defensive items for Xerath; being a dangerous unit, your opponents will try to eliminate this champion as quickly as possible, so having a Mystic Cloak is essential to keep your carry alive longer.
A Mage that Functions Like a Marksman
Another mistake players make is trying to build a Mage comp with Xerath. While this champion indeed has the Mage class, he does not synergize well with other Mages. The current Mage – Star Guardian comp is strong for its abundant energy and burst damage. In contrast, Xerath is essentially a damage-over-time dealer; if he doesn’t have a strong frontline, he cannot deal damage.
Therefore, Xerath seems to be more suitable for a Dark Star comp. Being buffed by Karma to increase attack speed will help this champion deal damage much better. Moreover, with the stacking damage mechanism of this trait, Xerath can still be effective whether he is eliminated early or survives until the end, rather than being completely “useless” in a Mage comp.
Conclusion
Xerath is a powerful champion, but his character is incredibly unique; you need to understand this to avoid unnecessary mistakes that lead to failure even after investing a significant amount of gold to keep him alive.