How to win lane as Azir against Locke · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He has to enter soldier range to kill you — that trip costs HP, and your E + R make the return trip expensive too.
Track: Locke's Q — Ritual Nails (10–6s cooldown). The nail marks are his whole engine — without 2-3 stacks on you his blink-in barely dents; sidestep the recasts and punish the ten seconds of nothing.
Read from Azir's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Locke.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Locke's early kit lets him win the first trades before your soldiers are fully online |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | He keeps pressing that same early advantage through this stretch |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | This window is even and comes down to who plays their cooldowns and wave better |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Both kits are online and trading fairly evenly here |
| Level 6 | Locke | His ultimate keeps him ahead in raw all-in potential at this level |
| First item | Even / skill | This is an even, skill-dependent stretch with no clear kit edge either way |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Late game outcomes here hinge on execution rather than a structural advantage |
Locke's kit gives him the edge in the first trades of the lane, so you want to play patient, farm behind your soldiers, and avoid extending trades until you have more tools online. Track Locke Ritual Nails (Marks): matchup-defining — The nail marks are his whole engine — without 2-3 stacks on you his blink-in barely dents; sidestep the recasts and punish the ten seconds of nothing. Track it before every step-up.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Azir's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Azir vs Locke report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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No sample yet — Azir vs Locke has no Emerald+ win-rate data for this patch; 6 of the 7 windows are a coin flip and Locke edges the rest 1–0, so treat it as a skill matchup and play the plan below.
Mostly — 6 of the 7 windows are a coin flip and Locke edges the rest 1–0, so execution decides far more than the pick does.
Azir takes Lethal Tempo on the Precision tree with Presence of Mind, Legend: Alacrity and Coup de Grace, and Sorcery secondary (Manaflow Band and Transcendence) vs Locke.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Oblivion Orb (≈800g) — cuts his sustain. Build Nashor's Tooth first, then Liandry's Torment, with Sorcerer's Shoes / Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Locke vs Azir guide →
All Azir mid lane matchups →
More Azir mid lane matchups: vs Katarina · vs LeBlanc · vs Lissandra · vs Lux · vs Malzahar · vs Mel