Zek

hero A-tier

Class MageRole Dark / curse high-risk nuker

🔑 How to unlock Zek

Not unlocked by default. Get the Jeweled Key (Main Road, "A Grave on the Road") and bring it to The Frozen Sewers in Faeborg Forest.

Passive · Pestilent — start of turn suffer 1 Dark and apply 1 Dark to all enemies (self-damage risk).

How to play

Snowball Dark charges to melt enemies fast, but you must manage the self-Dark. High risk, high reward.

Best cards›

Dark spells for the AoE snowball
Cursemancy — curse payoff
Curse-spell combos

Starting deck›

3× Shadow Bolt 3× Curse of Shadows 3× Curse of Exhaustion 2× Dark Pact 2× Dark Ritual 1× Drain Life 1× Black Death

Key perks›

Cursemancy + Dark-scaling perks.

Popular builds community›

Dark/curse nuker — stack Dark (Pestilent) + Cursemancy to melt early/mid.
Chill/blunt variant — apply Chill to boost the team's blunt damage while you curse.

Synergies community›

The witch-doctor + ratman combo: pairs with Malukah (her heals trigger off Dark). Falls off vs Dark-resistant Act 3-4 — bring dispel for his self-Dark.

Co-op tip 2-player›

Melts early/mid but falls off vs Dark-resistant Act 3-4. Bring a partner who can purge his self-Dark (Reginald or Malukah).

Plays well with community›

Malukah — Both apply Dark to strip Shadow resistance; Malukah's Dark healing sustains while Zek melts, a classic duo (watch late-game Shadow resist). [5][7]
Velarion — Velarion turns Zek's leftover Dark into Burn so his damage doesn't fizzle when enemies resist Shadow late. [10]

Featured in comps 5›