When it comes to finding all the pieces of the puzzle for creating a great hydra team, exploring synergies between champions is just as important as finding someone that checks multiple boxes. Sometimes, those boxes are only checked when paired with the right champion(s). Let’s explore options for one of the newer champions in the game that instantly was top tier for hydra: Nekmo Thaar.

What makes Nekmo Thaar good for Hydra?

Nekmo Thaar on his own is insane for hydra. An AoE A1 with Decrease ATK is just the start of it. He has an AoE A2 with Decrease SPD and Leech debuffs as well. He also placed Increase SPD on all allies and fills their turn meters by 30% then takes an extra turn. Even his passive is crazy helpful, boosting his turn meter each time a debuff is removed, transferred or expires.

Soulless and Nekmo Thaar can pair very well together to keep the important debuffs up, including Provoke. It should be noted that Provoke is not a debuff that can be extended, though Nekmo’s other debuffs can. This is where the synergy comes into play. Regarding the Provoking of the Head of Decay, Soulless has it on 2 skills, but can be hard to keep it up fully on his own unless in Reflex or Relentless gear. However, if you put Nekmo Thaar in a Taunting set, he can be supplemental control for Decay, adding an extra opportunity to provoke every time he uses his A1 & A2 (which is EVERY turn!). This can allow you to build Soulless with more focus on damage (like in a savage set and use him like in an Arena build!) or use him as a Mischief target and be able to use other sets needed to get the high Resistance requirement while not killing his damage.

Soulless’ A3 extends debuffs. This can help keep Nekmo’s Decrease ATK, Decrease SPD and Leech debuffs up the entire time; very helpful skills for being successful versus the Hydra Clan Boss.

With these 3 together, you have almost everything you need in a hydra fight with just 3 champions. Nekmo brings Decrease ATK, Decrease SPD, Leech, Increase SPD buff and turn meter boosts. Uugo alongside of him adds Decrease DEF and Block Buffs. Plus she adds support with cleansing and healing.

All those debuffs are what also makes Kantra the Cyclone a good pair here. She brings nice utility on her A1, being able to steal buffs. Her A2 throws out a TON of debuffs on the enemies. She can be great “insurance” with these 2 skills in case things get messy or debuffs drop off the heads. Her Passive allows her to place Provoke at the start of each turn. This, however, is only 75% chance to land so consider having a back-up provoke option. This skill also requires the Head of Decay to have 5 or more debuffs in order to get that Provoke. Kantra puts up a lot but it’s a bit random. Having both Uugo and Nekmo in there to put up even more buffs helps to ensure the 5 minimum is met.  It could be possible to also have Nekmo in a Taunting set + Kantra as the only provokers given this combination.

The Mighty Ukko was an instant MUST fuse for the sake of hydra as soon as the information popped. Like Nekmo, they have Decrease ATK on the A1 and they’re different affinities, so you’ll have no problem keeping that buff up 100% of the time. Ukko also brings an A2 with Block Buffs and Decrease ACC, two more necessary buffs for Hydra. The A2 also removes 2 random buffs from the targets which can come in handy if things get messy. Their A3 is a revive + Block Damage buff. This also has an Increase SPD buff which shouldn’t be needed with Nekmo Thaar on the team but can be helpful if it falls off the champions or Nekmo gets devoured. At best probably choose not to use Ukko’s A3 unless needed to revive as the Block Damage could get stolen if there’s no Mischief target (although her A2 can remove it!) His passive also has a chance of stealing a buff from enemies; more insurance if Block Buffs falls off. Between the 2 there is insane coverage for the needed skills to defeat Hydra.

Inquisitor Shamael shines when the Head of Torment is out. If it’s in the starting rotation of heads and you’re focusing lower levels of hydra, this might be a pairing to note. Shamael can bring insane damage if built to smack with how many attacks he will do against Torment thanks to his A1 plus his hard hitting A2. His passive makes it great to pair with Nekmo, having Nekmo in the lead to get boosted. The passive reads Whenever an ally receives a Fear or a True Fear debuff, this skill will instantly remove the debuff and fill the ally’s Turn Meter by 15% but how it actually works in hydra is whoever is in the lead gets the Turn Meter boost. Nekmo Thaar already lends himself well to assisting with Speed but this adds another layer of consistent buffs & debuffs up during the fight. It’s also another great reason to put him in a Taunting set to keep the Head of Decay controlled.

Regarding Nekmo Thaar or any champions for hydra: pay attention to the affinities in each rotation. For example,if the majority of heads are Magic affinity and you’re relying on Nekmo to place most of these debuffs, you may run into issues. Having a debuff extender is really helpful in this case to keep up the debuffs when they do land. Or adding in back-ups like Royal Guard as the damage dealer plus his A3 for Decrease SPD when needed if it’s not landing. Or Husk for extra Provokes if the head of Decay is Magic affinity.