Channel mage who stacks Soul Snare into a multi-target airborne capture
Zhuxin controls fights by holding down Lantern Flare, stacking Soul Snare on every enemy hero caught in her Spirit Lantern's reach until they hit 10 stacks and get yanked airborne together. Fluttering Grace and Crimson Beacon round out a kit that slows, blinks, and shields, turning a channel-based mage into one of the few control heroes who can lock down an entire clustered enemy team at once.
Holding Lantern Flare's channel close enough to stack 10 Soul Snare without dying requires careful positioning, and her unusually large non-scaling Mana pool has to be managed by hand since Crimson Butterflies only partially refunds what she spends.
Max Lantern Flare first for damage and faster Soul Snare stacking, level Fluttering Grace second for the slow, and take Crimson Beacon at every available level.
Every time Zhuxin channels Lantern Flare, she converts the Mana spent into up to 20 Crimson Butterflies to follow her Spirit Lantern. After Zhuxin stops channeling Lantern Flare, the Crimson Butterflies will gradually disappear, each restoring 4% of her Max Mana. Zhuxin has a naturally high base Max Mana, but it doesn't scale with her level.
Always active — no cooldown
Zhuxin deals 150–210 (+30% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to all enemies in a fan-shaped area and applies 1 stack(s) of Soul Snare. Zhuxin also slows all enemy heroes hit by 20%–40% and gains 20%–40% of extra Movement Speed herself for 1.5 seconds.
Hold: Zhuxin can move the Spirit Lantern with the skill button, dealing 33–88 (+28% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to all enemies within range every 0.25 seconds (damage to Minions increased by 28%) and applying Soul Snare to enemy heroes hit, each time consuming 90–120 Mana. When an enemy hero has 10 stacks of Soul Snare, the Crimson Butterflies will capture them, pulling them airborne for 1 second.
Our source cuts this description off mid-sentence — the rest is not shown.
Zhuxin blinks to the target location while gaining a 400–700 (+100% Total Magic Power) shield. While flying, she creates a field around her for 6 seconds. The field deals 60–90 (+20% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and applies 1 stack of Soul Snare to enemies every 1 second.
Signature combo
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
7,840g total
Default mid-lane pick for locking down grouped fights and poking with Fluttering Grace.
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
Divine Glaive — Against enemies stacking magic defense to keep her Soul Snare combo threatening late.
Ice Queen Wand — Extra stacking slow on top of her own to fully lock down mobile dive threats.
Blood Wings — A shield and movement burst when an enemy assassin is hunting her during the Lantern Flare channel.
Winter Crown — Freezes through a burst combo or lock-on ultimate that would otherwise kill her mid-channel.
6,940g total
When the enemy frontline stacks magic defense and blocks Fluttering Grace's poke damage.
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
Holy Crystal — Pure Magic Power scaling once she's ahead in gold and the fight is decided by burst.
Winter Crown — Survives a burst combo aimed at her during the Lantern Flare channel.
Ice Queen Wand — Extra slow stacking to stop a fed dive comp from ever reaching her.
Beyond the swaps listed in the builds above.
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
DiggieSupportHardTime Journey clears the airborne capture off his whole team the instant it lands and hands them a shield and Movement Speed to walk straight out of the Lantern Flare field, so the entire ten-stack setup buys her nothing.
HayabusaAssassinHardQuad Shadow's phantoms attach from range so Hayabusa never walks through her slow field, and Ougi: Shadow Kill then lands six strikes that prioritize his Shadow Marks — enough to kill her before Crimson Beacon's shield-blink is available.
KajaSupport · FighterHardDivine Judgement suppresses its target, disabling every skill including Crimson Beacon's blink-shield, so once Kaja locks onto Zhuxin she has no answer left before he drags her into his team.
ZhaskMageSoftMind Eater is a penetrating missile that outranges Fluttering Grace and threatens burst before Zhuxin can safely start her Lantern Flare channel, and Decimation leaves a spawn behind on death so killing Zhask doesn't remove his threat.
BelerickTankSoftDeadly Thorns reflects Magic Damage back every time he's hit, punishing Zhuxin for holding Lantern Flare on him, and Wrath of Dryad's taunt locks her into melee range where she can't kite while channeling.
FaramisSupport · MageSoftShadow Stampede lets him move through terrain and dodge Fluttering Grace's fan-shaped area entirely, and Cult Altar's Specter state hands his team bonus HP and clears their debuffs right through the Soul Snare setup window.
BaxiaTankSoftBaxia-Shield Unity accelerates him straight through Fluttering Grace's slow and stuns her for 0.8 seconds on impact, well before Lantern Flare finishes stacking.
Popol and KupaMarksmanSoftKupa fights on its own away from Popol, so the pair pressure her from two angles at once and a single Lantern Flare field can never stack Soul Snare on both of them.
Tough BootsCuts the duration of the Soul Snare capture and Fluttering Grace's slow, making it easier to walk out before the 10-stack triggers.Winter CrownThe freeze covers the combo window she needs for Lantern Flare's stacks, so the field expires before it can finish anyone.
Athena's ShieldThe 25% Magic Damage reduction blunts the burst from Fluttering Grace and Lantern Flare in the short trade window before she disengages.
Radiant ArmorStacking Magic Defense over the channel duration directly counters her sustained Lantern Flare damage in extended fights.Heroes whose own counter list names Zhuxin — the same matchup, read from the other side.
KarinaAssassinHardZhuxin's Lantern Flare channel stacks Soul Snare on Karina from range and can lift her airborne before she ever gets a dash off.
AamonAssassinSoftLantern Flare's Spirit Lantern damages everything inside its radius every quarter-second rather than locking a target, so it keeps stacking Soul Snare on Aamon even as he cycles through Camouflage.
AldousFighterSoftLantern Flare's Spirit Lantern applies sustained magic pressure and Soul Snare stacks that chip him down without needing to react to the visible wind-up on Soul Steal.
LolitaSupport · TankSoftZhuxin's channeled Lantern Flare deals magic damage over time rather than basic attacks, so Guardian's Reflection can't interrupt the damage building toward a suspend.
NataliaAssassinSoftZhuxin's Lantern Flare stacks Soul Snare and can lift Natalia into the air, and her zone control makes it hard for Natalia to find a clean isolated engage.
YinFighter · AssassinSoftLantern Flare keeps ticking Soul Snare onto Yin from a distance and lifts him airborne at ten stacks, letting Zhuxin fight back inside the domain where his melee kit struggles to close.Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
DiggieSupportAs an ally, Time Journey purifies any crowd control landed on Zhuxin mid-channel, letting her hold Lantern Flare through incoming CC until the full 10-stack Soul Snare goes off.
FlorynSupportBloom heals every ally twice regardless of position and clears healing-reduction debuffs, keeping Zhuxin topped up while she stands still channeling Lantern Flare in poke range.
HarleyAssassin · MageDeadly Magic's ring slows a target for 1.5 seconds, which is enough time for Zhuxin to walk into range and start stacking Soul Snare on a target that can no longer kite her channel.
IxiaMarksmanStar Helix knocks back then pulls enemies to a center line, clustering multiple heroes together so Zhuxin's Fluttering Grace and Lantern Flare field can stack Soul Snare on the whole group at once.
HanzoAssassinZhuxin's slows and the Soul Snare capture keep a target from escaping Hanekage's charge, letting Hanzo stay attached long enough to land Forbidden Ninjutsu: Soul Snatch at full Dark Ninjutsu stacks.
AngelaSupportHeartguard lets Angela attach to Zhuxin, shielding her through an all-in and letting her keep casting Lantern Flare safely instead of having to disengage the channel.
SelenaAssassin · MageAbyssal Arrow's ranged stun locks a target in place long enough for Zhuxin's Lantern Flare to stack a full 10 Soul Snare uninterrupted, guaranteeing the airborne capture.
BrunoMarksmanA target caught airborne by Zhuxin's Soul Snare capture can't dodge Worldie, turning Bruno's bouncing Energy Ball combo into a guaranteed multi-hit burst window.
SuyouAssassin · FighterSoul Sever's tap-cast sweep scales with the target's lost HP, so someone Zhuxin has already chipped down and locked airborne with Soul Snare takes it at close to maximum value.
NatanMarksmanInterference!'s Gravitational Attractor carries enemies along its path into the same cluster Zhuxin needs for Fluttering Grace and Lantern Flare to stack Soul Snare on several targets at once.Open trades with Fluttering Grace for the slow before committing to Lantern Flare, so targets can't just walk out of range
Use Crimson Beacon to enter a fight already channeling — the shield covers the approach and the field keeps stacking Soul Snare
Bank Lantern Flare's Mana cost mentally; disengage before you're stuck with no Mana and no way to peel a diver off
Save the capture for when multiple enemies are grouped — a single-target snare is a poor trade for the setup time it costs
Flicker out the instant the 10-stack airborne triggers if allies aren't close enough to punish it; the capture alone doesn't kill
Not ideal. She needs to hold a channel in dangerous range while tracking her own huge Mana pool, and a badly timed Lantern Flare gets her killed before it pays off. Newer players are better served by a simpler burst mage first.
Arcane Boots into Enchanted Talisman, Lightning Truncheon, and Holy Crystal covers her Mana sustain, cooldown reduction, and raw burst. Swap in Divine Glaive when the enemy frontline stacks magic defense.
Kaja's Divine Judgement suppression shuts down her entire kit including her escape, and Diggie's Time Journey clears the airborne capture off his whole team the moment it lands. Hayabusa's ultimate also bursts her down before Crimson Beacon can save her.
Mage emblem with Inspire for cooldown reduction, Bargain Hunter for cheaper items, and Lethal Ignition to finish off targets who survive the initial Lantern Flare stacking.
