GradeA
Win rate48.2%
vs Solomon avg+1.9
Games26k
868321- In Deadlock, open Solomon in the Heroes menu, then Builds.
- Search for the build ID (or the name), then favourite it.
- In a match, pick it from the build list in the shop.
Author's notes
The classic 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 opening, as used by Magnus Carlsen Shred your enemies defenses with your Bishops, lock them down with your Rooks, threaten mate with your Queen in every fight, and never forget to develop your King if you're in trouble Spirit-based utility/damage build - infinite spirit resist shred and insane damage in teamfights. Notation is Nakamura v. Aronian, Dec 01 2018 Questions? Suggestions? Ping @cable in the Deadlock discord!
Items in buying order
High-Velocity Rounds 8001. e4 - Open with some gun utility. We'll develop this piece into a real threat soon.
Extra Regen 800(Optional) 2. Ke2 - Lane sustain and a solid 800 green to get to that early spike. You can replace this with other 800s from the Greens section if you prefer/aren't being harassed.
Opening Rounds 1,6003. d3 - Develops our High-Velocity rounds into extra spirit + opening gun damage, use this to set up a double bishop nuke
Extra Stamina 8004. c3 - You can't restore your own stamina and having 2 is a liability, especially when you're so floaty
Mystic Burst 8005. Qc2 - Starting development of your actual pieces, you now deal enough damage to proc this consistently
Mystic Expansion 800imbue → Setup Bishop6. f4 - This improves your bishops to an absurd extent. More squares means more damage.
Enchanter's Emblem 1,6007. e5 - A strong defensive move into spirit comps. Alternatively, replace this with Weapon Shielding into a gun heavy comp (e.g. Vindicta + Haze + Venator + Rat King)
Healbane 1,6008. d4 - Heal cut is easy to spread on Solomon and let's face it, most of your teammates aren't buying any.
Tankbuster 3,2009. Nf3 - We're out of the book now, we've developed our core pieces and we're ready to deal some real damage.
Compress Cooldown 1,600imbue → Develop Queen10. fxe5 - Your ult has an insanely long cooldown and this helps a bit; alternatively, imbue on 2 for extra shielding
Spirit Rend 3,20011. g3 - Even more spirit shred and your gun spike means you can do even more damage. Spam headshots on tanks late game for maximum throughput.
Mystic Vulnerability 1,60012. Bg2 - More shred to stack with your bishops for even more damage.
Superior Cooldown 3,20013. Ke1 - You want as much uptime on everything as possible and this gets you there.
Stamina Mastery 3,20014. Bg5 - This turns your movement from King to Queen in no time flat. You become significantly more mobile and are now able to effectively kite.
Greater Expansion 3,20015. g4 - Threaten mate in every fight by making all of your pieces massive and threatening. More squares = more targets hit.
Mystic Slow 1,60016. Nbd2 - Pin all their pawns in place by reapplying this constantly.
Spirit Resilience 3,200(Optional) 17. Bf1 - Most teams are going to hit you with more spirit than anything, replace this with a different 3200 if needed.
Escalating Exposure 6,40018. Rxf1 - You have so many bishop moves at this point that you'll max this out in no time.
Lightning Scroll 6,40019. cxd4 - Your ult has 5 chances to actually hit someone, meaning you're almost always going to land a stun that leads into your next Queen hit for insane damage.
Witchmail 6,40020. Qd3 - This is a strong anti-spirit item AND improves your cooldowns on your combo and sustain abilities.
Spirit Burn 6,40021. b3 - Significantly better late-game anti-heal option that also builds Escalating stacks for you. You can trigger this pretty easily with ult or 2 bishop hits.
Vortex Web 6,40022. Ke2 - Pull them into your queen for a guaranteed stun and a follow-up hit.
Spellbreaker 6,40023. b4 - Even more spirit resist + debuff resist (in case you're being silenced to prevent 2 usage)
Boundless Spirit 6,40024. a3 - Straight up damage.
Divine Barrier 6,40025. b5 - You already have a fairly strong dispel, but this helps with silences and gives you even more ways to save your pawns (teammates).
Refresher 6,40026. a4 - Promote a second queen.
Echo Shard 6,400imbue → Kingside Knight27. Bxe7 - Imbue on 2 for support, imbue on 3 for evil permaroot teamfight nonsense.
Superior Duration 3,20028. Qxg6 - This doesn't give you extra moves but increases the duration on all your shred, roots, and stuns.
Transcendent Cooldown 6,40029. g5 - Really good if you pick up items with cooldowns - notably Spellbreaker, Spirit Burn, Vortex Web, Divine Barrier. This is the endgame support option.
Diviner's Kevlar 6,40030. Nxd2 - This is used for one reason and one reason only: the Ult CD reduction lets you move the Queen faster. That, and you get a big barrier.
Magic Carpet 6,40031. Nf3 - This is kind of a meme item. It lets you get up above your pieces to move them more easily, yes, but the stats are pretty paltry for your kit. Get this if you really can't micro your pieces.
Rebuttal 800Melee heavy lane? Get this for a chance to turn around and pick up a kill or two on that Billy/Abrams
Sprint Boots 800If you're planning on going speed later (or want a cheeky Trophy Collector) you can grab this over Extra Regen in a passive lane.
Grit 800Gun-heavy lane? Grab this early and upgrade it to Weapon Shielding at your earliest convenience.
Enduring Speed 1,600Can be useful against a ton of slows.
Weapon Shielding 1,600Early anti-gun option. You kind of struggle against gun damage, can replace Enchanter's with this.
Counterspell 3,200In case your 2 invuln isn't enough, this is a second option.
Dispel Magic 3,200In case your 2 dispel isn't enough (e.g. Silence), this is a second option.
Bullet Resilience 3,200Brainless anti-gun. Useful into sustained gun damage characters (e.g. Rat King)
Metal Skin 3,200Anti-Haze.
Fortitude 3,200Pure HP option, good if you go jungling.
Veil Walker 3,200Allows for an incredibly stupid (and fun) invisible rook -> queen combo for picks in the late game (especially good with Refresher + Transcendent!)
Juggernaut 6,400One of the best anti-gun items in the game, slowing fire rate is insanely powerful against most gun carries (and some spirit carries too)
Kinetic Dash 1,600Probably the best Opening Rounds replacement - solves the ammo and fire rate problem all at once.
Titanic Magazine 1,600If you don't feel confident in your dash jumps and don't like Opening Rounds grab this with Swift Striker.
Swift Striker 1,600Extra fire rate, pair with Titanic Magazine to match Opening Rounds' damage.
Mystic Shot 1,600This is a pretty insane damage item late game. Pair this with Boundless Spirit for maximum damage.
Ballistic Enchantment 3,200imbue → Setup BishopThis is strictly worse than Greater Expansion, but if you find yourself wanting to maintain your shred potential while transitioning to a gun heavy build this is a decent pickup. Imbue on 1.
Headhunter 3,200Very good healing utility for Gun Solomon and extra speed to get out of dangerous spots. Works well with Transcendent Cooldown.
Sharpshooter 3,200Picking up this item locks you into a playstyle where you stay far away from the fight. This is a solid Spirit Rend alternative and pairs best with Magic Carpet and other movement items.
Weighted Shots 3,200Your build-up on shots is quite high, so this can be a useful pickup if you want to play a more close-range, aggressive style. Use this to set up your Rooks and Bishops.
Toxic Bullets 3,200Similar to Weighted, you build up this proc insanely fast and the scaling is quite good with all of your spirit investment. Consider this as a mid-game anti-heal option in a hybrid damage build.
Crippling Headshot 6,400Anti-heal that's harder to notice than Spirit Burn plus a solid dual threat shred item. Replace Spirit Rend with this if you plan on going gun-only, and get this alongside Spirit Rend for hybrid.
Silencer 6,400Solomon's very fast buildup allows him to proc this quickly in fights AND this helps you shut down enemy spirit carries. Get this into an all-spirit lineup for your gun/hybrid build.Ability order
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup BishopAbility 1 | I | II | III | |||||||||||||
| Kingside KnightAbility 2 | I | II | III | |||||||||||||
 Rook BatteryAbility 3 | I | II | III | |||||||||||||
| Develop QueenUltimate | I | II | III |
unlock I II III upgrade tiers
Build from Deadlock's in-game build browser; win rate from matches played with it this patch (all ranks). All Solomon builds →