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Skadi - Mid/ADC guide (6.4)

3 0 12,987
by Paltil updated April 9, 2019

Smite God: Skadi

Build Guide Discussion 11 More Guides
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Skadi Build

Starter

Notes Mage's blessing is a good starter for Skadi since unlike most hunters, she can be played more or less like a mage. The extra power and ability damage can really help Skadi with her ability damage when clearing waves or ganking.
Morningstar is good for a head start on transcendence. Build Warrior Tabi before starting on transcendence
The mana pots are essential because of the lack of mana you get from buying mage's over hunter's. The health pots are useful for surviving long enough to get enough gold for either rushed transcendence or boots. (you can choose what to spend your extra 100 gold on, either save or buy extra mana or health). Aegis or puri depends on the other team's CC, however aegis is good in most cases since Kaldr can still attack and do damage while you're invulnerable.

Notes

Mage's blessing is a good starter for Skadi since unlike most hunters, she can be played more or less like a mage. The extra power and ability damage can really help Skadi with her ability damage when clearing waves or ganking.
Morningstar is good for a head start on transcendence. Build Warrior Tabi before starting on transcendence
The mana pots are essential because of the lack of mana you get from buying mage's over hunter's. The health pots are useful for surviving long enough to get enough gold for either rushed transcendence or boots. (you can choose what to spend your extra 100 gold on, either save or buy extra mana or health). Aegis or puri depends on the other team's CC, however aegis is good in most cases since Kaldr can still attack and do damage while you're invulnerable.

Build Item Mage's Blessing Mage's Blessing
Build Item Morningstar Morningstar
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
2
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
2
Build Item Aegis Amulet Aegis Amulet

Core

Notes Transcendence is a good item for Skadi because of the extra mana and MP5 it comes with, and the mana converted to power. It might be a good idea to rush it if you dominate your lane and got a lot of gold on your first return to base, however buying Warriors Tabi first is good in most cases.
Warrior Tabi is the best boots for Skadi in my opinion. The +40 power is good early for the damage on her abilities.
Brawler's beat stick is good in general by giving you extra power and pen while also denying the other team healing. Since Skadi is very ability based, it comes in handy. Since you normally use your 1 to initiate, you will deny them healing from the start, and your 3 has a massive range which makes it easy to hit.

Notes

Transcendence is a good item for Skadi because of the extra mana and MP5 it comes with, and the mana converted to power. It might be a good idea to rush it if you dominate your lane and got a lot of gold on your first return to base, however buying Warriors Tabi first is good in most cases.
Warrior Tabi is the best boots for Skadi in my opinion. The +40 power is good early for the damage on her abilities.
Brawler's beat stick is good in general by giving you extra power and pen while also denying the other team healing. Since Skadi is very ability based, it comes in handy. Since you normally use your 1 to initiate, you will deny them healing from the start, and your 3 has a massive range which makes it easy to hit.

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Brawler's Beat Stick Brawler's Beat Stick

Example Finished Build

Notes This is the build you should stick to in most cases. It's a solid build against most team comps. Remember that this is a burst damage build and not based around basic attacks like most hunters. Keep your distance and burst them down with your abilities. (Trancendence, Warriors Tabi and Brawler's Beat Stick are already explained in core)
Jotunn's Wrath gives you extra power, penetration, mana and cooldown. The cooldown is very useful to let Skadi have her ice and spear ready when she needs them.
Bloodforge is a good life steal item. It gives a massive power boost while also giving Skadi some healing since the build lacks that. The shield can also be useful since it gives Skadi some times to get her abilities back from cooldown.
Runeforged Hammer is an item which seems like it's made for Skadi. Enemies take 15% bonus damage if they're affected by CC. All of Skadi's abilities (except Kaldr) has CC. If you were to use your ult on someone, they would take extra tick damage, Kaldr would do more damage, your basic attacks would do more damage, and all your abilities would do more damage.

Notes

This is the build you should stick to in most cases. It's a solid build against most team comps. Remember that this is a burst damage build and not based around basic attacks like most hunters. Keep your distance and burst them down with your abilities. (Trancendence, Warriors Tabi and Brawler's Beat Stick are already explained in core)
Jotunn's Wrath gives you extra power, penetration, mana and cooldown. The cooldown is very useful to let Skadi have her ice and spear ready when she needs them.
Bloodforge is a good life steal item. It gives a massive power boost while also giving Skadi some healing since the build lacks that. The shield can also be useful since it gives Skadi some times to get her abilities back from cooldown.
Runeforged Hammer is an item which seems like it's made for Skadi. Enemies take 15% bonus damage if they're affected by CC. All of Skadi's abilities (except Kaldr) has CC. If you were to use your ult on someone, they would take extra tick damage, Kaldr would do more damage, your basic attacks would do more damage, and all your abilities would do more damage.

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Brawler's Beat Stick Brawler's Beat Stick
Build Item Jotunn's Wrath Jotunn's Wrath
Build Item Bloodforge Bloodforge
Build Item Runeforged Hammer Runeforged Hammer

Damage options

Notes The Crusher's passive gives you even more damage on your abilities. You might get a little too much pen by building this item, and you don't necessarily need the attack speed.
Titan's Bane is a high penetration item. It might be good if some of the enemies have a lot of protection, however it doesn't out preform other items outside of this.
Ichaival has been buffed in the last update and might be good to counter other hunters. It increases your attack speed (attack speed isn't bad, but other stuff can be better on Skadi), but it also reduces the enemy's attack speed.

Notes

The Crusher's passive gives you even more damage on your abilities. You might get a little too much pen by building this item, and you don't necessarily need the attack speed.
Titan's Bane is a high penetration item. It might be good if some of the enemies have a lot of protection, however it doesn't out preform other items outside of this.
Ichaival has been buffed in the last update and might be good to counter other hunters. It increases your attack speed (attack speed isn't bad, but other stuff can be better on Skadi), but it also reduces the enemy's attack speed.

Build Item The Crusher The Crusher
Build Item Titan's Bane Titan's Bane
Build Item Ichaival Ichaival

Defence options

Notes You shouldn't build much protection on Skadi in most cases, but you might need it sometimes.
Shifter's Shield is really simple. If you're in a fight you get more power as long as you're above 50% health(Good when bursting down enemies). When you're below 50%, you will gain both physical and magical protection. (Good if you get targeted in a team fight or ganked).
Mantle of Discord stuns everyone around you when your health drops below 30%. If you're getting ganked, this will help you get away and wait for your team to come help you.
Breastplate of Valor gives you some extra cooldown, mana and MP5. Your build already have this, however the physical protection with these bonuses are good in most cases. Keep in mind that this item only has physical protection

Notes

You shouldn't build much protection on Skadi in most cases, but you might need it sometimes.
Shifter's Shield is really simple. If you're in a fight you get more power as long as you're above 50% health(Good when bursting down enemies). When you're below 50%, you will gain both physical and magical protection. (Good if you get targeted in a team fight or ganked).
Mantle of Discord stuns everyone around you when your health drops below 30%. If you're getting ganked, this will help you get away and wait for your team to come help you.
Breastplate of Valor gives you some extra cooldown, mana and MP5. Your build already have this, however the physical protection with these bonuses are good in most cases. Keep in mind that this item only has physical protection

Build Item Shifter's Shield Shifter's Shield
Build Item Mantle of Discord Mantle of Discord
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor

Example build 2#

Notes I would still recommend sticking to example build 1#, but this might be good in some cases. This is a build that's better against a more talky team comp. Brawler's beat stick switched with crusher for extra damage and pen on abilities.
Bloodforge was changed with Titan's Bane. This might not be a good idea since you lose your life steal, however you gain a lot of pen.

Notes

I would still recommend sticking to example build 1#, but this might be good in some cases. This is a build that's better against a more talky team comp. Brawler's beat stick switched with crusher for extra damage and pen on abilities.
Bloodforge was changed with Titan's Bane. This might not be a good idea since you lose your life steal, however you gain a lot of pen.

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item The Crusher The Crusher
Build Item Jotunn's Wrath Jotunn's Wrath
Build Item Titan's Bane Titan's Bane
Build Item Runeforged Hammer Runeforged Hammer

Example Build 3#

Notes This build is more based around attack speed. Your play style might have to change a little when using this build. Instead of just bursting down your enemies, try to just keep control of them by using your CC and use your basic attacks to do the rest of the damage.
Asi and Ichaival gives a huge increase in attack speed. You do lose your cooldown reduction, but it can work out well.

Notes

This build is more based around attack speed. Your play style might have to change a little when using this build. Instead of just bursting down your enemies, try to just keep control of them by using your CC and use your basic attacks to do the rest of the damage.
Asi and Ichaival gives a huge increase in attack speed. You do lose your cooldown reduction, but it can work out well.

Build Item Transcendence Transcendence
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Ichaival Ichaival
Build Item Brawler's Beat Stick Brawler's Beat Stick
Build Item Asi Asi
Build Item Runeforged Hammer Runeforged Hammer

Crit Skadi?

Notes If you really want to play Skadi more like a typical hunter, here's a crit/attack speed build. I haven't really tried this build much and do not recommend it This drastically changes your play style from Example build 1#. Here you need to use your CC to hold the enemy still while critting them down. Finish boots first, but start with Hunter's Blessing and Spiked Gauntlet + pots.

Notes

If you really want to play Skadi more like a typical hunter, here's a crit/attack speed build. I haven't really tried this build much and do not recommend it This drastically changes your play style from Example build 1#. Here you need to use your CC to hold the enemy still while critting them down. Finish boots first, but start with Hunter's Blessing and Spiked Gauntlet + pots.

Build Item Devourer's Gauntlet Devourer's Gauntlet
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Ichaival Ichaival
Build Item Asi Asi
Build Item Demon Blade Demon Blade
Build Item Deathbringer Deathbringer

Skadi's Skill Order

Piercing Cold

1 X Y
Piercing Cold
1 3 6 9 10

Rune Of The Hunt

2 A B
Rune Of The Hunt
4 7 8 12 14

Permafrost

3 B A
Permafrost
2 11 13 15 16

Winter's Grasp

4 Y X
Winter's Grasp
5 17 18 19 20
Piercing Cold
1 3 6 9 10

Piercing Cold

1 X
Skadi throws an icy spear forward, dealing damage to enemies and Slowing them for 3s. Kaldr's basic attacks deal double damage to targets afflicted by Piercing Cold.

Ability Type: Projectile
Damage: 90 / 140 / 190 / 240 / 290 (+80% of your Physical Power)
Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40%
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90
Cooldown: 12s
Rune Of The Hunt
4 7 8 12 14

Rune Of The Hunt

2 A
Toggle: Skadi marks a target for Kaldr to hunt. While toggled on, Kaldr assumes Beast form, chasing and attacking the marked enemy. If a marked enemy dies Kaldr attacks other enemies nearby. When toggled off, Kaldr stops attacking and returns to Skadi, reverting to his Elemental form on the way. This ability can be activated at rank 0 and Kaldr gains new skills as it ranks up.

Ability Type: Pet Command
Basic Attack Damage: 50 / 50 / 57.5 / 65 / 72.5 / 80% of Skadi's
Rank 1: Kaldr gains a dash attack dealing 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130% Basic Attack Damage
Rank 3: Kaldr's kills heal him
Rank 5: Kaldr's attacks give Skadi 10% increased movement speed
Cost: None
Cooldown: 0.5s
Permafrost
2 11 13 15 16

Permafrost

3 B
Skadi freezes the ground for 5s at a target location. The icy area deals damage to enemies that touch it and continues to deal additional damage every .5s they stay on it. Gods who step on the ice are slowed and lose control of their movement while sliding across. Also, Skadi gains movement speed and Slow immunity while standing on the area and persists for 3s after it fades or she leaves.

Ability Type: Circle, Crowd Control, Damage
Initial Damage: 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 / 190 (+50% of your Physical Power)
Damage Per Tick: 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+5% of your Physical Power)
Movement Speed: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40%
Slow: 15%
Radius: 16 / 16 / 18 / 18 / 20
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90
Cooldown: 16s
Winter's Grasp
5 17 18 19 20

Winter's Grasp

4 Y
A snowstorm surrounds Skadi as she chooses a location for Kaldr to attack. If Kaldr is too far he will leap there.

Upon reaching the location a snowstorm also surrounds Kaldr. The initial hit of either snowstorm Roots enemies in the area and Kaldr is restored to full health. The storms persist for 4s while dealing damage to enemies every .5s.

Ability Type: Stim
Damage (Initial Hit): 45 / 85 / 125 / 165 / 205 (+35% of your Physical Power)
Damage (Per Tick): 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+5% of your Physical Power)
Root Duration: 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2s
Radius: 20
Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120
Cooldown: 90s

Skadi Threats

Tap each threat level to view Skadi’s threats

Max
2
Major
3
Even
4
Minor
1
Tiny
0

Introduction

Skadi is the norse goddess of winter. What makes her stand out from other gods is her wolf Kaldr.

Passive - Kaldr, The Winter Wolf

Kaldr is what makes Skadi unique. He has two forms, Beast and Elemental. He can both attack and be attacked in Beast form. He has a total of 5 hit points and every time he is hit by any form of damage he loses 1 (minions require 5 hits to take down a hit point). When he loses all his hit points he returns to elemental form (his base form). He is invulnerable in elemental form and regens health over time (7 sec per hit point). Kaldr is controlled by Skadi using her second ability Rune of the Hunt
Kaldr also has 50% of Skadi's attack speed and 110% of Skadi's movement speed.


Ability 1 - Piercing Cold

Skadi throws an ice spear at the enemy (multihit). Everyone it by the spear takes damage and is slowed for 3s. Kaldr also does double damage to enemies affected by Piercing Cold
This is Skadi's primary clear and should be maxed out first.


Ability 2 - Rune of the Hunt

This ability is what lets Skadi control Kaldr. She can use it to mark an enemy which makes Kaldr go into his Beast form. Kaldr will keep attacking the enemy until he's lost all his hit points, is out of range, or is called back (Activate Rune of the Hunt again to call him back). By leveling this ability up, Kaldr can do more of Skadi's basic attack damage. At level 1 he gains a dash attack, at level 3 he gets healed by getting kills, and at lvl 5 he gives Skadi 10% extra movement speed while attacking.


Ability 3 - Permafrost

Skadi freezes the ground in a ring shape. Anyone who walks on it will slide in the direction they were moving while entering until getting to the other side (They bounce back if they hit a wall or a god). This ring does tick damage and slows. It also gives Skadi movement speed if she walks on it. Movement speed, damage and radius is increased when it's upgraded.


Ultimate Ability - Winter's Grasp

This is Skadi's ultimate ability. Skadi starts a snow storm around herself and Kaldr. Anyone within its radius is rooted and Kaldr gain max health. The storm lasts for 4 sec (root is not 4 sec) and deals tick damage every 0.5 sec. The storm does more damage and roots for longer when upgraded.

How to play with this build

When you use this main build you should try to think of Skadi as a mage. She has a lot of damage on abilities and not as much on basic attacks. (Still not as much ability damage as a mage but still got more basic attack damage than mages). Your main damage dealer is Kaldr. Use Piercing Cold at the start of a fight to slow down the enemy and give Kaldr double damage (At late game he will deal 160% of Skadi's basic attack). You can also use Winter's Grasp to root them if they try to escape.
Using Permafrost followed by Piercing Cold is a good combo for maximum slow and a almost guaranteed kill on squishy characters. This is how you should start most battles as Skadi.
If you need to escape put down Permafrost, throw Piercing Cold at the enemy, then put Kaldr on one of them to block damage for you and give you extra movement.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

  • High Burst Damage
  • Good CC
  • Great in 1v1
  • Good control
  • Kaldr Best Boi

Cons:
  • No escape
  • Vulnerable to ganks and CC
  • Can't do much if you miss abilities

Team Work

As Skadi you should play more like a mage in team fights, both if you play carry or mid. Try to single out a target and focus your damage on them. Stay close to your team and don't go too far out since that makes you an easy target. Keep your ice for protection unless you're safe within your team.

Skill Order Explanation

As Skadi you already start by having access to Kaldr, so leveling up Kaldr first would be kind of a waste. Instead, you should upgrade your Piercing Cold so you have a clear. Kaldr also does double damage on enemies hit by the spear, so having access to both these early is great for clearing.
The 2nd ability you upgrade is Permafrost. The ice can give you a small speed boost, can be used to help clear, and pull the enemy towards you.
After this you should focus on both Piercing Cold and Kaldr. Try getting Rune Of The Hunt to lvl 3 so he can heal on minions.After that you can focus on Piercing Cold, then upgrade the rest of Kaldr and Permafrost later.
I saved Winter's Grasp for last. The reason I do this is because the most useful thing it does is root and give Kaldr max health. The root doesn't increase that much each level, so upgrading the other abilities first is more useful.

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1
Gulfwulf (81) | April 9, 2019 12:52pm
For crit Skadi (not that I'd recommend it either and certainly not in mid), I'd go with a more "traditional" crit build: Warrior Tabi, Devourer's Gauntlet, The Executioner, Poisoned Star/wind demon, Deathbringer, Ichaival/PS/WD.

In your first example final build, I'd probably swap Runeforged Hammer for Titan's Bane since 35 flat pen isn't enough and you want either the %pen from TB or protection reduction from exe. I recommend the former because it works on abilities while the later only works on basic attacks.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | April 9, 2019 1:19pm
Correction on that statement. The Executioner works on abilities, as long as you've stacked basics on the enemy first. It also helps increase damage output from any other physical gods on your team to your target.
1
Gulfwulf (81) | April 9, 2019 1:30pm
What I said was technically true. To expand on that, TB gives more pen the more protections your target has so it's a great tank shredder that you don't have to build stacks with first. I'd go exe for a mostly (4+) squishy comp.
1
Paltil | April 9, 2019 1:00pm
Hey! Thanks for the feedback. I just changed the crit build. I'll Take what you said about the pen into consideration. I was thinking about adding TB to my first build, but I just went with this one instead.
1
Gulfwulf (81) | April 9, 2019 1:09pm
Anytime. Just remember that even squishy gods who don't build any protections will still mitigate some of your damage, which could mean the difference between a kill and an escape.
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1
xCudz (1) | April 9, 2019 11:32am
Brawlers IMO should not be a core. It's a situational for anti-heal. If the enemy has no healing, other items like asi, and crusher would be way better. Other than that I like the builds. Good guide.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | April 9, 2019 12:01pm
Absolutely agreed with the comment about Brawler's.

The builds overall seem fine for a burst mage version of Skadi. Some of the writeups have some weird statements.
  • In your notes for "damage options," you say that The Crusher could possibly give "a little too much pen" and "you don't necessarily need the attack speed." Those are both very weird statements. You're not maxing your flat pen in any of these builds, so I don't get "too much pen." More pen is always appreciated. And even if building her as a mage, she still appreciates AS. After bursting with abilities, she's going to follow up with basics. AS helps her DPS. Also, AS and higher flat pen help with objective damage.

  • In "defense options," Mantle can not only help you "get away," but it also give you an extra second to finish off an attacking player, if you've also gotten them to low health.

  • In "example build 2," you say that BBS switched to Crusher provides "extra damage and pen on abilities." This is just not true. BBS has 10 more power, and the same flat pen.

  • If going Crits, you're dedicating at least 2 items to crits. This means you really need to invest in basic attacks. That means you need the core pen item for basic attackers, which is The Executioner. That build needs revamping.
1
Paltil | April 9, 2019 12:36pm
Yeah, sorry about those weird statements. I was trying to finish the guide today and it was a lot to look over. I changed some builds while I was writing it so it got a little messy. I'll change up these statements. Thanks for the feedback!

Edit: I've changed the false statements. Thanks again letting me know.
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