Sand King

From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
Sand King
23 + 2.3
19 + 2
17 + 2
Grants the following bonuses per level:
+50.6HP and +0.23HP regeneration
+0.33 armor and 2 attack speed
+24MP and +0.1MP regeneration
+0.1% base magic resistance
+2.84 Main Attack Damage
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4.17
Armor
(782.63 EHP)
26.7%
Magic Resist
(854.02 EHP)
Instant
Projectile Speed
Melee Melee units have their projectile speed set to 900, if they should ever need it.
110 (129)
(1.7 BAT)
Base Attack Time Attacks per Second is defined as
ΣAS / BAT / 100
0.53 + 0.47
Turn Rate This unit takes 0.175s to turn 180°.
This ability component has a different effect during daytime. 1800 / This ability component has a different effect during nighttime. 800
Default
Gib Type
2010-11-01
Released
2004-10-22
Competitive Span
2010-11-01 — Present
Version Control
This article is mostly accurate for 7.40, the last version this hero was changed in.

New interactions that emerged in following patches may have not yet been accounted for.
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Burrows to stun and slow enemies.
Obscured in the harshest of gusts of Sand Storms was the Sand King. From beneath the shifting dunes he ambushes and Burrowstrikes enemies from beneath, inflicting a desiccating and Caustic Venom that causes their corpses to erupt inside out. But true destruction was heralded by a beating tail. Within moments, the ground pulsed with violent tremors, and from its moving Epicenter, Crixalis pursued scattering foes until the very last fell to their knees. Across bazaars and between towns, the learned repeat a simple truth. Where the Sand King walks, the earth trembles.
Burrowstrike
Sand Storm
Stinger
Epicenter
Epicenter
Roles:Initiator Initiator Disabler Disabler Support Support Nuker Nuker Escape Escape
Adjectives
Legs ( 6 )
Sandblast
Sand Storm
Successful attacks now applies a blind debuff to the attacked enemy unit within the Sand Storm radius while active.
Final Sting
Stinger
Applies an instance of magical spell damage on enemy heroes struck by Stinger within the proximity radius correponsing to Caustic Finale's ability level.
×0.5 Damage Factor

Upgrades

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Aghanim's

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Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Epicenter
Each Epicenter pulse now randomly summons multiple Stinger spines of its corresponding level, at random locations within its radius.

The spine radius is a portion of the current Epicenter radius, and can only affect the same enemy units once per pulse.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:
Epicenter
Passively releases a lesser Epicenter pulse at a fixed duration.

Increases pulse damage.

Talents

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+50% Sand Storm Move Speed Slow25+8 Epicenter Pulses
+75 Epicenter Base Radius
+7 Epicenter Incremental Radius
20-3s Burrowstrike Cooldown
+200 Burrowstrike Cast Range15+25 Sand Storm Damage per Second
+100 Caustic Finale Radius10+12% Stinger Slow
▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃
+2 All / / Attributes

Bio

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I will show you fear in a handful of sand…
▶️  Crixalis, the Sand King
Aliases:
Crixalis, SK
The sands of the Scintillant Waste are alive and sentient — the whole vast desert speaks to itself, thinking thoughts only such a vastness can conceive. But when it needs to find a form to communicate with those of more limited scope, it frees a fragment of itself, and fills a carapace of magic armor formed by the cunning Djinn of Qaldin. This essential identity calls itself Crixalis, meaning 'Soul of the Sand,' but others know it as Sand King. Sand King takes the form of a huge arachnid, inspired by the Scintillant Waste's small but ubiquitous denizens; and this is a true outward expression of his ferocious nature. Guardian, warrior, ambassador — Sand King is all of these things, inseparable from the endless desert that gave him life.

Caustic Finale

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Caustic Finale
Passive
Affects
Enemy Units
Spell / Magical
Injects a venom per successful attack that causes enemy units to violently explode when they die.
Effect Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 400 (With level 10 Left Talent.With level 10 Left Talent. 500)
Base Damage: 20/40/60/80
Max Health as Damage Bonus: 3%/7%/11%/15%
Duration: 4.5/5/5.5/6
An injection from Crixalis makes one brittle and as dry as the arid wastes, subject to implosive demise.

Hero Model

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Hero Model
Passive / Channeling
Affects
Self
Sand King's hero model has the following hidden Innate. innate abilities.

He may only perform or utilize the ability's functions upon a successful channeling.
Details
Hidden Innate Abilities
Watch Tower
Warp
Warp
Lantern of Sight
Damage Block (Melee)
Tap on the Innate. innate abilities for more details.

Abilities

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Burrowstrike

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Q
E
Burrowstrike
Point / Unit
Affects
Enemy Units / Self
Spell / Magical
Burrows into the ground and tunnels forward, damaging and stunning enemy units above Sand King as he resurfaces.
Cast Animation: 0 + 0.53
Cast RangeAffected by Cast Range increasing sources. 525/600/675/750 (With level 15 Left Talent.With level 15 Left Talent. 725/800/875/950)
Spine Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 150
Damage: 80/150/220/290
Stun Duration: 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8
Burrow and strikes in the point-targeted direction, without needing to reach the required cast range with Alt-Cast toggled on.
Travel Distance: Affected by Cast Range increasing sources. 525/600/675/750 (With level 15 Left Talent.With level 15 Left Talent. 550/625/700/775)
Applies a Caustic Finale debuff of its corresponding level on all affected enemy units upon resurfacing.
14/13/12/11 (With level 20 Right Talent.With level 20 Right Talent. 11/10/9/8)
Mana Cost
100/110/120/130
Crixalis often lies in wait, burrowing under the surface to ambush his adversaries.

Sand Storm

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W
R
Sand Storm
No / Aura
Affects
Enemy Units / Self
Spell / Magical
Creates a sandstorm that damages enemy units within the radius. The sandstorm immediately dissipates upon leaving the effect radius.
Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 475/550/625/700
Damage per Second: 30/50/70/90 (With level 15 Right Talent.With level 15 Right Talent. 55/75/95/115)
Duration: 16/20/24/28
Aura Linger Duration: 0.5
Grants self invisibility with a fade delay, within the sand storm radius.
Fade Delay: 0.7
Talent Upgrade
Sand Storm now additionally applies movement speed slow to enemy units within the radius.
Move Speed Slow: 50%
40/34/28/22
Mana Cost
85
Some say Crixalis is a mirage; his carapace appearing then vanishing between the whirling sands of the Scintillant Waste.

Stinger

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E
L
Stinger
Does not pierce Debuff Immunity sources. This ability is not bestowed by Illusions.
Point / Area
Affects
Enemy Units
Spell / Physical / Instant Attack
Attacks and strikes an area with bonus spell damage.

The strike additionally applies a movement speed slow to all enemy units within the radius.
Effect Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 230/250/270/290
Instant Attack Factor: 1
Spell Damage Bonus: 50/75/100/125
Move Speed Slow: 10%/12%/14%/16% (With level 10 Right Talent.With level 10 Right Talent. 22%/24%/26%/28%)
Slow Duration: 4/5/6/7
Deals additional damage to units within the proximity radius.
Proximity Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 125
Proximity Damage Factor: 1.4
15/12/9/6
Mana Cost
35/40/45/50
Crixalis is certainly capable of mercy, but the soul of the sand finds few foes worth sparing.

Epicenter

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R
C
Epicenter
No / Passive
Affects
Enemy Units
Spell / Magical
After its cast point, Sand King causes the ground beneath to shudder violently. All enemy units within the radius are damaged and slowed.

Each subsequent pulse increases the Epicenter radius.
Base Radius: Affected by AoE Radius increasing sources. 500 (With level 20 Left Talent.With level 20 Left Talent. 575)
Radius Increase per Pulse: 13 (With level 20 Left Talent.With level 20 Left Talent. 20)
Number of Pulses: 12/16/20 (With level 25 Right Talent.With level 25 Right Talent. 20/24/28)
Damage per Pulse: 60/70/80 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. 70/80/90)
Move Speed Slow: 30%/40%/50%
Attack Speed Slow: 50/55/60
Slow Duration: 3
Slow Linger Duration: 3
Epicenter Duration: 6
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Each Epicenter pulse now randomly summons multiple Stinger spines of its corresponding level, at random locations within its radius.

The spine radius is a portion of the current Epicenter radius, and can only affect the same enemy units once per pulse.
Spine Radius Factor: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 0.15)
Number of Stinger Spines: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 3)
Spine Interval: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 0.5)
Stinger Spell Damage Factor: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 0.5)
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade
Passively releases a lesser Epicenter pulse at a fixed duration.

Increases pulse damage.
Auto Pulse Radius: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. 425) (With level 20 Left Talent.With level 20 Left Talent. 500)
Spine per Pulse: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 1)
Aghanim's Scepter & Shard Upgrade
Aghanim's Scepter & Shard Upgrade
The Stinger spines of Epicenter pulses now additionally apply the instant attack component.
Instant Attack Factor: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. 1)
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade
The fixed duration is neither affected by cooldown reset sources nor percentage-based cooldown reduction sources.
Downtime: (Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. 3)
120/110/100
Mana Cost
150/225/300
Many an explorer was lost to the quicksands of the Scintillant Waste.

Recent Matches

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Main Article: Sand King/Matches
DateTierTournamentPicksScorevs. Picks
January 9, 2026 - 16:00 CETQualifierWEU CQ DreamLeague S28WEU CQ DreamLeague S28WEU CQ DreamLeague S28Shadow Demon Warlock Juggernaut Sand King Void Spirit
0 : 1
Jakiro Nyx Assassin Bristleback Ursa Queen of Pain
January 9, 2026 - 16:00 CETQualifierWEU CQ DreamLeague S28WEU CQ DreamLeague S28WEU CQ DreamLeague S28Jakiro Mars Clinkz Weaver Sand King
1 : 0
Tiny Underlord Skywrath Mage Naga Siren Rubick
January 8, 2026 - 21:05 UTCQualifierSA OQ2 DreamLeague S28SA OQ2 DreamLeague S28SA OQ2 DreamLeague S28Underlord Phoenix Hoodwink Gyrocopter Sand King
0 : 1
Shadow Demon Beastmaster Silencer Juggernaut Bristleback
January 7, 2026 - 22:50 UTCQualifierSA OQ2 DreamLeague S28SA OQ2 DreamLeague S28SA OQ2 DreamLeague S28Tusk Shadow Shaman Underlord Sand King Ursa
0 : 1
Tiny Windranger Clockwerk Gyrocopter Pudge
January 7, 2026 - 17:40 CETQualifierWEU OQ2 DreamLeague S28WEU OQ2 DreamLeague S28WEU OQ2 DreamLeague S28Techies Ursa Silencer Dawnbreaker Sand King
0 : 1
Slardar Disruptor Spirit Breaker Templar Assassin Bounty Hunter

Recent Changes

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Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore
Description
7.40
(2025-12-15)
7.39e
(2025-10-02)
7.39d
(2025-08-05)
  • Increased base Strength strength from 22 to 23.
  • Increased Sand Storm radius from 425/500/575/650 to 475/550/625/700.

Dota Plus Progress

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Main Article: Hero Challenges

Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.

Sand King's Relics Voice Lines

Double Hero Burrowstrike

Caustic Finale Hero splashes

Epicenter Kills

Damage while Invisible

Magic Damage

Eul's Scepter of Divinity leading to Kills

Stuns leading to kills

channels cancelled

Triple Kills

Mega Kill Streaks

Wards placed

Kill Assists

Kills

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Platinum

Master

Grandmaster

Equipment

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Trivia

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  • In very early versions of DotA, Sand King had a couple of infamous bugs.
    • One bug caused the final pulse of Epicenter to deal over 10,000 damage.
      • The value was verified by stacking a lot of strength on Pudge via Flesh Heap and check how much damage he could take.
    • Another bug involved giving Sand King the Burrowstrike cast order on an allied unit that is far away.
      • Once that ally got within cast range, Burrowstrike would send Sand King to the ally's location as the cast order was given, instead of its current location, potentially teleporting him across the map. This only worked when an ally was targeted.
      • This was commonly done to escape ganks by targeting a freshly spawned lane creep, sending Sand King towards the Barracks.
    • Dust Trail, the predecessor of Sand Storm only worked when Sand King was on team Dire (Scourge).
      • If skilled on team Radiant (Sentinel), the ability did nothing at all.
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References

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