Smite Merlin Build Guide: Magic Man: Merlin Guide (S8)

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Smite God: Merlin

Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Build Summary

Starting Items

Sands of Time

Spellbook

Healing Potion

Mana Potion

Purification Beads

Full Build

Pendulum of Ages

Book of Thoth

Book of the Dead

Spear of Desolation

Soul Reaver

Rod of Tahuti

Purification Beads

Aegis Amulet

Merlin's Skill Order

Eclipse / Radiate / Frostbolt

1 X

2 6 7 10 11

Vortex / Dragonfire / Blizzard

2 A

1 4 8 12 14

Flicker

3 B

3 15 16 18 19

Elemental Mastery

4 Y

5 9 13 17 20

Extended Build

Core

Book of Thoth

Book of the Dead

Spear of Desolation

Additional

Obsidian Shard

Gem of Isolation

Soul Reaver

Rod of Tahuti

Situational

Divine Ruin

Ethereal Staff

Pythagorem's Piece

Soul Gem

Relics

Purification Beads

Aegis Amulet

Blink Rune

Teleport Fragment

Introduction

Good day, Stuke here for another guide. In this one, we're taking a look at one of the most iconic wizards of all time that honestly needs no introduction but we have to anyways. Lads and Loves, the Magic Man with the magic hands, Merlin.
Note: you don't have to follow this guide to the smallest detail, these are suggestions on how to play Merlin. I encourage you to look at the comment section below and see other suggestions.

Who is Merlin?

Merlin is a Magical, Ranged, Mage that has a large array of abilities with endless possibilities for combos with different effects. Needing a bit of time to master, a skilled Merlin player can flip through his spell list and find the right one for the situation. Whether it be for his offensive power or his utility of zone and crowd control, Merlin can be a devastating force to the creative and knowledgable.

Pros / Cons

Pros

High Area Damage
High Zone Control
Versatile Abilities

Cons

Mana Hungry
Stance Swap Cooldown
Low Health

Not only does Merlin have a very high damage output, thanks to having a total of 6 damaging abilities, but also having a high zone and moderate crowd control. Being able to cut off of affecting large areas for himself as well as his team, Merlin is a destructive force that needs to be subconsciously aware of at all times, especially depending on which stance he's currently in.
While he has a lot of power, it can only last for so long. Merlin's mana pool is low and dries up quickly, especially if you're spamming abilities like a mad lad, couple that with a decently long cooldown on his stance swap ability and horrific defense. If you can catch out a Merlin while either he's out of mana or any of his abilities are on cooldown then that's a free kill right there.

Abilities

Overload

For every ability Merlin uses he gains additional damage on his next basic attack, sort of like a built-in . This steroid only lasts for a very short amount of time so try to use it to quickly clear lane, camp, or get that last hit in and put your enemy on the run.

Eclipse

Merlin throws out an orb of arcane energy, the farther the target the larger the orb becomes. If an enemy touches the orb, projectiles start flying from the center and won't stop until the enemy leaves the radius of the orb.

Radiate

Merlin shoots a line of fire in front of him that applies to damage to any enemy caught in the flames are also applied damage over time for a short duration.

Frostbolt

Merlin fires a projectile of ice that flies forward. Once it makes contact with an enemy it explodes dealing damage to any enemy in a short radius around it. This ability also deals additional damage if the enemy is slowed.

Vortex

After a short wind-up, all enemies caught in the radius are knocked-up and sucked into the center of the area of effect.

Dragonfire

Summoning two dragon heads in a small area, these dragons breathe a cone of fire at a single point dealing damage over time. Any enemy caught in the center of the two cones has their protections reduced that lasts for a short duration.

Blizzard

In an area of Merlin's choosing, he summons a hail storm that lasts a short duration, and enemies are dealt damaged the longer they stay in the radius. Enemies hit by the falling ice are slowed and the slow is reapplied every time they get hit again.

Flicker

Old school players would remember a special little active called Combat Blink. This ability is just like that but built into his kit. Escape or sneak in one more hit, it's up to you.

Elemental Mastery

A stance swap but with a bit of a twist. Like most stance swaps he can cycle through his three stances: Arcane, Fire, and Frost but there's still more to this than just that. When you put one point into this Ultimate, Merlin unleashes a small ripple that deals initial damage around him that extends and retracts every time Merlin swaps stances as well as provides an additional effect depending on the current and next stance.

Arcane knocks-up all enemies,
Fire deals damage over time for a short duration,
and Ice slows all enemies.

That's not all, you can choose which stance you want to swap to using the ability keys to pick (Arcane is 1, Fire is 2, and Ice is 3) which one you want without having to cycle through the stances.

Combos

Just like with King Arthur, I have to separate the Combos into their tab from the Tips and Tricks as there are so many combos Merlin has at his disposal and I want to go through all of them. We'll start with individual stance combos for beginners then we'll take a look at some advanced combos that utilize two stances once you get more used to Merlin.

Basic Combos

Arcane

🠞

Fire

🠞

Ice

🠞
Or
🠞🠞🠞
(If you have Gem of Isolation in your build)

Advance Combos

Ice 🠞Fire

Combo 1

🠞🠞🠞🠞
Or
🠞🠞🠞🠞
(If you have Gem of Isolation in your build)

Combo 2
🠞🠞🠞🠞🠞🠞🠞
(Full Cooldown and Gem of Isolation)

Ice 🠞Arcane

🠞🠞🠞🠞

Tips and Tricks

WIP

Stages of the Game

Early Game

Merlin needs his abilities and combos to do what he does best. Wait until you get a point into your whole kit to start pushing back against your lane opponent.

Middle Game

Once you start getting points into all your abilities. Now is the time to start doing some bullying. Make use of Ice and Fire stances to deal with large amounts of damage while also providing zoning to keep the enemy back or away from jungle camps, buff camps, or objectives.

Late Game

Now that you're at full power, use all your spells at your disposal to dish out consistent and annoying damage and control. It especially helps if you have full CDR in your build to keep the combos coming.

Summary

In conclusion, Merlin is a difficult wizard with a high skill ceiling who makes full use of his mastery of magic to become a serious threat to the enemy team through his multiple combos and additional effects to help zone out and control his enemies. Remember what each stance provides and what order to use your spells, try to control where your opponent can and can not go through zoning, and keep some proper management of your mana so you don't run out. Keep these in mind and you'll be on your way to becoming a Master Wizard.

Leave a Comment This author would like to receive feedback
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(7) |

Hey, Stuke. I hadn’t even realized you made a guide so when I saw it, I thought I’d come check it out. I think most of the points you make in the guide are valid but there are some I disagree on. Kriega covered most of them so I’ll try not to repeat but there are a few I’d still like to mention myself. Note, though, that my comments are based on if you take him into Conquest as it might be different and work better in other game modes.

Your suggested build looks decent but I’d build Charon’s Coin no later than 3rd-4th item since getting it stacked is important.

I don’t really see situations where would make sense on Merlin. In team fights you don’t want to get close, you want to use your abilities from the back line at a safe distance. The only time you should be close is if they’re diving you and even then, it doesn’t make great use. Same can be said for . I’d much prefer to see and in those slots.

Also as Kriega said, it’s definitely best to prioritize leveling the 1 over the 2.

Outside of builds, last night you corrected me and told me I should use before using . Though you definitely get more damage off if you use them the other way around. The only upside I can see to doing it that way would be if you’re really struggling to get that pull off.

Other than those points, I think your guide looks good. Hope to hear back about my feedback!

(46) |

Doesn't stuke have Charon built 4th? So is it acceptable? Or u prefer he switch Charon and spear?

(143) |

Charon's (or Shard) should be built after Reaver generally.

(81) |

I agree. I can see using void and jade on mages like because he has to get close to confirm his damage and because he has built in protections from his and also likes to be near enemies when ulting, but is a poke mage and won't get all that much benefit out of those items. Mantle is a great dual-protection item that also provides decent CDR and has a useful passive for escaping trouble.

(143) |

Really do not recommend Magus on Merlin, definitely not a core item on him either. The item is terrible on Ice and Arcane, ok on Fire in fights, and good against Objectives, overall making it siutational/meh.

Breastplate > Jade Emperor's also on him.

Meta mage build atm is mage's blessing + tier 1 spear + pots, CDR boots > Deso + Divine (Either order) > Reaver > Shard/Charon's > last 2 items pick from Tahuti, Myrddin, Estaff, Soul Gem.

But for a Chronos' Pendant Merlin build I would go: CDR Boots > Chronos' > Divine > Reaver > Charon's/Shard > Tahuti > Myrddin/Soul Gem.

If you want Deso then swap CDR boots for Magi Shoes in the Chronos' build.

Gem of Iso isn't that good on Merlin either, very situational pickup, and not as strong at all as it used to be on him on release, not just because of changes to ice stance but also cause of the nerf that Gem of Iso got.

And for ability levelling you generally max the 1 first, not the 2.

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Magic Man: Merlin Guide (S8)

Table of Contents

Combos

Summary

Magic Man: Merlin Guide (S8)

Smite God: Merlin