Dual-fire marksman who stacks speed with Dexter and swaps places to escape
Claude fights as two attackers at once — Dexter mirrors every Basic Attack for extra damage, and Battle Mirror Image lets him leave a stationary decoy that keeps attacking while he repositions, then swap back into it to reset his position instantly. Art of Thievery's stacking buff means every wave he pokes makes him faster and harder to kite for the rest of the fight.
Getting full value requires managing Battle Mirror Image's swap timing to both deal damage and dodge burst, while positioning Art of Thievery to hit as many enemies as possible for the stacking buff.
Max Art of Thievery first for the stacking speed buff, level Battle Mirror Image for the mobility, and take Blazing Duet at every level it's available.
Dexter launches an extra attack each time Claude's Basic Attack lands, dealing 20 (+35% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to the same target. Dexter's Basic Attack can also trigger Claude's attack effects with 30% effectiveness.
Always active — no cooldown
Claude attacks enemies in a fan-shaped area ahead, dealing 160–285 (+40% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage and reducing their Movement Speed by 20% and Attack Speed by 10%. For each target hit, Claude gains 3% extra Movement and Attack Speed (doubled if the target is an enemy hero, up to 5 stacks) for 6 seconds.
Claude leaves a mirror image of Dexter at a designated location. Dexter’s mirror image automatically attacks enemies. Lasts 5.5 seconds. Claude can activate this skill again to switch places with the mirror image. Dexter's Basic Attack deals 20 (+35% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage and can trigger Claude's attack effects.
Claude and Dexter rapidly fire at the enemies nearby over 3 seconds, dealing 100–130 (+10% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to up to two targets each time they shoot. This skill benefits from Claude's Basic Attack effects and grants him a shield that can absorb 20 (+3% Total Physical Attack) damage.
Signature combo
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
7,050g total
Default gold-lane build for snowballing DPS off Dexter's extra attacks.
Battle spell
Flicker120s CDThe 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.
Swap in when needed
Wind of Nature — Against physical burst threatening him between Battle Mirror Image swaps.
Blade of Despair — Late game once ahead, for maximum sustained DPS.
Sea Halberd — Against enemy lifesteal or sustain fighters.
Queen's Wings — Against burst assassins threatening to kill him before Battle Mirror Image is up.
6,910g total
When the enemy has a burst assassin or dive comp that can kill him before Battle Mirror Image resets.
Battle spell
Purify90s CDPurify does not clear suppression (e.g. Franco's Bloody Hunt or Khufra's ultimate) — a common mistake is trusting it to escape a hook combo it can't actually cleanse.
Swap in when needed
Berserker's Fury — Once safely ahead, swap in for raw crit damage.
Wind of Nature — Blanks a physical assassin's opening burst before Battle Mirror Image resets.
Sea Halberd — Against enemy lifesteal or sustain fighters.
Beyond the swaps listed in the builds above.
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
NataliaAssassinHardHer stealth lets her approach undetected and burst Claude down before Battle Mirror Image can be used to escape.
AulusFighterHardAulus, Charge! strips his own slows and adds 50% Movement Speed plus heavy frontal damage reduction, so he walks through Art of Thievery's slow and deletes Claude's low HP pool whichever body he swaps into.
AamonAssassinHardHe blinks in from stealth and one-shots Claude before his stacking buffs give him the speed to kite away.
SaberAssassinHardHis lock-on ultimate executes Claude regardless of positioning, following through a mirror image swap uninterrupted.
KajaSupport · FighterHardDivine Judgement suppresses Claude for 1.5 seconds and lets Kaja drag him along regardless of Battle Mirror Image, negating the swap-escape entirely.
LesleyMarksman · AssassinSoftShe out-ranges him in a poke exchange and can snipe from stealth before his Art of Thievery stacks build up meaningfully.
BrunoMarksmanSoftHis higher early burst and Worldie's defense shred trade favorably before Claude's stacking speed buffs come online.
CyclopsMageSoftStar Power Lockdown immobilizes Claude for up to two seconds, preventing a Battle Mirror Image swap from being used to dodge the follow-up.
BrodyMarksmanSoftTorn-Apart Memory's AoE burst detonates before Claude's shield or a mirror swap can save him from the mark damage.
ChipSupport · TankSoftHis portal engage and mark detonation catch Claude off-guard whenever he overextends to farm Art of Thievery stacks.
Winter CrownThe damage-immune window lets a target survive Blazing Duet's burst even at full Art of Thievery stacks.
ImmortalityThe revive shield lets a target survive Claude's DPS burst window and disengage before he resets.
Tough BootsCuts the duration of Art of Thievery's slow, making it easier to escape his stacking-speed chase.
Blade ArmorReflects and reduces critical damage from his heavily attack-speed-reliant Basic Attack DPS.Heroes whose own counter list names Claude — the same matchup, read from the other side.
ZetianMageHardArt of Thievery strips Zetian's movement speed while handing Claude more of his own, and Battle Mirror Image swaps him past Celestial Robe faster than its cooldown resets.
GordMageSoftBattle Mirror Image lets Claude swap places with Dexter to dodge Mystic Projectile outright, and Blazing Duet shreds Gord's low HP pool from range.
GrockTank · FighterSoftBattle Mirror Image lets him swap places out of Earthen Rampart's telegraphed wind-up, and Dexter's paired attacks keep chipping a tank that can't burst him back.
IxiaMarksmanSoftDexter's mirrored attack on every hit out-scales Ixia's every-other-hit proc once both marksmen reach the late game.
KhufraTankSoftArt of Thievery steals movement and attack speed off everyone Khufra engages into, and Blazing Duet's sustained fire burns his frontline down before Tyrant's Rage's pull ever pays off.
Lapu-LapuFighterSoftArt of Thievery steals Movement and Attack Speed from every hero it clips, so Claude out-paces and out-damages Lapu-Lapu from outside the range Storm Sword needs.Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
Popol and KupaMarksmanOwl vision reveals ambushes ahead of time, letting Claude farm safely and stack Art of Thievery without getting caught.
AngelaSupportHeartguard shields Claude from anywhere on the map and attaches her to him for 12 seconds, so a burst combo that lands despite Battle Mirror Image still doesn't kill him.
KimmyMarksman · MageHer long-range poke controls the lane, giving Claude room to stack Art of Thievery safely from a distance.AamonAssassinHis dive pressure clears Claude's peel and creates picks, letting Claude clean up with his stacked speed and Blazing Duet.
RogerFighter · MarksmanEarly jungle gank pressure secures kills that snowball Claude's Art of Thievery stacks and item lead.
LancelotAssassinHis dive draws enemy attention away, letting Claude farm and burst safely from range.
Luo YiMageHer teleport zone repositions Claude for a safe angle to stack Art of Thievery and land Blazing Duet.
GlooTankHis sticky frontline soaks damage and protects Claude from divers while his stacks build.
TerizlaFighter · TankHis CC-heavy frontline groups enemies together for Claude's AoE Blazing Duet ultimate.
BaxiaTankHis shield and CC frontline peel for Claude in teamfights, buying time for Battle Mirror Image swaps.Leave Battle Mirror Image's decoy in a safe spot to keep dealing damage while repositioning yourself for a better angle
Swap back into the mirror image the instant a burst combo is inbound, using it purely as a dodge rather than for damage
Open fights with Art of Thievery on as many enemies as possible to stack the Movement and Attack Speed bonus before the real fight starts
Time Blazing Duet for when Basic Attack effects are already active, since the ultimate benefits from on-hit effects like Windtalker or Wind of Nature
He's more demanding than a standard marksman — Battle Mirror Image's swap timing and stacking Art of Thievery for full value both take practice to use well.
Swift Boots into Windtalker, Berserker's Fury, and Malefic Roar covers Attack Speed, crit, and penetration for his Dexter-doubled DPS. Prioritize Queen's Wings earlier against burst-heavy enemy comps.
Kaja's suppression and Saber's lock-on ultimate both follow through Battle Mirror Image's swap, and Aulus outruns the slow that is supposed to keep him off Claude.
It leaves a stationary Dexter decoy that keeps auto-attacking enemies; casting the skill again swaps Claude's position with the decoy, functioning as both a repositioning tool and a burst-dodge.
