Predator’s Raid Redemption Arc

Predator launched to a chorus of disappointment. His kit looked flashy, the community expected a meta-defining monster, and then… the early testing didn’t match the hype. In this updated showcase, Nubkeks revisits Predator with a fresh perspective, puts him through a run of Live Arena fights, and tests a new mythical relic, Lens of Intangibility. The verdict now is very different: Predator is genuinely dangerous, but only if you understand what actually makes him strong and what can shut him down.

Predator’s A3 is the biggest reason people wrote him off. It has a unique mechanic with Hunter’s Gaze and can interact with defensive buffs, but the value is awkward to access. The debuff can be resisted unless he’s under Veil or Perfect Veil, and because the A3 is also the skill that gives him Perfect Veil, the “can’t be resisted” part is often hard to line up after turn one. The debuff spread on kill only lasts a single turn, which means it frequently expires before it matters, and the damage itself feels underwhelming compared to what the skill text suggests. It’s not useless, but it’s not the reason you draft Predator.

Predator’s A2 is the actual headline. It’s a double-hitting AoE that slams, and it’s the main reason the community has come around on him. Under Perfect Veil, it ignores additional defence, which pushes the damage into “delete the board” territory against squishier teams. The double hit is especially nasty because it can kill through passives and awkward interactions, or finish targets that would otherwise survive a single burst. If you want Predator to feel broken, this is the button that makes it happen.

Predator’s passive is what turns him from “hard hitter” into “nightmare.” Before his first turn, he has a 50/50 evade chance, and every evade triggers a counterattack with his A1. That A1 also heals based on damage, which creates disgusting momentum if he starts dodging key skills. The scaling is the real problem for opponents: every kill gives him a permanent 20% extra evade chance, stacking up to 60%. Two kills puts him at 40% evade permanently, and at that point he can start taking over games by dodging, healing, and counterattacking his way through teams.

Nubkeks runs Predator in six-piece Merciless to maximise damage and benefit from cooldown reduction, and it suits Predator well because he doesn’t always need Stoneskin to survive. Many arena nukers rely on Stoneskin just to see turn two, but Predator can sometimes dodge the opener and punish immediately. That said, Stoneskin is still a valid route if you want more consistency and less reliance on the coin flip. Stat-wise, the idea is simple: push very high HP, keep medium speed, and prioritise damage output that makes A2 terrifying. Accuracy is nice for Hunter’s Gaze, but Predator can function even if you treat A3 as a secondary tool.

Lens of Intangibility is a clean upgrade because it extends Perfect Veil to two turns, which smooths Predator’s rotation. You can open with A2 and still have Perfect Veil when you come back around to A3, making Hunter’s Gaze setups less awkward. It also adds bonus ignore defence while veiled, which boosts damage across the kit, especially helping A1 and A3 feel more impactful. It isn’t mandatory, and alternatives like Wand of Submission can still perform, but Lens makes Predator more consistent and more explosive in the exact moments that matter.

Predator shines into squishy drafts, speed teams that can’t reliably control him, and matchups where he can pick up early kills to ramp his evade chance. He also has “ban value,” which is a win by itself: if the opponent is spending a ban on Predator, you’ve forced a constrained draft. His biggest weakness is clear too: if he gets crowd controlled early and misses that pre turn evade window, he loses a big chunk of what makes him special. Protect him from early lockout, bring support that helps him survive or cleanly enter the fight, and Predator can absolutely carry.

Predator isn’t perfect, and his A3 still feels clunky compared to the hype it generated. But the updated reality is that he’s powered by a brutal A2 and a passive that can snowball into pure chaos. In Live Arena, that combination is deadly. If you’ve been ignoring Predator based on launch reputation, it’s worth taking another look, because this champion’s “redemption arc” is very real.