Earth Himiko for a magical 2.6.6

This guide is part of my article series on earth builds. If this build is not to your likeing, have a look at the rest of my builds on the earth build page. I have multiple builds for any taste available, IB, PvE, arena/ToS builds and F2P/cheap builds.

This is one of my all time favorite builds, but it is not for everyone.

In the ever-evolving landscape of the 2.6.6 meta, the emergence of Earth Himiko has sent shockwaves through the PvP arena, giving the well-established Earth Hybrid teams a run for their money. The question on everyone’s mind now is: which team truly reigns supreme? It’s a debate that has captivated the competitive gaming community, and as the dust settles, it’s clear that both Earth Himiko and Earth Hybrid possess unique advantages and disadvantages.

Earth Himiko, with its distinct strengths and versatility, stands out as a powerful contender in the new meta. The team’s composition revolves around the formidable presence of Earth Himiko, who brings a myriad of abilities to the table. Her arsenal includes crowd control, damage mitigation, and powerful AoE attacks, making her a versatile and highly adaptable unit. Moreover, Earth Himiko’s unique ability to manipulate enemy buffs and debuffs disrupts opponent strategies, often leaving them in a state of disarray.

What truly sets Earth Himiko apart is her synergy with a range of secondary heroes. For players who don’t rely on magic Immortals or Holy Seconds in their lineups, Earth Himiko offers the perfect opportunity to craft three-setup compositions that can challenge the very best in the PvP arena. Her compatibility with a variety of Earth-type heroes, like tanky warriors and support units, enables players to customize their lineups to counter specific threats.

However, the debate over the supremacy of Earth Himiko versus Earth Hybrid remains contentious. Earth Hybrid teams, with their well-established synergy and the immense tankiness of Earth Elemental heroes, have been dominant for some time. They can absorb damage, control the battlefield, and overwhelm opponents with their relentless onslaught. In contrast, Earth Himiko teams may be more versatile but could lack the same level of raw power and endurance.

Ultimately, determining the “best” team in the 2.6.6 meta is a matter of strategy, preference, and playstyle. Earth Himiko certainly has carved a niche for herself as a formidable PvP contender, offering an alternative to the established Earth Hybrid teams. As the meta continues to evolve, it’s likely that both teams will find their place in the competitive landscape, each with its own unique strengths and tactics. The choice between Earth Himiko and Earth Hybrid ultimately comes down to the individual player’s approach, but one thing is certain: the PvP arena has never been more exciting or diverse.

There are not many other builds that can beat this setup in a one-on-one fight. The only real threats are holy. That makes this an absolute top-tier build and one any earth-main player should be familiar with.

To run this build, you want to max a Genghis Khan for your secondary or third march and swap him in when you attack a holy-main whale.

This setup is for spenders. You will need charles and alex maxed and preferably unique artifact on alex. You also need Elizabeth Bathory maxed and a khan in the back pocket.

If you are a mid spender, this is the build for you!

The Setup and Build

We run Alexander and Charles in the front like most all Earth setups. We enjoy the same advantages as usual from this duo. Charles provides the strongest sustain of all Immortals in Infinity Kingdom, keeping us safe from AOE damage. At the same time, Alex uses his absolutely ridiculous single target damage to nuke one of your enemy front-liners into the ground in the first 10-20 seconds of the fight.

This setup is very different to anything else earth-related. The concept here is simple tho: Keep Himiko maxed on troops and unhindered for as long as possible. She will wreck anything in her way as long as she remain on high troop count.

So, how do we want to configure the passives setup for this build?

We want to strike a balance between defense and offense with this build. This build is all about maxing the effect of troop count on Himiko. By keeping her on high troop count the entire fight, we ensure she will kill the entire enemy team almost by herself.

Moreover, we add a lot of control synergizing well with both Earth Dragon’s stun and Bathory’s Control Ultimate effect.

Having many small control effects is extremely strong because you interrupt enemy skill casts entirely with a bit of luck. Many small control effects are much much stronger than a few with longer duration.

Build Summary

You want to run this passive loadout:

Himiko: Spell Disintegration + Poison Thorn + Annihilation

Zenobia: Berserk + Wine and Dine + Assist

Alex: Wind Rage + Heavenly Thunder + Cleave

Charles: Oaken Guard + Malice + Fighting Master

Build Details and Strategy

For Himiko you want to equip: Spell disintegration is possible, or concentration / nova / stormeye in it’s place. As well as Poison Thorn for its damage and healing dampening effects. Lastly, Annihilation completing our DPS centric setup.

For Zenobia, we are running Berserk, Wine and Dine and Assist. We use Assist to secure the troop count on Himiko as best we can. Furthermore, we take advantage of the damage buff from Wine and Dine and we secure both leech and attack speed for our Alexander with Berserk.

On the Great-Duo, we want Wind Rage / Anger / Duel Master / Combo in the first spot. This is all dependent on your enemies and your availability. If you have Wind Rage go for it. If you struggle against wounds, Duel Master can be very good. If you got neither and want damage Anger or Combo are great options.

In this hyper attack speed build with Wind Rage I am running Heavenly Thunder and Cleave to ensure maximum AOE damage. With Himiko in the back and Alex in the front, anyone get’s cleaved down very quickly. This does require a good unique artifact and to upgrade Magical Attack in the dragon talents.

Furthermore, you want to have Oaken Guard on Charles to boost Physical Defences of our team, and Malice to ensure we incur as few critical hits as possible. Protecting from Chase builds and providing a smoother stream of incoming damage works nicely in our favour since we rely on shield-sustain.

The last spot on Charles is really the only thing that you want to change around depending on personal preference and the meta of your battlegroup. You have three options here:

(1) You can run an offense version with Life-Link. This turns Charles into a secondary damage dealer and works very well against enemy single-target nukers, such as other Alexanders.

(2) You can also choose a more defensive version of this build, where you protect your backline better from AOE damage by running Adrenaline Rush.

(3) You can also run Fighting Master in case you need the Control Immunity when fighting against e.g. enemy earth dragons.

I personally favour the latter with Fighting Master, but ultimately the choice depends on the meta builds in your battlegroup.

Published: 25-08-2023