Eternal Dragon Iragoth: how his cooldown tricks work and who beats him

Iragoth, the Eternal Dragon, is the boss of Rotation 2 of the Doom Tower and also turns up in the Cursed City. His fight is built around skill cooldowns: he can put your champions' skills on cooldown, then hit harder while they stay locked. He also fights beside an Eternal Priest and Eternal Guards, and how you handle them often decides the run.

His skills

• Spike Storm hits all enemies and places Block Active Skills for 1 turn.
• Spirit Rush hits your whole team and deals 20% additional damage for every turn remaining across your champions' skill cooldowns. If a champion has nothing on cooldown, he places Fear on them instead.
• Soul Burst hits all enemies, then puts their skills on cooldown. He fills his own Turn Meter by 5% for every turn remaining across those cooldowns.
• Conjure Souls (passive): every 5 turns he tries to summon one Eternal Priest followed by two Eternal Guards, with a maximum of three minions at once. If there is no room for at least two, he gains an unremovable, unblockable Eternal Rage buff for 2 turns. Eternal Rage raises his SPD and makes his attacks ignore Unkillable, Block Damage and Shield buffs, as well as 50% of the target's DEF.
• Consume Soul (passive): every 5 turns he sacrifices a minion, preferring a Priest. That resets his skill cooldowns and gives him an Extra Turn. With no Priest, he consumes a Guard and heals 15% MAX HP.

He is immune to all control apart from skill cooldown manipulation. Enemy MAX HP hits are capped at 10% of his MAX HP each, and he takes 70% less Smite damage, so Brimstone is weaker here, though still useful.

Lock him out

Iragoth is the only boss vulnerable to Increase Skill Cooldown. If you own Elegaius, Yumeko or Warlord, keeping him stuck on his default attack makes the fight far easier. Elegaius is a strong choice after the rebalance, with a 3 turn cooldown on the ability once booked, and his AoE Turn Meter reduction pushes the minions back.

Still kill the Eternal Priest. If he consumes it, his cooldowns reset and the lockout breaks. Killing a Priest also reduces the cooldowns of all your champions' skills, so it helps you twice.

No cooldown control? Go for Resistance

Combine high RES with Increase RES and Decrease ACC so his effects fail to land. Geomancer's A1 brings Decrease ACC, which suits this route.

Protecting against Block Active Skills

Block Debuffs, cleansing or enough Resistance keeps your skills available. Doompriest and Tuhanarak are passive cleansers that fit well. Gnut is a good multi-hit Enemy MAX HP option, bearing in mind the 10% cap per hit. Strong AoE attackers such as Thor clear the minions quickly.

An example team

• Elegaius puts Iragoth's skills on cooldown and pushes back the minions.
• Michelangelo brings Decrease ATK and Leech, plus Decrease DEF and debuff spreading.
• Donatello cleanses Block Active Skills and reduces ally skill cooldowns by 2 turns.
• Geomancer adds HP Burn, Weaken and Decrease ACC.
• Duchess cuts AoE damage allies take by 15% against bosses, with Block Debuffs, a team revive and a Speed Aura.

Treat it as a framework and swap in what you own.

Before you build

Iragoth's requirements change by stage, so check the Speed, Accuracy and Resistance you need for the stage you are facing rather than trusting one set of numbers. Bring enough minion damage, and add Decrease ATK, healing, Shields and a revive in case the fight drags on.