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Thanatos, the Hand of Death [s.4.1]

10 6 85,890
6.9
by MountainSlayer updated February 24, 2017

Smite God: Thanatos

Build Guide Discussion 11 More Guides
Choose a Build: Hand of Death
Hand of Death Double D
Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Thanatos Build

Starting Items #1

Build Item Charged Morningstar Charged Morningstar
Build Item Boots Boots

Starting Items #2

Build Item Charged Morningstar Charged Morningstar
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
3
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
3

Core

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Jotunn's Wrath Jotunn's Wrath

Offensive

Build Item Qin's Sais Qin's Sais
Build Item The Crusher The Crusher
Build Item Bloodforge Bloodforge
Build Item Brawler's Beat Stick Brawler's Beat Stick

Defensive

Build Item Hide of the Nemean Lion Hide of the Nemean Lion
Build Item Gladiator's Shield Gladiator's Shield
Build Item Bulwark of Hope Bulwark of Hope
Build Item Pestilence Pestilence

Actives

Build Item Hand of the Gods Hand of the Gods
Build Item Aegis Amulet Aegis Amulet
Build Item Purification Beads Purification Beads
Build Item Sundering Spear Sundering Spear

General Final Build

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Jotunn's Wrath Jotunn's Wrath
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor
Build Item The Executioner The Executioner
Build Item Heartseeker Heartseeker

Thanatos's Skill Order

Death Scythe

1 X Y
Death Scythe
1 3 6 7 10

Scent of Death

2 A B
Scent of Death
4 8 11 12 14

Soul Reap

3 B A
Soul Reap
2 15 16 18 19

Hovering Death

4 Y X
Hovering Death
5 9 13 17 20
Death Scythe
1 3 6 7 10

Death Scythe

1 X
Thanatos flings his scythe at an enemy, dealing damage and an additional 10% of the target's maximum health against enemy gods. Enemies hit are slowed for 3s and heal Thanatos based on damage dealt. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Projectile
Damage: 100 / 170 / 240 / 310 / 380 (+60% of your Physical Power)
Bonus Damage (Gods): 10% of Max HP
Healing: 50% of damage dealt
Slow: 20%
Cost: 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65
Cooldown: 12s
Scent of Death
4 8 11 12 14

Scent of Death

2 A
Thanatos senses death, gaining immunity to Slow effects and additional move speed and Physical Penetration for 6s. His speed bonus increases up to double when moving toward an enemy god within the instant kill health threshold of his Ultimate. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Buff
Penetration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30
Move Speed: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Bonus Speed (Low Health): 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Cost: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40
Cooldown: 13s
Soul Reap
2 15 16 18 19

Soul Reap

3 B
Thanatos swings his scythe, dealing Physical damage and Silencing enemies he hits. Thanatos moves at a reduced rate while swinging. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Cone, Silence, Damage
Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+70% of your Physical Power)
Silence Duration: 1s
Cost: 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45
Cooldown: 14s
Hovering Death
5 9 13 17 20

Hovering Death

4 Y
Thanatos flaps his wings and ascends for 5s, unable to be hit. While airborne, he moves unimpeded at an increased speed before diving to his target location, dealing damage. Enemies below a Health threshold are instantly killed. All others are Stunned. Consumes 8% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Circle, Stun, Damage
Damage: 110 / 145 / 180 / 215 / 250 (+80% of your Physical Power)
Kill Health Threshold: 24 / 28 / 32 / 36 / 40%
Stun Duration: 1.5s
Bonus Move Speed: 150%
Radius: 15
Cost: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Cooldown: 90s

Lore and Stats

Thanatos

Inevitably, all mortals must die. They cling to life with fevered desperation, for death is a cold unknown, filled with uncertainty and bleak, everlasting finality. Some accept fate with grace, others are dragged, kicking and screaming, though in truth, no mortal would go to Hades willingly. They are reaped by the nightmarish God of Death, whose grim visage strikes strange against the gleeful satisfaction he feels at performing his work. Thanatos is the very face of death.

Yet, to Thanatos, Mortals are easy prey. Their end is preordained, harvesting them but a game to pass the eons, but a God, a being beyond the mortal coil, now there is a creature Thanatos eyes with greedy longing. He despises the immortality other Gods covet. To him, it is a perversion and defiance of his very purpose.

But can a God truly die? As the Heavens clash and immortal blood spills on the Earth, Thanatos hungers to find out. War is but the preamble to death, a battlefield of souls rent from their bodies, listlessly waiting to be taken by the God of Death. A war between Gods, a war of this magnitude can mean only one thing. Thanatos is about to be very, very busy.

Base Stats
Health: 390(+75)
Mana: 240(+38)
Speed: 370(+0)
Basic Attack
Attacks/Sec: 1(+1.7%)
Basic Attack Damage: 39(+2.3) +100% of Physical Power
Basic Attack Progression: 1.x/0.75.x/1.5x (Last Hit is an AOE)
Protection
Phsyical: 14(+2.9)
Magical: 30(+0.9)
Regen
HP5: 8(+0.67)
MP5: 44(+0.38)

Pros / Cons

Pro's

-High burst
-High mobility (Scent of Death gives him additional movement speed)
-Insane sustain (His Death Scythe 380 + 60%power + 10% of max health and heals him for 75% of damage dealt)
-Integrated penetration (Scent of Death grants him 35pen)



Con's

-High cooldown
-No leaps
-Little health (Max without health boosting items - 1890)
-Useless against hard CC (Gods like Slyvanas)

Skills

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20


Passive. Harvester of Souls
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Enemy gods within his ultimate's execute health threshold are revealed to Thanatos. Dealing the killing blow to enemies also empowers Thanatos, healing him based on the max hp of his target and reducing his active cooldowns. Additionally, all of Thanatos' abilities cost health and mana to use.
Ability Type: Buff
HP Restore (Gods): 20% of target's max HP
HP Restore (Minions): 10% of target's max HP
Cooldown Reduction (Gods): 5s

Thanato's passive is extremely good and can show the position of enemy movement in some cases as well. Additionally, the HP restore fits in very well with his kit, and the cooldown reduction on kills and the HP restore off kills may be the deciding factor of a 1 v X.


1. Death Scythe
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Thanatos flings his scythe at an enemy, dealing damage and an additional 10% of the target's max health against enemy gods. Enemies hit are slowed for 3s and heal Thanatos based on damage dealt. Consumes 5% of Thanatos' current HP when used.
Ability Type: Projectile
Damage: 100 / 170 / 240 / 310 / 380 (+60% of your Physical Power)
Bonus Damage (Gods): 10% of Max Health
Healing: 75% of damage dealt
Slow: 20%
Cost: 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65
Cooldown: 13s

Now Thanato's 1, Death Scythe, is the most amazing early game poke, and late game secure that I have ever seen. Against Gods like Aphrodite, His Soul Reap and Death Scythe combo will more than half hit her early game. This skill MUST be maxed first, as it will result in the best poke early game. That is if you can hit it. Another instance of use for this ability is during an unexpected brawl. You never want to use this ability when you are above 60% of your health, as it makes the lifesteal that it grants useless. Use it when you are nearly 50% of your health to boost it back up, though be weary when using this against hunters or assassins with range as good hunters will juke this ability with ease unless you are up close and personal.


2. Scent of Death
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Thanatos senses death, gaining immunity to slow effects and additional move speed and physical penetration for 6s. His speed bonus increases up to double when moving toward an enemy god within the instant kill health threshold of his ultimate. Consumes 5% of Thanatos' current HP when used.
Ability Type: Buff
Penetration: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35
Move Speed: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Bonus Speed (Low Health): 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Cost: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40
Cooldown: 13s

Scent of Death provides a nice buff to Thanatos when used, providing penetration, and movement speed. The movement speed is extremely nice early game when you have rushed Transcendence and not yet finished your Warrior Tabi or Ninja Tabi. This ability is maxed out second as it provides a nice chase along with decent penetration to make up for the early game lack of penetration items.


3. Soul Reap
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Thanatos swings his scythe, dealing physical damage and silencing enemies he hits. Thanatos moves at a reduced rate while swinging. Consumes 5% of Thanatos' current HP when used.
Ability Type: Cone
Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+70% of your Physical Power)
Silence Duration: 1s
Cost: 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45
Cooldown: 15s

Soul Reap is an nice ability that provides a nice silence, but thats about all. His silence duration does not increase when upgraded, only the cost and damage. As such upgrading this ability last is most likely your best choice as this ability should be used to cancel out invisible Loki's and to cancel out an opponents ability right before they use it (You can only know this based off of game sense). The reason why you max this skill last, is because the power this provides is not as useful as his other abilities. The main purpose of this ability is to silence his enemies and to cancel the abilities of other Gods. It also prevents Gods like Neith from using Backflip.


Ultimate. Hovering Death
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Thanatos flaps his wings and ascends for 5s, unable to be hit. While airborne, he moves unimpeded at an increased speed before diving to his target location, dealing damage. Enemies below a health threshold are instantly killed. All others are stunned. Consumes 10% of Thanatos' current HP when used.
Ability Type: Ground Target
Damage: 90 / 125 / 160 / 195 / 230 (+80% of your physical power)
Kill Health Threshold: 24 / 28 / 32 / 36 / 40%
Stun Duration: 1s
Bonus Move Speed: 150%
Radius: 15
Cost: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Cooldown: 90s

Now his ultimate. It's stupid. It's amazing. Thanatos gains the ability to instantly execute a God when its bellow the threshold and his passive, Harvester of Souls allows him to see all enemies that are below this threshold. Additionally his Scent of Death allows him to move faster when he is moving towards a God below the execution threshold. Early game, using this to engage provides a great stun and sudden attack while late game, the 40% execution is classified by some as "Broken AF".

Items

Build 1



Transcendence
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 1400 (2600)
+35 Physical Power
+300 Mana
+6 MP5

PASSIVE - You gain 15 Mana per stack, and you gain 5 stacks for a god kill and 1 stack for a minion kill (max. 50 stacks). In addition, 3% of your Mana is converted to Physical Power.

A must-have on Thanatos, as it allows his 1 to half hit during early game and to heal himself. This items provides a huge boost in power early game. Stacking this item is your priority, and do it by any means. In conquest go help the solo laner until you farmed it up. In joust steal the farm. In duel, auto-attack cancel to get the most out of it. In arena, target the minions not the enemy (don't actually). This item is amazing for Thanatos. Build it.


Warrior Tabi
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost:650 (1550)
+40 Physical Power
+18% Movement Speed


Standard item, can be swapped with Ninja Tabi if you prefer the attack speed.


Jotunn's Wrath
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost:900 (2450)
+40 Physical Power
+150 Mana
+10 Physical Penetration
+20% Cooldown Reduction


Providing Physical power, mana, pen, and cooldown reduction, Johtunn's Wrath becomes an extremely viable item and a core item on Thanatos.


Breastplate of Valor
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 1350 (2300)
+65 Physical Protection
+300 Mana
+10 MP5
+20% Cooldown Reduction


A nice item that provides protection with a nice touch of cooldown reduction. Additionally a small boost in mana to help out Transcendence. This is good when the enemy has 3 or more physicals that do a lot of damage. In the case that they have more magicals, build Bulwark of Hope or Pestilence if they have a lot of healers or insane lifesteal (Against Gods like Ra or Hel.


The Executioner
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 1000 (2250)
+30 Physical Power
+25% Attack Speed

PASSIVE - Basic attacks against an enemy reduce the target's Physical Protection by 12% for 3s (max 3 stacks).

A nice item that reduces enemies physical protection while granting attackspeed and a little physical power, a solid item overall but can be swapped for items such as Qin's Sais if you prefer the percentage damage or Heartseeker if you prefer to do abusrd amount of damage with your 1.


Heartseeker
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 500 (2100)
+25 Physical Power
+10 Physical Penetration
+10% Movement Speed

PASSIVE – Every successful Basic Attack gives you 1 stack of Focus. At 5 stacks of Focus, your next Ability consumes the stacks and deals bonus Damage equal to 100% of your Physical Power to the first Enemy God hit.

With the recent buff to Heartseeker it has become an overpowered item for Thanatos, at least statistically speaking. Heartseeker allows for you to do an extra 100% of your physical power as damage for the next ability after auto-attacking an enemy 5 times. The power that this gives Thanatos's 1, Death Scythe is insane. Though the reason why this isn't in the main build is because I personally don't use Heartseeker often but it is an extremely good option. Battle-tested. Affordable. Pretty damn over-powered.


Build 2



Warrior Tabi
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost:650 (1550)
+40 Physical Power
+18% Movement Speed


Standard item, can be swapped with Ninja Tabi if you prefer the attack speed.


Jotunn's Wrath
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost:900 (2450)
+40 Physical Power
+150 Mana
+10 Physical Penetration
+20% Cooldown Reduction


Providing Physical Power, Mana, Pen, and Cooldown Reduction, Johtunn's Wrath becomes an extremely viable item and a core item on Thanatos.


Hydra's Lament
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 1150 (2150)
+40 Physical Power
+10% Cooldown Reduction

PASSIVE - For 8s after using an ability, your next basic attack will deal an additional 30% damage. It also increases Mp5 by 2.5 per 10% of your missing Maximum Mana.

Good combination with Thantos's autoattack canceling, as it allows for more DPS, and additionally it gives you Cooldown Reduction, so your abilities continue to come up more often.



Hide of the Urchin
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 800 (2350)
+35 Physical Protection
+35 Magical Protection
+250 Health
+250 Mana

PASSIVE - You gain +3 Magical Protection and +3 Physical Protection for each god kill or assist (max. 10 Stacks).

Gives Protection, Health, and Mana, a great defense item for anyone.


Titan's Bane
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 800 (2300)
+30 Physical Power
PASSIVE - Basic attacks against an enemy reduce the target's Physical Protection by 12% for 3s (max 3 stacks).

A great pen item as it provides percentage pen, but it can be swapped with The Crusher if you feel like more Cooldown is needed, or Brawler's Beat Stick if the enemy has too many healing Gods or too much Lifesteal.


Spirit Robe
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Spirit Robe
Cost: 1000 (2500)
+40 Physical Protection
+40 Magical Protection
+10% Cooldown Reduction
+20% Crowd Control Reduction

PASSIVE - You gain an additional 15% damage mitigation for 3s whenever you are hit with a hard crowd control ability. This can only occur once every 15 seconds.

Another great defensive item, and it also provides Cooldown maxing your Cooldown and it gives Crowd Control Reduction, which is pretty useful


Offensive Alternatives



Ninja Tabi -> Warrior Tabi
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Ninja Tabi
Cost: 600 (1500)
+20 Physical Power
+100 Mana
+20% Attack Speed
+18% Movement Speed


A great alternative if you prefer attack speed, which is what I prefer fully knowing that Warrior Tabi is probably better :/


Bloodforge -> Jotunn's Wrath
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Bloodforge
Cost: 1400 (2850)
+75 Physical Power
+15% Physical Lifesteal

PASSIVE - Killing an enemy god forges a shield from their blood with equal to 200 + 10 per player level for 20s. While the blood shield is active you gain +10% movement speed.

Some prefer lifesteal, while others prefer the raw power, the shield on Bloodforge is nice as well but the CDR and power that Jotunn's Wrath gives is too good to pass up for most.


Qin's Sais -> The Executioner
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Qin's Sais
Cost: 1450 (2700)
+40 Physical Power
+15% Attack Speed

PASSIVE - On basic attack hits, deal Physical Damage equal to 4% of the target's maximum Health. This only affects gods.

Qin's Sais gives more power than The Executioner and has the passive that allows for an additional 4% damage on basic attacks over The Executioner's reduction of physical protection. In this case it is more of a choice for the play style but I prefer the extra attack speed and reduced physical protection.


The Crusher -> Heartseeker
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
The Crusher
Cost: 750 (2300)
+30 Physical Power
+15% Attack Speed
+15 Physical Penetration

PASSIVE - Successfully hitting an enemy god with a basic attack will subtract 1s from all your abilities currently on cooldown. This effect can only occur once every 5s


The Crusher gives the extra attack speed and penetration that Heartseeker does not but the mobility and the passive that Heartseeker gives is just pure overpowered on Thanatos. Being a hybrid between a brawler and an ability based God, this item fits perfectly and replacing it with The Crusher tends not to be the wisest decision.


Brawler's Beat Stick
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Cost: 650 (2200)
+40 Physical Power
+15 Physical Penetration

PASSIVE - Enemies hit by your abilities have 40% reduced healing and regeneration for 8 seconds. (Doesn't stack with Divine Ruin.)

A great anti-heal offensive item against Gods that either have insane Lifesteal or Gods that have their own healing such as Hercules. Provides nice power and decent penetration.


Defensive Alternatives



Hide of the Nemean Lion -> Breastplate of Valor
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Hide of the Nemean Lion
Cost: 1250 (2200)
+80 Physical Protection
+200 Mana
+20 MP5

PASSIVE - Reflects 25% of all Basic Attack damage back to the attacker as Physical Damage.

Hide of the Nemean Lion reflects damage and has more physical protection but I prefer Breastplate of Valor as it provides cooldown reduction. Though this can be useful against hunters if they are consistent at landing their auto-attacks since just a little damage can be reflected back.


Gladiator's Shield -> Breastplate of Valor
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Gladiator's Shield
Cost: 1050 (1700)
+15 Physical Power
+40 Physical Protection
+10% Cooldown Reduction

PASSIVE – Any time you hit an Enemy god with an ability you are healed for 2% of your maximum Health and Mana. This can only trigger once per ability.

Gldiator's Shield is a nice alternative to Breastplate of Valor as it is cheaper and its passive allows a tad bit of sustain. Although the Cooldown Reduction and the Physical Protection is less, this item provides Physical Protection. Not a bad choice but Breastplate of Valor is considerably better in my opinion.


Bulwark of Hope -> Breastplate of Valor
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Bulwark of Hope
Cost: 1300 (2550)
+60 Magical Protection
+200 Health
+20% Crowd Control Reduction

PASSIVE - When you take damage and are below 30% Health, you gain a Shield with health equal to 150 +10 per Player Level for 20s. Can only occur once every 60s.

Bulwark of Hope provides that shield when low and allows for Asi's passive to go off while having that last bit of sustain. Also it is more effective against mages than Breastplate of Valor is.


Pestilence -> Breastplate of Valor
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Pestilence
Cost: 925 (2150)
+80 Magical Protection
+200 Health

AURA - The healing and regeneration of enemies within 55 units is reduced by 25%.

Pestilence counters insane lifesteal and healing from God's like Bellona (lifesteal build) nicely, and gives magical protection to counter God's like Hel. Additionally provides a touch of health. Overall not a bad choice.


Relic's



Aegis Amulet
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Using this item makes you invulnerable to damage for 2s , preventing you from taking action. You may still move.
Cooldown 160s.
Upgrade:
- Cooldown decreases to 130s.

Allows you to negative all damage for 2s, useful for avoiding damage from abilities such as Poseidon's Release The Kraken!


Purification Beads
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Using this item removes Crowd Control Effects and makes you immune to new ones for 2s.
Cooldown 160s.
Upgrade:
- Cooldown decreases to 130s.

Immune to CC, what else is there to say?


Sundering Spear
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Upon activation, fire a bolt that stops on the first God hit and deals 40 True damage (+14 per God level). Damage taken by the target is also increased by 15% for 5s.
Cooldown 120s.
Upgrades:
- Cooldown decreases to 90s.

A great active, as with its buff it does immense early game and late game damage. Only alternative to this is that you no longer have CC immunity nor invincibility.


Hand of the Gods
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Using this item deals 300 (+10 per Level) damage to a single enemy Minion or Jungle Monster within 12 units. Target is always the one with highest max HP. Hand of the Gods' cooldown is reduced by 30s if you kill a Jungle Mob with it.
Cooldown 120s.
Upgrade:
- Using this item also stuns all enemy gods in range.

A great item built Jungling, as it allows for early game jungle camp clearing for stealing objectives such as Gold Fury and Fire Giant. The upgraded Hand of the Gods allows for a second of CC which can be vital in a CQC fight.

Gameplay

Early Game

Poke the enemy with your Death Scythe, and fall back as early game, Thanatos's 1 half hits and provides sustain. Thanatos isn't meant to be played like most Assassins but rather he is fit to poke the enemy down and to apply pressure with his Ult. Early game use his Hovering Death to engage rather than to secure. Early game is where Thanatos is meant to shine, as his kit revolves around doing damage early and securing kills late game. As Thanatos, you will outbox and out damage almost every other Assassin without an escape, and even those God's with escapes it's not easy. Thanatos's early game pressure is insane and if used correctly, can change the tide of the early game.

Mid Game

Mid game is an odd phase for Thanatos, as his Death Scythe falls off and he cannot brawl as well as other Gods. Although he cannot brawl, and his Death Scythe falls off, he still does decent damage and his ultimate becomes more effective. His execute threshold becomes higher and he can start to delete enemy Tanks.

Late Game

Lategame is the turning point for him, as he can do insane damage, but his main use lategame is to completely destroy enemy tanks. With his Death Scythe doing percentage damage, and his Hovering Death able to destroy enemies when they are at 40% health. This is great for targeting heavies like Sylvanus who provide sustain to their team. Late game, he destorys enemy tanks, but God's like He Bo have their power fully online and they begin to hurt. A lot. Although lategame, he is still very powerful and mobile, just be more weary when engaging at other assassins especially those with high burst.

Tips and Tricks

Ability Use

His Death Scythe is a brilliant poke and sustain, but don't use it hastily in a brawl. Save it for when you are half health and need the hp to outlast your opponent or the damage to finish them off.
Scent of Death is a great mobility ability and grants pen. Use it wisely to engage or to escape.
Soul Reap. An amazing ability. A great silence and counters those annoying Loki mains. Just be sure you have headphones to hear those footsteps. A trick that was shown by a Youtber by the name of SexyRexsi stated that using audio, and setting shadow settings to medium, allows for you to hear invisible targets and to slightly see a shadow in game, a small trick that will allow you to destroy Loki mains and The Morrigan.
Hovering Death. Use it to engage early game. Use it to execute or run away late game. Simple.

Auto-attack canceling

Thanato's autoattack chain is 1, 0.75, 1.5. Right after his 1.5 autoattack chain, activate Soul Reap or Death Scythe to autoattack cancel. Auto-attack canceling is vital for Thanatos, as it allows for him to do more damage. Setting his Soul Reap to instant cast helps speed up his autoattack cancels.

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1
Branmuffin17 (394) | February 24, 2017 1:28pm
Hey MountainSlayer,

Some feedback of my own:

s4 stuff
1
MountainSlayer | February 27, 2017 8:39am
Thanks a lot!
I'm a duel player from S2, that didn't play until the end of S3, and now am dedicating to S4 so I'm learning a lot! Thanks a lot for your input! Since I'm mainly a duel player, its a lot harder to create builds for conquest, but I've been getting into conquest lately though I've mainly been jungling as Susano, and it seems that Transcendance second item is a good for a jungler. Stacking it seems to be no problem if you can rotate well and get proper ganks. Since I originally planned this guide for Duel, Transcendance first item always seemed to be sort of a trademark for me XD Though I really thank you for your input and I'll continue to work on this guide as I learn more and the meta changes.
1
xZeroStrike (46) | February 24, 2017 11:34am
Hey MountainSlayer! Been a while, huh? ^^
I see you've updated the guide once again. As I originally didn't provide much feedback, other than the parts where I talk about BB-coding, I hereby want to provide you feedback regarding your guide.

Let's begin:

Info

  • Your introduction is nice. However, "base stats" and "lore" really aren't any sort of important information. It does still take up space however. The lore would only be useful to those who want to deepen themselves into the lore of Thanatos, and the stats aren't of any use to anyone unless they want to go very in-depth with those numbers and theorycrafting with them, which isn't something the common guide reader does. I suggest moving this to the bottom of the guide, after the more relevant info, or putting it in a spoiler.
  • The 'skill leveling sequence' is nice, but not entirely necessary since you already have the build leveling process right underneath your build items at the top of the guide.
  • For your Warrior Tabi, don't just say "standard item". Say what it is that makes this item "standard" for Thanatos. This would obviously its power, but newer members to the game may not be entirely familiar with the items in the game, and why they should pick that item over any other item.
  • For Hide of the Urchin it may be of interest to explain why you pick this item over others. The low cost, perhaps? There's other items that provide protections, mana and health.
  • For your gameplay descriptions, it may be of interest to not only write about Thanatos' game progress (strong early, weak mid, strong early because of...), but also to write about how to behave/play the game as Thanatos. For example: "In Conquest, it may be of interest to watch for the Gold Fury's oracles. When killed they give a powerful buff in the form of a ward vision of the Gold Fury's cavern. This makes the jungle very dangerous to pass through and will also render any attempts to secure the Gold Fury futile, as the enemy will quickly be able to catch onto your plans."

Build

  • Pestilence is an item that I wouldn't get on Thanatos. For magical protection, Hide of the urching or Bulwark of Hope does a way better job, and you can cancel healing abilities out using Soul Reap. Pestilence is mainly a tank/support item, as they can get closer to the enemy healers more easily without taking the risk of dying to fast.
  • I wouldn't get The Executioner. As Thanatos, you usually initiate with an ability as opposed to a basic attack. Also, The Executioner's potential only really becomes noticeable after 3 basic attack hits. Since Thanatos' attack chain is rather slow (1.0/0.75/1.5), it's not advised to stick around to get those basic attacks in. Plus, if you initiate with your ultimate, Hovering Death you won't benefit of any sort of penetration unless an ally has already lowered the enemy's protections.
  • For the same reason you shouldn't get The Executioner, I also wouldn't get Qin's Sais. Qin's Sais is a great item, but really only works with gods who have a fast attack chain or can get a high attack speed, and is an item that's made for basic-attack gods. Thanatos not only is an ability based god, his attack chain also isn't suitable for Qin's Sais to be very effective, and he doesn't have any attack speed buffs to boost his attack speed, rendering Qin's Sais useless most of the time.
  • You don't suggest Breastplate of Valor in your items, yet you have it in your "general final build". Not a huge issue, but you should perhaps add it to the defensive items. Also, your "general final build" lacks magical protection. Since most teams are usually balanced (3-2), I would get a multi-defense item, such as Hide of the Urchin.



That's all I have for now. I hope you continue to add more information to this guide, and look forward to you doing so. Keep up the good work!

P.S. perhaps remove those special icons you have as your rulers. They're something different, but they clutter the guide a bit. I suggest using the [table] or [rule] function instead.


Yours sincerely,
~Zero
1
Lordendermen | February 15, 2017 10:55am
I recommend even though I'm not the best build builder adding shield of regrowth cause it really works with thana's 1
1
Cooldillan (3) | February 13, 2017 5:52am
Absolutely love the build I wouldn't get deathbringer ide get jottuns or mantle
1
Technotoad64 (46) | February 13, 2017 7:25am
  • *build, but
    (Run-on sentence, can be made a compound sentence by adding a conjunction.)
  • *Deathbringer *Jotunn's *Mantle
    (These are names of items, and names need to be capitalized.)
  • *Deathbringer.
    (Run-on sentence.)
  • *I'd
    ("Ide" is the 15th day of March, May, July, or October or the 13th day of any other month in the ancient Roman calendar.)
  • *Mantle.
    (Sentences need to end in punctuation.)
1
MountainSlayer | February 13, 2017 7:10am
The reason why I chose DeathBringer as a last item because more pen is pretty much useless on Thanatos, since he has pen from his abilities, and Asi. Mantle is an interesting choice but going double defense on an assassin is not always the best choice, unless you are destroyed by the enemy jungler or just the enemy in general. I can see why one would not like DeathBringer, so in that case I would recommend Heartseeker right after Breastplate of Valor, as it allows for Thanatos's ability damage to excel
2
Papa Murmz (16) | February 13, 2017 9:05am
Jotunn's Wrath has a lot more to offer than just Penetration. It will give you CDR & a healthy Mana boost. I feel going double defense on Thanatos is great! He still has outstanding damage output with 4 Offensive & 2 Defensive items.

Unless Death Scythe can Crit like Ne Zha's Armillary Sash and Mercury's Made You Look, I really don't see the point of picking up any Crit Item.

I typically build:

Warrior Tabi
Jotunn's Wrath
Hydra's Lament
Hide of the Urchin
Titan's Bane / The Crusher / Brawler's Beat Stick -- (Depends on Team Comp)
Spirit Robe

This gives you a tremendous amount of Survivability and Sustain, Max CDR, High Penetration.
1
xZeroStrike (46) | February 11, 2017 5:20am
If you want a guide for BB-coding, I know a few.

One of these would be nanoyam's guide. It has BB-coding in it, but also tackles a much wider topic: what you need to know to create a guide. Very useful information. You can find it here.

The second one would be Zilby's guide. It isn't really a guide to teach you how to BB-code, but rather just hands some templates to you. Useful if you don't understand or don't want to learn BB-code but still want a nice looking guide. You can find it here.

Last but not least, there's my guide to BB-coding. It gives in-depth information on all currently available types of BB-coding on the site. You can find it here.


Also, welcome to SMITEfire! We hope you'll stick around and that we may see amazing guides being made by you! ^~^

~Zero
1
MountainSlayer | February 11, 2017 5:24am
THANK YOU SO MUCH!as you can probably tell this is a serious work in progress :/ but I hope to make this an amazing guide
1
xZeroStrike (46) | February 11, 2017 5:39am
Yes, I figured this is a WIP. Looking forward to see what you'll make of it! ^~^
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League of Legends Build Guide Author MountainSlayer
Thanatos, the Hand of Death [s.4.1]
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