🧬 Who is Anub’arak?
Once a fallen king turned crypt lord, Anub’arak rises in the Nexus as an aggressive main tank specializing in bursts of crowd control, dive initiation, and spell mitigation. This beetle boss is a nightmare for mage-heavy comps and excels at disrupting backlines while spawning minion bodyguards to clutter the battlefield.
Main Roles:
🛡️ Dive Tank | 🕳️ Backline Disruptor | 🐞 Beetle Lord
🛠️ Abilities (Quick Look)
- Scarab Host (Trait – D): Summons a beetle with each ability cast.
- Impale (Q): A straight-line stun and damage.
- Burrow Charge (E): Dash underground, re-emerge to stun.
- Harden Carapace (W): Self-shield.
- Cocoon (R1): Trap a target in a web cocoon.
- Locust Swarm (R2): Heal yourself while dealing AOE damage.
🎮 Gameplay Guide
Anub’arak thrives by forcing engagements, isolating threats, and punishing fragile backliners. His natural spell armor and beetle spawns offer exceptional sustain and distraction in teamfights.
✅ Early Game
- Impale (Q) for safe waveclear and harass.
- Peel or engage with Burrow Charge (E).
- Focus on denying vision and catching squishies.
✅ Teamfights
- Dive in with Burrow Charge, immediately follow with Impale.
- Use Cocoon to eliminate key threats (mages, healers).
- Bodyblock with beetles and shields from Harden Carapace.
- Locust Swarm for survivability when brawls get messy.
✅ Objective Control
- Control tight spaces with Impale.
- Summon beetles to eat shots on objectives.
- Dive into the enemy backline at critical moments.
🛡️ Builds & Gameplay Focus
⚔️ Mage Slayer & Spell Soak Build
Level 1: Nerubian Armor
Level 4:
Underking
Level 7: Chitinous Plating
Level 10:
Cocoon
Level 13: Urticating Spines
Level 16:
Ephemeral Shield
Level 20: Cryptweave
Focus: Mage Counter, Dive Setup, Spell Armor
The
Lowdown:
This build turns Anub’arak into a relentless frontliner that just won’t quit. You’re not the
kind of tank that plays safe and peels from the back — you dive headfirst, break enemy
formations, and punish anyone foolish enough to stay in your range. With Carapace talents stacked, you get crazy
shields and self-heal on cooldown, making you surprisingly hard to bring down even in
extended fights.You become a bully in the
frontline, chaining Burrow
Charge and Impale to
disrupt casters and dive squishies. The extra sustain means you can trade aggressively,
bait out abilities, and be the initiator your team needs. The constant presence of your
beetles adds clutter to teamfights, body-blocking skillshots and harassing healers. By
the time the enemy focuses you down, it’s too late — the fight’s already turned in your
favor.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- Nerubian Armor (1) gives massive spell armor on W.
- Underking (4) extends Burrow Charge range and lowers CD.
- Chitinous Plating (7) reduces W cooldown when spells hit you.
- Cocoon (10) removes a key enemy from the fight.
- Urticating Spines (13) adds bonus AOE damage during W.
- Ephemeral Shield (16) grants a second shield on spell hits.
- Cryptweave (20) lets you dive with a prepped Cocoon.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Burrow Charge onto mages the moment they overstep.
- Nerubian Armor before big spell bursts (e.g., Pyroblast, Orb build Li-Ming).
- Cocoon a healer or high-damage mage before a teamfight.
- Don’t waste Locust Swarm early — save it for mid-fight sustain.
In short: You’re the anti-mage bulldozer, shutting down spellcasters while diving deep.
⚔️ Bruiser Beetle Bully Build
Level 1: Legion of Beetles
Level 4: Bed of
Barbs
Level 7: Leeching Scarabs
Level 10: Locust
Swarm
Level 13: Burning Rage
Level 16: Beetle,
Juiced
Level 20: Hive Master
Focus: AOE Control, Self-Heal, Objective Pressure
The Lowdown:
This setup makes Anub’arak the bane of enemy
mages and fragile casters. You’re a walking spell shield with heavy CC who
lives to ruin squishy backliners’ days. If there’s a Li-Ming, Jaina, or Orphea on the
enemy side — congratulations, you’re their personal nightmare.
You play aggressively, using Burrow Charge to gap-close and follow up with Impale to lock priority targets down. Cocoon isn’t just a zoning tool here — it’s a teamfight reset button or a hard delete for enemy supports while you burst down their carries. Spell Armor from your talents keeps you safe diving deep into the backline, shrugging off burst combos that would drop most other tanks. Once the casters are out of the picture, your team cleans up what’s left.
You’re not a passive tank with this build — you’re the predator that hunts the weak and turns fights with surgical dives.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- Legion of Beetles (1) for magic-blocking beetle spam.
- Bed of Barbs (4) slows enemies hit by Impale.
- Leeching Scarabs (7) gives beetles lifesteal for extra sustain.
- Locust Swarm (10) as your brawling ult.
- Burning Rage (13) for passive AOE damage.
- Beetle, Juiced (16) reduces beetle cooldown.
- Hive Master (20) for passive locust healing.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Keep abilities on cooldown to spam beetles.
- Use Impale + Bed of Barbs to trap enemy divers and slow them.
- Drop Locust Swarm during hectic brawls for huge healing.
- Position yourself mid-fight for maximum AOE uptime.
In short: You’re a durable, sustain-heavy menace that floods the battlefield with minions while melting enemies in close combat.
📊 Final Thoughts
Anub’arak is the Nexus’s lurking terror. His ability to disrupt, control, and soak spells makes him invaluable against caster-heavy comps and teamfight-centric maps.
Tunnel in, stun ’em dead, and let your beetles swarm. 🪲🔥