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Table of Contents
General Information
Welcome to our Xul guide for Heroes of the Storm. Here you will learn everything you need to know in order to play Xul in a competitive environment, whether you play on your own or with a team.
About the Author
KendricSwissh is a Master League Warrior and Support player in Hero League. He has been playing Heroes of the Storm since the early stages of the Alpha version and has mastered a large number of Heroes. He is also creating Heroes of the Storm related content on YouTube, most notably his series called Epic Plays of the Week, which focuses on video clips submitted by his viewers. He is also a streamer on Twitch where he will gladly answer all of your questions about the game.
1. Quick Reference for Xul
Cursed Strikes Build (talent calculator link)
The Cursed Strikes Build turns Xul into a potent Bruiser with strong self-healing.
We recommend picking 
Skeletal Mages at Level 10 to prevent nearby enemy Heroes
to escape too easily. At Level 20, 
Kalan's Edict can be replaced by either
Mortal Wound if the enemy team features multiple Supports, or
Cold Hand of Death if you require additional crowd control during team fights.
Scythe Build (talent calculator link)
The Scythe Build offers plenty of AoE damage thanks to the reduced cooldown on Spectral Scythe
and the additional Scythes offered by Echoes of Death at Level 13. Ultimately, due to
Mortal Wound at Level 20, this Build becomes particularly
powerful against double Support composition who rely on a lot of healing.
Skeleton Build (talent calculator link)
The Skeleton Build focuses on Xul's self-sustain provided by Trag'Oul's Essence and
the synergy between Skeletal Mages (even amplified at Level 20 after
acquiring Cold Hand of Death) and 
Executioner, which almost permanently
buffs Xul's Basic Attack damage.
Synergies and Counters
Xul synergizes very well with Heroes like Arthas
or Jaina who can trigger his Executioner
talent. Last but not least, Xul's strong early game pressure can buy enough time for late game Heroes like
Nazeebo to shine after Level 16 and 20.
Xul's greatest counter proves to be AoE damage and good counter waveclear. Heroes like Gul'dan or Kael'thas can easily destroy his Skeletons and as such cripple his overall combat performance. Strong solo laners with decent waveclear like Dehaka can also become problematic for Xul to handle.
Maps
Xul excels at pushing several nearby lanes, which makes him a formidable pick on Blackheart's Bay, Dragon Shire, and Tomb of the Spider Queen. It is often recommended to let Xul rotate between two lanes, while the remaining four team members focus on pushing the remaining one. On 2-lane maps we usually do not recommend picking Xul, since his laning presence is not strong enough. The only exception is perhaps Braxis Holdout, where his waveclear can still contribute a lot in the quad lane.
TL;DR Tips
- Thanks to the strong waveclear provided by
Cursed Strikes, Xul should normally rotate between several lanes in order to raise as many Skeletons as possible. - Xul has limited mobility and escape mechanisms during team fights, which is why he should usually engage after one or both Warriors.
- We usually do not recommend picking Xul on 2-lane maps, since rotating between lanes becomes quite difficult. Braxis Holdout can be an exception to this rule, as it requires lots of waveclear which Xul has plenty of.
- If available,
Skeletal Mages can be used to lock down targets in the enemy team's backline allowing your teammates to follow up quite easily.
2. Xul's Overview
Xul is a melee Specialist who excels at dominating lanes
and inflicting various debuffs on nearby enemies. His strong AoE damage allows him
to clear Minions waves and Mercenary Camps very quickly, while his resurrected
Skeletal Warriors are capable of applying additional lane pressure. One of Xul's
greatest strengths is his ability to siginificantly slow the attack speed of
nearby enemies, which makes him a great counter to most Warriors and melee Assassins
in particular. Since Xul only has limited mobility, knowing when to cast 
Bone Armor
becomes crucial in order to ensure his survival on the battlefield.
3. Xul's Strengths
- Exceptional waveclear
- Strong solo laner
- Both
Poison Nova and Skeletal Mages
are viable Heroic Abilities - Decent self-sustain thanks to
Bone Armor 
Mortal Wound counters healing abilities
4. Xul's Weaknesses
- Susceptible to crowd control
- Fairly high learning curve
- Weak burst damage
- Requires good positioning
5. Xul's Role in the Current Meta
With the lack of mobility being Xul's only major drawback, Xul turns out to be
an incredibly powerful laner. His Skeletal Warriors provided by Raise Skeleton
reinforce the lane, while Spectral Scythe and 
Cursed Strikes
allow him to severely damage enemies from both ranged and melee distance. Since
Xul is a formidable duelist, overextending in lane can become tempting, however,
it also makes him vulnerable to enemy ganks.
Xul is an excellent pick if the enemy team consists of several melee Heroes, as Cursed Strikes can greatly hinder their combat performance.
Furthermore, he has the ability to counter healing Supporters like Rehgar or Uther
in the late game thanks to his Mortal Wound talent at
Level 20.
6. Reading Further
To take things further, we have 2 more pages that you can read:
- Abilities and Strategy: an overview of your hero's abilities and how to use them;
- Talent Build: a detailed rundown of your talents and how to choose them.
7. ChangeLog
- 16 Jul. 2017 (talents page): Updated Xul's talent descriptions.
- 14 Jul. 2017 (talents page): Corpse Explosion changed from Not Recommended to Recommended.
- 11 Jul. 2017 (this page): Updated guide for Stukov's patch and moved to new guide format.
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